It’s July 20th. We’re baking in the heat. It’s getting into the dog days of summer. And for those of you who follow this type of thing, the Massachusetts legislature and Governor Patrick are still locked in a battle of wills over the direction our state will go. The standoff continued this week and will most likely continue into the near future.
The House of Representatives was in full formal session Wednesday. It was a tough day for defenders of common sense, good fiscal policy, and the average taxpayer. I joined the entire House Republican Caucus in voting against transportation finance amendments, pushed by both Governor Deval Patrick and House Democrats, which contained upwards of $500 million in crippling tax increases.
The massive tax increases contained in each proposal directly target Massachusetts’ hardworking taxpayers and businesses. The Commonwealth’s high-tech industry will also be impacted by the wide-reaching tax proposal passed by the Democratic majority over the objection of House Republicans. Higher taxes on certain software services will not only stifle our state’s entrepreneurs, but will have a trickle-down effect on residents and customers alike by raising the costs associated with many things computer-related.
To add insult to injury, the computer services tax has not even been clarified or fully explained by the Department of Revenue yet so no one is certain what it pertains to and how large the scope may be.
“While the price-tag of the tax increase advanced by House Democrats may be lower than that of the plan continually pushed by Governor Patrick, the vote by the Democratic-led House of Representatives will prove to be extremely costly for Massachusetts’ taxpayers and small businesses,” said House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading).
In their ongoing advocacy for the state’s residents, the House Republican Caucus offered key components of their 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 even given due consideration by the Democrat-controlled House.
In recognizing the continued financial constraints placed on cities and towns across Massachusetts like Westfield, House Republicans offered an amendment which would have delivered more Chapter 90 road and bridge money to the state’s municipalities. Unfortunately, House Democrats elected to let their quarrel with Governor Patrick interfere with a good-faith effort to infuse desperately needed money into infrastructure projects across the Commonwealth – thus defeating the Republican-led proposal.
Republicans had planned to file amendments to the Transportation Finance bill (H.3535) returned by the Governor but were prohibited from doing so by parliamentary maneuvers of the House leadership. Among the amendments we filed were some that sought to:
• Strike the 3-cent per gallon gas tax increase.
• Strike the section indexing the gas tax to the Consumer Price Index.
• Exempt fuel purchased for municipal purposes from the state gasoline tax.
• Strike section removing the sales tax exemption on software services.
• Strike sections changing the tax rate for utilities to the same rate as other business corporations.
• Prohibit the MBTA from expanding services if such expansion would cause the MBTA to fail to meet its own-source revenue goals set in the bill.
• Direct a portion of new growth in state tax revenue to a new Transportation Infrastructure Fund. Similar to money that is dedicated to pension, Mass School Building Authority, and Mass Bay Transportation Authority, that is taken from state tax revenues before it is determined what is available to the budget, this amendment would set up a similar process for revenue to pay for employees paid on bond proceeds and to forward fund the Regional Transit Authorities.
• Prevent any tax changes or new taxes from taking effect until the Department of Revenue promulgates regulations.
• Direct $50 million of excess capital gains receipts, which would normally be deposited into the Stabilization Fund, to the Chapter 90 Program, increasing its current funding to $200M.
Unfortunately, we were not even allowed to have a debate of these issues on the House floor. So frustrating.
In other bad news for those of us who live in western Massachusetts, Department of Transportation Secretary Richard Davey Thursday announced the Patrick administration’s proposed plan for “modernizing” the Registry of Motor Vehicles that includes closing 18 RMV branches and consolidating them into 12 Regional Centers.
Among the 18 Registry branches they would like to close are the offices in Chicopee, Deerfield, Easthampton, Greenfield, and North Adams. I intend to join with my colleagues in opposing this plan by signing on to a letter written by my friend Representative Frank Moran (D-Andover-Methuen).
As Rep. Moran stated, “The closing of these locations will cause significant inconvenience and increased costs to the customers of the RMV across the Commonwealth, while achieving little, if any, cost savings to the state. The DOT plans to outsource Registry functions to AAA and create a two tiered system. Issuing licenses and registrations isn’t just a regulatory function it’s a public safety function as well. These functions should be performed by public employees who have no interest other than applying the law and regulations accurately.
“Closing these locations will make it difficult for the elderly, disabled, and those with low wage jobs to transport to a further away location. This will also make it impossible for many who work full time to visit the RMV on their lunch break. The difference between traveling ten miles and thirty miles to a RMV location is the difference for many between being a licensed and unlicensed. The closing of the branches will also take jobs away from the employees who currently work there and allow AAA to control the employment process.
“This proposed plan will affect many citizens across the Commonwealth in their ability to access the proper licensing at the Registry of Motor Vehicles.”
I couldn’t agree more and am happy to join with my friend from the other side of the aisle to try to appeal to the Patrick administration not to make a decision that will have such a devastating effect on my constituents and the people of Western Massachusetts.
Stay cool. Have a great week!
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
