Tax relief package sails through
THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ and senators’ votes from the week of Sept. 25-29.
LEGISLATURE APPROVES TAX RELIEF PACKAGE (H 4104)
House 155-1, Senate 38-1, approved and sent to Gov. Maura Healey the conference committee version of a tax relief package. It was drafted as a compromise to the different versions approved by the House and Senate. Supporters say this will provide $561.3 million in tax relief in fiscal year 2024 and $1.02 billion per year in subsequent years.
Provisions include increasing the rental deduction cap from $3,000 to $4,000; reducing the estate tax for all taxpayers and eliminating the tax for all estates under $2 million by allowing a uniform credit of $99,600; increasing the refundable tax credit for a dependent child, disabled adult or senior from $180 to $310 per dependent in taxable year 2023, and then to $440 in subsequent years while eliminating the child/ dependent cap; doubling the refundable senior circuit breaker tax credit from $1,200 to $2,400; increasing the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit from 30 percent to 40 percent of the federal credit; and reducing the short-term capital gains tax rate from 12 percent to 8.5 percent.
Other provisions double the lead paint tax credit to $3,000 for full abatement and $1,000 for partial abatement; ensure that employer student loan payments are not treated as taxable compensation; make public transit fares, as well as ferry and regional transit passes and bike commuter expenses, eligible for the commuter expense tax deduction; increase from $1,500 to $2,000 the maximum that municipalities may pay seniors to do volunteer work to reduce their property taxes; raise the annual authorization for the low income housing tax credit from $40 million to $60 million; and allow cities and towns to adopt a local property tax exemption for affordable real estate.
“Back in April, I stood at the rostrum for about 13 minutes and expressed a mix of support for the many elements of this bill that will help working families and people experiencing poverty — while at the same time criticizing the elements of this bill that will benefit large corporations and the super-rich,” said Rep. Mike Connolly (D-cambridge), the only House member to vote against the package.
“From my vantage point, this bill was significantly improved through the conference committee process, and there are several elements of the bill I enthusiastically support,” continued Connolly. “And yet, as I stand here today, I still cannot bring myself to support the total price tag of $1.1 billion once fully implemented. Not after we just spent a decade working to pass the Fair Share Amendment to gain desperately needed new revenue … A lot more needs to be done, including bigger public investments in programs, services and infrastructure — investments that could be significantly constrained by the overall cost of today’s tax cut bill.”
The measure also includes two provisions which the Mass Fiscal Alliance says will result in tax hikes. One would require Massachusetts married couples who file income tax returns jointly at the federal level to do the same at the state level. The other changes the system under Chapter 62F that requires that annual tax revenue above a certain amount collected by the state go back to the taxpayers. Under current law, the money is returned to taxpayers based on what he or she earned and paid in taxes. The new tax package changed that and provides that each taxpayer will receive a flat rate refund, unrelated to what they earned or paid in taxes.
(A “Yes” vote is for the tax relief package. A “No” vote is against it.)
NO: Sen. James Eldridge. $1 MILLION FOR HEADSTART PROGRAMS (H 4040)
House 156-0, overrode Gov. Healey’s veto of $1 million (reducing funding from $17.5 million to $16.5 million) in funding for grants to Head Start programs.
“I am reducing this item to the amount projected to be necessary,” said Healey in her veto message. “The adjusted funding level proposed here is consistent with the fiscal year 2023 General Appropriations Act and sustains significant expansion to this line-item in recent fiscal years.”
$1.4 MILLION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION SERVICES (H 4040)
House 154-0, overrode Gov. Healey’s veto of $1.4 million (reducing funding from $1.8 million to $400,000) in funding for suicide prevention programs.
“I am reducing this item to an amount consistent with my House [budget] … recommendation,” said Healey in her veto message. “The program goals are sufficiently funded through an expansion in the Suicide Prevention and Intervention … line item.
$250,000 FOR PROSTATE CANCER RESEARCH (H 4040)
House 154-0, overrode Gov. Healy’s veto of $250,000 (reducing funding from $1.25 million to $1 million) in funding for prostate cancer research.
“I am reducing this item to the amount projected to be necessary,” said Healey in her veto message. “This will allow the program to continue its current level of services.”
$250,000 FOR PARENTCHILD PLUS PROGRAM (H 4040)
House 131-24, overrode Gov. Healey’s veto of $250,000 (reducing funding from $4,250,000 to $4,000,000) in funding for the Parent-child Plus Program. According to its website, “The goals of this intensive, evidence-based home visiting model are to promote school readiness and academic success by strengthening parent-child verbal interaction and reading and play activities in the home.”
“I am reducing this item to the amount projected to be necessary,” said Healey in her veto message. “The adjusted funding level proposed here is consistent with the fiscal year 2023 General Appropriations Act and sustains significant expansion to this line-item in recent fiscal years.”
(A “Yes” vote is for the $250,000. A “No” vote is against it.)
YES: Rep. James Arciero; Rep. Rodney Elliott; Rep. Colleen Garry; Rep. Kenneth Gordon; Rep. Natalie Higgins; Rep. Vanna Howard; Rep. Meghan Kilcoyne; Rep. Michael Kushmerek; Rep. Rady Mom; Rep. David Robertson; Rep. Margaret Scarsdale; Rep. Dan Sena; Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik. NO: Rep. Kimberly Ferguson; Rep. Marc Lombardo. Rep. Tram Nguyen didn’t vote.
