2025-04-09 00:00:00 - Formal House Session 33
2025-04-09 00:00:00 - Formal House Session 33
(Part 2 of 2)
SPEAKER1 - The outer recess adjourn having arrived, the House will be an honor. Members and guests are asked to remain standing and join with me and pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America. I I pledge allegiance to the flag
SPEAKER2 - under
SPEAKER3 - The committee on rules reports recommending the following resolutions ought to be adopted. Resolutions filed by representatives Haggerty of Woburn, Sekolo of Lexington, commemorating the dedication of the Woburn Battle Road Memorial as part of the Massachusetts 200 and fiftieth celebration, and resolutions filed by representative Lombardo of Bill Recker and other members of the house, recognizing May as Elk's National Youth Week.
SPEAKER1 - Mister Valletta Whisper, now with suspension of the rules. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed nay. The ayes have it. Rules are suspended. Question now is on adoption of resolutions. All those in favor, say aye. All those opposed, nay. The ayes have it. The audit the resolutions are adopted.
125 House125 of being an honor. Are there any objections to, proceeding with the orders of the day? Chair, hearing none. Chair has been informed. Calendar item 3. Calendar item number 3 on page 1. 1. Second reading of the bill.
SPEAKER3 - An act making appropriations for fiscal year 2025 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects. House number 4 0 0 5.
SPEAKER1 - Question, I was auditing the bill to a third reading. All those in165 favor, say aye. All those opposed, nay. The ayes have it. The bill is added to a third169 reading.
Mister Orem moves it to house stand in recess till the hour of 1PM. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed nay. The ayes have it. House stands in recess till the hour and PM. Court officers notify the Democratic members of a caucus in Room A 1 at 12 noon.
House of being honored.
Mister Jones of North Reading moves at the house stand in recess subject to the call of the chair. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed nay. The ayes have it. House stands in recess subject to the call of the chair.
SPEAKER4 - Mister Frost of Auburn doubts the presence of a quorum. Under the constitution, a quorum roll242 call is required. The voting machines are now open. We'll be open for 3 minutes.
SPEAKER3 - For the members, this is roll call number 26. Roll call number 26. The voting station for representative Lawn of Watertown is locked.
SPEAKER4 - Mister Frost of Auburn, ask unanimous consent to withdraw his request for a roll call. The chair here objection. The chair hears none.
House cut to order.
Chair has640 been informed that house bill 4 0 0 5
has been released by the bills on third reading. Mister Michael Wits649 of Boston
653 moves653 suspension of the rules. All those in favor say655 aye. Opposed nay. The ayes have it. Rules are suspended. Third reading of the bill.
SPEAKER3 - An act making appropriations for the fiscal year 2025 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and669 for certain other activities and projects. House number 4 0 0 5.
SPEAKER4 - Question comes on passing the bill to be engrossed. The chair recognizes mister Michalowicz of690 Boston.
SPEAKER5 - Thank you, madam speaker.
SPEAKER4 - As he comes to the rostrum that you refrain from conversation and take your seats.
