Hi there. I didn’t write a column last week because I was a little under the weather but it’s good to be back. There’s much happening at the State House and a lot to report.
Last week the House was in full formal session on back to back days, a rarity for this legislature. The first day was to take up a supplemental budget. That bill also contained some better-late-than-never proposals to crack down on the much discussed waste, fraud, and abuse in the public welfare and entitlement system including the EBT system.
The second day of session was to debate a bill which I voted against called House 3452, an act implementing the affordable care act and providing further access to affordable health care. The Governor filed this legislation and claimed it was necessary to align our current state health care access law (sometimes called “Romneycare”) with the new federal law the Affordable Care Act (also known as “Obamacare”).
The vote in the House was 116 to 32. The entire Republican caucus voted against the legislation and we were joined by a few Democrats. In a nut shell I opposed the bill because Massachusetts was the only state in the country to vote for our own system of near universal health care access. I was in the House of Representatives in 2006 and voted for the bill, which I admit was flawed then and has proven to be flawed in its implementation. Still, the Bay State was supposedly the model that President Obama and the federal government used when they created Obamacare.
If that’s the case, why do we now have to change our plan to come into compliance with the Obamacare juggernaut? Why has the Obama Administration granted waivers to other states and to numerous corporations (Walmart, General Motors, McDonald’s) and large labor unions? Why didn’t our congressional delegation and Governor Patrick, a close personal friend and political ally of the President, ask Obama to grant Massachusetts, the impetus for this universal health care plan, a waiver of our own?
I didn’t think it was necessary for us to roll over to Washington, DC and relinquish our state sovereignty. I fear we are in for some expensive surprises in the future related to this law. Mark my words there will be unintended consequences that damage the fragile balance we’ve reached in Massachusetts.
This week I joined the entire House Republican Caucus in voting against acceptance of the Transportation Finance Conference Committee’s report on a Democratic-led transportation finance proposal which contains hundreds of millions of dollars in crippling tax increases.
House Bill 3382, An Act Relative to Transportation Finance, endorsed by both House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray, contains tax increases which will affect the everyday lives of Massachusetts’ hardworking taxpayers. House and Senate Democrats were successful in their plan to increase the state’s gasoline tax and tobacco tax, ignoring the Commonwealth’s residents who continue to struggle to make ends meet.
The Commonwealth’s small business community will not be immune to the wide-reaching tax proposal passed by Democratic majority. Higher taxes on certain software services and an increased tax rate for utility companies will not only stifle our state’s entrepreneurs, but will have a trickle-down effect on residents and ratepayers alike.
“Increasing taxes in Massachusetts will have devastating impacts on taxpayers and businesses across the state – immediately,” said Representative Brad Jones. “By increasing revenues, the legislative majority has chosen to stifle business growth and further financially burden our hardworking residents for the foreseeable future.”
“By choosing to utilize a tax and spend approach, the plan endorsed by House and Senate Democrats will lead to further economic hardships for our state’s individuals and families,” said Representative Steven Howitt (R-Seekonk), House Republican conferee on the six-member Transportation Finance Conference Committee.
During the initial debate on House Bill 3382, the House Republican Caucus offered an alternative transportation finance proposal which would have raised the necessary revenue to solve the state’s transportation finance dilemma while refraining from increasing any additional revenue. Although the plan stood to save the Commonwealth’s taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, the proposal was not given due consideration by the Democratic majority.
During debate, I took to the podium in the well of the House to argue against the bill and specifically the provisions raising the gasoline tax and giving the Massachusetts Department of Transportation the power to reinstate tolls on Exits 1-6 of the Massachusetts Turnpike. I said this would be particularly onerous on us in the four western counties of the state because we lack the taxpayer-subsidized public transportation options that Boston enjoys and we would not only have to pay the tolls on the western pike but also an increase in the gasoline tax.
In light of the state taking in more than $500 million this year in unexpected surplus revenues, and all the waste, fraud, and abuse we all know exists in the entitlement programs, I felt there is no reason to raise job-killing taxes, tolls, and fees on anybody. But the Democratic majority in Boston disagrees with me. The vote was 107 – 45.
The 6 member Conference Committee charged with crafting a compromise between the House and Senate versions of the state budget are expected to release their conference report so that legislators can vote on it before the fiscal year begins on July 1, this Monday. We have been told to expect to be in formal session either Saturday or Monday to vote on the state budget.
I’d like to announce that the newest installment of my cable show, “From the State House to Your House” is now airing. My guest this month is Ray Dionne, a resident of Westfield and member of the Hampton Ponds Association. Ray and I tour around on the water up at Hampton Ponds while talking about the Ponds. It’s the first show I’ve done from a boat.
The half hour program airs on Westfield’s Community Programming Channel, Channel 15, on Sundays at 4:30 p.m., Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m., Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m., and Fridays at 2:30 p.m.. I would like to thank Alex Simisky for standing in for Mark St. Jean to tape this episode of my cable show. Alex is Mark’s new assistant at Westfield State University.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of the Westfield News.
Representative Don Humason and his Chief of Staff Maura Cassin McCarthy may be reached at their Westfield District Office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085, (413) 568-1366.
Representative Don Humason may be reached at his Boston office, State House Room 542, Boston, MA 02133, (617) 722-2803.
Email address: [email protected]
Website: www.DonHumason.org
