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ENHANCED GAMING IN THE COMMONWEALTH
Messrs. Tisei, Tarr and Knapik moved that the bill be amended by inserting after section 90 the following sections:-
“SECTION 91. The general court finds and declares that:
(a) promoting the economic viability of the commonwealth is a fundamental purpose of state government;
(b) growing the commonwealth’s economy is the best way to make the investments in those areas that will strengthen the commonwealth;
(c) the creation of resort casinos is an important part of an overall strategy to ensure the state’s economic growth;
(d) authorizing 3 resort casinos will result in tens of thousands of construction jobs and billions of dollars of construction-related spending in the commonwealth;
(e) once constructed, the 3 resort casinos will create tens of thousands of new jobs for residents of the commonwealth and offer a wide array of employment opportunities for individuals with diverse educational backgrounds and skills, while enhancing the commonwealth’s workforce development system by creating career advancement opportunities for casino employees;
(f) ensuring that the resort casinos are located in different regions of the state expands economic development and job creation broadly throughout the whole commonwealth and recognizes that the needs of regional economies must be addressed;
(g) revenue generated from resort casinos can be used to fund critical needs in the commonwealth, including investments and upgrades to roads and bridges, and other transportation infrastructure;
(h) such investment in infrastructure is an economic necessity and will facilitate economic development and job creation;
(i) property tax burden has soared, hitting middle and lower income homeowners the hardest, and additional revenue from resort casinos can be used to offset this burden;
(j) property tax reduction is an essential tool for community stabilization;
(k) addressing the social costs of gaming is an important and necessary part of any comprehensive casino plan and therefore this act provides for a high level of funding for these costs and an evaluation mechanism to ensure we understand fully the impacts of gaming in the commonwealth;
(l) a rigorous gaming regulatory and enforcement scheme is needed to ensure fairness and integrity in the gaming industry, and therefore this act contains a detailed strategy to ensure proper oversight and evaluation of resort casinos in our commonwealth;
(m) the success of gaming in this commonwealth requires public confidence and trust that licensed gaming will be conducted honestly and competitively, that the resort casinos licensed in the commonwealth will not unduly impact the quality of life enjoyed by residents of the surrounding communities, and that gaming will be free from criminal and corruptive elements;
(n) public confidence and trust can only be maintained by strict regulation of all persons, locations, practices, associations and activities related to the operation of the resort casinos licensed in the commonwealth;
(o) the resort casinos licensed in the commonwealth must therefore be controlled to protect the public health, safety, and well being of the inhabitants of the commonwealth, to foster the stability and success of gaming and to preserve the competitive economy of the commonwealth;
(p) the Massachusetts gaming control authority is therefore created as the custodian of the public trust relative to the gaming industry and is explicitly granted broad powers within this act so it may have the full authority to oversee the gaming industry and ensure that resort casino operations are transparent; and
(q) to delay or deny the commonwealth the opportunity to increase jobs, attain new revenue, and address critical needs would be contrary to the best interests of our residents.
SECTION 92. Section 39 of chapter 3 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting in line 63 after the words “Loan Authority” the following words:- Massachusetts Gaming Control Authority, .
SECTION 93. Section 7 of chapter 4 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by deleting lines 63 through 65 and inserting in place thereof the following paragraphs:-
Tenth, “Gaming,” any banking or percentage game played with cards, dice, tiles, dominoes, or any electronic, electrical, or mechanical device or machine for money, property, checks, credit or any representative of value, but excluding:
(a) the game of bingo conducted pursuant to chapter 271;
(b) any charitable gaming, so called, conducted pursuant to chapter 271;
(c) pari-mutuel wagering on horse and dog races, whether live or simulcast, authorized under chapter 128A and chapter 128C; and
(d) any lottery game conducted by the state lottery commission, in accordance with section 24 of chapter 10.
“Illegal gaming” or “unlawful gaming” shall include every act punishable under any law relative to lotteries and the buying and selling of pools or registering of bets, except those acts permitted under section 24 of chapter 10, chapter 12B, chapter 128A, chapter 128C, and chapter 271.
SECTION 94. Section 22B1/2 of chapter 7, is hereby amended by inserting in line 23 after the words “Massachusetts Educational Loan Authority” the following words:- Massachusetts Gaming Control Authority, .
SECTION 95. Section 22G of chapter 7, is hereby amended by inserting in line 54 after the words “Massachusetts Educational Loan Authority” the following words:- Massachusetts Gaming Control Authority, .