SPEAKER5 - Thank you, madam speaker, and through you to the members. I rise in support of house bill 4 0 0 5, an act making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year 2025. The legislation that is before you today aims to spend the FY '24 surplus funds from the721 fair share surtax. Before I get into what is contained in this bill, I wanna briefly speak about how we got here today. When the voters approved the Fair Share Amendment in 2022, it was designed to bring in new revenue to help strengthen both our education and transportation infrastructures. Over the past several years, the legislature has accomplished that by using this new revenue source towards game changing initiatives like universal school meals, free community college, expanding access to c 3 early education childcare grants, helping to stabilize the MBTA, and more than doubling the investment in our regional transit authorities. All of us should be proud of those of those accomplishments. Even the harshest critic of the Fair Share Amendment cannot dispute that we have used this opportunity wisely. We will discuss how to best build off those neck next week when the House Ways and Means Committee releases its f y 26 budget proposal. Another aspect of how the legislature has handled fair share777 funds is how judiciously we've managed the new source of revenue. In '20 in early 20 23, the revenue expectations for this new source were all over the map, ranging from anywhere between $700,000,000 and $2,000,000,000. Due to this uncertainty, we decided to be conservative in our approach for the first year, and budgeted at only $1,000,000,000. When the books were closed and everything was tabulated, it802 turned out that nearly all expectations were wrong given this. The states collected oh, the state collected over $2,400,000,000 in fair share revenue in f y 24. Because of the process that was created in that first year of implementation, a portion of that excess revenue went directly into the reserve account, a fair share rainy day fund, if you will, which contained nearly $250,000,000 and can be used if needed in the future. The remaining of this 1 time surplus amounts to roughly 1,300,000,000.0, and that is what is before you today. This plan before835 you today calls for spending $828,000,000 on transportation and839 $353,000,000 on education. The reason for that imbalance in favor of transportation is the last 2 budgets have seen more dollars going towards education needs. As worthy as those educational programs are, the Fair Share Amendment was envisioned to attempt to spend this these funds evenly as possible between the 2 needs, and this proposal before you today is meant to rect rectify that. Starting with transportation, a vast majority of these funds, 793,000,000 to be exact, will go towards the MBTA, providing much needed stability towards 1 of the economic engines of our entire Commonwealth. After many years of turmoil, the MBTA has seen improvements across the entire system. With a general with a general manager that inspires confidence, we have seen slow zones decrease and ridership increase. The MBTA is truly a major economic887 engine for our Commonwealth, transporting hundreds of thousands of people each day. Without a well run tea, the Commonwealth will will not nearly be895 as economically competitive as it needs897 to be. Now is not the time to be timid in our approach. We have the right leadership and the right moment here in 1 time funds to push us into a public transportation system we can be proud of, as opposed to how it's been viewed over the previous 2 decades. Our our economy depends on it. Of that $793,000,000, 4 hundred million will go towards increasing support for the workforce and safety needs of the MBTA. Safety for riders is paramount, and that is why we find this investment critical for the continued success of the tea. 300,000,000 of it will go towards replenishing the tea's reserves to try and give them more fiscal certainty without cutting services or raising fares. 60,000,000 will go towards improving physical infrastructures of the tea and their stations. 20,000,000 will go towards helping to fund the low income and reduced fare program.945 And another 13,000,000 will go towards reimbursing the tea for the949 Sumner Tunner clo Sumner Tunner closure cost of f y 23 and f y 24. Outside of the MBTA, this bill calls for the spending of $25,000,000 to further support the workforce development of our regional transit authorities, and another $10,000,000 to help improve unpaved roads across, all across the Commonwealth. On the education side, we heard from many of you about the explosion of cost the explosive explosive cost growth in special education circuit breaker reimbursements for our school districts. Costs have grown over the last few years, making it serious making it a serious challenge for the state to meet the 75% reimbursement rate that we set out in the Student Opportunity Act. With this surplus funds, we will be allocating an additional hundred and 90,000,000 on top of the funds that will be contained in the in the forthcoming f y 26 budget to help meet that 75% threshold. We will also be taking an additional 58,000,000 from the Soon Opportunity Act reserve fund to help meet the thresholds for FY '20 '5, hopefully giving some much needed relief to our school districts. However, in order to better control costs going forward in the future, we have tasked the inspector general to investigate and report on how to best contain can contain costs and institute efficiencies in in the program so that both the state and our municipalities can better meet the funding goals of this worthy program. Other than the circuit breaker, the bill calls for $50,000,000 to support capital improvements for our vocational schools, 40,000,000 for the workforce needs and quality supports for early education childcare providers, including $20,000,000 in in increased rates, $25,000,000 to support early literacy needs, 10,000,000 to to further fund our universal school meals, 20,000,000 to support endowment matches at UMass and our state universities and community colleges, and 10,000,000 to further support Green School Works pro the the Green School Works program to support clean energy needs in our schools.
