Representative Don Humason



THINGS LEFT UNDONE Westfield Evening News column By State Representative Don Humason, Jr. August 14, 2010 In the waning days of the Legislature’s 2009-2010 sessions there was a great deal of movement on bills that had, up to then, been held in committee as pawns and bargaining chips in the Great Casino Gaming standoff between the House Speaker, Senate President, and Governor. You’ve probably seen by now stories in the press and media about the bills that were passed in the final hours of formal sessions and sent to the Governor. As I stated in my column last week, one of those bills contained the provision for a Sales Tax Holiday weekend, this weekend, August 14 and 15, where shoppers could purchase many items and not have to pay the 6.25% Massachusetts state sales tax. By the way, the higher sales tax is now celebrating its one year anniversary. The Democrats in the House and Senate voted to raise the tax a year ago from 5% to 6.25%. I don’t mean to be partisan. I’m just reporting the facts. Not a single Republican legislator voted for the increase. To add fiscal insult to economic injury, the Governor and Legislative leadership would not allow a sales tax holiday bill to pass last year citing the state’s recession. In short, they said the Commonwealth could not afford to lose the revenue. I guess political leaders weren’t concerned with whether the state’s private sector and taxpayers could afford to lose that money. But I’m getting off track. I wanted to write this week about some of the bills that did not pass. On August 3, the State House News Service ran a story about the things left undone at the end of the Legislature’s formal session. Below are excerpts from that informative story. “Gov. Deval Patrick has signed 403 bills over the past two years, and he will likely sign most of the 104 on his desk as of Monday afternoon. Amid the parade of bill signings are the thousands of bills that didn't make it, including a few that won considerable attention on Beacon Hill but failed to cross the finish line. “…Lawmakers may attempt to send the bills to Patrick over five months of informal sessions, but a single lawmaker can now block any proposal, slimming the odds for bills that, in some cases, evoke impassioned opposition. Here's a look at 10 prominent bills that didn't make it: “1) WIND ENERGY SITING: A proposal to streamline the development of wind turbine projects - hailed by supporters as a boon for clean energy and lambasted by critics as a giveaway to developers - came one procedural vote short of making its way to the governor… “2) PANDEMIC/DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: Dueling versions of a bill aimed at managing the public health response during a disease outbreak…became mired in an unsolvable dispute between the House and Senate over what powers to grant the Department of Public Health… “3) TRANSGENDER NON-DISCRIMINATION: The failure of a bill protecting transgender residents is striking because the bill drew the public support of more than half of the House and more than half of the Senate, enough cosponsors to guarantee passage in each branch…Aides cited Speaker Robert DeLeo's wariness of bringing up a politically explosive issue in an election year. The issue became campaign fodder when Republican candidate Charles Baker derided the proposal as the "bathroom bill" and opponents warned that the proposal would foster sexual predation in women's bathrooms… “4) KAYAK SAFETY: A conference committee negotiating safety procedures for kayakers failed to produce a compromise capable of passing both branches, but somehow the bill got sidetracked. Although the committee produced a bill that would require kayakers to wear lifejackets "at all times," the House tacked on an amendment to require kayakers to simply have a life jacket inside their vessel. The amended bill never came up in the Senate. “5) BOTTLE BILL: Proponents of a bill to expand a state bottle recycling program cited increased momentum in the final weeks of the Senate session, pointing to a compromise proposal that emerged from committee as evidence. The current program adds a 5-cent deposit onto the cost of carbonated beverages that may be redeemed by consumers who bring them to designated recycling centers. Proponents say the program has helped increase recycling rates for those bottles, but that the current law omits bottled water and sports drinks, which have proliferated in recent years. “6) RIGHT TO REPAIR: Independent repair shop owners and consumer advocates lined up behind a bill they said would force vehicle manufacturers to release data on how to repair their exclusively built parts. Proponents said the proposal would lead to substantial savings for consumers repairing their vehicles and enable independent car repair shops to compete with large auto manufacturers. But the manufacturers said the move was a ploy by independent companies to usurp inside information on company parts and produce less expensive knock-offs… “7) HEALTH PLAN DESIGN/PAYMENT REFORM: Wholesale efforts to reform the way municipal government, state government and consumers pay for health care fell by the wayside this session...Municipalities, meanwhile, failed in their effort to get Beacon Hill to loosen the reins on their ability to design health plans for city and town workers. The municipalities sought to win the authority to set co-pays and deductibles, a move they said would reduce costs by $100 million, which would have helped offset the latest reduction in local aid…Unions oppose plan design for cities and towns, arguing that such benefits should be collectively bargaining, not decided unilaterally by municipal managers. “8) SHOCK THERAPY: The Senate made a late session move to pass a bill to limit electroshock therapy, a practice used by just one Canton-based institution and described once by Senate President Therese Murray as "barbaric." …Defenders of the practice note its narrow use is aimed at only the most severely disabled patients and is employed only as a last resort before resorting to mind-altering psychotropic drugs and physical restraints… “9) GIFT BAN REPEAL: Although Senate President Therese Murray championed a ban on gift-giving to doctors by pharmaceutical companies, the House mounted an assault on the ban in the final weeks of the session, passing an economic development bill that included a provision to strike it entirely…A proposal presented by some lawmakers as a compromise would permit pharmaceutical companies to wine and dine doctors at local restaurants, a priority particularly in Boston, where major hospitals abut huge restaurant districts like the North End. “10) ONE GUN A MONTH: Gov. Deval Patrick repeatedly called on lawmakers to send him bill curtailing the ability of gun buyers to buy in bulks, which he said was aimed at ending "straw purchases," the legal purchase of guns that then filter down and are used to commit street crime. Speaker Robert DeLeo promised that the governor's proposal would be debated in the House - a promise he made after a legislative committee botched the release of the bill - but never delivered. Patrick said he planned to pursue the proposal next session - assuming he is elected to a second term.” * * * 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 may be reached at his Westfield District Office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085, 568-1366.Representative Don Humason may be reached at his Boston office, State House Room 542, Boston, MA 02133, (617) 722-2803. 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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THINGS LEFT UNDONE

