House Votes to Fully Fund Workforce Training Fund

Overrides Gubernatorial Veto

(BOSTON) – State Representative Paul J. Donato (D-Medford, Malden) joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in restoring $12.5 million to the Workforce Training Fund which provides employers with grants aimed at educating and training existing members of the workforce and new hires.

“In these tough economic times, this bill encourages training and education.” said Representative Donato “It will help companies to retrain workers and will also help more workers gain employment.”

In order to reinstate the $12.5 million in funding, the House overrode a gubernatorial veto. The legislature’s conference committee budget which passed last month provided $24 million for the Workforce Training Fund. The House’s veto override restored the funding for Workforce Training grants to the level of $24 million.

Through the beginning of this year, more than $175 million in grants have been awarded to train almost a quarter-million workers through the Workforce Training Fund.

(July 26, 2010)

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House Passes Economic Development Bill

Increases Efficiency among Economic Development Agencies;Repeals Medical Gift Ban

(BOSTON) – State Representative Paul J. Donato (D-Medford, Malden) joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in passing economic development legislation that would streamline economic development agencies, make Massachusetts more attractive to businesses, repeal the state’s medical and pharmaceutical gift ban and establish a sales tax holiday on August 14th and 15th of this summer.

“I was pleased to join my colleagues in supporting this important legislation,” said Representative Donato.  “This bill provides several creative policies that will not only stimulate economic development, but also will consolidate state agencies in an effort to provide more efficient services to businesses.”

The plan would set forth actionable goals and benchmarks and provide a coherent vision and implementation plan for an economic development strategy that is not tied to any one administration.

(July 9, 2010)

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Restaurant Rejuvenation Act Becomes Law
Promises to Increase Job Opportunities and Stimulate Economic Growth

(BOSTON) – As part of the budget for the new fiscal year, the Restaurant Rejuvenation Act was signed into law yesterday allowing restaurants to serve alcohol starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

“This provision will increase business for restaurants and provide a boost to our economy in these uncertain fiscal times,” House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said. “This measure promises to save and create jobs in the restaurant industry while encouraging economic activity needed to grow the Massachusetts economy.”

“In these difficult economic times any opportunity to increase revenues for small business is important” said Representative Paul J. Donato (D-Medford, Malden)
 

Prior to this measure, restaurants were prohibited from serving alcohol until noon on Sunday.

(July 1, 2010)

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House of Representatives Passes Anti-Bullying Bill
Prohibits Bullying and Cyber-bullying

BOSTON – State Representatives Paul J. Donato (D-Medford) joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in passing legislation that would prohibit bullying and cyber-bullying while requiring schools to develop a bullying prevention plan and integrate bullying prevention instruction into their curriculum.

“This bill aims to secure our students from bullying both during the school day and after school hours,” House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said. “In light of recent tragedies, the House has taken the appropriate steps to protect our students from the terror of bullying and cyber-bullying.”

“I have been in the forefront on this issue for a long time,” said Representative Donato.”  “I am so pleased that this law is now a reality.”

The bill prohibits bullying at school – including at school-sponsored events, on school busses and at school bus stops – as well as the use of electronic devices to carry out cyber-bullying. The bill also bans bullying or cyber-bullying that takes place outside of school if the bullying affects the school environment.

The legislation would apply to public schools, charter schools and schools providing special education services to students for school districts. It also requires each of these entities to develop a bullying prevention and intervention plan. Such plans must include methods for responding to bullying, guidelines for giving notice to parents of those involved in bullying and appropriate services for students who have been bullied or acted as a bully.

(March  25, 2010)

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 Recognizing the need to strengthen public confidence in government  as well as to imporove fiscal integrity during the worst financial crisis in a generation , the following Legislative Highlights were recently enacted.

AN ACT MODERNIZING THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS OF THE COMMONWEALTH (Chapter 25 of the Acts of 2009)

• Eliminated the Turnpike Authority, streamlined communications, and created a more efficient and cost-effective system under a unifying agency called the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), saving the Commonwealth hundreds of millions over the next 20 years.
• Eliminated the MBTA’s “23 and out” rule for future employees effective July 1, 2009, requiring those employees to reach 25 years of service and 55 years of age to collect retirement benefits.
• Required all active and retired MBTA workers to join the state’s Group Insurance Commission (GIC) by January 1, 2010.

