Beacon Hill Roll Call

[NB:  Beacon Hill Roll Call was delayed this week.]

If you have any questions about this week's report, e-mail us at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com or call us at (617) 720-1562.

Beacon Hill Roll Call

Volume 48 -Report No. 20

May 15-19, 2023

Copyright © 2023 Beacon Hill Roll Call. All Rights Reserved.

By Bob Katzen

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THE HOUSE AND SENATE: This week’s report is on the latest fundraising and expenditure numbers for the state’s 160 representatives’ campaign committees from the latest filing period of April 1, 2023 to April 30, 2023. It also includes how much money each representative has on hand as of April 30, 2023. The numbers are from the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance.

To get more information and details on any representative’s fundraising and expenditures, go to www.ocpf.us Click on “Filer listing” under “Browse candidates” and then type the name of your representative in the box that says “Filter by name” in the upper left-hand corner of the page.

MOST AMOUNT OF CASH ON HAND:

The representative with the most cash on hand is House Ways and Means Chair Rep. Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston) who currently has close to $1 million ($980,358.10) in his campaign account.

Rounding out the top 10 representatives with the most cash on hand are House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy) $498,253.62; Reps. Tackey Chan (D-Quincy) $388,310,44; House Minority Leader Brad Jones (R-North Reading) $252,206.22; Tram Nguyen (D-Andover) $233,438,43; Angelo Puppolo (D-Springfield) $219,071.90; Jeffrey Roy (D-Franklin) $196,404.88; Mike Moran (D-Brighton) $194,346.38; Tony Cabral (D-New Bedford) $174,282.71; and Bud Williams (D-Springfield) $156,097.98.

LEAST AMOUNT OF CASH ON HAND:

The representative with the least cash on hand is Rep. Aaron Saunders (D-Belchertown) whose campaign account currently has a balance of $124.01.

Rounding out the bottom ten representatives with the least cash on hand are Reps. Christopher Flanagan (D-Dennis) $158.97; Samantha Montano (D-Boston) $171.47; David Vieira (R-Falmouth) $274.72; David Robertson (D-Tewksbury) $476.58; Manny Cruz (D-Salem) $487.41; Michelle DuBois (D-Brockton) $689.83; Adrianne Ramos (D-North Andover) $731.73; Paul Frost (R-Auburn) $835.21; and Peter Durant (R-Spencer) $828.38.

RAISED THE MOST MONEY:

The representative who raised the most money is Rep. Richard Haggerty (D-Woburn) who raised $29,308.33.

Rounding out the top five representatives who raised the most money are Reps. Brad Jones (R-North Reading) $24,178.93; Carole Fiola (D-Fall River) $21,578.23; Daniel Cahill (D-Lynn) $20,560.91; and Jeff Roy (D-Franklin) $19,119.12.

RAISED THE LEAST MONEY:

There are 51 representatives who raised $0. each.

SPENT THE MOST MONEY:

The representative who spent the most money is Rep. Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston) who spent $40,449.99.

Rounding out the top five representatives who spent the most money are House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy) $11,693.98; Mike Moran (D-Brighton) $11,386.95; Ann-Margaret Ferrante (D-Gloucester) $10,203.94; and Kevin Honan (D-Boston) $9,280.04.

SPENT THE LEAST MONEY:

Ten representatives spent $0: Reps. Brian Murray (D-Milford); Vanna Howard (D-Lowell); Colleen Garry (D-Dracut); Carol Doherty (D-Taunton); Tom Walsh (D-Peabody); Susan Gifford (R-Wareham); Fred Barrows (R-Mansfield); Peter Durant (R-Spencer); Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica); and Alyson Sullivan (R-Abington).

TOTAL CASH ON HAND AS OF APRIL 30, 2023

Here is the total amount of cash your local representatives have on hand.

Rep. Jeffrey Roy $196,404.88

TOTAL MONEY RAISED IN APRIL 2023

Here is the total amount of money your local representatives raised in April 2023.

Rep. Jeffrey Roy $19,119.12

TOTAL MONEY SPENT IN APRIL 2023

Here is the total amount of money your local representatives spent in April 2023.

Rep. Jeffrey Roy $2,776.44

ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL – The following bills were the subject of public hearings this week:

AIRLANES AND LASER POINTERS (H 1287) – Would impose a $5,000 fine and/or five-year prison sentence on anyone who directs a laser pointer at an aircraft or operates an unmanned aerial vehicle within the flight path of an aircraft.

“Aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft is called lasing and can cause temporary blindness and confusion to pilots as they attempt to descend towards a landing strip,” said sponsor Rep. Bruce Ayers (D-Quincy). “Statistics show that lasing is on the rise, with over 9,500 cases reported in 2022. With over 375,000 flights out of Logan Airport each year, carrying over 35 million passengers, lasing poses a serious public safety risk to pilots, passengers and the community below. With the passage of this bill, we can set a strong precedent that this dubious behavior will not be tolerated and will carry serious consequences.”

