Local taxes on meals, hotels could rise under Healey plan

"Governor Maura Healey, who this week swore off raising state taxes, unveiled sweeping legislation Friday that would allow towns and cities to raise their taxes on hotel stays, cars, and meals by as much as 33 percent to help bolster their local coffers.

The sprawling bill has the backing of municipal leaders, and if embraced by the Legislature, could generate more than $150 million in new annual tax revenue for towns and cities juggling tight budgets, state officials estimated.

Healey also is seeking a series of other major changes, including allowing local officials to set caps on the number of liquor licenses distributed in their city or town, a power long-held by the Legislature. The governor said she is proposing to make permanent a raft of pandemic-era rules, such as allowing restaurants to sell to-go cocktails.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Healey said the package of changes “empowers the local communities” and does not affect the revenue the state relies on for its budget."

Continue reading the article online (Subscription may be required)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/01/19/metro/maura-healey-legislation-local-taxes-meals-hotels/

CommonWealth Beacon provides coverage here ->

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/government/healey-pitches-new-revenue-source-for-cities-and-towns-vehicle-surcharge/

Gov. Maura Healey exits the House chamber after delivering the 2024 State of the Commonwealth address. (Photo by Sam Doran/State House News Service)

CommonWealth Beacon: "Yes, building more housing does lower rents, study says"

"IT’S A QUESTION that looms large over the effort to promote more development in housing-starved Massachusetts: Does increasing the supply of housing, even if it’s mainly higher-cost, market-priced units, temper the runup in costs that has so many residents straining to make ends meet? 

The idea follows the basic economic principle of supply and demand – when more of something is made available, its price falls. But there are plenty of “supply skeptics” who aren’t convinced that simply opening the housing production spigot will lower costs, and argue instead that it often just drives up prices by promoting gentrification. 

In a recent report, only 30 to 40 percent of those polled in a national survey of urban and suburban residents believed a 10 percent increase in housing production would result in lower home prices and rents. Against that backdrop, however, a research team at New York University issued a report last month arguing that there is clear evidence that boosting supply is the key to lowering or moderating housing costs. 

“All the evidence shows that it does reduce housing costs,” said Vicki Been, director of the NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. The report by Been and two NYU colleagues attempts to look at all the evidence available from studies of the question. 

“In sum,” they write, “significant new evidence shows that new construction in a variety of settings decreases, or slows increases in, rents, not only for the city as a whole, but generally also for apartments located close to the new construction.”

Continue reading the article at CommonWealth Beacon

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/housing/study-says-boosting-housing-production-tempers-rents/

From the paper referenced in the article the Abstract summarizes:

"Although “supply skeptics” claim that new housing supply does not slow growth in rents, we show that rigorous recent studies demonstrate that: 1) Increases in housing supply slow the growth in rents in the region; 2) In some circumstances, new construction also reduces rents or rent growth in the surrounding area; 3) The chains of moves sparked by new construction free up apartments that are then rented (or retained) by households across the income spectrum; 4) While new supply is associated with gentrification, it has not been shown to cause significant displacement of lower income households; and 5) Easing land use restrictions, at least on a broad scale and in ways that change binding constraints on development, generally leads to more new housing over time, but only a fraction of the new capacity created because many other factors constrain the pace of new development."

Link to research paper paper -> https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4629628

The Taj Estates apartments on East Central street

Via CommonWealth Beacon: State budget for FY 2023 completed (finally); Revenues down for November and YTD

"Mass. tax revenues take dive in November" 

"MASSACHUSETTS TAX REVENUES took a dive during November and are running 4.3 percent below forecasted levels through the first five months of the fiscal year, reinforcing concerns that state government needs to slow its pace of spending.

The Department of Revenue reported on Tuesday that tax collections in November totaled $2.25 billion, nearly 11 percent below the state forecast and 5.5 percent less than last year. Through the first five months of the fiscal year, revenues are running $627 million below the forecast used to draft this year’s budget and 1 percent more than the same period last year.

