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Welcome!
The following are bills of which I was the Chief
Sponsor during the
2005 – 2006 Legislative Session:
H.2663, AN ACT ENSURING PATIENT SAFETY
Filed with the
Massachusetts Nurses’ Association
This legislation is a necessary step in providing
nurses the assurance that their welfare, as well as
their patient’s well-being is a top priority. This
legislation creates a process for health care
advocates, nurses, hospitals and the Department of
Public Health to ensure safe nurse staffing that is
sufficient to care for the planned and unplanned
needs of patients. This process will take into
account the patient’s acuity of illness, the
capacity for self-care and the standards of nursing
practice.
H.2663 was referred to the Joint Committee on Public
Health, and the public hearing for this bill took
place on
July 13, 2005.
It is currently awaiting a recommendation from the
Committee.
H.1086, AN ACT IMPROVING THE EDUCATOR
LICENSE
PROCESS
This bill would make changes to the law to improve
the educator licensure process (C. 71, S. 38G) to
address concerns by teachers trying to meet the
Department of Education's ever-changing rules to
obtain a professional educator license.
This Bill was referred to the Joint Committee on
Education, and the hearing for this bill took place
on
June 16, 2005.
We are awaiting a recommendation from the
Committee.
H.2062, AN
ACT RELATIVE TO THE OPERATION OF
VEHICLES
UPON THE APPROACH OF AN AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLE
Filed on behalf of a constituent
This bill will amend the Commonwealth’s “Move-Over
Law” (ALM GL 89, p7a). One of the leading causes of
death and injury to emergency professionals is
secondary crashes at emergency scenes. This bill
will improve the level of safety at emergency scenes
and defeat the number one hazard in professions such
as Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Emergency Medical
Technicians and Towing/Recovery Operators. The
Massachusetts Towing Association is assisting my
office in coordinating support for this initiative.
The bill was referred to the Joint Committee on
Transportation, and I testified in person at the
September 29th, 2005
hearing. This Bill is currently awaiting a
recommendation from the Committee.
H.1087, AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE
RIGHTS OF SCHOOL
NURSES
Filed on behalf of the
Massachusetts Federation of
Teachers
This legislaton would provide Massachusetts public
school nurses the same due process rights as
teachers by giving them professional teaching status
as set in
M.G.L. Chapter 71: Section 41.
This Bill was referred to the Joint Committee on
Education, and a hearing took place on June 16,
2005. On December 19, 2005, H.1087 was
given a favorable recommendation by the Joint
Committee on Education and referred to the House
Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling.
On January 9, 2006, the House Committee on Steering,
Policy and Scheduling reported that the Bill be
placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting
for a second reading. The following day,
H.1087 was read second and ordered to a third
reading. We are currently waiting for the
House Committee on Bills in the Third Reading to
release H.1087 for engrossment.
H.1496, AN ACT REQUIRING NURSING HOMES TO MAINTAIN
SAFE STAFFING LEVELS TO PROTECT THE HEALTH AND
SAFETY OF RESIDENTS
This bill requires that nursing home residents
receive at least 4.1 hours of direct nursing care
per day. With sufficient staff, residents will
receive better care and avoid malnutrition,
dehydration, bedsores, infection and other dangerous
conditions. Workers will suffer fewer on-the-job
injuries and will be less likely to leave the field
due to burn-out. Taxpayers will benefit from
savings on the costs of prevented illnesses,
injuries and worker compensation claims.
This Bill had a hearing on
June 23, 2005
in the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, and it is
awaiting a recommendation from the Committee.
H.3125, AN ACT IMPROVING ACCESS TO
REHABILITATION
COUNSELING
This legislation would extend access of cost
effective rehabilitation counseling services as an
out-patient to consumers with third party health
insurance.
Rehabilitation Counselors are currently excluded
from receiving third party benefits under the mental
health parity law, despite the fact that their
education and experience must be equivalent to other
professionals presently eligible for reimbursement.
H.3125 was referred to the Joint Committee on Mental
Health and Substance Abuse. A hearing occurred on
July 11, 2005. This bill was given a favorable
recommendation from the Joint Committee on Mental
Health and Substance Abuse and was subsequently
referred to the Committee on House Ways & Means on
October 27, 2005. We are currently awaiting a
recommendation from the House Committee on Ways &
Means.
H.2664, AN ACT
RELATIVE TO NEEDLESTICK INJURY PREVENTION IN PUBLIC
HEALTH FACILITES AND SETTINGS
This bill would direct the Department of Public Health to
promulgate rules and regulations requiring all
state, county and municipal public health facilities
to utilize needles and sharps that minimize the risk
of needlestick injuries to health care workers.
This legislation would also require
the Department of Public Health to enact regulations
that would incorporate a standard protocol that
would be used to protect employees of health care
facilities and the patients they care for.
This bill was referred to the Joint Committee on
Public Health, and the hearing was held on
May 4, 2005.
The bill was then referred to the Joint Committee on
Health Care Financing on
July 12, 2005. We are awaiting a
recommendation from the Joint Committee on Health
Care Financing.
