Legislative Update

Mark Molloy, Esq., Cascade Strategies LLC

House and Senate Appoint Leadership for 2021-2022 Legislative Session

Speaker of the House Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka unveiled their respective leadership teams in mid-February. While the upper Senate leadership team remains the same, Speaker Mariano, now in his first full term as Speaker, placed his imprimatur throughout the leadership designations.

On the House side, Representative Claire Cronin, formerly the House Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, assumes the mantle of Majority Leader. Next in the leadership chain, Representative Kate Hogan, a former Division Chair and a vocal water infrastructure advocate for her district, moves to the third position as Speaker of the House Pro Tempore. Representative Mike Moran will take over as Assistant Majority Leader, while Representative Joe Wagner and Representative Sarah Peake assume the roles of 2nd Assistant Majority Leaders. Finally, the Speaker’s top leadership team is filled out with four new Division Chairs in Representative Tom Golden, Representative Jim O’Day, Representative Frank Moran, and Representative Ruth Balser.

On the Senate side, Senator Cindy Creem remains the Majority Leader. Senator Will Brownsberger remains as the Senate President Pro Tempore, while Senator Harriet Chandler remains Senate President Emerita. Senator Joan Lovely, Senator Mike Barrett, and Senator Sal DiDomenico continue their watch as Assistant Majority Leaders. Senator Mike Rush and Senator Julian Cyr maintain their roles as Majority Whip and Assistant Majority Whip.

With respect to subject matter Committees of interest to UCANE members, the House and Senate leadership teams are as follows:

House Committee on Ways and Means

Chair Aaron Michlewitz, Vice Chair Anne-Margaret Ferrante, and Assistant Vice Chair Paul Donato

Senate Committee on Ways and Means

Chair Michael Rodrigues, Vice Chair Cindy Friedman, and Assistant Vice Chair Jason Lewis

Joint Committee on the Environment

• House: Chair Carolyn Dykema; Vice Chair Mindy

Domb • Senate: Chair Becca Rausch; Vice Chair Jaime

Eldridge

Joint Committee on State Administration

• House: Chair Antonio F.D. Cabral; Vice Chair

Christine Barber • Senate: Chair Marc Pacheco; Vice Chair Becca

Rausch

Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure

• House: Chair Tackey Chan; Vice Chair Mary Keefe • Senate: Chair Sue Moran; Vice Chair Paul Feeney

Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy

• House: Chair Jeff Roy; Vice Chair Paul Mark • Senate: Chair Mike Barrett; Vice Chair Marc

Pacheco

House Minority Leader Brad Jones recently announced his leadership team with, among other appointments, Representative Brad Hill assuming the role of Assistant Minority Leader and Representative Todd Smola as Ranking Minority Member of the House Committee on Ways and Means. For his part, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr appointed Senator Patrick O’Connor and Senator Ryan Fattman as his Assistant Minority Leaders.

To view all Committee appointments, please visit: https://malegislature.gov/Committees. continued on page 9

Legislative Update continued from page 7

Revenue Collections Up; Has the PostPandemic Recovery Started?

The start of February saw the Massachusetts • Income cash refunds in January totaled $15 Department of Revenue (DOR) announce that million in outflows, $1 million or 3.4% less than preliminary revenue collections for January benchmark, but $2 million or 16.9% more than totaled $3.347 billion, which is $392 million or 13.3% January 2020. more than the actual collections in January 2020, and • Sales and use tax collections for January totaled $429 million or 14.7% more than benchmark. To date, $693 million, $41 million or 6.4% above benchmark, FY21 year-to-date collections totaled approximately and $20 million or 2.9% more than January 2020. $17.653 billion, which is $764 million or 4.5% more • Meals tax collections, which is a sub-set of sales than collections in the same period of FY20. and use tax, totaled $64 million, $4 million or

According to the DOR, January is a significant 6.6% above benchmark, but $38 million or 37.3% month for revenues because many personal income less than January 2020. taxpayers are required to make quarterly estimated • Corporate and business tax collections for the payments. January generally produces about 10.2% month totaled $59 million, $1 million or 1.6% of annual revenue, making it the fourth largest reve- above benchmark, but $7 million or 10.9% less nue month of the year. That said, the DOR did caution than January 2020. that because January revenues reflected the impact of filing and payment due date extensions for regular sales, meals, and room occupancy taxes for certain businesses, as well as the impact of COVID-19, his• Other tax collections for January totaled $281 million, $151 million or 116.3% above benchmark, and $67 million or 31.2% more than January 2020. torical comparisons of this January’s results to prior Again, Massachusetts budget writers will be keepyears may be inexact. ing a close watch on the next months’ revenues as well as any federal stimulus package. The Massachusetts

As budget writers in the Massachusetts legislature legislature will hold a series of FY22 budget hearings look to put together the FY22 budget, they will be look- in the month of March. April will see the House unveil ing at the revenue collections from FY21 as well as its proposal followed by the Senate’s proposal in May. keeping an eye on a potential federal stimulus pack- From there, both branches will reconcile their versions age. Key facts about the January 2021 collections: and get an agreement to the Governor in anticipation • Income tax collections for January were $2.313 of the July 1 start to the fiscal year. billion, $235 million or 11.3% above benchmark, continued on page 11 and $312 million or 15.6% more than January 2020. • Withholding tax collections for