Westfield Evening News column
By State Representative Don Humason, Jr.
August 14, 2010

In the waning days of the Legislature’s 2009-2010 sessions there was a great deal of movement on bills that had, up to then, been held in committee as pawns and bargaining chips in the Great Casino Gaming standoff between the House Speaker, Senate President, and Governor.

You’ve probably seen by now stories in the press and media about the bills that were passed in the final hours of formal sessions and sent to the Governor.

As I stated in my column last week, one of those bills contained the provision for a Sales Tax Holiday weekend, this weekend, August 14 and 15, where shoppers could purchase many items and not have to pay the 6.25% Massachusetts state sales tax.

By the way, the higher sales tax is now celebrating its one year anniversary. The Democrats in the House and Senate voted to raise the tax a year ago from 5% to 6.25%. I don’t mean to be partisan. I’m just reporting the facts. Not a single Republican legislator voted for the increase.

To add fiscal insult to economic injury, the Governor and Legislative leadership would not allow a sales tax holiday bill to pass last year citing the state’s recession. In short, they said the Commonwealth could not afford to lose the revenue. I guess political leaders weren’t concerned with whether the state’s private sector and taxpayers could afford to lose that money.

But I’m getting off track. I wanted to write this week about some of the bills that did not pass.

On August 3, the State House News Service ran a story about the things left undone at the end of the Legislature’s formal session. Below are excerpts from that informative story.

“Gov. Deval Patrick has signed 403 bills over the past two years, and he will likely sign most of the 104 on his desk as of Monday afternoon. Amid the parade of bill signings are the thousands of bills that didn't make it, including a few that won considerable attention on Beacon Hill but failed to cross the finish line.

