The Massachusetts Senate

Last updated: June 5, 2009 10:54 AM

Text of Senate amendments to S2069
Rejected CLERK 1 MHC Federal Funds Mr. Morrissey moves to amend the bill, Senate 2069, in Section 56, by striking out in line 379 the word “funds.” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “funds; and provided further the same ought to apply to line item 0526-0114.” ADOPTED CLERK 2 Municipal Light Plant Reimbursements Ms. Chandler moves to amend the bill, Senate No. 2069, in section 2A, in item 1599-1701, in line 1, by inserting after the word “costs” the following words: “to certain municipalities and municipal lighting plants as” CLERK 3 WITHDRAWN Rejected CLERK 4 SUPPLEMENTAL MEDICAL SECURITY TRUST FUND FUNDING FOR CERTAIN DISPROPORTIONATE SHARE HOSPITALS Messrs. Morrissey and Montigny moved that Senate Bill 2069 be amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section:- SECTION X. The $7,500,000 received by the Commonwealth for disproportionate share hospitals pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”) shall be appropriated to the Medical Security Trust Fund. The Office of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services shall distribute $15,000,000, consistent with ARRA to certain disproportionate share hospitals, as defined by 114.1 CMR 36.04 and M.G.L. 118G §1, that provide the largest volume of uncompensated care in the Commonwealth, as determined by the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy and had no controlling interest in any managed care organization under contract with MassHealth as of January 1, 2009, in an amount equal to the difference between the costs incurred by such hospital for the provision of services to publicly insured or uninsured individuals including Masshealth, Medicare, Commonwealth Care, and the Health Safety Net Trust Fund (“Uncompensated Public Care”) and the payments received for such services; and provided further, that hospitals that have in-patient psychiatric units which said psychiatric units had negative operating margins in FY08, adjusted to exclude any grants awarded from the Essential Community Provider Trust Fund shall receive priority in the distribution of such supplemental payment amounts under this section; and provided further, that any remaining amounts not otherwise distributed in accordance with this section shall be distributed equitably among the remaining facilities, in proportion to the relative amount of Uncompensated Public Care costs incurred by each facility. Rejected CLERK 5 Relative to Cost Containment Messrs. Tarr, Tisei, Knapik, Hedlund, and Brown move to amend the bill (S. 2069) by adding at the end the following new section:- “SECTION XX. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Commonwealth Connector, as established in Chapter 58 of the acts of 2006, shall reevaluate its requirements for minimum creditable coverage for health insurance, so as to determine the most effective means for making available to the citizens of the Commonwealth health insurance plans with reduced premium costs from those presently offered. In its reevaluation the agency shall consider but not be limited to the elimination of mandated coverage such as those for prescription drugs in one or more available plans, the increased utilization of mechanisms such as medical savings accounts, increased deductible levels and small business health purchasing cooperatives, and increased tax benefits for purchasing and maintaining creditable coverage. Upon the completion of said reevaluation the agency shall develop a plan to employ one or more methods to reduce the cost of at least one available plan proving creditable coverage for each class of insured, and submit such plan to the clerks of the House and Senate not more than six months following the passage of this act, and shall implement said plan not later than ninety days following that filing.” Rejected CLERK 6 Convention Center Fund Mr. Hart moves that the Senate bill 2069 be amended in Section 55 by striking out the figure “$65,000,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$50,000,000” Rejected CLERK 7 HISTORIC TAX CREDITS Ms. Tucker and Ms. Chandler move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2069) by inserting after Section ______, the following new Section: - “SECTION ____. Section 6J of chapter 62 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after subsection (c)(2) the following:- (3) Nothing in this section shall prevent a completed or certified project that has been placed into service from remaining eligible for further historic rehabilitation tax credit allocations; provided that the completed projected has not received previous allocations that exceed 20 percent of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures; provided further, that notwithstanding any general or special law, rule or regulation to the contrary, projects that received final certification prior to January 1, 2009, which were subsequently deemed ineligible for a historic rehabilitation tax credit allocation shall be issued said credits forthwith. Section 38R of chapter 63, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after (c)(2) the following:- (3) Nothing in this section shall prevent a completed or certified project that has been placed into service from remaining eligible for further historic rehabilitation tax credit allocations; provided that the completed projected has not received previous allocations that exceed 20 percent of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures; provided further, that notwithstanding any general or special law, rule or regulation to the contrary, projects that received final certification prior to January 1, 2009, which were subsequently deemed ineligible for a historic rehabilitation tax credit allocation shall be issued said credits forthwith. CLERK 8 WITHDRAWN Rejected RC#77 [11 to 22] CLERK 9 COURT CONSOLIDATION Mr. Tisei moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2069) by inserting, after Section __, the following new Section:- “SECTION __. Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, there shall hereby be established a court consolidation and efficiency commission. The commission shall consider what, if any, courts of the commonwealth can be consolidated, eliminated or expanded so that justice may be more efficiently served to the citizens of the commonwealth. Not later than February 1, 2010 the commission shall issue its recommendations along with any draft legislation necessary to implement said recommendations. The commission shall consist of the chief justice of the supreme judicial court, or her designee, who shall also serve as co-chair; the secretary of administration and finance, or her designee, who shall also serve as co-chair; the chief justice of the appeals court, or his designee; the chief justice for administration and management of the trial court, or his designee; the chief justice of the probate court, or his designee; the chief justice of the juvenile court, or his designee; two persons to be appointed by the president of the senate; one person to be appointed by the minority leader of the senate; two persons to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; one person to be appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives; and three persons to be appointed by the governor. The plan for reorganization filed by the commission shall have the effect of a reorganization plan filed by the governor under article XVVVII of the constitution of the commonwealth and shall be referred to an appropriate committee, to be determined by the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives, with the approval of the president and speaker, which committee shall not later than thirty days after the date of the commission’s presentation of said plan hold a public hearing thereon and shall not later than ten days after such hearing report that it approves or disapproves such plan and such reorganization plan shall have the force of law upon expiration of the sixty calendar days next following its presentation by the governor to the general court, unless disapproved by a majority vote of the members of either of the two branches of the general court present and voting, the general court not having been prorogued within such sixty days. After its presentation by the commission to the general court, no such reorganization plan shall be subject to amendment by the general court.” ADOPTED RC# 78 [36 to 3] Redraft CLERK 10 SPONSORSHIP OF STATE ASSETS Mr. Tisei moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2069) by inserting, after Section __, the following new Section:- “SECTION __. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Secretary of Administration and Finance shall pursue any and all opportunities for the sponsorship or naming of state assets and facilities for compensation that the Secretary deems appropriate and that is not otherwise prohibited by law. To this end the Secretary shall issue request for proposals not later than September 1, 2009 and as often as the Secretary deems necessary thereafter. Not later than January 1, 2010 the Secretary shall file reports with the House Committees on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Ways and Means detailing proceeds generated through sponsorships or naming rights and the details of any contracts entered into for such purposes.” ADOPTED CLERK 11 PERSONNEL CAP ON DPH RESERVE Mr. Tisei moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2069) in section 2A, by striking out item 1599-1031 and inserting in place thereof the following item:- “1599-1031 For a reserve to meet costs identified by the department of public health associated with responding to an outbreak of the H1N1 virus; provided, that funds may be expended on staffing costs within the state laboratory, dissemination of public information, antiviral medication for the treatment or prevention of the H1N1 virus and the purchase of laboratory equipment specific for the testing for the H1N1 virus; provided further, that funds from this item shall not be expended on salaries or contracts for personnel hired by the department of public health on or after April 15, 2009; provided further, that the secretary of health and human services shall submit a spending plan to the executive office for administration and finance and the house and senate ways and means committees before the disbursement of funds from this reserve; and provided further, that the department of public health and the executive office for health and human services shall seek federal reimbursement for any eligible expenditures from this reserve…………………………………………………………..…………..$2,845,216”

Text of Senate amendments to S2069

Rejected
CLERK 1

MHC Federal Funds

Mr. Morrissey moves to amend the bill, Senate 2069, in Section 56, by striking out in line 379 the word “funds.” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “funds; and provided further the same ought to apply to line item 0526-0114.”

