Rep. Stanley Announces Comprehensive Proposal on Sales Tax Holiday, Minimum Wage, and Family and Medical Leave

The Massachusetts House passed a law to raise the minimum wage to $15 over the next five years, create a framework for paid family and medical leave for most workers, phase out time-and-a-half pay on Sundays and establish a permanent sales tax holiday beginning in 2019. As a co-sponsor of the individual wage and leave bills, Rep. Stanley was happy to see these included in the compromise legislation and hopes that an expensive ballot fight can now be avoided.

The bill increases the tip wage to $6.75 over the next five years; phases out premium pay on Sundays and holidays over the next five years; establishes a Department of Family and Medical Leave within the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development; creates a framework for family leave of 12 weeks; family leave for the care of a service member of 26 weeks; and medical leave for up to 20 weeks and exempts small businesses from financial contribution to the paid family and medical leave fund. Gov. Baker signed the legislation.   

The legislation is based on months of negotiations with stakeholders sponsoring proposed ballot questions for the November 2018 election. This compromise law strikes the right balance of empowering employees, supporting our hardworking residents and ensuring that businesses can continue to provide good, steady jobs.

Rep. Stanley Lobbies for Passage of Clean Energy Legislation

Rep. Stanley joined his colleagues in cosigning a letter to Speaker DeLeo and Chairman Sánchez, thanking them for their efforts to advance legislation that will promote a clean energy future and set the state on a path to meet its Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) requirements. The legislators are now asking House Leaders to bring the legislation to the House floor for a vote. The bills will address the renewable portfolio standard (H.4575), energy storage (H.4576), and net metering (H.4577).

In just the last year, the Commonwealth lost over 3,000 solar jobs. To restore our state's nationwide solar leadership, we must act quickly to remind investors why Massachusetts is the best place in the country to invest in clean energy development. Precious dollars are at stake, as are our looming GWSA emissions reduction targets and the safety of our communities. The passage of H.4575, H.4576, and H.4577 as expeditiously as possible as a first step towards achieving the renewable energy future we desire. These bills will additionally pave the way for action on solar net metering equity and peak demand reduction, which will further bolster our state's clean energy economy.

Rep. Stanley Cosigns Letter to President Trump on Immigration Policy

Rep. Stanley signed onto a letter written by Chairman DeLeo to President Trump calling for urgency and action in reuniting the children who were separated from their parents as a direct result of the "zero tolerance" immigration policy adopted by the Trump administration in April 2018. Thousands of children have been separated from their parents over a three month period due to the "zero tolerance" policy instituted by the Trump administration. While we understand that this policy has since been updated, we believe that over 2,000 remain separated from their families with no clear timeline or process for reunification. We know from the medical community that the negative impacts of separation for these children will be significant and long-lasting. These effects continue to worsen the longer this separation persists, demanding immediate action to address it.

In the letter, the legislators state that that family and the bonds that unite parent and child are universal and inalienable. The continued separation of families seeking asylum, and the initial policy that caused this separation, do not respect this fundamental human right. The legislators called for the immediate implementation of a plan to reunite these families and a greater sense of urgency in this endeavor. They also asked for President Trump's commitment to working with Congress on comprehensive immigration reform that responds to our national interests while upholding our legacy as a country of fighting for and protecting human rights.

Massachusetts Legislature Announces Comprehensive Proposal on Sales Tax Holiday, Minimum Wage, and Family and Medical Leave

The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a law to raise the minimum wage to $15 over the next five years, create a framework for paid family and medical leave for most workers, phase out time-and-a-half pay on Sundays and establish a permanent sales tax holiday beginning in 2019. The bill increases the tip wage to $6.75 over the next five years; phases out premium pay on Sundays and holidays over the next five years; establishes a Department of Family and Medical Leave within the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development; creates a framework for family leave of 12 weeks; family leave for the care of a service member of 26 weeks; and medical leave for up to 20 weeks and exempts small businesses from financial contribution to the paid family and medical leave fund. Gov. Baker signed the legislation. 

