UMUNI-RELIEF BILL PROVISIONS CONTINUE TO UNDERGO LEGISLATIVE REVIEW:
PATRICK ADMINISTRATION AWARDS LOWELL $1 MILLION STATE INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT PROJECTED TO CREATE 350 JOBS
UMUNI-RELIEF BILL PROVISIONS CONTINUE TO UNDERGO LEGISLATIVE REVIEW
By Gintautas Dumcius
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON , JUNE 27, 2007.....It's the kind of bill that clears the House and Senate routinely - and unnecessarily, says the governor.
Approved by the town, the legislation has 10 lines total, allowing Wellfleet to issue bonds in order to finance a harbor seawall. The borrowing is of $3.1 million over 20 years, since any time over 10 years requires legislative approval.
The legislation is the type of bill that would be rendered unnecessary under Gov. Deval Patrick's "Municipal Partnership Act," according to Rep. Sarah Peake.
"This is exactly the kind of home rule clutter that can be avoided," the Provincetown Democrat said after testifying in support of the seawall bill before the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government.
The committee earlier heard from Patrick administration officials, who made a quiet case for a number of portions of Patrick's proposal as House lawmakers labored to pass sections forcing some local and county pension system assets into the high-performing state pension fund.
The portions the committee heard include emergency borrowing capacities, providing for flexibility for debt-structuring and borrowing through borrowing terms being raised to 30 years from 20, and making it easier for municipalities to impose trash collection fees.
"Each of the components of this bill we feel are important and will provide great assistance to the municipalities," said Jay Gonzalez, assistant secretary for administration and finance.
Emergency borrowing currently has to go through a town meeting approval process.
"Right now, even though they have the authority to borrow to address an emergency, it takes too much time to get a town meeting organized and put together to actually approve the bond," Gonzalez said.
Most municipalities have a town meeting at least once a year or special town meeting scheduled for the fall, he said.
Other portions of the proposal have stalled in committees they were sent to.
Patrick has stepped up lobbying for the overall bill, calling on lawmakers to pass the entire proposal.
In contrast to the boisterous rally that took place in Nurses' Hall last week, with 250 supporters joining mayors and lawmakers supporting Patrick, no one else was scheduled to testify at today's hearing in support of the bill beyond former Taunton Mayor Robert Nunes, Patrick's municipal affairs director, and Gonzalez.
"The legislative process takes time, we understand that," Gonzalez said after testifying. "I think we're happy that the Legislature's hearing these provisions and asking for our input on them."
Acknowledging that the portions allowing cities and towns to raise revenue through hotel and meal taxes are getting much of the attention, Rep. Vincent Pedone (D-Worcester), committee chairman, said the bonding portions will be reported out of the committee "soon."
But Pedone raised concerns about the trash collection fees, saying his delegation, which also includes lawmakers from Springfield, believes the fees may be unfairly burdensome to elderly individuals.
The sections heard by the committee also include the establishment of a special commission that would look at ways to increase local authority that currently require approval of the Legislature. The commission would report back in March 2008.
The section drew opposition from Robert McCarthy, head of the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts union, who said the commission is aimed at "circumventing democracy."
"It's clear to me they're trying to cut someone out," he said, noting in his testimony that local communities should file legislation if they need more authority.
Patrick aides did not respond to a request for comment. But the administration's point of view got support from a source not usually allied with the Corner Office.
"I don't think that's really a fair argument, that it takes away legislative authority," said House Minority Leader. Bradley Jones of North Reading, who has filed his own version of a municipal partnership act that includes exempting cities and towns from paying the state's 21-cent gas tax.
If some bills meet a certain criteria, such as "sick leave banks," a frequent petition that gets routed through the Legislature, they could be cleared off lawmakers' plates, he said.
Otherwise, "they take up space here and keep people from being focused," he said.