And lastly, 8,500,000.0 to bring down ESOL services wait lists. In conclusion, the uses of these 1 time surplus funds for are a unique opportunity for us to better strengthen the Commonwealth in numerous ways. By further improving our education and transportation sectors, we will build off the work we have done in the last several budget cycles with the judicious use of these fair share funds. Serv pluses will inevitably not last forever, and over the next several years, it will be it will be doubtful we will be able to spend an amount like this outside of our annual budget process. That is why we are investing these funds in a fiscally responsible manner that will help all of our residents. Thank you, madam speaker. And when this matter is taken up, I ask for a call of the yays and nays.
SPEAKER4 - Mister Michael, miss Smoove, will be taken by a call of the yays and nays. Those in support will rise division 1. 20 5, submission number Hammond and Ribbon will be taken by a call of the yays and nays.
House will be in a brief recess.
SPEAKER1 - House of being honored. The chair would like to take this opportunity to introduce to the right of the rostrum, representative Chip Chip LaMacher and his wife Ellen. Chip represents the Hundredth District in Florida, in the Florida House of Representatives. He's also the chair of Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and1154 he's the representative, Fort Lauderdale by the Sea. So I'll be visiting soon.
He's a guest of the Republican
SPEAKER3 - caucus. Yeah.
SPEAKER1 - House of being a racist.
SPEAKER4 - At the request1194 of mister Vitolo of Brookline, will members, guests, and employees please stand in a moment of silent tribute in respect to the memory of longtime Brookline resident and former first lady of Massachusetts, Catherine Kitty Dukakis, who passed away on 03/21/2025 at the age of 88. Missus Dukakis work included being a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council and used her position on the council to make sure that the Holocaust is never forgotten through the creation of the National Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. Mrs. Dukakis was also a fierce advocate for children, refugees, and the homeless, serving as a member of the New England Center for Children Board of Advisors. Additionally, she was vocal about her struggles with substance abuse disorder and addiction, becoming a strong advocate for helping those experiencing mental health challenges. Mrs. Dukakis' passing is a substantial loss for Brookline and the Commonwealth and she will be deeply missed by the community, by her husband, former governor Michael Dukakis, her children John, Andrea, and Cara Dukakis, their spouses, and their 7 grandchildren whom she loved dearly.
Thank you.
SPEAKER1 - Chair would like to take this opportunity to introduce to the right of the rostrum, guest of, representative Stanley of Waltham, the Waltham Plympton School Girls Scout troop, troop 6 4 7 6 9. Welcome.
How's it being a recess?
House will be in order.
Mister Gaskiev. Mister Gaskiev Carver has an amendment in the hands of the clerk. Clerk agree the amendment.
SPEAKER3 - Mister Gaskiev Carver moves to amend the bill, chapter 71 of the general laws as appearing in the 02/2022 official edition is hereby amended by inserting the following section. Section 1 e, no public school shall
SPEAKER1 - There be no further no objection. The clerk will dispense with further reading the amendment. Chair has none. What first gentleman rise?
Okay. Mister Gordon files1378 a further amendment in1380 the hands of the clerk.
Clerk will read the amendment the further amendment.
SPEAKER3 - Mister Gordon of Bedford moves at the amendment number 81 be further amended by inserting at the end there of the following. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the provisions of this section shall not take effect until such time as the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has analyzed the policy for student athletes and their families in the Commonwealth, including, but not limited to, a review of any safeguards that may alleviate safety concerns related to physical health and the impacts on the education and extracurricular activities of elementary, secondary
SPEAKER1 - being objecting, the clerk will dispense with reading the paper. Chair has none. Chair recognizes mister Gordon of Bedford.
SPEAKER6 - Mister speaker, to you and through you to the members, the topic of amendment 81 is not a simple 1. It is a subject of multiple bills that have been assigned to the joint committee on education this session, including a bill filed by the gentleman from Carver himself. The topic of the amendment is complex involving issues of federal and state law. It is a matter of concern to residents of the Commonwealth who have expressed concern from both sides of the issue, and the matter deserves a public hearing before the joint committee. We don't even know how many students will be affected, will be impacted by this amendment. We will work with our colleagues at DESE as they analyze the related policy for student athletes and their families and seek to better understand these issues. I hope the membership will join me in supporting the further amendment.