$880,000 FOR MASSACHUSETTS SERVICE ALLIANCE (H 4040)
House 130-24, overrode Gov. Healey’s veto of $880,000 (reducing funding from $2,280,000 to $1,400,000) in funding for the Massachusetts Service Alliance. According to its website, the Massachusetts Service Alliance is a “private, nonprofit … organization, established in 1991, that expands volunteerism and service in Massachusetts. It provides funding, training and support to individuals and organizations, enabling them to tackle pressing issues, strengthen communities, and make our commonwealth a better place to live.”
“I am vetoing this item because it is not consistent with my House [budget] … recommendation,” said Healey in her veto message. “This is a passthrough and will not impact core Executive Office of Labor and
Workforce Development programming.”
(A “Yes” vote is for the $880,000 million. A “No” vote is against it.)
YES: Rep. James Arciero; Rep. Rodney Elliott; Rep. Colleen Garry; Rep. Kenneth Gordon; Rep. Natalie Higgins; Rep. Vanna Howard; Rep. Meghan Kilcoyne; Rep. Michael Kushmerek; Rep. Rady Mom; Rep. David Robertson; Rep. Margaret Scarsdale; Rep. Dan Sena; Rep. Jonathan Zlotnik. NO: Rep. Kimberly Ferguson; Rep. Marc Lombardo. Rep. Tram Nguyen didn’t vote.
SUSPEND RULES TO ALLOW AMENDMENTS TO TAX PACKAGE (H 4104)
Senate 3-33, voting along party lines, rejected a motion to suspend the Senate rule that prohibits amendments from being proposed to the conference committee version of the tax package. Republicans supported rule suspension while Democrats opposed it.
Supporters of rule suspension said Senate rules allow only a Yes or No vote on the tax package. They argued there are some flaws in the bill and that rule suspension is the only way to allow amendments to be proposed.
Opponents of rule suspension said that suspending the rule would result in hundreds of amendments being proposed to the package and lead to starting tax relief debate all over again. They noted that both Republican members of the conference committee signed off on the bill.
( A “Yes” vote is for rule suspension to allow amendments. A “No” vote is against rule suspension.)
NO: Sen. John Cronin; Sen. James Eldridge; Sen. Barry Finegold; Sen. Cindy Friedman; Sen. Edward Kennedy. YES: Sen. Bruce Tarr. Sen. Michael Barrett didn’t vote. Former Sen. Anne Gobi has resigned.
ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL
INCREASE MINIMUM WAGE (H 1925, S 1200) — The Labor and Workforce Development Committee held a hearing on legislation that would raise the current $15 minimum hourly wage for workers, including municipal workers, by $1.25 per year until it reaches $20 per hour in 2027. Other provisions index the minimum wage to inflation beginning in January 2028; increase the minimum wage for tipped workers from $6.75 to $12 by 2027 and then set it at 60 percent of the full minimum wage in future years.
“We know that working families and individuals are under enormous financial stress with rising inflation and increased costs of housing and living,” said House sponsor Rep. Tram Nguyen (D-andover). ”As workers are struggling to meet their basic needs and provide for their families, I am glad to [file] this bill to provide fair wages in our commonwealth.”
UNBIASED SUMMARIES IN CHILD REMOVAL CASES (H 182) — The Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities held a hearing on a proposal that would require the Department of Children and Families (DCF), when considering a child’s removal from his or her family, to establish a case review team that produces summaries that do not include demographic and identifying information such as gender, race, ethnicity, disability, geographic location and socioeconomic status.
Sponsor Rep. Joan Meschino (D-hull) said the bill is designed to prevent discrimination in the child removal processes. “The goal is for DCF to provide a biasfree summary of a child’s situation that takes into account safety and risk factors, the family’s strengths and opportunities for supportive interventions before removing a child from their home,” said Meschino.
ALLOW CITIES AND TOWNS TO IMPOSE A NEW 2 PERCENT ALCOHOL TAX (S 1773) — The Revenue Committee held a hearing on a bill that would allow cities and towns to impose a local sales tax of up to two percent on alcoholic beverages sold at retail, bars or at restaurants. Municipalities that choose to impose the local tax would be required to use the revenue generated for substance abuse prevention and for protecting the public health.
$4 MILLION FOR SECURITY AT FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS — The Healey administration announced that more than $4 million in federal funds have been awarded to address priority security needs at faith-based and community service organizations at heightened risk of a hate crime or terror attack in the Bay State.
“Communities rely on nonprofit and faith-based organizations for essential social services, spiritual support and guidance,” said Gov. Healey. “Our administration is deeply committed to ensuring these vital organizations have the tools and resources needed to create safe, inclusive and protected environments. These federal funds provide critical support to our nonprofit and faith communities while strengthening Massachusetts’ ability to uphold our values and celebrate our diversity.”
$5.2 MILLION FOR RECYCLING, COMPOSTING AND WASTE REDUCTION — The Healey Administration announced nearly $5.2 million in grant funding to 283 municipalities to bolster their recycling, composting and waste reduction programs.
“Residents partner with their communities to help protect the environment by recycling and reusing as much as possible,” said Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll. “This important funding will help municipalities implement innovative programs and policies that are proven to maximize reuse, recycling and waste reduction.”
HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible latenight sessions.
During the week of Sept. 25-29, the House met for a total of eight hours and 23 minutes while the Senate met for a total of two hours and 53 minutes.
Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@ beaconhillrollcall.com.
Bob founded Beacon Hill Roll Call in 1975 and was inducted into the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) Hall of Fame in 2019.