The legislation is based on months of negotiations with stakeholders sponsoring proposed ballot questions for the November 2018 election. This compromise law strikes the right balance of empowering employees, supporting our hardworking residents and ensuring that businesses can continue to provide good, steady jobs

Rep. Stanley Supports Adult Basic Education/ESOL Funding

Rep. Stanley and his colleagues sent a letter to Chairman Sanchez and Chairwomen Spilka requesting that the request the conference committee accede to the Senate's proposed funding allocation of $33.35 million for Adult Basic Education/ESOL. The legislators are appreciative that both the House and Senate budget proposals this year allocated a significant increase in funding for Adult Basic Education/ESOL. The waitlist for these programs matches the current enrollment numbers, which would imply we are only serving half the people in need. These programs need and deserve the fullest support we can give. The benefit of these programs stretches beyond the adult learner and helps lift up the entire family and community.

Rep. Stanley Urges Conference Committee to Fully Fund the Tenancy Preservation Program and Housing Court expansion

Rep. Stanley and his colleagues sent a letter to the FY19 Conference Committee urging members to fully fund both the Tenancy Preservation Program and Housing Court expansion as provided in the Senate's proposed budget. Since the authorization for Housing Court expansion was passed last year - along with $1 million to start implementation - two new sittings have happened, more are being planned, cases are being filed and transferred to the Housing Court, and five new Housing Court judges have been confirmed. Full funding in the amount of $2.6 is needed to complete the expansion so that it reaches all of our communities.

To ensure that the Tenancy Preservation Program (TPP) - available only in Housing Court - also reaches those communities, full funding in the amount of $1.3 million is needed. TPP is embraced by both landlords and tenants, preserves the tenancies of people who struggle mental health challenges, prevents homelessness among vulnerable elders, single people and families with children, and saves our state millions of dollars every year in shelter costs.

Rep. Stanley Asks Conference Committee to Fund Commission for the Blind at $6.4M

Rep. Stanley and his colleagues signed onto a letter to the Conference Committee in support of the allocation of $6,421,917 for the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind. This funding is crucial to ensure that visually impaired people in Massachusetts continue to receive the vocational and social rehabilitation services that they need. The Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, or MCB, was founded in 1906 by Helen Keller and other advocates as a state agency for providing services for the blind.

The MCB provides highly specialized services for blind people and individuals with progressive visual impairment. It prepares individuals for community participation and productive independence. MCB clients receive tailored services from professional case workers -- they gain access to assistive devices, learn new ways of performing daily living activities such as cooking and riding the train, and they are welcomed to peer support groups.

In 2017, federal spending cuts decreased MCB's budget by $2 million and the House budget allocation would only perpetuate this situation. Without the additional funds requested in the Senate budget, blind and low-vision MCB clients would have less access to crucial resources.

Rep. Stanley Supports Family Support and Stabilization Funding

In a letter to Chairman Sánchez and the Members of the Conference Committee, Rep. Stanley requested the inclusion of $50,500,000 for the Family Support and Stabilization line item in the final FY19 budget.
This line item, administered by the Department of Children and Families, provides contracted services to vulnerable DCF-involved youth. These services include family counseling, mental health and substance abuse supports, and other in-home services designed to keep these children and teens at home with their families as an alternative to residential placement. This funding level would provide services to approximately 600 additional DCF-involved youth compared with FY18, reducing waiting lists across the Commonwealth.

These services are critical in creating a safe, stable, and healthy environment for the child while offering support for families facing extraordinary challenges. There is ample evidence to suggest that children experience better outcomes on a wide range of metrics when they are able to stay with family members rather than being placed in foster or congregate care settings. In addition to improving outcomes, the average annual cost of providing family support and stabilization services is 83 percent more cost effective than referring a child to residential placement, based on an assessment of providers across the Commonwealth.