Adding to concerns, the state’s tax revenues in November were not affected by the passage of a major tax cut in October. That tax cut should start having an impact on state tax revenues starting in December or January, officials said."

Continue reading the article -> https://commonwealthbeacon.org/government/state-government/mass-tax-revenues-take-dive-in-november/ 

"Dems return to Beacon Hill in force, pass stalled spending bill"

"Instead of using parliamentary rules to block or delay action on the bill, as Republicans in the House did, the Senate Republicans struck a deal with Democratic leaders. In return for the Republicans agreeing not to delay action on the bill, the Senate Democrats supported a Republican motion to suspend the Legislature’s joint rules so the bill could be taken up in a formal session and be debated. The motion wasn’t embraced by the House, so it didn’t go anywhere, but it was a moral victory for the Senate Republicans and it allowed the bill to move quickly to enactment, which is what the Democrats wanted. 

Senate President Karen Spilka called it a “win-win for everybody.” 

The end result was the long overdue spending bill was sent to Gov. Maura Healey, who signed it immediately. All the parliamentary maneuvering didn’t change anything, but it captivated Beacon Hill for nearly a week in the middle of a holiday recess. The drawn-out process was mostly about optics and placing blame for delays that held up raises for public sector unions, disaster relief, and funding for the stretched-thin emergency shelter program."

Continue reading the article online ->   https://commonwealthbeacon.org/government/state-government/dems-return-to-beacon-hill-in-force-pass-stalled-spending-bill/

The H4204 legislative details can be found online ->   https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/H4204

The golden dome of the State House. (Photo by Andy Metzger)

CommonWealth Beacon: "State seal and motto commission punts to Legislature"

"A SPECIAL COMMISSION that spent close to three years analyzing the state seal and motto concluded its work on Tuesday by urging the Legislature to make a change while offering no specific recommendations on what that change should be.

The current seal features an image of a Native American holding a bow and arrow and a sword hanging over his head. The Latin motto translates as:  “By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.” 

The special commission, created in the aftermath of the nationwide reckoning in 2020 over the symbols and names that harken to institutional racism, said it will forward its final report to the Legislature on Wednesday and urge lawmakers to create a second commission to actually hire a designer and come up with a final motto and seal incorporating symbols and terms that are aspirational and inclusive of diverse perspectives.

Although the commission raised several possibilities for the seal and motto, the panel punted a decision to the Legislature. How that decision will be made is unclear at the moment."

Continue reading the article online -> https://commonwealthbeacon.org/state-government-2/state-seal-and-motto-commission-punts-to-legislature/ 

Link to the final Commission meeting video is available ->   https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/4792

The Commission report was not yet available at the time of this publication.

Boston Globe coverage ->  https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/11/15/metro/massachusetts-state-seal-motto-commission-native-american/

CommonWealth Beacon: "State seal and motto commission punts to Legislature"

CommonWealth Beacon: "Let’s be honest about cost, challenges of electrification"

Consider the author's point of view: "Michael S. Giaimo is the director of the northeast region of the American Petroleum Institute" 

"You may have missed it, but there is a pervasive movement afoot to electrify everything: cars, trucks, buses, homes, offices, stoves, and appliances. It may sound easy, but it is a massive undertaking rife with challenges. Policies seeking to simultaneously electrify our transportation system, our homes, and commercial buildings will require an upfront investment of billions of dollars in preparing and expanding the power grid to accommodate this increased demand for electricity. That is just for starters.  

When policymakers discuss this issue, they focus on the perceived benefits of decarbonization but consistently gloss over the process and associated challenges. When they consider mandatory electrification, among the questions they leave unanswered are: How much power is going to be needed to preserve reliability? Where is that power coming from? How is the power going to get where it needs to go? And how much is this all going to cost?

