Representative Don Humason



BUDGET SIGNED Westfield Evening News column By State Representative Don Humason, Jr. July 10, 2010 It was a beautiful Fourth of July weekend with terrific fireworks at Stanley Park and two great Independence Day parades in the Hampton Ponds and Wyben neighborhoods of Westfield. Then the heat and humidity set in and what a hot week it’s became! I’m grateful to be down in Boston so much right now. The House of Representatives Chamber is nicely air conditioned while my district office on Noble Street is not. Unfortunately, the House was in formal sessions on Wednesday and Thursday and I had to be at the State House so I wasn’t able to go to the annual Chamber of Commerce pancake breakfast. This year it was held on the lawn of the South Middle School while the Green is being renovated. As you know, the last day of formal sessions for the Legislature is Saturday, July 31. The next few weeks on Beacon Hill will be pretty hectic as the House and Senate all of a sudden move on a crush of bills they have been procrastinating on passing. Remember, the Legislative leadership has had since January of 2009, the start of the current two-year session, to move legislation through the process in a public, transparent, orderly way. That they often choose to rush things through at the last minute and with little time for legislators, members of the public, and the press to review thoroughly has long been a complaint of mine. Some call this the “tyranny of the Majority.” My father put it another way, “They do it because they can.” He’s right. There’s little balance of power with 145 Democrats and only 15 Republicans in the House and 35 Democrats and 5 Republicans in the Senate. The State House News Service reported: “Gov. Deval Patrick signed a $27.6 billion fiscal 2011 budget Wednesday that relies heavily on onetime revenues to boost spending 0.2 percent above this year’s expected bottom line, takes aid to cities and towns down 4 percent, and provoked swift criticism from his campaign rivals for not retooling state government more thoroughly. “The governor announced he planned to restore six months’ worth of funding for 24,000 legal immigrants to receive subsidized health care, and said he would continue lobbying Washington for the additional aid. Patrick approved a codification of what he said are current practices of barring illegal immigrants from public services, a measure lawmakers had scaled back from a stricter crackdown. “Patrick vetoed $457.6 million, saying $372 million of those cancellations were made to offset part of a $687 billion funding shortfall created by federal refusal to authorize Federal Medical Assistance Percentages Assistance, money the Legislature had used to establish a contingency budget if Washington delivered the funds. The remaining $85.5 million, officials said, were general line item vetoes tied to unreliable estimates of Lottery revenues and federal assistance for the needy. “Extending into next year the structural deficit woes, the budget drains another $100 million from the state's rainy day fund and blocks a statutory $95 million payment into that fund, which the administration believes will have a $556 million balance at the end of fiscal 2011, a year from now. The budget spends $809 million in remaining federal stimulus law funds, setting up the next Legislature and governor for difficult decisions over how to make fiscal ends meet in the absence of substantial one-time revenue supports.” Despite a lack of revenue, House Speaker Bob DeLeo said this week he expects the House to override some of the $457 million in governor’s vetoes. Override attempts, by law, must begin with the House of Representatives. If the House doesn’t override a veto, then it won’t get to the Senate. The House on Wednesday passed An Act Relative to Business and Job Growth in the Commonwealth. I voted for it, although I’m doubtful it will accomplish all the greatness it purports. And it still has to get through Conference with the Senate version. But it does contain a provision for a sales tax holiday August 14 & 15 I wanted you to know. The Retailers Association of Massachusetts, lobbied lawmakers in support of reinstating the sales tax holiday. They wrote, “Massachusetts’ first ever Sales Tax Holiday, held on August 14, 2004, was established in an economic stimulus package passed by the Legislature and signed into law by the Governor in November of 2003. “With the consumer responsible for 70% of the overall economy, efforts to incentivize them to spend benefit us all. Five successful years of Sales Tax Holidays (2004-2008) showed the initiative to be a proven winner, with shoppers and retailers alike describing past tax free weekends as akin to “Christmas in August.” “Unfortunately last year, the Commonwealth did not hold a tax free holiday and the sales tax was increased to 6.25% on August 1st. RAM members reported a decrease in sales numbers for August 2009 versus August 2008, down on average, 20%. When we factored out food and restaurant sales, the number dropped further down to a 30% decrease, with furniture, electronics, jewelry and other big ticket sellers down between 40-73%. The loss of the Sales Tax Holiday was not insignificant. “Despite recent signs of improvement, today, retail sales in Massachusetts have not yet recovered to 2006-07 levels. The loss of sales to New Hampshire and the internet has worsened, a trend we fear will continue to grow, which is all the more reason we feel the return of this initiative is warranted this year. MA residents, consumers and retailers are in need of the type of economic stimulus relief that a Sales Tax Holiday provides.” * * * Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of the Westfield Evening News. 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 * * * Please feel free to forward this column to your family, friends, and associates. If you do not wish to receive an email copy of my Saturday Westfield Evening News column, please reply and let me know. I will then take you off the list. Sorry for any inconvenience. * * *
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BUDGET SIGNED

Westfield Evening News column
By State Representative Don Humason, Jr.
July 10, 2010

It was a beautiful Fourth of July weekend with terrific fireworks at Stanley Park and two great Independence Day parades in the Hampton Ponds and Wyben neighborhoods of Westfield. Then the heat and humidity set in and what a hot week it’s became!