SECTION 96. The General Laws are hereby amended by striking out chapter 12B and inserting in place thereof the following chapter:-
CHAPTER 12B. THE MASSACHUSETTS GAMING CONTROL AUTHORITY
Section 1. Definitions
As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
“Affiliate”, any person that a licensee or applicant directly or indirectly controls or in which an applicant or licensee possesses an interest. For the purposes of this definition, “controls” means either (i) directly or indirectly holding more than 10 percent of voting membership rights or voting stock or partnership interests, or (ii) that a majority of the directors, general partners, trustees, or members of an entity’s governing body are representatives of, or are directly or indirectly controlled by, the licensee or applicant. For the purposes of this definition, “possesses an interest in” means either (i) directly or indirectly holding more than 5 percent of voting membership rights or voting stock, or (ii) that at least 25 percent of the directors, general partners, trustees, or members of an entity’s governing body are representatives of, or are directly or indirectly controlled by, the licensee or applicant.
“Applicant”, a person who has applied for a casino license, work permit, or approval of any act or transaction pursuant to this chapter.
“Authority”, the Massachusetts gaming control authority, established pursuant to this chapter.
“Board”, the board of the Massachusetts gaming control authority.
"Casino license”, a license issued by the authority under this chapter that authorizes the person named therein to operate a resort casino in the commonwealth.
“Casino licensee”, any licensee holding a valid casino license issued under this chapter.
“Casino work permit”, any permit issued by the authority authorizing the holder to be employed as an employee in a licensed casino.
“Controlled game” or “controlled gaming”, any gaming conducted in a gaming establishment and located in a licensed casino in the commonwealth pursuant to this chapter.
“Division”, the division of gaming investigation and enforcement, within the department of the attorney general, as established pursuant to this chapter.
“Electronic gaming device”, any game of chance, mechanical, electronic or otherwise featuring coin drop and payout as well as printed tabulations or credits to a paper or electronic account, whereby the software or hardware of the device predetermines the presence or lack of a winning combination and payout, including microprocessor-controlled electronic devices that allow a player to play games of chance, which may be affected by an element of skill, activated by the insertion of a coin or currency or by the use of a credit and awards game credits, cash, tokens, replays or a written statement of the player’s accumulated credits, which written statements are redeemable for cash; and including slot machines, video lottery terminals and video facsimile machines of any type.
“Employee”, any natural person employed to perform services for compensation as an employee by a casino, including but not limited to casino employees, casino key employees, casino security employees, casino service employees, or any other person who works for any ancillary service operating on the site of a casino, including but not limited to hotels, restaurants, gaming establishments, and entertainment facilities.
“Executive Director”, the executive director of the Massachusetts gaming control authority, as established pursuant to this chapter.
“Gaming”, as defined in section 7 of chapter 4.
“Gaming establishment”, any building, room, place or other indoor or outdoor premises where any gaming occurs, including all public and non-public areas of any such establishment.
“Gaming equipment”, any equipment, device, object or contrivance, or machine, whether mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic, which is specifically designed or manufactured for use in the operation of gaming.
“Gaming services”, goods or services provided to any gaming establishment directly in conjunction with the operation of gaming, including security services, junket services, gaming schools or training activities, promotional services, printing or manufacture of betting tickets and manufacture, distribution, maintenance, testing or repair of electronic gaming devices, or goods or services provided by any person pursuant to which the person receives payments based on earnings, profits or net receipts from gaming.
“Gross gaming revenue”, the total, prior to the deduction of any operating, capital or other expenses whatsoever, less only the total of all sums paid out as winnings, of all gaming establishment revenue generated by the gaming establishment of any casino licensed under this chapter derived from the conduct of any game conducted at a licensed casino.
“Holding company”, any corporation, firm, partnership, trust, or other entity that, directly or indirectly, owns, has the power or right to control, or holds the power to vote on, all or any part of the partnership interests or outstanding voting securities of a corporation or any other business entity that holds or applies for a gaming license. In addition, a holding company indirectly has, holds, or owns any power or right mentioned herein if it does so through any interest in a subsidiary or affiliate or successive subsidiaries or affiliates, however many of these subsidiaries or affiliates may intervene between the holding company and the corporate licensees or applicant.
“Intermediary company”, any corporation, firm, partnership, trust, or other entity, other than a natural person, that is both of the following:
(a) a subsidiary with respect to a holding company, and
(b) a holding company with respect to a corporation or limited partnership or other entity that holds or applies for a gaming license.