Let’s start with the question about the amount of power needed. According to the 2023–2032 Forecast Report of Capacity, Energy, Loads, and Transmission (CELT Report) – the region’s demand for electrical power is projected to increase by a quarter over the next decade – and that prediction might be understated."

Continue reading the article online ->

https://commonwealthbeacon.org/opinion/lets-be-honest-about-cost-challenges-of-electrification/

Reports referenced in the article are also available via Franklin Matters:

• 2023–2032 Forecast Report of Capacity, Energy, Loads, and Transmission (CELT Report) (Yes, it is an Excel file)  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dlwPUid6Fi6Kuwa44n4ItREbYO1qE71I/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=101938843903614700481&rtpof=true&sd=true
• NationalGrid outlook ->   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dn0UzxmP5c8wWb7LwtIS_e9xIykVbac-/view?usp=drive_link
• Eversource outlook ->  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e170UznBm4OHedajXqOaAor5fVpyQAQu/view?usp=drive_link

Stay tuned into the "Making Sense of Climate" podcast series as we have these discussion about how we are going to get where we need to be. It will only happen with a concerted effort on the part of all involved ->   https://www.franklinmatters.org/2022/02/making-sense-of-climate-collection.html

CommonWealth Beacon: "Let’s be honest about cost, challenges of electrification"

Sharing 2 articles from the rebranded CommonWealth Beacon; Dizoglio audit & Danielle Allen interview

Via CommonWealth Beacon (formerly CommonWealth Magazine):

"Campbell says DiZoglio lacks legal authority to audit Legislature"

"ATTORNEY GENERAL Andrea Campbell notified state Auditor Diana DiZoglio on Thursday evening that the auditor’s office lacks the legal authority to audit the Legislature without its consent.

The decision by Campbell deals a major setback to DiZoglio’s crusade to scrutinize the policies and procedures of the House and Senate chambers where she used to serve, but it doesn’t end it.

In addition to seeking Campbell’s legal opinion on her authority to audit the Legislature, DiZoglio is pursuing a ballot question that would establish a law giving her that power. Campbell, who certified the question as legally suitable to go on the ballot, said in effect that her response to DiZoglio’s request is an interpretation of existing law and is unrelated to the quest for a new law.

“I believe transparency is a cornerstone of good government, but that transparency must be achieved through methods that are consistent with the law,” Campbell said. “As the chief law officer of the Commonwealth, it is my office’s role to determine the legal position of the state by looking at the law as it exists on the books today, and evaluating what that law allows, and what it does not. After a thorough review of the statutory text, pertinent Supreme Judicial Court decisions, and relevant history, we have concluded that current law does not allow an audit of the Legislature over its objection.”

 

State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, surrounded by past audits by her office of the Legislature or legislative committees. (Photo by Bruce Mohl)

"Danielle Allen says we have work to do on Massachusetts democracy"

"MASSACHUSETTS IS rightly proud of its “revolutionary tradition,” but according to democracy scholar Danielle Allen, the health of the state’s democratic structures isn’t all rosy in practice

“A healthy democracy depends on a couple of critical values,” Allen, a Harvard professor of political philosophy, ethics, and public policy, said on a live episode of The Codcast. “There’s the value of inclusion, really achieving full inclusion, the value of engagement or participation, and then the value of competitiveness. And on each of those dimensions, we can see room for improvement in Massachusetts.”

Allen is focused on what she calls the work of “democratic renovation,” in part through her role as president and founder of Partners in Democracy. The organization pushes for reforms to bolster running for office, voting in elections, and making government systems more transparent. Allen herself made a short-lived bid for governor last year, pushing for many of these reforms."

Continue reading the article online, or listen to the Codcast Episode with the Danielle Allen conversation.  https://commonwealthbeacon.org/politics/danielle-allen-says-we-have-work-to-do-on-massachusetts-democracy/

CommonWealth Beacon · Is Massachusetts a beacon of democracy?