WESTFIELD – The Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce held a local legislative luncheon Friday, with Tekoa Country Club hosting the event for the first time.
Following introductions from Tekoa President Dan Burack and Westfield Mayor Daniel M. Knapik, State Senator Don Humason, Jr. (R-Westfield) and State Representatives John Velis (D-Westfield) and Nicholas Boldyga (R-Southwick) updated the 50-plus GWCC members in attendance and took questions on the latest goings-on at the Statehouse.
“We adjourn from formal session on July 31, so everything we have left to do is now being squeezed out in this last month, including the state budget, which is still pending,” said Humason. “The conference committee has been meeting now for almost a month, and they have to get that budget back to us typically by July 1.”
Humason stated that a 1/12 budget had been passed to freeze spending until the new budget is passed, and said the size of the proposed $36 billion state budget for fiscal year 2015 is a concern.
“This state budget is the largest in the history of the Commonwealth. Every year it has gotten larger and larger except for a couple of years during the great recession,” he said, adding that there are several bond bills being floated between the House and Senate.
The current Senator for the 2nd Hampden-Hampshire District, Humason also stressed the importance of the upcoming gubernatorial election this fall.
“There will be new constitutional officers at the top of our state government, who appoint secretaries and commissioners who oversee the administrative agencies that we deal with,” he said. “Consider that when you go to the polls.”
Humason then handed the mic off to Velis, the Representative of the 4th Hampden District, who spoke of talking points he gave at the GWCC’s breakfast last week at The Ranch in Southwick, encouraging locals to support their hometown businesses.
“People aren’t going to downtown Westfield. They’re taking their business elsewhere and I view that to be a serious problem,” said Velis. “It’s something we need to talk about and deal with.”
Velis spoke of the rapport he and Humason have developed during their time working on this current budget before touching on the topic of local aid, a favorite of all the legislators seated at the head table.
“I hate to say it, but it is an issue that is pushed harder by my friends across the aisle in the Republican Party, but I understand the importance of it,” he said, adding that he and several other Democrats have supported the efforts of House Minority Leader Bradley Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) to bring more local aid into the House budget.
Boldyga, the Representative of the 3rd Hampden District, which includes Agawam, Southwick and Granville, also addressed the state budget.
“When I first came into office in 2010, it (the budget) was about $30 billion. This year it’s roughly $36 billion,” he said. “So that’s a 15-18 percent increase over four years. It is pretty large and revenues are not up to where they should be.”
“On top of the $6 billion in four years, local aid has gone down for Westfield by several million dollars and by several million dollars for the city and two towns I represent,” Boldyga said. “On top of the budget being $36 billion dollars, almost 40 percent of it is healthcare. The legislature has also proposed to allocate another roughly $35 million for the health connector website, so we’re at the tune of $70 million now.”
“I don’t know where the $70 million is going, but we’re trying to get some accountability for that,” he said, joking that the state might be better served taking out a domain name on godaddy.com.
Following their talking points, the three legislators were questioned by members of the GWCC on questions ranging from unemployment insurance and the recently passed minimum wage law, which will increase the state’s minimum wage to $11 an hour by 2017, the highest in the country.
“We were hoping to include in the unemployment insurance changes that were made a carve-out for staffing companies,” said Humason. “There’s a penalty for companies that use unemployment more often, who lay their employees off seasonally. By the same token, there is a reward for companies who use unemployment services less.”
Humason added that the unemployment services component of the minimum wage bill signed by Governor Deval L. Patrick Thursday is now law, but he believes the battle is far from over.
“It’s not the last time we in the Commonwealth are going to deal with unemployment or minimum wage – it will be back before us,” he said. “We can either file new legislation to improve the situation or to correct problems that are in the law, we can do that at almost any time. It’s just whether or not the legislature is willing to do that.”
Velis said that the business community could learn from special interest groups such as the Gun Owners Action League.
“One thing that GOAL is doing is going after all of the legislators, identifying and lobbying them. They are truly making a difference. It’s shaking up the Statehouse right now, how effective they’re being,” he said. “Maybe you’ll get with other groups from the business community. If you want to get our attention, come down to the Statehouse.”
After GWCC Executive Director Kate Phelon referenced April 30 as the annual day when Chambers from around the state come to Beacon Hill, Boldyga stated that one day simply isn’t enough.
“If theres an issue, don’t wait until April 30th,” he said. “I have heard from other groups that wait till their annual day at Beacon Hill, so if the votes in March, don’t wait until April to come down and talk to them (legislators).”
After the luncheon, Burack had the chance to reflect on his first time hosting the event.
“We’re here by the head table and everybody is still here, talking with the Senator and the Representatives about their own issues that maybe they didn’t want to talk about on the floor or just to say hello,” he said. “I think it’s a great event.”