“License”, a license issued to operate electronic gaming devices, to persons employed by gaming establishments, to gaming suppliers, to parties in interest, and to gaming schools.
“Licensed casino”, any resort casino licensed to conduct controlled gaming pursuant to this chapter.
“Licensed casino operator”, any operating entity that conducts controlled gaming within a gaming establishment pursuant to a license issued under this chapter.
“Licensee”, any person or party holding a valid license under this chapter.
“Licensing fee”, the fee required to be paid to the commonwealth by a licensed casino operator to operate a resort casino.
“Local host community”, 1 or more towns or cities in which a resort casino is located.
“Operating licensing payment”, the payment, based on a percentage of gross gaming revenue, that a licensed casino operator makes to the commonwealth.
“Party in interest”, any corporation, firm, partnership, trust, or other entity or person with any direct or indirect pecuniary interest in a licensed gaming establishment, or a person who owns any interest in the premises of a licensed gaming establishment, or land upon which such premises is licensed, whether he leases the property directly or through an affiliate.
“Person” or “party”, a natural person, corporation, partnership, limited partnership, trustee, holding company, joint venture, association, or any business entity.
“Resort casino”, a casino which shall include a gaming establishment and other non-gaming amenities, including but not limited to: hotels, entertainment venues, retail stores, recreational facilities, and restaurants all located at 1 site.
“Substantial party in interest”, any person holding a greater that 1 percent direct or indirect pecuniary interest, whether as owner, mortgagee or otherwise, in an operating entity, premises, or any other licensee or applicant; but, excluding any shareholder holding less than a 5 percent interest in a public company that is a substantial party in interest.
Section 2. Establishment of the Massachusetts Gaming Control Authority
(a) There is hereby created a body politic and corporate to be known as the Massachusetts gaming control authority. The authority is hereby constituted a public instrumentality and the exercise by the authority of the powers conferred by this chapter shall be deemed to be the performance of an essential governmental function. The purpose of the authority is to provide for the establishment of resort casinos, and to license, regulate, and oversee licensed casinos and controlled gaming at licensed casinos in the commonwealth.
(b) Board. The authority shall be governed and have its corporate powers exercised by a board of directors consisting of the treasurer or his designee, the auditor or his designee, and 5 members to be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall have experience in legal issues with respect to gaming establishments; 1 of whom shall have experience in finance and financial markets; 1 of whom shall have experience with the regulatory aspects needed for gaming establishments; 1 of whom shall have experience in accounting; and 1 of whom shall have experience in public health.
With the exception of the treasurer and auditor, no board
member shall hold or be a candidate for elected political
office. Each board member shall be a citizen of the
Three of the members appointed by the governor shall serve a term coterminous with that of the governor. The other 2 members appointed by the governor shall serve a term of 5 years. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of a member of the board shall be appointed in a like manner and shall serve for only the unexpired term of such member. Any member shall be eligible for reappointment but no member shall serve more than 2 terms of 5 years each. Any member may be removed from his appointment by the governor for cause. The governor shall from time to time designate a member or members of the board as its chairperson or co-chairperson as applicable.
Five of the members shall constitute a quorum and the affirmative vote of a majority of members present at a duly called meeting where a quorum is present shall be necessary for any action to be taken by the board. Any action required or permitted to be taken at a meeting of the board may be taken without a meeting if all of the members consent in writing to such action and such written consents are filed with the records of the minutes of the meetings of the board. Such consents shall be treated for all purposes as a vote at a meeting.
The members of the board shall serve without compensation, but each member shall be entitled to reimbursement for his actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of his official duties.
The board annually may elect 1 of its members as vice-chairperson, shall elect a secretary and a treasurer, and may elect or appoint other officers as it may deem necessary, none of whom, other than the vice-chairperson, are required to be members of the board. The secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of the board and shall be custodian of all books, documents, and papers filed by the board and of its minute book and seal. The secretary shall cause copies to be made of all minutes and other records and documents of the authority and shall certify that such copies are true copies, and all persons dealing with the authority may rely upon such certification. The treasurer shall be the chief financial and accounting officer of the authority and shall be in charge of its funds, books of account and accounting records. The officers of the board shall be subject to the same requirements as the members of the board under this act.
Meetings of the authority board shall be subject to sections 11A and 11A1/2 of chapter 30A, provided, however, that any discussion or consideration of law enforcement or investigatory information, trade secrets or commercial or financial information may be held by the board in executive session closed to the public notwithstanding the provisions of section 11A1/2 of chapter 30A, but the purpose of any such executive session shall be set forth in the official minutes of the authority board and no business which is not directly related to such purpose shall be transacted nor shall any vote be taken during such executive session. A public record of every vote shall be maintained at the authority.