H.3532, AN ACT TO IMPROVE INDIAN REPRESENTATION
WITHIN THE COMMISSION ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
Filed on behalf of a constituent
This legislation would amend Chapter 6A of the
General Laws as appearing in the 2000 Official
Edition and establish new guidelines relative to the
Commission on Indian Affairs. Under this Act, the
Commission shall consist of eleven members providing
equal representation of Massachusetts Indian Tribes
that are recognized by the United States Department
of the Interior: Bureau of Indian Affairs.
This bill has been referred to the Joint Committee
on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development with a
public hearing which occurred on
October 5, 2005.
H.3646, AN ACT RELATIVE TO VITAL RECORDS
Filed on behalf of a constituent
This legislation would add a new section to MGLA
Chapter 46 which would allow any Native American
Indian whose birth record contained incorrect racial
information to obtain a new, certified copy, free of
charge, which contained the correct information.
The person would be required to provide proof or
documentation of Native American ancestry. The
issued birth record would not be designated as an
“amended” record.
This bill was referred to the Joint Committee on
Public Health, and I have requested the Bill be
discharged and referred to the Joint
Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development
in order to keep all bills relative to Indian
Affairs under one umbrella. We are awaiting a
public hearing.
H.1088, AN ACT PROVIDING FOR MEMBERS OF THE
SOUTHEASTERN REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT TO REALLOCATE
THE SUM OF THEIR LOCAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DISTRICT
BY A MAJORITY VOTE OF BOARDS OF SELECTMEN AND A
MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
Filed on behalf of the Town of
West Bridgewater
The purpose of this bill is to allow member
municipalities to revert to the original regional
school apportionment formula with a simple majority
of the communities voting in the affirmative to do
so. The method of vote will be by simple majority
of each Town’s Board of Selectmen, or as in the case
of Brockton, by simple majority of the City
Council.
H.1088 was referred to the Joint Committee on
Education with the hearing on October 29, 2005. We
are currently awaiting a recommendation from the
Committee.
H.1315,
AN ACT PERTAINING TO HAZARDOUS MATERIALS MITIGATION
Filed on behalf of the Massachusetts Professional
Firefighters Association.
H.1315 establishes a payment mechanism to reimburse
municipalities for the cost of sending their
employees to Hazardous Material Response Team
Activations. At the present time, these communities
must wait until the responsible party is billed and
remits payment, but this initiative will help
alleviate any unnecessary delays in payment and
reinforce the Commonwealth’s commitment to public
safety. This Bill also increases the stipend that
these dedicated officers are entitled to receive.
When the stipend was first instituted in 1993, the
primary response was to chemical releases. Now,
biological and radioactive problems as well as
response to terrorist activities have added to the
Program’s responsibilities with no additional
monetary compensation to the technicians who provide
these services.
H.1315 was referred to the Joint Committee on
Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, and
the hearing for this bill took place on June 15,
2005. On July 20, 2005, the Joint Committee on
Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture
reported the Bill out of Committee favorably, and it
was referred to the House Committee on Ways and
Means. We are currently awaiting the recommendation
of the House Committee on Ways and Means.
HD 4796, AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE STUDY OF
HISTORY IN
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
This bill was filed in association with Mr. David
Smith, President,
Greater Boston Civil War Roundtable
This Act
requires all students in public
elementary, middle, vocational and high schools to
pursue their studies in history and civics, through
a series of field trips to local, regional and
statewide museums, historical sites, historical
organizations and government houses, including the
State House in Boston. These field trips shall be a
minimum of three days conformity with the required
curriculum of the school system.
On December 15, 2005, the House Committee on Rules
recommended HD 4796 be sent to the Joint Committee
on Education. We are currently waiting for the
Senate to concur with this recommendation.
H. 3781, AN ACT RELATIVE TO WEIGHT DISCRIMINATION
This legislation will help combat “The Last ‘Acceptable’
Discrimination in Society.”
Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 151B of the Acts
of 2000 prohibits discriminatory behavior on issues
such as race, color, religious creed, national
origin, ancestry and sex. H. 3781 would
amend theses statutes to include weight as an
unlawful form of discrimination. This bill would
support full inclusion of a significant number of
talented individuals in the Commonwealth’s
workforce.
H.3781 was referred to the Joint Committee on
Judiciary with a hearing date of June 7, 2005. We
have requested that this bill be discharged from the
Joint Committee on the Judiciary and referred to the
Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development,
and we are currently awaiting this movement.
H. 2061, AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE
TRANSPORTATION OF
MENTALLY RETARDED AND MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE
Filed on behalf of a former constituent
This bill would require every vehicle that
transports mentally retarded and/or mentally ill
individuals to be equipped with a video recording
device. This is a necessary step in providing the
mentally retarded, mentally ill, and their families
the assurance that their safety is a top priority.
This Bill was referred to the Joint Committee on
Transportation. The hearing was held on June 7,
2005, and we are currently awaiting a recommendation
from the Committee.
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