Friday, May 17, 2013
The state's Restaurant and Business Alliance said there was 'no sign of opposition' at a hearing this week.
The Joint Committee on Revenue in the Massachusetts legislature held a hearing this week on the notion of a potential meals tax holiday for August and one supporting group liking its chances. According to the state's Restaurant and Business Alliance (RABA), the hearing held Tuesday for the Meals Tax Holiday Bill saw "no sign of opposition" to the measure. Twelve legislators have signed on to the bill primarily sponsored by Rep. Keiko Orrall of Lakeville and Sen. Michael O. Moore of Millbury. If passed, the legislation would go into effect from Sunday, Aug. 11 through Thursday, Aug. 15. "We should offer a Meals Tax Holiday to benefit employees and small local business owners inside Massachusetts to help stimulate the economy," Dave Andelman…
Friday, May 3, 2013
The bill will go before Gov. Deval Patrick for approval.
The Massachusetts Senate this week passed a $300 million transportation bond bill that, if approved by the governor, will help finance transportation needs across the state. The funds provided in the bill can be used by every municipality in the state for highway construction, preservation and improvement projects and maintaining, repairing, improving and constructing town and county ways and bridges, according to a statement issued by Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex counties state Sen. Richard J. Ross. “This legislation provides much-needed funding to our cities and towns for transportation projects essential to keeping Massachusetts roads safe and efficient for residents,” Ross said in the statement. “During such troubling economic times…
Friday, April 12, 2013
The proposal cuts out increased funding for early education, one of the centerpieces of Patrick's plan.
Massachusetts House leaders on Wednesday proposed a budget that was a billion dollars less than the one Gov. Deval Patrick put forth in January. The $33.8 billion House budget includes increased funding for higher education and local aid but not more money for early education, one of the centerpieces of Patrick's budget that emphasizes prekindergarten funding and investment in transportation. Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said the House budget would not increase these funds over concerns that the Department of Early Education and Care is inefficient and wasteful, the Boston Globe reported. Altogether, the House proposal would raise taxes by $500 million, compared to Patrick's proposed $1.9 billion tax hike. The House plan would result in a 3…
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The proposed five-member board would have oversight authority over all state facilities engaged in forensic services in criminal investigation.
In the wake of the Jamaica Plain Drug Lab crisis, the Massachusetts Senate Republican Caucus wants “tighter controls and higher standards” at its state drug labs. The caucus proposed that a five-member board be established to “have oversight authority over all state facilities engaged in forensic services in criminal investigations,” according to a statement released Wednesday. The board will consist of the secretary of public safety and security, the attorney general, the inspector general and the colonel of state police, or their designees, along with one appointee from the governor, according to the statement. “We need to create a new infrastructure of oversight, accountability, transparency and integrity, and this legislation will …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The 2013-14 proposals include a bill establishing a gun offender registry and one providing further support for charter schools.
Mayor Thomas Menino is supporting a renewed focus on education and public safety for the 2013-14 legislative session, he announced Tuesday. During a short press conference attended by state legislators, their aides and others, Menino presented the city’s 2013-14 legislative initiative package, which features 49 bills including 24 new initiatives. “The concentration of those new bills is on the public schools and education and also on public safety,” Menino said. “We were fortunate enough a couple of years ago to get the educational reform bill through, and that gave us some tools to really move some of our schools forward, and we’re going to file another bill on educational reform with Representative [Martha] Walz.” Among the new education…
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Monday, December 10, 2012
If passed, the law would allow the public to access information about Level 1 sex offenders.
In the wake of last week's horrific news of a Wakefield man arrested on charges that he raped infants and toddlers, House Speaker Robert DeLeo said he will take another look at legislation to publicize names of low-level sex offenders, according to a Boston Herald report. The proposed law, filed by Gov. Deval Patrick last year but stalled in the Legislature, would add Massachusetts to the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act and allow the public to see which Level 1 offenders, deemed the least likely to reoffend by the Sex Offender Registry Board, live or work in their neighborhoods. Currently, the police are required to publicize the names of Level 3 offenders, who are consider the most likely to reoffend. The issue is …
Monday, October 10, 2011
Agencies serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the state have no way of knowing if a prospective employee has a criminal record beyond our state borders.
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Monday, October 10, 2011
By Maureen Gallagher A driver who allegedly crashed a passenger van in Newton recently, injuring his adult passengers with special needs, had a long history of traffic violations and criminal offenses in another state. According to recent news accounts, officials in Massachusetts performed the required state Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check on the driver, but they were unaware of his lengthy record in New York – including a drug possession charge -- because a national criminal background check is not mandated for prospective employees of state-funded agencies working with people with developmental disabilities. Recently, The New York Times focused on disturbing incidents of abuse of elders and people with developmental …
Plenty O'Toole
9:53 am on Friday, April 12, 2013
Either way, state pension drains will continue to be funded, unions will be placated so who gives a rats ass. more ›