(c) Executive Director. The board shall have the power to appoint and employ an executive director, and to fix the director’s compensation and conditions of employment. The executive director shall be the chief executive, administrative and operational officer of the authority and shall direct and supervise administrative affairs and the general management of the authority. The executive director may, subject to the general supervision of the board, employ other employees, consultants, agents, including legal counsel, and advisors, and shall attend meetings of the board.
(d) Advisory Committee. The authority shall be advised by an advisory committee consisting of 12 members, including: the secretary of health and human services, the secretary of administration and finance, the secretary of housing and economic development, the secretary of labor and workforce development, the secretary of public safety and security, or their designees; 3 members of the committee who shall be appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be a representative of organized labor, 1 of whom shall be an expert on gaming addiction, and 1 of whom shall be a police chief; 2 of the members of the committee who shall be appointed by the senate president; and 2 members who shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
Each member of the advisory committee shall serve for a term of 3 years; provided, however, that of the initial appointed members, 1 of the senate president’s and speaker’s appointments, and 3 of the governor’s appointments shall serve a term of 2 years. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of a member of the advisory committee shall be appointed in a like manner and shall serve for only the unexpired term of such member. Any member shall be eligible for reappointment but no member shall serve more than 2 three-year terms. The governor shall from time to time designate a member or members of the advisory committee as its chairperson or co-chairperson as applicable.
The members of the advisory committee shall serve without compensation, but each member shall be entitled to reimbursement for his actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of his official duties.
(e) Board members, officers and members of the advisory committee who are not compensated employees of the authority shall not be liable to the commonwealth, to the authority, or to any other person as a result of their activities, whether ministerial or discretionary, as such board members, officers, or advisory committee members except for willful dishonesty or intentional violations of law. Neither members of the authority nor any person executing bonds or policies of insurance shall be liable personally thereon or be subject to any personal liability or accountability by reason of the issuance thereof. The board of directors may purchase liability insurance for board members, officers and employees and may indemnify these persons against claims of others.
(f) Any documentary materials or data whatsoever made or received by any member or employee of the authority and consisting of, or to the extent that such materials or data consist of, law enforcement or investigatory information, trade secrets or commercial or financial information regarding the operation of any business conducted by an applicant for any form of assistance which the authority is empowered to render or regarding the competitive position of such applicant in a particular field of endeavor, shall not be deemed public records of the authority and specifically shall not be subject to the provisions of section 10 of chapter 66.
(g) The Massachusetts gaming control authority board shall be the successor to the Massachusetts gambling advisory board established by section 39 of chapter 60 of the acts of 1994.
Section 3. Powers and Duties of the Authority
The authority shall have all powers necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate its purposes, as defined in section 2(a), including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the powers to:
(a) adopt an official seal;
(b) sue and be sued, to initiate or defend civil actions relating to its properties and affairs, and to be liable in tort in the same manner as a private person; provided however, that the authority is not authorized to become a debtor under the United States Bankruptcy Code;
(c) appoint officers and employees;
(d) execute all instruments necessary or convenient thereto for accomplishing the purposes of this chapter;
(e) enter into agreements or other transactions with any person, including without limitation any public entity or other governmental instrumentality or authority in connection with its powers and duties under this chapter;
(f) appear in its own behalf before boards, commissions, departments or other agencies of municipal, state or federal government;
(g) obtain insurance;
(h) apply for and accept subventions, grants, loans, advances and contributions from any source of money, property, labor or other things of value, to be held, used and applied for its corporate purposes;
(i) provide and pay for such advisory services and technical assistance, including but not limited to accountants, financial experts, architects, attorneys, engineers, planners, real estate experts and other consultants as may be necessary in its judgment to carry out the purposes of this chapter and fix their compensation;
(j) prepare, publish and distribute, with or without charge, as the authority may determine, such studies, reports and bulletins and other material as the authority deems appropriate;
(k) investigate and determine the percentage of population of minority groups in the commonwealth or in areas thereof from which the work force for the casino is or may be drawn;
(l) establish and adopt such percentages as guidelines in determining the adequacy of affirmative-action programs submitted for approval pursuant to the provisions of this chapter;
(m) determine the types of conduct performed by licensees or applicants for licenses. The authority may approve or disapprove transactions and events as provided in this chapter, take actions reasonably designed to ensure that no unsuitable persons are associated with controlled gaming, and take actions reasonably designed to ensure that gaming activities take place only in suitable premises within licensed casinos;