SPEAKER1 - Questions on the further amendment? All those in favor, say aye. All those opposed nay, the aye. For purposes, gentlemen
rise. Chair recognizes Ms. Koski of Cava.
SPEAKER2 - Mister speaker,
distinguished colleagues, this
amendment to amend my amendment is nothing but a way to bury this and make sure that nobody ever gets this on the record. As far as we don't need a we don't need a, a study on how this is gonna affect people. We already know how this is gonna affect people. We already know how many students are gonna be affected. Every student is gonna be affected. Every student athlete will play on the team that they were born to play on. That's where that's what this bill is. This what this amendment is for. We don't need a study. The polls support this. The federal government supports this. It's time that we recognize science. The studies that were done in Harvard University,
studies that have been done by the UN,
they all show that it is dangerous for men to play in women's sports, and it's dangerous for women to play in men's sports.
This bill will put our schools in line with the federal government and the UN's decisions. Thank you.
SPEAKER1 - Questions on the amendment. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed nay. The ayes have the ayes have it. The further amendment is adopted. House of being a brief
House subpoena, brief recess.
House subpoena, our question now before the members is passing amendment 81 as amended. All those in favor, say aye. All those opposed, nay. The ayes have it. The amendment as amended is adopted.
House of being ordered. For the edification of the members, a consolidated amendment is on the third reading desk and will be there for the time period of 30 minutes.
House of Leonardo.
Clerk with the consult. Mister Michael Woods of Boston office a. Consolidated amendment a. The clerk will read the amendment.
SPEAKER3 - Consolidated amendment a. Topic education. Fiscal note, 46,240,000. All amendments are accounted for. Mister Michael Oates of Boston and other members of the house moved to amend the bill in section 2 a in item 15 96 25 17.
SPEAKER1 - If there be no objection, the clerk will dispense with the reading of the paper. Chair has none. Question is on acceptance of a consolidated amendment a. All those in favor, say aye. All those opposed, nay. The roll call roll call having been out of the roll call machine is now open. Remain open for 3 minutes.
SPEAKER3 - For the membership, this is roll call number 26. Roll call number 26.
SPEAKER4 - Time for voting has expired of all members voted who wish to do so.
Clerk will display the tally.
In this matter, 1 51 in the affirmative, 4 in the negative, the the amendment is adopted.
Also, be in a brief recess.
At the request of leader Frank Moran, representative Francisco Pollino, and representative Estella Reyes, will the members, guests, and employees please stand in a moment of silent tribute for the victims of the tragic accident that took place at a concert at the Jet Set Club in Santo Domingo in The Dominican Republic on Monday, April 7. This tragedy claimed the lives of more than 100 people and injured hundreds more. 6 residents from the city of Lawrence lost their lives in this accident with many more families being impacted2528 by their loss.
Thank you.
For the edification of the numbers, transportation can be found to the right of the rostrum.
Transportation can be found to the right of the rostrum.
House will be in order.
Mister McKenna, I have Sutton office, amendment in the hands of the clerk. Clerk will read the amendment.
SPEAKER3 - Mister McKenna, Sutton, and other members of the house move to amend the bill in section 2 in item 15 96 24 26 by striking out the figures 400,000,000 and inserting in place thereof the following, 350,000,000. And further, by adding after item 15 96 24 26, the following new item, 15 96 24 282615 for the construction and reconstruction.2617
SPEAKER4 - Objection of course, it stands at the reading2619 of the amendment.
Question comes on adoption of the amendment. The chair recognizes mister McKenna of Sutton.
SPEAKER7 - Thank you, madam speaker, and through you to the members. And I ask that when a vote on this matter be taken, it'll be taken by call of the yeas and nays.
