Representative Don Humason



H1N1 AND ELDERLY DRIVERS September 26, 2009 By State Representative Don Humason, Jr. Congratulations to Dan Knapik, Mike Boulanger, Jim Brown, and Cindy Harris. These candidates were selected by voters on Tuesday during the Primary Elections to move on to the big ballot in November. If you voted on Tuesday, pat yourself of the back too. After long debate in both chambers this week the bill allowing Governor Deval Patrick to appoint a temporary replacement to fill the United States Senate seat left vacant by the death of Edward Kennedy passed. Despite the fact that neither the House nor Senate could muster the Constitutionally-required two-thirds vote to attach an emergency preamble to the law to allow it to go into effect immediately (rather than the normal 90 days), the Governor used an obscure power and declared the matter to be an emergency. He went ahead and appointed former Kennedy staffer and family friend Paul Kirk to the position. Several of my fellow Republican colleagues who are lawyers and Constitutional scholars pointed out that the Governor may be overstepping his Constitutional authority. The Republican Party is challenging the appointment on these grounds. It will be interesting to hear what the Court has to say. If you were to ask me what I am receiving the most calls and emails about in my office right at this time I would answer: the H1N1 virus and Elderly Drivers. I’m a little wary of writing about either topic because I’ve learned through experience that sometimes just having your name associated with controversial issue like these can lead uninformed or misinformed people in your district to conclude you support the issue they are opposed to. As a member of the Legislature’s Committee on Public Health and Committee on Transportation, both of these issues are familiar to me and legislation pertaining to each has come before my committees. I’ve fielded plenty of calls and emails this week from angry constituents and voters who “heard somewhere” that I supported testing elderly drivers starting at the age of 75. That is false. They are, respectfully, misinformed. I commented in a local newspaper about the legislation the day the bill was released from the Transportation Committee. Now, unfortunately, my name and that issue are inexorably linked in the minds of seniors who oppose the bill. Let me assure my friends who are nearing the 75 year mark that this bill is just a starting point for the debate and conversation. Because it is so controversial, I expect many changes before the bill is even voted on at the State House. An Act Relative to Safe Driving, as it is currently written, has 3 main parts. 1) The law would require an applicant for renewal of a driver’s license who is 75 or older to pass an exam developed by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles that would assess the cognitive and physical abilities of the driver. 2) The law would allow physicians and law enforcement officers to make a report to the Registrar if there is cause to believe that an operator is unable to safely operate a motor vehicle. The law would allow for immunity from civil liability for the individual making the report. 3) The law would require the Registrar, upon receiving notification that an operator has had 3 or more surchargeable incidents in the previous year, hold a hearing on those records and then administer an exam to the operator within 30 days. This would apply to drivers of all ages. Ideally, I would like a bill that tests drivers of all ages, say, every 5 years. But with diminishing fiscal resources it is not practical or possible for the Registry to test every driver every 5 years. So my next inclination would be to test drivers of all ages who show that they have unsafe driving records (kind of like what is in section 3 above). I will continue to listen to my constituents and add their input to the ongoing debate. The other highly charged issue on Beacon Hill is that of the “Swine Flu” or H1N1 bill, Senate Bill 2028, An Act Relative to Pandemic and Disaster Preparation and Response in the Commonwealth. There have been rumors and charges that the bill drastically expands the powers of the state to allow the government during a pandemic to mandate individuals get vaccinated and to force that to happen. This bill has even been talked about on national news programs like FOX News. Despite the fact the bill passed the state Senate earlier in the year, it has been slowed considerably at this point. Be assured I would not vote for a bill that gives the state unreasonable and extraordinary powers that would seem to trample a person’s individual freedoms as guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Until my concerns, and those of my constituents, are allayed, I reserve my right to vote against this legislation. I will try to get more information on the legislation for my readers and publish it in my next column. Have a good week. * * * Representative Don Humason and his Chief of Staff Sarah Latour may be reached at their Westfield District office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085, 568-1366. Email address: Rep.DonaldHumason@Hou.state.ma.us Website: www.donhumason.org
This Site Designed and Maintained by: The Barre Group

H1N1 AND ELDERLY DRIVERS

September 26, 2009

By State Representative Don Humason, Jr.