(n) monitor the conduct of all licensees and other persons having a material involvement, directly or indirectly, with a licensee for the purpose of ensuring that licenses are not issued to, or held by, and there is no direct or indirect material involvement with a licensee by unqualified, disqualified, or unsuitable persons, or persons whose operations are conducted in unsuitable manner or in unsuitable or prohibited places, as provided herein;
(o) annually determine the maximum number of electronic gaming devices and wagering games and the types of wagering games permitted in the commonwealth and the number permitted at each gaming establishment; provided however, that a licensee shall be permitted to petition the authority for approval of additional wagering games and new types of wagering games;
(p) develop criteria, other than those outlined herein, to assess which bids submitted by applicants for casino licenses under this chapter will provide the highest and best value to the commonwealth;
(q) determine which applicants shall be awarded casino licenses and other licenses in accordance with the terms of this chapter;
(r) conduct auctions, if necessary, for the provision of establishing licensed casino operators;
(s) require any person to apply for a license as provided in this chapter and approve or disapprove any such application or other transactions, events, and processes as provided in this chapter;
(t) gather facts and information applicable to its obligation to issue licenses, to suspend or revoke licenses, work permits, or registrations granted to any person for: violation of any provision of this chapter or regulations adopted hereunder; willfully violating an order of the authority directed to such person; the conviction of any criminal offense under this chapter; or the commission of any violation of this chapter or other offense which would disqualify such person from holding a license or registration. The authority may also suspend the license or registration of any person pending hearing and determination, in any case in which license or registration revocation could result;
(u) with the assistance of the state police unit assigned to the division, conduct investigations into the qualifications of all applicants for employment by the authority and by any gaming establishment in a resort casino and all applicants for licensure;
(v) request and receive from the state police, the criminal history systems board, or other criminal justice agencies, including but not limited to the federal bureau of investigation and the federal internal revenue service, such criminal offender record information, criminal intelligence information and information relating to criminal and background investigations as necessary for the purpose of evaluating employees of, and applicants for employment by, the authority and any gaming establishment in a resort casino, and evaluating licensees and applicants for licensure. Upon the written request of the executive director, the state authority may receive from the district and juvenile courts, the state police, or the criminal history systems board, such information relating to juvenile proceedings as necessary for the purpose of evaluating employees of, and applicants for employment by, the authority and any gaming establishment in a resort casino, and evaluating licensees of, and applicants for, licensure;
(w) conduct hearings in accordance with the provisions of chapter 30A;
(x) levy and collect fees, taxes, and fines and impose penalties and sanctions for the violation of the provisions of the licensing provisions of this chapter and the regulations adopted hereunder. At any time within 5 years after any amount of fees, interest, penalties or tax required to be collected pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall become due and payable, the commission may bring a civil action in the courts of this commonwealth or any other state or of the United States, in the name of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, to collect the amount delinquent, together with penalties and interest. An action may be brought whether or not the person owing the amount is at such time an applicant, licensee or registrant pursuant to the provisions of this act. If such action is brought in this commonwealth, a writ of attachment may be issued and no bond or affidavit prior to the issuance thereof shall be required. In all actions in this commonwealth, the records of the authority shall be prima facie evidence of the determination of the fee or tax or the amount of the delinquency. Each debt that is due and payable as a result of fees, interest, penalties, or taxes required to be collected pursuant to the provisions of this chapter or the regulations adopted thereunder, including any compensation authorized pursuant to this chapter, and each regulatory obligation imposed as a condition upon the issuance or renewal of a license which requires the licensee to maintain, as a fiduciary, a fund for a specific regulatory purpose, shall constitute a lien on the real property in this commonwealth owned or hereafter acquired by the applicant, licensee, or registrant owing such a debt or on whom such an obligation has been imposed. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, such a lien shall be a first lien paramount to all prior or subsequent liens, claims, or encumbrances on that property;
(y) be present through its inspectors and agents at all times during the operation of any resort casino for the purpose of certifying the revenue thereof, receiving complaints from the public relating to the conduct of gaming and wagering operations, examining records of revenues and procedures, inspecting and auditing all books, documents, and records of any licensee, conducting periodic reviews of operations and facilities for the purpose of evaluating current or suggested provisions of this chapter and the regulations adopted thereunder, and otherwise exercising its oversight responsibilities with respect to resort casinos;