I’m grateful to be down in Boston so much right now. The House of Representatives Chamber is nicely air conditioned while my district office on Noble Street is not.

Unfortunately, the House was in formal sessions on Wednesday and Thursday and I had to be at the State House so I wasn’t able to go to the annual Chamber of Commerce pancake breakfast. This year it was held on the lawn of the South Middle School while the Green is being renovated.

As you know, the last day of formal sessions for the Legislature is Saturday, July 31. The next few weeks on Beacon Hill will be pretty hectic as the House and Senate all of a sudden move on a crush of bills they have been procrastinating on passing.

Remember, the Legislative leadership has had since January of 2009, the start of the current two-year session, to move legislation through the process in a public, transparent, orderly way. That they often choose to rush things through at the last minute and with little time for legislators, members of the public, and the press to review thoroughly has long been a complaint of mine.

Some call this the “tyranny of the Majority.” My father put it another way, “They do it because they can.” He’s right. There’s little balance of power with 145 Democrats and only 15 Republicans in the House and 35 Democrats and 5 Republicans in the Senate.

The State House News Service reported:

“Gov. Deval Patrick signed a $27.6 billion fiscal 2011 budget Wednesday that relies heavily on onetime revenues to boost spending 0.2 percent above this year’s expected bottom line, takes aid to cities and towns down 4 percent, and provoked swift criticism from his campaign rivals for not retooling state government more thoroughly.

“The governor announced he planned to restore six months’ worth of funding for 24,000 legal immigrants to receive subsidized health care, and said he would continue lobbying Washington for the additional aid. Patrick approved a codification of what he said are current practices of barring illegal immigrants from public services, a measure lawmakers had scaled back from a stricter crackdown.

“Patrick vetoed $457.6 million, saying $372 million of those cancellations were made to offset part of a $687 billion funding shortfall created by federal refusal to authorize Federal Medical Assistance Percentages Assistance, money the Legislature had used to establish a contingency budget if Washington delivered the funds. The remaining $85.5 million, officials said, were general line item vetoes tied to unreliable estimates of Lottery revenues and federal assistance for the needy.

“Extending into next year the structural deficit woes, the budget drains another $100 million from the state's rainy day fund and blocks a statutory $95 million payment into that fund, which the administration believes will have a $556 million balance at the end of fiscal 2011, a year from now. The budget spends $809 million in remaining federal stimulus law funds, setting up the next Legislature and governor for difficult decisions over how to make fiscal ends meet in the absence of substantial one-time revenue supports.”

Despite a lack of revenue, House Speaker Bob DeLeo said this week he expects the House to override some of the $457 million in governor’s vetoes. Override attempts, by law, must begin with the House of Representatives. If the House doesn’t override a veto, then it won’t get to the Senate.

The House on Wednesday passed An Act Relative to Business and Job Growth in the Commonwealth. I voted for it, although I’m doubtful it will accomplish all the greatness it purports. And it still has to get through Conference with the Senate version. But it does contain a provision for a sales tax holiday August 14 & 15 I wanted you to know.

The Retailers Association of Massachusetts, lobbied lawmakers in support of reinstating the sales tax holiday. They wrote, “Massachusetts’ first ever Sales Tax Holiday, held on August 14, 2004, was established in an economic stimulus package passed by the Legislature and signed into law by the Governor in November of 2003.

“With the consumer responsible for 70% of the overall economy, efforts to incentivize them to spend benefit us all. Five successful years of Sales Tax Holidays (2004-2008) showed the initiative to be a proven winner, with shoppers and retailers alike describing past tax free weekends as akin to “Christmas in August.”

“Unfortunately last year, the Commonwealth did not hold a tax free holiday and the sales tax was increased to 6.25% on August 1st. RAM members reported a decrease in sales numbers for August 2009 versus August 2008, down on average, 20%. When we factored out food and restaurant sales, the number dropped further down to a 30% decrease, with furniture, electronics, jewelry and other big ticket sellers down between 40-73%. The loss of the Sales Tax Holiday was not insignificant.

“Despite recent signs of improvement, today, retail sales in Massachusetts have not yet recovered to 2006-07 levels. The loss of sales to New Hampshire and the internet has worsened, a trend we fear will continue to grow, which is all the more reason we feel the return of this initiative is warranted this year. MA residents, consumers and retailers are in need of the type of economic stimulus relief that a Sales Tax Holiday provides.”

* * *

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of the Westfield Evening News. 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

* * * Please feel free to forward this column to your family, friends, and associates. If you do not wish to receive an email copy of my Saturday Westfield Evening News column, please reply and let me know. I will then take you off the list. Sorry for any inconvenience. * * *