STATE SENATOR DONALD HUMASON JR.
WESTFIELD – As the new Senator for the 2nd Hampden and Hampshire County District, and the newest Senator on Beacon Hill, Westfield Republican Don Humason, Jr. is looking to keep fighting for his district, and to keep his seat in the State House.
Humason, who sits on the Senate’s Ways and Means Committee, is taking an active role in the deliberations over the $36.2 billion spending plan being proposed by Gov. Deval L. Patrick for the 2015 fiscal year, and has heard testimony from members of the Patrick administration, notably State Treasurer Steve Grossman, Attorney General Martha Coakley, and Secretary of State William Galvin in a hearing on Tuesday.
Humason’s former colleagues in the House of Representatives will be now produce and debate their version of the budget, after which the Senate will draft and approve their own version.
Both versions must then be reconciled into a single budget and shipped back to Patrick before the start of the new fiscal year on the first of July.
“The Speaker of the House (Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop) has said they’re not going to support any tax increases, which the Governor has in his budget,” Humason said. “Which isn’t surprising, considering it’s an election year and there have been lots of tax increases under Governor Patrick.”
Humason also said that lawmakers will be pushing for increases in aid to cities and towns, something that was missing from Patrick’s budget.
“In a year when revenue increased five percent, why did the Governor not choose to pass some of it on to the cities and towns?” Humason asked.
While budget talks will dominate the next few months in Boston, Senate leaders have also introduced a bill that would make changes in the state’s unemployment insurance system aimed at lowering costs for businesses.
Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth) has called the state’s current unemployment insurance system a “considerable burden” on Bay State businesses.
The bill, which is up for debate today, seeks to continue a freeze on unemployment insurance rates through 2017, and reward companies that have consistently strong employment records with lower rates. It also looks to expand an exemption given to seasonal businesses from 16 to 20 weeks.
“Last year the Senate voted to increase the minimum wage from $8 to $11 per hour over the next three years, but the House wanted to combine minimum wage and insurance reform,” Humason said. “I have read some of Senator Murray’s proposal and, while it’s a nice start, it still leaves Massachusetts well ahead of other states in the generosity of its unemployment insurance, which is good if you’re unemployed, but bad if you’re a business.”
Humason expects to give his first speech on the Senate floor today, but says he is unsure if he will speak specifically on proposed amendments to the bill.
The move to increase the minimum wage has prompted many business leaders statewide to argue that unemployment insurance reform should be tied directly to any increase in the minimum wage, a move which the Senate has already said no to.
As he did during his tenure in the House, Humason today warns that such a $3 increase in the minimum wage could potentially thwart businesses and companies from moving to the Commonwealth.
“My caution is, in your zeal to increase wages, there may be unintended consequences,” he said. “You may actually now have fewer jobs, which means that more people may become unemployed.”