(z) visit, have access to and inspect, examine, photocopy, and test, without prior notice or approval of any party, all equipment and supplies in any licensed gaming establishment or in any premises where gaming equipment is manufactured, sold or distributed;
(aa) have access to and inspect, examine, photocopy, and audit all relevant and material papers, books, and records of any affiliate of a licensed gaming establishment that the executive director knows or reasonably suspects is involved in the financing, operation, or management of any entity licensed pursuant to this chapter, either on the affiliate’s premises or elsewhere, as practicable, in the presence of the affiliate or any agent thereof;
(bb) require that the books and financial or other records or statements of any licensee be kept in a manner that the authority or the bureau deems proper;
(cc) audit all relevant material papers, books, and records of an applicant for or person holding any license under this chapter, on such applicant or licensee’s premises or elsewhere, as practicable, in the presence of the applicant or licensee or his agent;
(dd) provide access to records and cooperate with the division, including answering the division’s requests for documents and refer to the division any evidence of a violation of this chapter or the regulations adopted thereunder;
(ee) establish licensure and work permits for employees working at the casino and minimum training requirements; provided further the authority may review the professional requirements of employees and update them as needed. The authority shall require that all casino employees be properly trained in their respective professions. The authority may recognize an employee’s license from out of state gaming schools if they meet the minimum requirements for the authority and may establish a process for reciprocal licensing of out of state licensed casino employees;
(ff) refer to the Massachusetts commission against discrimination matters and information concerning possible violations of Massachusetts law;
(gg) require the designation by a licensee of an equal employment officer to enforce the provisions of this section and the regulations adopted hereunder;
(hh) ensure that there is no duplication of duties and responsibilities between it and the division, provided, however, that the authority may not place any restriction upon the division’s ability to investigate or prosecute violations of this chapter or the regulations adopted hereunder;
(ii) enforce in a court of law the provisions of this section or to join in or assist any enforcement proceeding initiated by any aggrieved person;
(jj) refer any suspected criminal violation of this chapter to the division; provided, however, that nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to limit the investigatory and prosecutorial powers of other state and local officials and agencies;
(kk) provide technical assistance to towns, cities, and districts that are conducting referendum votes for the purposes of this chapter;
(ll) exercise any other powers of a corporation organized under chapter 156B;
(mm) make an annual report of its finance activities, including number of licenses, fines, penalties and violations and other relevant information and make recommendations for improved operations of the licensed casinos to the governor and the general court by March 31, for the prior calendar year; and,
(nn) adopt regulations, pursuant to sections 2 and 3 of chapter 30A, to carry out the powers and the provisions of this chapter; and specifically adopt regulations relating to the following matters:
(1) the licensing of resort casinos, including regulations relating to the types of establishments, application process, background checks, license fees, bonding requirements, and revocation, suspension, and renewal of licenses;
(2) the registration and licensing of gaming suppliers and non-gaming suppliers, including regulations relating to the application process, background checks, license fees, bonding requirements, and revocations and suspension of licenses;
(3) the licensing of parties in interest, including regulations relating to the application process, background checks, license fees, bonding requirements, and revocation and suspension of licenses;
(4) the issuance of 1 or more classes of work permits, criteria for different classes of work permits, including regulations relating to the application process, background checks, fees, and revocation and suspension of work permits;
(5) the registration and licensing of labor organizations representing the employees of a resort casino;
(6) the presentation and/or display of all licenses and work permits;
(7) the licensing of gaming schools, if any such school is established in the commonwealth, including regulations relating to the application process, background checks, license fees, and revocation and suspension of licenses;
(8) the monitoring of licensees to ensure compliance with this chapter and the regulations adopted thereunder, including but not limited to, requiring that licensees make readily available all documents, materials, equipment, personnel, and any other items that the division may wish to investigate;
(9) the posting of applicable statutes at casinos regarding civil and criminal laws applicable to gaming;
(10) minimum wage and benefits standards and other conditions of employment for resort casino employees, which standards or conditions may only be waived in a bona fide collective bargaining agreement;
(11) the method for collecting any fines, fees, penalties and interest imposed by the authority;
(12) the method and standards of operation of gaming establishments including, but not limited to, games, the type and manner of gaming, wagering limitations, odds, and hours of operation; provided, however, the authority shall not restrict the number of hours of operation of any gaming establishment to fewer hours than any competing gaming establishment in Massachusetts;
(13) the manufacturing, distribution, sale, testing, servicing, regulation and inspection of gaming equipment for use in licensed casinos, including requirements for the identification and licensing of same;