ADOPTED
CLERK 2

Municipal Light Plant Reimbursements

Ms. Chandler moves to amend the bill, Senate No. 2069, in section 2A, in item 1599-1701, in line 1, by inserting after the word “costs” the following words: “to certain municipalities and municipal lighting plants as”

CLERK 3

WITHDRAWN

Rejected
CLERK 4

SUPPLEMENTAL MEDICAL SECURITY TRUST FUND FUNDING
FOR CERTAIN DISPROPORTIONATE SHARE HOSPITALS

Messrs. Morrissey and Montigny moved that Senate Bill 2069 be amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section:-

SECTION X. The $7,500,000 received by the Commonwealth for disproportionate share hospitals pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”) shall be appropriated to the Medical Security Trust Fund. The Office of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services shall distribute $15,000,000, consistent with ARRA to certain disproportionate share hospitals, as defined by 114.1 CMR 36.04 and M.G.L. 118G §1, that provide the largest volume of uncompensated care in the Commonwealth, as determined by the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy and had no controlling interest in any managed care organization under contract with MassHealth as of January 1, 2009, in an amount equal to the difference between the costs incurred by such hospital for the provision of services to publicly insured or uninsured individuals including Masshealth, Medicare, Commonwealth Care, and the Health Safety Net Trust Fund (“Uncompensated Public Care”) and the payments received for such services; and provided further, that hospitals that have in-patient psychiatric units which said psychiatric units had negative operating margins in FY08, adjusted to exclude any grants awarded from the Essential Community Provider Trust Fund shall receive priority in the distribution of such supplemental payment amounts under this section; and provided further, that any remaining amounts not otherwise distributed in accordance with this section shall be distributed equitably among the remaining facilities, in proportion to the relative amount of Uncompensated Public Care costs incurred by each facility.

Rejected
CLERK 5

Relative to Cost Containment

Messrs. Tarr, Tisei, Knapik, Hedlund, and Brown move to amend the bill (S. 2069) by adding at the end the following new section:-

“SECTION XX. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Commonwealth Connector, as established in Chapter 58 of the acts of 2006, shall reevaluate its requirements for minimum creditable coverage for health insurance, so as to determine the most effective means for making available to the citizens of the Commonwealth health insurance plans with reduced premium costs from those presently offered. In its reevaluation the agency shall consider but not be limited to the elimination of mandated coverage such as those for prescription drugs in one or more available plans, the increased utilization of mechanisms such as medical savings accounts, increased deductible levels and small business health purchasing cooperatives, and increased tax benefits for purchasing and maintaining creditable coverage.
Upon the completion of said reevaluation the agency shall develop a plan to employ one or more methods to reduce the cost of at least one available plan proving creditable coverage for each class of insured, and submit such plan to the clerks of the House and Senate not more than six months following the passage of this act, and shall implement said plan not later than ninety days following that filing.”

Rejected
CLERK 6

Convention Center Fund

Mr. Hart moves that the Senate bill 2069 be amended in Section 55 by striking out the figure “$65,000,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:-

“$50,000,000”

Rejected
CLERK 7

HISTORIC TAX CREDITS

Ms. Tucker and Ms. Chandler move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2069) by inserting after Section ______, the following new Section: -

“SECTION ____. Section 6J of chapter 62 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after subsection (c)(2) the following:-
(3) Nothing in this section shall prevent a completed or certified project that has been placed into service from remaining eligible for further historic rehabilitation tax credit allocations; provided that the completed projected has not received previous allocations that exceed 20 percent of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures; provided further, that notwithstanding any general or special law, rule or regulation to the contrary, projects that received final certification prior to January 1, 2009, which were subsequently deemed ineligible for a historic rehabilitation tax credit allocation shall be issued said credits forthwith.
Section 38R of chapter 63, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after (c)(2) the following:-
(3) Nothing in this section shall prevent a completed or certified project that has been placed into service from remaining eligible for further historic rehabilitation tax credit allocations; provided that the completed projected has not received previous allocations that exceed 20 percent of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures; provided further, that notwithstanding any general or special law, rule or regulation to the contrary, projects that received final certification prior to January 1, 2009, which were subsequently deemed ineligible for a historic rehabilitation tax credit allocation shall be issued said credits forthwith.

