CANAVAN
TOUTS NUMEROUS LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
AS HOUSE WRAPS UP FORMAL BUSINESS
Nation-leading Energy Reform Package, improved access to health-care
coverage, and funding for various district projects highlight session
(State House, Boston)
– The Massachusetts House of Representatives last night concluded the
2007-2008 formal legislative session with a list of accomplishments that
will improve the economy and environment, assist the Commonwealth’s cities
and towns, and strengthen the newly-created health care reform law for years
to come.
“The House has made great progress on a variety of proposals this year,
thanks in large part to the leadership of House Speaker Sal DiMasi,” said
State Representative Christine E. Canavan (D-Brockton). “We’ve really
tackled a wide variety of issues and approved a number of initiatives that
help and create new opportunities for the people of my district and all
residents of the Commonwealth.”
“From energy reform and life sciences to strengthened civil rights and child
protections, the House had an aggressive agenda this session and we
delivered. We completed formal sessions this year with so much to show for
the people of the Commonwealth. The goals we set out to accomplish have
been realized and our efforts will have a meaningful impact on the
Commonwealth,” said House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi.
Before the session even began, the House charted an aggressive course to
change the way energy is produced, consumed and delivered in Massachusetts.
Delivering on that goal, the House unanimously passed the Commonwealth’s
first comprehensive energy reform bill in the Green Communities Act, tax
incentives to encourage the use of advanced biofuels, legislation to help
green start-up companies expand in Massachusetts and support the state’s
budding green economy with workforce training grants, and, finally, a Global
Warming Solutions Act to establish a long-term plan to curb emissions in the
Commonwealth.
This session, the House also passed many of Governor Deval Patrick’s top
priorities, including a $1 billion investment in the life sciences industry,
corporate tax reforms, and key provisions of his
Municipal Partnership Act designed to help city and town finances by
allowing municipal employees to enter into the state’s health insurance and
pension programs.
To date, Governor Patrick has signed into law 440 bills this legislative
session with dozens more to follow from recent days and informal sessions in
the coming months.
A key highlight of Representative Canavan’s 2007-2008 legislative record
included a bill, now law, to update the health insurance benefits for those
living with PKU (phenylketonuria) and other allied metabolic disorders.
Under the bill, the coverage insurance companies must provide for food and
formulas that are modified to be low-in protein will double from $2,500 to
$5,000 per year.
A long-time advocate for expanded health benefits, Canavan – and her family
– recently learned firsthand the needs of those with metabolic disorders
since her now-2-year old grandson, James, was diagnosed with PKU just days
after being born.
“I’m really grateful for the support of Governor Patrick, Speaker DiMasi,
Senate President Murray, and my colleagues in passing this law. It will
greatly assist each and every person living with PKU and be a big help to
them in maintaining their lifelong, expensive and strict diets,” added
Canavan.
Earlier this year, another bill sponsored by Representative Canavan was also
approved by the legislature, and later signed into law, to raise
awareness of the needs of those suffering with PKU. May 24th is
now PKU Awareness Day in the Commonwealth.
The House and Senate also passed separate versions of The Patient Safety
Act. The chief sponsor of the House-approved bill for the past
ten years, Canavan is very hopeful that chief negotiators of the two
branches will be able to come to a solution that reasonably addresses the
differences between the respective bills in informal sessions during the
remainder of the year.
Among the other highlights of the past few weeks and this year’s formal sessions:
- Over $2.4 million for West Bridgewater transportation projects, $3.5 million for street and sidewalk repairs in Brockton, and $6.6 million in road improvements for Easton in the Transportation Bond Bill that was given final approval by the legislature this week.
- $27.3 million approved in the Higher Education Bond Bill for Massasoit Community College to build a new Allied Health and Sciences Building and to improve areas of the campus.
- Foreclosure help – Last November, the House passed bold new legislation to help stem the number of mortgage foreclosures by encouraging banks to help borrowers, providing a new 3-month window to cure defaults and mandating tough new licensing standards for mortgage loan originators. Brockton NeighborWorks is funded, in part, by this legislation.
- Local aid and Chapter 70 assistance – The House, in partnership with Governor Patrick and the Senate, provided an additional $124 million in Lottery distribution to ensure that cities and towns are held harmless for last year’s decline in lottery revenues, and receive $935 million in unrestricted local aid. They also provided a 6% increase over last year in Chapter 70 school assistance. Under this five-year plan to move school district to their target assistance level, Brockton, Easton and West Bridgewater each saw increases.
- Child abuse and neglect legislation – Acting to toughen the laws meant to protect our most vulnerable children from abuse and neglect, the House passed legislation to create a new cabinet secretary solely dedicated to child welfare, established minimum educational requirements for social workers and their supervisors, and order training of mandatory reporters and increase criminal penalties.
- Union authorization cards – The House passed legislation allowing public workers, who want to unionize, the ability to do so by signing majority authorization cards.
- Mental health parity – The House overwhelmingly voted to pass landmark mental health parity legislation that will require health plans to cover mental health and substance abuse disorders to the same extent as all other medical conditions.
- Corporate tax reforms -- The House voted to adopt corporate tax reforms proposed by Governor Patrick to yield $217 million in new revenue to the state.
- Increased benefits to the families of police and firefighters – In the immediate wake of the tragic on-duty death of two Boston firefighters, the House approved a bill authorizing municipalities to raise funeral expense reimbursements to families of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty from $5,000 to $15,000.
- Wage increase for human service providers – In order to retain and attract qualified people to the field, the legislature approved a bill to raise wages for human service workers. State funding for the human service industry has remained relatively stagnant during the last 20 years despite the rapidly increasing operating costs and a growing population of people who need services.
For a complete list of the bills approved by the House in the 2007-2008 formal legislative session, please contact Representative Canavan’s State House Office at (617) 722-2006.