Public Utilities
1. An Act Regarding Mutual Assistance Agreements
This bill requires the DPU to annually review utility company’s mutual assistance agreements and requires that in the event of outages, the companies offer mutual assistance to other Massachusetts companies before sending their people to other states where they may do business. The goal of this legislation is to require companies help Massachusetts residents first. (In other words, if a company does business in MA, NH and NY, and there is a service outage in multiple states, the company must send its MA-based staff to help other MA-based companies experiencing outages, prior to sending them to another state).
2. An Act Regarding Service Outage Restoration Penalties
This bill requires the DPU to promulgate rules and regulations establishing the standards by which companies must restore service in the event of outages. In addition, it allows the DPU to fine companies at least $500,000 for each failure to perform based on the rules set by the DPU. Lastly, it requires that the DPU open an investigation AND evidentiary hearings, if the AG or a municipality that experiences service outages requests one, in order to determine if the company violated the standards for restoring service as set by the DPU. The goal of this legislation is to require the DPU set out what companies must do in the event of an outage regarding restoration of service and allows the AG or cities and towns to ask for a hearing if they don’t feel those standards were met.
3. An Act to Promote Utility System Reliability
This bill would require all utility companies to employ adequate numbers of employees to perform routine inspections and preventative maintenance work. It would also require that each company have designated staff to perform daily maintenance and inspections.
4. An Act Regarding Service Quality Penalties
This bill would require each distribution, transmission and gas company to file a report with the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) by March 1st every year. This report will compare the company’s performance during the previous year to the DPU’s service quality standards and any applicable national standards adopted by DPU. In addition, DPU would be allowed to levy a penalty against any company that files to meet these standards up to and including the equivalent of 4 percent of the company’s transmission and distribution services for the previous calendar year.
5. An Act to Provide Emergency Relief for Electric Customers (co-filed with Secretary of State William Galvin)
This bill strikes the one million dollar cap on fines and creates a remedy for an emergency situation. The legislation makes the utility company subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $500,000 for each violation for each day that the violation persists. Fines can be issues immediately upon notice. If the supplier cannot remedy the problem another supplier can be brought in to repair the problem and the supplier would have to pay for the repairs.
6. An Act Amending Utility Rate Hearings (refile of S.1918)
This bill would require the Department of Telecommunications and Energy (DTE) utility rate hearings to be held in the service area affected by the rate change. The bill also requires DTE to notify the legislative delegation and the governing body of each community in the service area of the hearing.
Health & Human Services
7. An Act to Assure Continuity of Health Coverage for Children (Filed by Rep. Story in the House)
This bill establishes 12 month continuous eligibility for children under SCHIP and Medicaid. Health coverage under Medicaid and SCHIP is available to children in Massachusetts who are from families living at 300% below the federal poverty level (FPL). Currently, if at any point after they are deemed eligible, a child will lose coverage if his or her family’s income rises above this level. For a family living close to 300% FPL, it is not uncommon for its income to fluctuate over the course of a year. When this happens, children cycle on and off of SCHIP / Medicaid coverage.
The federal government allows states to establish 12 month continuous eligibility under these programs, meaning that once a child is deemed eligible for SCHIP or Medicaid, they maintain that eligibility for 12 months regardless of their family’s income. 29 states have implemented this policy already. 12 month coverage improves state government efficiency and lower administration costs, and is good for kids and doctors.
8. An Act Concerning Foster Youth Who Remain in the Care of the Department of Children and Families after They Attain Eighteen Years of Age
This bill is not a funding bill; instead it clarifies state law to allow for the state to receive federal funds. The federal government passed federal legislation recently which gave states the option to expand the federal IV-E foster care program to cover youth ages 18-21, beginning on October 1, 2010. By amending Chapter 119 to ensure support for youth between the ages of 18 and 21 who fit certain criteria, the Commonwealth will qualify for a 50% reimbursement from the federal government. A conservative estimate is that this program will translate into three to five million dollars in annual savings for the Commonwealth – as well as thousands of high school diplomas for foster youth.
Although they are legally adults, foster youth in this age group are in many ways still children. The statistics suggest that youth who “age out” are more likely to experience negative life outcomes, but with a little bit of extra support through the transition years of 18 to 21, they can blossom into successful, independent, healthy adults. The Department does its part to foster this potential, offering Voluntary Placement Agreements for about 1,600 Massachusetts youth ages 18 – 21. Unfortunately, insufficient state and federal funding limits the number of youth DCF can serve as well as the types of services that it can offer.