(14) any limitations on mortgage security interests and agreements relating to the property of licensed gaming establishments;
(15) any limitations on transfers of interests in licenses;
(16) advertising by licensed gaming establishments, including the monitoring of advertising, particularly to ensure that it is not directed at minors and other vulnerable populations; provided, however, licensees shall have the right to conduct reasonable advertising consistent with that of competing gaming facilities, and the state lottery;
(17) the manner in which winnings, compensation from games, and gaming devices must be compiled and reported by the authority; provided further, that electronic gaming devices shall return as winnings at a minimum 85 percent of all sums wagered;
(18) standards for protection of the health, safety, and security of the public at licensed gaming establishments;
(19) the procedures for renewal of all licenses awarded under this chapter;
(20) the minimum procedures to be adopted by each gaming establishment to exercise effective supervisory and management control over its fiscal affairs, including the requirement of an annual audit undertaken in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and the requirement that quarterly reports be provided by gaming establishments to the authority no more than 30 days after the close of each quarter;
(21) the persons to be excluded or ejected from gaming establishments, including the type of conduct prohibited and whether and under what conditions persons under age 21 may be permitted to enter casinos; and
(22) the licensing and regulation of the central computer system provider which services electronic gaming devices and on and off site auditing of electronic gaming devices; provided that, the authority shall ensure that the central computer system shall employ a widely accepted gaming industry protocol to facilitate slot machine manufacturers’ ability to communicate with the statewide system; and provided further, that the central computer system provider selected by the authority shall be prohibited from providing electronic gaming devices, or any other form of player activated terminal, for use in connection with the central computer system.
The commissioner of revenue shall act as the fiscal agent for the authority for the purposes of collecting all fees and assessments and for this purpose shall have all the powers provided in chapter 62C.
In emergencies, the authority may, without complying with sections 2 or 3 of chapter 30A, summarily adopt, amend, or repeal any regulation, if, at the time, the authority makes a finding that such action is necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health, safety, morals, good order, or general welfare, together with a statement of the facts constituting the emergency; provided, however, that no emergency action shall exceed 90 days.
Notwithstanding any other general or special law to the contrary, all files, records, reports, and other information in the possession of any state or local governmental agency including tax filings and related information that are relevant to an investigation by the authority conducted pursuant to this chapter shall be made available by such agency to the authority as requested, except that investigatory materials compiled by law enforcement out of the public view whose disclosure would materially prejudice the possibility of effective law enforcement shall not be subject to this requirement. Any tax or financial information received from a governmental agency shall be used solely for effectuating the purposes of this chapter. To the extent that these files, records, reports, or information are confidential or otherwise privileged from disclosure under any law, they shall not lose that confidential or privileged status for having been disclosed to the authority; provided further, that the authority shall consult with the division of public records regarding the handling of this information.
The authority shall make a continuous study and investigation of gaming throughout the commonwealth in order to ascertain the adequacy and effectiveness of state gaming law or regulations and may formulate recommendations for changes in such laws and regulations; provided further, that the study shall include economic, public health, security, taxation, traffic, regional housing, regional education, regional infrastructure and environmental impacts. The authority shall also make a continuous study and investigation of the operation and administration of similar laws in other states or countries, of any literature or reports on the subject, and of any federal laws which may affect the operation of gaming in the commonwealth, all with a view to recommending or effecting changes that will tend to better serve and implement the purposes of this chapter.
Section 4. Restrictions on prior employment and post employment by authority employees, members of the board, and executive branch employees; conflicts of interest and scope of employment.
(a) Prior Employment. No person shall be appointed to or employed by the authority if, during the period commencing 3 years prior to appointment or employment, that person held any direct or indirect interest in, or any employment by, any person which is licensed as a casino licensee, a casino service industry licensee, or a dog or horse racing licensee in the commonwealth or in another state or has an application for a gaming establishment license pending before the authority.
(b) Conflicts of Interest. Chapter 268A shall apply to all board members of the authority, all advisory committee members, and to all employees of the authority, except as specifically provided herein.
(1) The authority shall adopt a code of ethics that governs relationships and dealings between authority employees and licensees or applicants for licensure under this chapter.
(2) The codes of ethics adopted by the authority shall not be in conflict with the laws of the commonwealth, provided, however, that those codes of ethics may be more restrictive than any law of this commonwealth, including chapter 268A.
(3) The codes of ethics adopted by the authority shall be subject to the approval of the state ethics commission.