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Municipal Changes Afoot in 2021 as Variety of Mayors Not Seeking Reelection

With elections for municipal offices set to occur later this year, a variety of Mayors have announced their intention not to seek reelection. The departures will lead to a changing political landscape for many regions as longtime incumbents seek work in other arenas or begin planning for higher elective office. Consider the following:

City of Boston. Widespread media accounts have covered the fact that Mayor Marty Walsh will be heading to Washington to become President Joe Biden’s Labor Secretary. City Council President Kim Janey, who will become Mayor once Mayor Walsh is officially confirmed and resigns his elected position, has yet to declare if she will also seek the seat permanently. Already, City Councilors Andrea Campbell, Annissa Essabai George, Michelle Wu, as well as State Representative Jon Santiago have declared their interest in replacing the Mayor.

City of Somerville. At the beginning of March, Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone announced that he will not run for a 10th two-year term. A frequent critic of the Baker-Polito Administration, his decision sets up speculation that Mayor Curtatone will seek higher office in 2022. There will likely be a number of candidates competing for this position due to its rarity in turnover.

City of North Adams. At the end of February, iBerkshire reported that North Adams Mayor Thomas Bernard will not seek a third term. His absence will represent only the second time that an incumbent candidate will not appear on the November ballot. The 26th Mayor in the City’s history, Mayor Bernard has been credited with focusing on fiscal stability.

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City of Holyoke. After his run for Congress, Mayor Alex Morse announced that he was not running for Mayor in 2021. However, he will not be finishing out his current term as he recently accepted the position of Town Administrator for the Town of Provincetown. His departure means that City Council President Todd McGee will become Acting Mayor until the election to replace Mayor Morse is completed.

City of Northampton. Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz is not running for re-election this fall, after 10 years in office. According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Mayor Narkewicz simply thought “it was time to let new leadership take over.” Narkewicz, 54, is a native of Shelburne Falls and previously worked as a congressional aide.

City of Lawrence. In January, then Mayor Dan Rivera was appointed to lead MassDevelopment, the quasi-state agency for development initiatives. Ms. Kendrys Vasquez, who had been President of the Lawrence City Council, is now leading the city as its acting mayor, and a home-rule petition Governor Charlie Baker waived the requirement that the city hold a special election to fill Rivera's term before voters pick a new, full-term mayor in November. (Note: most cities are now seeking to void special election requirements to reduce the costs and risks associated with a special election held during a pandemic.)

City of Newburyport. Newburyport Mayor Donna Holaday told the Newburyport Daily News on January 6 that her third term would be her last, saying the timing felt right after accomplishing many of her desired projects.

The combination of the pressures associated with managing the COVID-19 response, as well as the normal pressures associated with being an elected official during a 24/7 information and news cycle will be interesting to watch. Already, pressure is beginning to increase for statewide officials to make their intentions known for 2022. Until then, the local elections, which often serve as a bellwether for issues of interest, will lead to a new slate of leadership in many communities. According to the Massachusetts Municipal Association, elections are also set for November 2 in Agawam, Amesbury, Brockton, Chicopee, Easthampton, Everett, Fall River, Framingham, Gardner, Gloucester, Haverhill, Leominster, Marlborough, Medford, Methuen, Newton, North Adams, Peabody, Salem, West Springfield, Woburn, and Worcester.

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Licensure Portability for Military Personnel and

Their Families. At the end of February, the BakerPolito Administration issued an Executive Order directing the Division of Professional Licensure (DPL) to improve license portability for military personnel and their spouses so that they can continue their civilian careers and provide for their families without interruption. The new Executive Order directs DPL to investigate opportunities to participate in one or more interstate compacts, a preferred vehicle for simplifying and improving licensing for professionals moving between states, while also ensuring the public continues to be served by highly qualified practitioners. DPL will also ensure that each covered board has procedures to expedite and afford priority to the licensing of military personnel and spouses. Each board will be encouraged to process applications within 30 days, and track data on how long that process takes for military personnel and families. To review the Executive Order, please visit: https://www.mass.gov/doc/reciprocallicensing-military-families-executive-order/download. RMV Extends CDLs …. For the Final Time. The Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) announced at the end of February that all Massachusetts commercial driver licenses (CDLs) and commercial learner's permits (CLPs) with an expiration date between March 1, 2020 and May 30, 2021, have been extended until May 31, 2021. (Note: This does not apply to any commercial driver or permit holders whose privileges were suspended or revoked for traffic offenses, or to non-domiciled commercial driver or permit holders whose lawful presence has expired.) The RMV anticipates that this is the last extension that will be granted. Therefore, it heavily encouraged that customers renew their credential as soon as possible by making a reservation or renewing their license at an RMV Service Center. Please visit https://atlas-myrmv.massdot.state.ma.us/ myrmv/_/#1 to update or renew your license.

FMCSA Extends Waiver for Medical Certificates

(i.e. Medical Cards). In a complementary move to the aforementioned license extension, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued an additional waiver for CDL Medical Certificates (DOT Medical Cards). This waiver extends the expiration date of CDL Medical Certificates so that certificates that expire between December 1, 2020 and May 30, 2021 will now expire on May 31, 2021. Again, it is anticipated this will be the last extension granted for CDL Medical Certificates by either the FMCSA or the RMV. n

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