Congratulations to Dan Knapik, Mike Boulanger, Jim Brown, and Cindy Harris. These candidates were selected by voters on Tuesday during the Primary Elections to move on to the big ballot in November. If you voted on Tuesday, pat yourself of the back too.

After long debate in both chambers this week the bill allowing Governor Deval Patrick to appoint a temporary replacement to fill the United States Senate seat left vacant by the death of Edward Kennedy passed. Despite the fact that neither the House nor Senate could muster the Constitutionally-required two-thirds vote to attach an emergency preamble to the law to allow it to go into effect immediately (rather than the normal 90 days), the Governor used an obscure power and declared the matter to be an emergency. He went ahead and appointed former Kennedy staffer and family friend Paul Kirk to the position.

Several of my fellow Republican colleagues who are lawyers and Constitutional scholars pointed out that the Governor may be overstepping his Constitutional authority. The Republican Party is challenging the appointment on these grounds. It will be interesting to hear what the Court has to say.

If you were to ask me what I am receiving the most calls and emails about in my office right at this time I would answer: the H1N1 virus and Elderly Drivers.

I’m a little wary of writing about either topic because I’ve learned through experience that sometimes just having your name associated with controversial issue like these can lead uninformed or misinformed people in your district to conclude you support the issue they are opposed to.

As a member of the Legislature’s Committee on Public Health and Committee on Transportation, both of these issues are familiar to me and legislation pertaining to each has come before my committees.

I’ve fielded plenty of calls and emails this week from angry constituents and voters who “heard somewhere” that I supported testing elderly drivers starting at the age of 75. That is false. They are, respectfully, misinformed. I commented in a local newspaper about the legislation the day the bill was released from the Transportation Committee. Now, unfortunately, my name and that issue are inexorably linked in the minds of seniors who oppose the bill.

Let me assure my friends who are nearing the 75 year mark that this bill is just a starting point for the debate and conversation. Because it is so controversial, I expect many changes before the bill is even voted on at the State House.

An Act Relative to Safe Driving, as it is currently written, has 3 main parts. 1) The law would require an applicant for renewal of a driver’s license who is 75 or older to pass an exam developed by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles that would assess the cognitive and physical abilities of the driver.

2) The law would allow physicians and law enforcement officers to make a report to the Registrar if there is cause to believe that an operator is unable to safely operate a motor vehicle. The law would allow for immunity from civil liability for the individual making the report.

3) The law would require the Registrar, upon receiving notification that an operator has had 3 or more surchargeable incidents in the previous year, hold a hearing on those records and then administer an exam to the operator within 30 days. This would apply to drivers of all ages.

Ideally, I would like a bill that tests drivers of all ages, say, every 5 years. But with diminishing fiscal resources it is not practical or possible for the Registry to test every driver every 5 years. So my next inclination would be to test drivers of all ages who show that they have unsafe driving records (kind of like what is in section 3 above). I will continue to listen to my constituents and add their input to the ongoing debate.

The other highly charged issue on Beacon Hill is that of the “Swine Flu” or H1N1 bill, Senate Bill 2028, An Act Relative to Pandemic and Disaster Preparation and Response in the Commonwealth.

There have been rumors and charges that the bill drastically expands the powers of the state to allow the government during a pandemic to mandate individuals get vaccinated and to force that to happen. This bill has even been talked about on national news programs like FOX News.

Despite the fact the bill passed the state Senate earlier in the year, it has been slowed considerably at this point. Be assured I would not vote for a bill that gives the state unreasonable and extraordinary powers that would seem to trample a person’s individual freedoms as guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Until my concerns, and those of my constituents, are allayed, I reserve my right to vote against this legislation.

I will try to get more information on the legislation for my readers and publish it in my next column. Have a good week.

* * *

Representative Don Humason and his Chief of Staff Sarah Latour may be reached at their Westfield District office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085, 568-1366. Email address: Rep.DonaldHumason@Hou.state.ma.us Website: www.donhumason.org

This Site Designed and Maintained by: The Barre Group