9. An Act Authorizing the Department of Mental Health to Establish Teen Drop-in Centers (refile of H.1881)
This bill allocates funds to establish five teen mental health drop-in centers across the Commonwealth. These centers would provide free, confidential access to licensed mental health professionals as well as trained peer counselors. They also make available a “safe room” for those who would like privacy, and provide referrals for services beyond the scope of the professionals at the centers, such as inpatient care and substance abuse services.
10. An Act Relative to Updating Reciprocity for Licensing Optometrists
This legislation updates the Massachusetts law governing optometrists to address the changing field of optometry. In other states around the country, optometrists are able to receive licensure by endorsement whereas, currently, Massachusetts must have a separate reciprocal agreement with each of the 49 other states or the District of Columbia. In addition to being a timely and inefficient manner of allowing practitioners to practice in this state, requiring an agreement with each and every state is not particularly enticing to other states. As it currently stands, Massachusetts optometrists have fewer practice rights than other states meaning, in essence, that other states do not really have an incentive to enter reciprocal agreements with Massachusetts. Accordingly, this legislation updates Massachusetts existing law to account for licensure by endorsement and, since the industry has changed, address the use of titles individuals from other states are now able to use.
Public Safety
11. An Act relative to Expanding the Venue for Filing Emergency Protective Orders – (refile of S.783)
This bill would amend the state’s 209A law to expand the allowable venue for filing protection orders. Currently, an individual must go to the court that has venue over the plaintiff’s residence; only this court may issue a protection order. This legislation would require any court to issue temporary protective orders in emergency situations.
12. An Act Continuing Retirement Group Membership for Law Enforcement Officials (refile of S. 1436)
This bill allows any member who is currently in Group 4 retirement to retain their retirement status if they are appointed to various positions that do not have Group 4 status. This is intended to recruit high-level people to these positions who otherwise would not be interested in them because of their retirement status.
13. An Act Relative to Police Pursuits in the Commonwealth (refile of H.142)
This bill enacts stricter penalties for drivers who fail to stop for police officers.
Education
14. An Act Ensuring Adequate Nursing Services at Public Schools (H.430)
This bill ensures that each public school has at least one licensed nurse assigned to it by the respective school committee. It also ensures that each facility is equipped with the proper tools necessary for school physicians and nurses to treat students.
15. An Act Relative to School Improvement Plans (refile of S.276)
This bill instructs districts to submit school improvement plans to both the superintendent and the school committee for approval.
16. An Act Regarding School Transportation (refile of S.277)
This bill would require the Commonwealth to reimburse school districts for the cost of transportation for public schools.
17. An Act Relative to Dismissal Rights for K-12 Support Personnel
This bill requires that any K-12 school support personnel who have been working at a school for at least ninety days must be provided with a written notice and explanation for their dismissal.
Public Service
18. An Act Relative to Janice Barney
This bill would allow Janice Barney, a constituent from Lunenburg, to buy back creditable service for time spent teaching at St. Bernard's Catholic School.
19. An Act Authorizing the State Board of retirement to Grant Creditable Service to Kelly Kearns Aveni: Re-File of S.1433
This bill allows Kelly Kearns Aveni to buy back 17 months of her retirement time from the Worcester Probate and Family Court. In 2002, Ms. Aveni was laid off by budget cuts, and was then reinstated retroactively with her seniority, and vacation time. However, due to a clerical error, her retirement was not retroactively reinstated; this bill corrects that error.
20. An Act Relative to the Vacation Rights of a Certain Employee of the Trial Court: Re-file of S.785
This bill enables Jay MacAuliffe, a resident of Sterling, to receive more vacation time per year and receive just compensation for his long-term service. Since July of 1977, he has not seen an increase in his annual vacation allotment: based on his tenure in public service, he should have received a raise in vacation.
Miscellaneous
21. An Act Relative to Plastics Manufacturing in the Commonwealth (refile of H.4222)
This bill would establish three major changes to how molds for plastic objects are handled after the completion of the job.
22. An Act Relative to the Disposal of Municipally Owned Vacant Property
This bill would give municipalities the option of selling municipally owned vacant and underutilized properties on the open market and get them into the hands buyers through a simplified and cost effective process.
23. An Act authorizing the Registry of Motor Vehicles to issue distinctive license plates for the establishment of a fund for the future of nursing (refile of H.3479)
This bill would create a distinctive license plate for registered nurses. The money generated through the Registry of Motor Vehicles for these distinctive license plates would be set aside in a fund used to promote nursing in Massachusetts.
24. An Act Relative to Judges and Registers of Probate: Re-file of S.784
This bill was requested by Worcester County Register of Probate Stephen Abraham. It amends the bill passed in the 05-06 session to add one more assistant register.
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