“…Lawmakers may attempt to send the bills to Patrick over five months of informal sessions, but a single lawmaker can now block any proposal, slimming the odds for bills that, in some cases, evoke impassioned opposition. Here's a look at 10 prominent bills that didn't make it:

“1) WIND ENERGY SITING: A proposal to streamline the development of wind turbine projects - hailed by supporters as a boon for clean energy and lambasted by critics as a giveaway to developers - came one procedural vote short of making its way to the governor…

“2)      PANDEMIC/DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: Dueling versions of a bill aimed at managing the public health response during a disease outbreak…became mired in an unsolvable dispute between the House and Senate over what powers to grant the Department of Public Health…

“3)      TRANSGENDER NON-DISCRIMINATION: The failure of a bill protecting transgender residents is striking because the bill drew the public support of more than half of the House and more than half of the Senate, enough cosponsors to guarantee passage in each branch…Aides cited Speaker Robert DeLeo's wariness of bringing up a politically explosive issue in an election year. The issue became campaign fodder when Republican candidate Charles Baker derided the proposal as the "bathroom bill" and opponents warned that the proposal would foster sexual predation in women's bathrooms…

“4)      KAYAK SAFETY: A conference committee negotiating safety procedures for kayakers failed to produce a compromise capable of passing both branches, but somehow the bill got sidetracked. Although the committee produced a bill that would require kayakers to wear lifejackets "at all times," the House tacked on an amendment to require kayakers to simply have a life jacket inside their vessel. The amended bill never came up in the Senate.

“5)      BOTTLE BILL: Proponents of a bill to expand a state bottle recycling program cited increased momentum in the final weeks of the Senate session, pointing to a compromise proposal that emerged from committee as evidence. The current program adds a 5-cent deposit onto the cost of carbonated beverages that may be redeemed by consumers who bring them to designated recycling centers. Proponents say the program has helped increase recycling rates for those bottles, but that the current law omits bottled water and sports drinks, which have proliferated in recent years.

“6)      RIGHT TO REPAIR: Independent repair shop owners and consumer advocates lined up behind a bill they said would force vehicle manufacturers to release data on how to repair their exclusively built parts. Proponents said the proposal would lead to substantial savings for consumers repairing their vehicles and enable independent car repair shops to compete with large auto manufacturers. But the manufacturers said the move was a ploy by independent companies to usurp inside information on company parts and produce less expensive knock-offs…

“7)      HEALTH PLAN DESIGN/PAYMENT REFORM: Wholesale efforts to reform the way municipal government, state government and consumers pay for health care fell by the wayside this session...Municipalities, meanwhile, failed in their effort to get Beacon Hill to loosen the reins on their ability to design health plans for city and town workers. The municipalities sought to win the authority to set co-pays and deductibles, a move they said would reduce costs by $100 million, which would have helped offset the latest reduction in local aid…Unions oppose plan design for cities and towns, arguing that such benefits should be collectively bargaining, not decided unilaterally by municipal managers.

“8)      SHOCK THERAPY: The Senate made a late session move to pass a bill to limit electroshock therapy, a practice used by just one Canton-based institution and described once by Senate President Therese Murray as "barbaric." …Defenders of the practice note its narrow use is aimed at only the most severely disabled patients and is employed only as a last resort before resorting to mind-altering psychotropic drugs and physical restraints…

“9) GIFT BAN REPEAL: Although Senate President Therese Murray championed a ban on gift-giving to doctors by pharmaceutical companies, the House mounted an assault on the ban in the final weeks of the session, passing an economic development bill that included a provision to strike it entirely…A proposal presented by some lawmakers as a compromise would permit pharmaceutical companies to wine and dine doctors at local restaurants, a priority particularly in Boston, where major hospitals abut huge restaurant districts like the North End.

“10) ONE GUN A MONTH: Gov. Deval Patrick repeatedly called on lawmakers to send him bill curtailing the ability of gun buyers to buy in bulks, which he said was aimed at ending "straw purchases," the legal purchase of guns that then filter down and are used to commit street crime. Speaker Robert DeLeo promised that the governor's proposal would be debated in the House - a promise he made after a legislative committee botched the release of the bill - but never delivered. Patrick said he planned to pursue the proposal next session - assuming he is elected to a second term.”

* * *

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 may be reached at his Westfield District Office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085, 568-1366.Representative Don Humason may be reached at his Boston office, State House Room 542, Boston, MA 02133, (617) 722-2803. 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. * * *