AN ACT TO IMPROVE THE LAWS RELATING TO CAMPAIGN FINANCE, ETHICS AND LOBBYING (Chapter 28 of the Acts of 2009)

• Tightened the rules on gifts given to public officials and imposed a civil violation for gifts up to $1,000 and a criminal penalty for anything with value greater than $1,000.
• Expanded the definition of the term “lobbyist” to include anyone paid to advocate for a third party and required strict performance rules for lobbyists including registration with the Secretary of State, annual training and detailed reporting.
• Expanded the disclosure requirements for lobbyists.
• Increased the criminal penalties for violations of lobbying laws from $5,000 to $10,000 or imprisonment for up to 5 years in state prison or 2.5 years in county jail.
• Codified the crime of obstruction of justice and made a violation punishable by a $25,000 fine and up to 10 years in state prison, or both.
• Increased the maximum criminal penalty for giving or receiving a bribe from $5,000 and 3 years imprisonment to $100,000 and 10 years imprisonment.
• Expanded the regulatory authority of the state ethics commission, including vesting the commission with full subpoena power.
• Increased the penalty for a civil violation of the conflict of interest law from a maximum of $2,000 to a maximum of $10,000
• Expanded the Attorney General’s authority to civilly enforce the ethics laws.
• Established a statewide grand jury, thereby allowing the Attorney General to investigate crimes that cross county lines and to convene inquiries into local corruption matters without relying exclusively on local grand jurors.
• Required sub-vendor reporting (e.g. if a candidate hires a consultant and the consultant makes further expenditures, the consultant would have to disclose those expenditures).
• Required disclosure of all donations to inaugural, recount and legal defense
  funds.
• Required individuals to disclose expenditures for ballot questions.
• Required disclosure of expenditures and funding for electioneering communications.
• Eliminated all “special committee” arrangements between a state political party and an elected official, allowing only individual contributions up to $5,000 to a political party.
• Prohibited individuals from making committee checks payable to themselves or using campaign funds to pay fines brought about by ethics violations.
• Established a Special Commission to study the creation of a new Office of Public Accountability which would oversee ethics, campaign and political finance, and lobbyist registration.

AN ACT PROVIDING RESPONSIBLE REFORMS IN THE PENSION SYSTEM (Chapter 21 of the Acts of 2009)

• Removed the “one day, one year” provision that allowed elected officials to claim an entire year of credible service for working one day in a calendar year.
• Abolished the “king for a day” loophole by requiring the calculation of a disability pension be based on the person’s average annual rate of regular compensation and not on the salary the person was being paid on the day he was injured.
• Extended the vesting requirement of elected officials from 6 years to 10 years and redefined “regular compensation” to specifically exclude certain monetary benefits like housing, lodging, travel, automobile usage or annuities for the purposes of a pension benefit calculation.
• Removed a provision that allows elected officials to claim a “termination allowance” based on the failure to be nominated or re-elected and eliminated a loophole that allows individuals receiving pension benefits to return to work and receive a full salary in addition to pension benefits if the individuals are classified as “consultant” or “independent contractor.”
• Specifically prohibited a person from receiving creditable service for time spent in a position for which they receive an annual salary of less than $5,000.

AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2010 FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE DEPARTMENTS, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, INSTITUTIONS AND CERTAIN ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMONWEALTH, FOR INTEREST, SINKING FUND AND SERIAL BOND REQUIREMENTS AND FOR CERTAIN PERMANENT IMPROVEMENTS (Fiscal Year 2010 General Appropriations Act)  (Chapter 27 of the Acts of 2009)

• Passed on-time and in balance, the FY10 budget reflected the priorities of the people of Massachusetts.
• Facing the worst economic downturn in a generation, the Legislature put forth a budget that drastically cut state spending while protecting the vital programs and services.
• The budget contained transportation funding sources necessary to stop toll increases and provide a much needed fiscal boost to the MBTA.

HOUSE RULES REFORM (House Order No. 2009) 

• Limited the Speaker’s term to a maximum of eight years, instituted mandatory ethics training and allowed the Speaker to unilaterally remove a member from a leadership position or committee if they are criminally indicted.
• Required the Clerk to disable the voting system of any member who has notified the Clerk that he will be absent for a formal session and also required the Clerk to disable the voting system of any member failing to answer the first non-quorum roll call.
  

AN ACT MOBILIZING ECONOMIC RECOVERY IN THE COMMONWEALTH and AN ACT PROVIDING FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY THROUGH BROADBAND INITIATIVES (Chapters 30 and 33 of the Acts of 2009)

• Allowed the Commonwealth to capitalize on millions of federal dollars available to Massachusetts through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 while promoting administrative efficiencies and ensuring transparency.

AN ACT ADOPTING THE FEDERAL SECURE AND FAIR ENFORCEMENT FOR MORTGAGE LICENSING ACT OF 2008 (THE SAFE ACT (Chapter 44 of the Acts of 2009)

• Brought Massachusetts into compliance with a federal law to require all mortgage loan originators to be licensed through the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry.
• Enacted important consumer safeguards and established a system of compliance, enforcement and continuing education for mortgage loan originators to ensure that the highest ethical standard be met.

AN ACT REGARDING ACCOUNTABILITY OF PUBLIC UTILITY COMPANIES (House, No. 4126)

• Required all public utilities companies to file emergency plans with the Department of Public Utilities to avoid future service restoration problems and increased oversight of public utilities in order to promote accountability and quality service.