SPEAKER4 - Mister McKenna moves and will be taken, take my call of the yeas and nays. Those in support will stand division 1. 0. 0. Division 2. 20 3. 20 3 sufficient number having arisen. 1 of I'll be taking taking my call, the a's and nays. Mister Sutton I mean, mister
SPEAKER7 - McKenna Sutton. New title. Thank you. Before us is a tremendous opportunity to provide needed funding across the Commonwealth to our transportation sector and to our schools. When adopted several short years ago, this fair share amendment was promised as an opportunity to infuse these most important sectors with revenues that have been much needed for years. And what was promised across the Commonwealth was fair funding in needed areas. Before us today, unfortunately, is a bill that falls just short of that promise in the transportation piece. As we've already heard and voted on, there's much good in this bill, especially in education. There's funding for special education, career tech, voc tech, and school meals for all so that our kids aren't hungry. These are all very good things and these are all very fair. However, the same opportunity is missed when it comes to the transportation funding. By my reading, this bill includes some $864,000,000 of transportation committed funding. However, of that, 793,000,000 is dedicated to the MBTA. 92 percent of all transportation funding in this bill is dedicated to the MBTA. Meanwhile, a mere 10% is committed to local municipal roads in a pilot program, which is a grant program, so is not guaranteed to all cities and towns. That by contrast is just 1.2% of all transportation funding in this bill. So to clarify, the t gets 92%, while the 277 other municipalities that do not have direct access to a train station, whether it's commuter or subway, get by with 1.2% to share. That is not a fair share of this funding for our municipalities. My amendment would seek to re reallocate 50,000,000, just 6% of that 793, to chapter 90 to be distributed based on road mileage. And I point out that the road mileage distribution, I borrow from governor Healy. And mark this day, I think governor Healy has a great chapter 90 bond proposal that will be discussed shortly, and this bill seeks to imitate her road mileage distribution to make equitable those rural districts.
Furthermore, I acknowledge that this bill before us is only 1 piece of the budget funding that we will undertake in the coming weeks. However, it is the bill that we are here to debate today. We cannot make a promise to our municipalities that behind door number 3, which will be debated at a later date, they will get further funding. We must make decisions based on the items that we have before us today. And so I I also acknowledge the deep need to fund the MBTA, and I think that merely taking 6% and leaving them with some 86% of the transportation funding of this bill is certainly an equitable piece that allows our municipalities to have their roads and bridges taken care of as well. So I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and to support your local communities and their desire to have their roads, taken care of as well. Thank you, madam speaker.
SPEAKER4 - The chair recognizes mister Soder of Bellingham.
SPEAKER8 - Madam speaker, through you to the members,2866 I stand here before you today to voice my support for amendment 10 to house bill 4 0 0 5. The amendment presents crucial opportunity to address the significant infrastructure needs of our rural communities across the Commonwealth. While I recognize and understand the critical importance of funding the MBTA as evidenced by the existing appropriations in this house bill 4 0 0 5 and representing a community that has worked diligently to be compliant and ensure no disruption in its grants, I also recognize the pressing needs of other communities. These communities, like many rural areas in Massachusetts, face unique challenges in maintaining their existence extensive, existence in networks of municipal ways. Amendment 10 directly addresses this by proposing a new item which a new item which allocates 50,000,000 for construction and reconstruction of municipal ways. Crucially, the amendment further specifies that not less than 50,000,000 of these funds shall be distributed using a formula based on each municipality's share of road mileage. This provision is vital for our rural communities as they often have disproportionately large road mileage compared to more densely populated areas leading to significant maintenance burdens and and over the past few years, the high cost of doing roads. This formula ensures a fair share portion of the funding reaches the communities that need it most due to the sheer scale of their infrastructure. The current bill, while allocating substantial funds for the transportation needs, does not specifically target the unique challenges faced by municipalities in maintaining their local roads. Amendment 10 provides a dedicated funding stream to address these critical needs, allowing rural communities to undertake essential construction and reconstruction projects. This will directly benefit the safety and quality of life of residents in the areas facilitating better access for emergency services, school transportation, and everyday travel. While we acknowledge the importance of of safe and reliable public transportation system, the needs of our rural communities and their aging road infrastructure cannot be overlooked. The 50,000,000 allocated in this amendment particularly the with the provision of the distribution based on road mileage will provide3010 a much needed lifeline for to communities struggling to maintain their local ways. This is not about detracting from the needs of the MBTA, but rather about ensuring a more equitable distribution from the fair share revenue to address diverse transportation needs across the Commonwealth. I urge you to support amendment 10. It is targeted and effective way to provide critical assistance to our royal communities ensuring they receive their fair share of resources to maintain the vital infrastructure upon which their residents depend. Thank you, madam speaker.