Rep. Stanley Lobbies for MAICEI Funding

Rep. Stanley and his colleagues asked Senate Conferees to adopt the Senate appropriation of $1.7 million to fund the Massachusetts Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Initiative (MAICEI) line item. MAICEI is a grant program that enables students aged 18 to 22 with intellectual and developmental disabilities to participate in inclusive college courses and activities. These participating students experience higher levels of independence, self-sufficiency, self-advocacy, and improved employment outcomes. Students who attend college through MAICEI consistently describe the program as one of the best experiences of their lives, and participants have included staff who work part time in the State House for elected officials.

Currently, almost half of Massachusetts public universities and colleges and over 100 school districts participate in MAICEI partnerships and programming. This low-cost line item ensures that young people with ID/ASD can continue to progress with their peers and upholds Massachusetts' position as a national leader in advancing the civil rights and inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Since demand for participation continues to exceed the supply of available funds, adopting the Senate appropriation is essential to maintaining current operations.

Governor Baker Signs Bill Strengthening Commonwealth Gun Laws

Governor Baker signed into law H.4670, An Act Relative to Firearms, which will allow household members, or others in close relationships, and local law enforcement to file an extreme risk protection order (ERPO) petition with the court to remove firearms from dangerous individuals.
The bill preserves the right of local police departments to continue to revoke or suspend firearm licenses based on a lack of suitability. Once an ERPO petition is filed, a hearing must be held within ten days, and if the court finds that an individual poses a risk to themselves or others, the court can order the immediate surrender of all weapons and the individual's firearm license. An ERPO can last up to one year.

Baker Administration Announces Second Installment of Additional School Funding to Support Hurricane Evacuees

The Baker Administration announced additional state education funds, totaling more than $8.2 million, will be released this week to school districts that enrolled students who evacuated from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This is the second installment of $15 million in additional Fiscal Year 2018 funding pledged by the Baker-Polito Administration to help support the costs of educating students who enrolled in Massachusetts schools following Hurricanes Maria and Irma. The Governor's Fiscal Year 2019 budget proposal also included an additional $15 million for FY19, and if included in the final budget, would bring the total additional school aid for districts educating students who evacuated to Massachusetts to more than $30 million.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will distribute more than $8.2 million in aid to 122 school districts impacted by increased student enrollment, consistent with the state's school funding formula, known as Chapter 70. In April, more than $6.7 million was distributed to 107 school districts around the Commonwealth impacted by additional student enrollments.

Baker Administration Awards $10.9 Million in Skills Capital Grants

The Baker-Polito Administration awarded $10.9 million in Skills Capital Grants to 33 high schools and educational institutions, enabling the schools to acquire the newest technologies to educate students and expand programs. Skills Capital Grants are designed to help high schools, colleges and other educational institutions invest in the most up-to-date training equipment to give their students an advantage when they continue in their chosen field or particular area of study. Skills Capital Grants cover a broad array of fields, from construction and engineering to healthcare and hospitality.

Baker Administration Signs Life Sciences Initiative

Governor Baker signed An Act providing continued investment in the life sciences industry in the Commonwealth to invest up to $623 million in bond authorization and tax credits over five years in education, research and development, and workforce training. The funding will be managed by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC), which is co-chaired by Administration and Finance Secretary Michael Heffernan and Housing and Economic Development Secretary Jay Ash. The bill was signed into law at Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC), which has received grants to help establish a new biotechnology program, internship placements at 30 life sciences companies and training for low-income adults to pursue biomedical careers.

The five-year, $473 million bond authorization in the proposal provides capital funding that will enable the state to strengthen the ecosystem through collaborations that maximize third-party investments and sharpen the Commonwealth's competitive edge. The funding will continue to be managed by the MLSC with a focus on regional investments that spur workforce and economic development and enrich learning and experiential opportunities for young people in Massachusetts. Since its inception, $350 million in public investments have supported R&D infrastructure and facilities that are available for partnership with industry. For every public dollar invested in these facilities, the life sciences industry has invested $1.67 alongside. This infrastructure creates space for new partnerships, seeds startups, and supports new translational research capacities.