CLERK 8

WITHDRAWN

Rejected
RC#77 [11 to 22]
CLERK 9

COURT CONSOLIDATION

Mr. Tisei moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2069) by inserting, after Section __, the following new Section:-

“SECTION __. Notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, there shall hereby be established a court consolidation and efficiency commission. The commission shall consider what, if any, courts of the commonwealth can be consolidated, eliminated or expanded so that justice may be more efficiently served to the citizens of the commonwealth. Not later than February 1, 2010 the commission shall issue its recommendations along with any draft legislation necessary to implement said recommendations. The commission shall consist of the chief justice of the supreme judicial court, or her designee, who shall also serve as co-chair; the secretary of administration and finance, or her designee, who shall also serve as co-chair; the chief justice of the appeals court, or his designee; the chief justice for administration and management of the trial court, or his designee; the chief justice of the probate court, or his designee; the chief justice of the juvenile court, or his designee; two persons to be appointed by the president of the senate; one person to be appointed by the minority leader of the senate; two persons to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; one person to be appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives; and three persons to be appointed by the governor.
The plan for reorganization filed by the commission shall have the effect of a reorganization plan filed by the governor under article XVVVII of the constitution of the commonwealth and shall be referred to an appropriate committee, to be determined by the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives, with the approval of the president and speaker, which committee shall not later than thirty days after the date of the commission’s presentation of said plan hold a public hearing thereon and shall not later than ten days after such hearing report that it approves or disapproves such plan and such reorganization plan shall have the force of law upon expiration of the sixty calendar days next following its presentation by the governor to the general court, unless disapproved by a majority vote of the members of either of the two branches of the general court present and voting, the general court not having been prorogued within such sixty days.
After its presentation by the commission to the general court, no such reorganization plan shall be subject to amendment by the general court.”

ADOPTED
RC# 78 [36 to 3]
Redraft CLERK 10

SPONSORSHIP OF STATE ASSETS

Mr. Tisei moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2069) by inserting, after Section __, the following new Section:-

“SECTION __. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Secretary of Administration and Finance shall pursue any and all opportunities for the sponsorship or naming of state assets and facilities for compensation that the Secretary deems appropriate and that is not otherwise prohibited by law. To this end the Secretary shall issue request for proposals not later than September 1, 2009 and as often as the Secretary deems necessary thereafter. Not later than January 1, 2010 the Secretary shall file reports with the House Committees on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Ways and Means detailing proceeds generated through sponsorships or naming rights and the details of any contracts entered into for such purposes.”

ADOPTED
CLERK 11

PERSONNEL CAP ON DPH RESERVE

Mr. Tisei moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2069) in section 2A, by striking out item 1599-1031 and inserting in place thereof the following item:-

“1599-1031 For a reserve to meet costs identified by the department of public health associated with responding to an outbreak of the H1N1 virus; provided, that funds may be expended on staffing costs within the state laboratory, dissemination of public information, antiviral medication for the treatment or prevention of the H1N1 virus and the purchase of laboratory equipment specific for the testing for the H1N1 virus; provided further, that funds from this item shall not be expended on salaries or contracts for personnel hired by the department of public health on or after April 15, 2009; provided further, that the secretary of health and human services shall submit a spending plan to the executive office for administration and finance and the house and senate ways and means committees before the disbursement of funds from this reserve; and provided further, that the department of public health and the executive office for health and human services shall seek federal reimbursement for any eligible expenditures from this reserve…………………………………………………………..…………..$2,845,216”