SPEAKER4 - Chair recognizes mister Arceiro of Westford.
SPEAKER9 - Thank you, madam speaker, and through you to the members. I rise in opposition to amendment 10 filed by the gentleman from Sutton. Adequate funding for our roads and bridges is always a critical issue to the cities and towns that we represent. But it's also a part of a larger discussion, looking at the full landscape of our transportation needs. With respect to this amendment, this is a subject that is better suited for3081 examination before the public at the committee level. The joint committee on transportation will take up3089 this very subject tomorrow when it hears the governor's 1500000000.0 dollar proposal for the chapter 90 program. The committee looks forward to hearing from legislators, stakeholders, municipal leaders, and residents across the state as we continue to examine the governor's proposal on chapter 90 at tomorrow's hearing. I thank the membership in advance for your opposition to amendment 10. Thank you.
SPEAKER4 - Roll call having been ordered, court officers will alert the members that a roll call is in progress. Voting machines will be open for 3 minutes.
SPEAKER3 - For the members, this is roll call number 27. Roll call number 27.
SPEAKER4 - Have all members voted who wish to do so? Time for voting has expired. The clerk will display the tally. And in this matter, 25 in the affirmative, a 20 time in the negative negative. The amendment is not adopted.
Mister Michael, what's the Boston office and amendment in the hands of the clerk? Clerk will read the amendment.
SPEAKER3 - Consolidated amendment b.3586 Topic, transportation. Fiscal note, 28,830,000. Mister Michael, what's the Boston and3594 other members of the house move to amend the bill in section 2 a in item 15 96 25 0 7 by inserting after the word projects the following words, provided that not less than 300,000 shall be expended for mitigation costs associated with the development along Route 93 in the city of Bette.
SPEAKER4 - Objection. The court responds 3 amendment.
Under the constitution, a roll call is required.
Court officers will alert the members that a roll call is in progress.
The chair asked members to stay in the chamber for a roll call vote immediately following this 1.
SPEAKER3 - For the members, this is roll call number 28. Roll call number 28.
SPEAKER4 - Have all members voted who wish to do so? Time for voting has expired. The clerk will display the tally.
SPEAKER3 - Come on. Alright. 1 33 to 20.
3929 SPEAKER43929 -3929 In3929 this matter, a 33 in the affirmative, 20 in the negative, the amendment is adopted.3935
Question comes on passing the bill to be engrossed. Roll call having been ordered, court officers will alert the members that a roll call is in progress.
SPEAKER3 - This is roll call number 29. Roll call number 29.
SPEAKER4 - Miss Sanjolo asked unanimous consent to be counted on4070 the previous roll call. Does the chair hear objection? The chair hears4074 none.
SPEAKER3 - Representative Sanjolo votes on roll call number 27 votes yes.
Clerk is narrow. That's roll call 28. Representative Sanjolo votes yes.
SPEAKER4 - Have all members voted to wish to do so? Time for voting has expired. The clerk will display the tally. In this matter, a 40 in the affirmative, 14 in the negative. The4205 bill is passed to be engrossed.
Mister Mariano of Quincy, office and order in the hands of Clark. Clark will read the order.
SPEAKER3 - Order that 1 to house adjourned today. It adjourned to meet tomorrow at 11AM.
SPEAKER4 - Question comes on adoption4237 of the order. All those in favor say aye. Opposed, nay. The ayes have it.
SPEAKER3 - The order is adopted.
SPEAKER4 - Representative Kearney of Scituate moves that when the house adjourns today, it do so in respect to the memory of Philip w Johnston, a member of the house from Marshfield from 1975 to 1983.
All those in favor say, I oppose nay. The ayes have it. The order is adopted. Mister Jones of North Redding moves that the house do now adjourn. All those in favor say, I oppose nay. The ayes have it. The house stands adjourned to meet.
Tomorrow at 11AM in an informal session in an informal session.
© InstaTrac 2025