ELIMINATE THE $456 MINIMUM EXCISE TAX FOR CORPORATIONS (H 2842) – Would eliminate the $456 minimum excise tax for business corporations.

“The corporate minimum excise tax holds small, newly created corporations to the same tax standards as large, multi-national corporations, regardless of whether they actually turn a profit,” said House Minority Leader Brad Jones (R-North Reading). “Eliminating the minimum excise tax would provide assistance to many small businesses and encourage business formation in the commonwealth, which would have a positive impact on the state’s economy.”

MEDICATION FOR MENTAL ILLNESS

Would prohibit health plans from requiring prior authorization or step therapy for drugs prescribed to treat a serious mental illness. Step therapy requires the patient to try less expensive options before “stepping up” to drugs that may work better but cost more.

Sponsor Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) said this legislation will reduce restrictions for patients with serious mental illness and avoid costs in hospital visits and incarceration. He noted that untreated or poorly treated serious mental illnesses can lead to increased risks of homelessness and interaction with the judicial, legal and police systems.

BURIAL FOR VETERANS (H 3517) – Would increase state reimbursement to families of veterans to cover the costs of burying the veterans.

“This current threshold has not been changed or updated for years,” said sponsor Rep. Mike Kushmerek (D-Fitchburg). “The commonwealth of Massachusetts cares immensely about the treatment of veterans, as we are incredibly grateful for their service and sacrifices. For families with limited finances, this legislation would ensure that veterans are buried with the dignity and respect that they so deserve.”

RAISE ALLOWANCE FOR NURSING HOME RESIDENTS (H 626) – Would raise the Personal Needs Allowance (PNA) for nursing home residents from the current $72.80 monthly to $100 monthly. It also would give the residents an annual cost of living increase. The PNA pays for expenses not covered by Medicaid for nursing home residents.

Supporters say that the money, half of which is reimbursed with federal dollars, helps residents pay for clothing, shoes, phone calls, medicine, transportation, haircuts and other personal needs which help them maintain their dignity and well-being. They noted the $72.80 monthly allowance has not been raised in 20 years.

“Increasing the allowance to $100 would modernize the policy and allow residents of long-term care facilities increased independence with this simple solution,” said sponsor Rep. Sean Garballey (D-Arlington).

QUOTABLE QUOTES

“Today’s awards set in motion 27 innovative, mixed-use projects that will build and preserve nearly 1,600 affordable units across every region of our state. These are the types of projects that our Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities will be driving in close collaboration with local, federal and private sector partners to address our housing crisis.”

---Gov. Maura Healey on awarding $246 million in direct subsidies and state and federal housing tax credits to build and preserve nearly 1,600 affordable homes throughout Massachusetts.

“The principle of “Polluters Pay” is simple: Those who created the damage should clean it up.”

---Rep. Steve Owens (D-Watertown) on his bill establishing a climate change superfund and promoting polluter responsibility designed to raise $75 billion from top greenhouse gas polluters over the next 25 years.

“Voters are concerned about the influence of special interest political spending—and particularly concerned about foreign influence on our elections. Current law prohibits foreign governments and foreign citizens (except lawful permanent residents) from spending money in state elections. Yet a loophole allows foreign money to enter our politics through political spending by corporations. The … bill will … help to close this loophole for our Massachusetts state elections.”

---Common Cause Massachusetts Executive Director Geoff Foster testifying in favor of a bill that would limit political spending by foreign-influenced corporations.

“The Fiscal Alliance Foundation is very pleased to play a prominent role in defeating this latest attempt to limit speech before an election. The proponent’s goal here is to protect elected officials in power by limiting the ability for the public to speak up. This was an attempt by an activist professor and several activist organizations to subvert our rights.”

---Paul Craney, spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, in response to Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling upholding a decision by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell striking down a proposed ballot question that sought to limit to $5,000 the amount of money that can be donated to a Super PAC.

HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK'S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and enate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature's job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session

During the week of May 15-19, the House met for a total of 57 minutes and the Senate met for a total of 23 minutes.

Mon. May 15 House 11:03 a.m. to 11:27 a.m.

Senate 11:05 a.m. to 11:08 a.m.

Tues. May 16 No House session

No Senate session

Wed. May 17 No House session

No Senate session

Thurs. May 18 House 11:00 a.m. to 11:33 a.m.

Senate 11:00 a.m. to 11:20 a.m.

Fri. May 19 No House session

No Senate session

Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com Bob founded Beacon Hill Roll Call in 1975 and was inducted into the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) Hall of Fame in 2019.