(4) All board members of the authority, all advisory committee members, all employees of the authority, and the spouse of each such individual, shall file a statement of financial interests for the preceding calendar year with the state ethics commission. The statement of financial interests filed pursuant to this section shall be on a form prescribed by the state ethics commission pursuant to chapter 268B and shall be signed under penalty of perjury by the reporting person. The statement of financial interests shall be filed with the state ethics commission within 30 days after the individual assumed his or her responsibilities with the authority, on or before May first of each year thereafter that such individual is associated with the authority as a board member, advisory committee member or employee, and on or before May first of the year after such individual ceases to be associated with the authority; provided, however, that no statement of financial interest shall be required to be filed for the year in which the individual ceased to be associated with the authority if he or she served less than thirty days in such year.
(c) Restrictions on Post Employment.
(1) No board member, including those board members who hold elected office, and no advisory committee member of the authority shall hold any direct or indirect interest in, or be employed by, any applicant or by any person licensed by or registered with the authority for a period of 3 years commencing on the date the membership on the authority terminates.
(2) No employee of the authority may acquire any direct or indirect interest in, or accept employment with, any applicant or any person licensed by or registered with the authority, for a period of 3 years commencing at the termination of employment with the authority.
(3) No authority employee shall represent any person or party other than the commonwealth before or against the authority for a period of 3 years from the termination of the employee’s employment with the authority.
(4) No partnership, firm or corporation in which a former authority board member or employee or former division employee or agent has an interest, nor any partner, officer or employee of any such partnership, firm or corporation shall make any appearance or representation which is prohibited to that former member, employee, or agent; provided, however, that nothing herein shall prohibit such partnership, firm or corporation from making such appearance or representation on behalf of a casino service industry licensed under this chapter.
(5) No person who was an employee of the commonwealth’s executive branch between January 4, 2007 and the date of enactment of this act, shall be employed by the authority, for a period of 3 years commencing at the termination of employment with the executive branch.
(6) No person who was an employee of the commonwealth’s executive branch between January 4, 2007 and the date of enactment of this act, shall be employed by any person which is licensed as a casino licensee, a casino service industry licensee, or a dog or horse racing licensee in the commonwealth or has an application for a gaming establishment license pending before the authority, for a period of 3 years commencing at the termination of employment with the executive branch.
(7) Prior to appointment or employment, each board member of the authority, each advisory committee member, and each employee of the authority, shall swear or affirm that he possesses no interest in any business or organization licensed by, or registered with, the authority.
(d) Scope of Employment. In addition to the requirements stated herein, all authority employees, authority board members, and advisory committee members shall be subject to chapter 268B. The stricter provisions of this section shall prevail over the provisions of chapter 268A.
Neither the authority nor any of its officers, agents, employees, consultants or advisors shall be subject to the provisions of sections 9A, 45, 46 and 52 of chapter 30, or to chapter 31, or to chapter 200 of the acts of 1976.
All officers and employees of the authority having access to its cash or negotiable securities shall give bond to the authority at its expense in such amounts and with such surety as the board may prescribe. The persons required to give bond may be included in 1 or more blanket or scheduled bonds.
No employee, or member of the authority, or their family members shall be permitted to place a wager in any gaming establishment licensed by the authority except in the course of his duties.
Section 5. Provisions for Applications of Casino Licenses
(a) Forms of Application. Any person desiring to establish a resort casino in the commonwealth shall make an application to the authority for a casino license.
(1) Such application shall include, but shall not be limited to the following:
(i) the name of the applicant;
(ii) the post office address of the applicant, and if a corporation, the name of the state under the laws of which it is incorporated, the location of its principal place of business and the names and addresses of its directors and stockholders;
(iii) an independent audit report of all financial activities, including but not limited to the disclosure of all contributions, donations, loans or any other financial transactions to or from any gaming entity or operator in the past 5 years;
(iv) an independent audit report of all of the applicants’ financial interests;
(v) the location of the proposed resort casino, which shall include address(es), maps, and book and page numbers from the appropriate registry of deeds, assessed value of land to be purchased or currently in ownership, market value of the land at the time of application, and ownership status over the past 5 years, including all interests, options, agreements in property, and demographic, geographic, and environmental information, and any other information requested by the authority;
(vi) the proposed architects and designers for the resort casino, which shall include the name and addresses of the architects, engineers, and designers, and timeline of construction and phases of construction;
(vii) the types of games and gaming to be conducted at the resort casino, number of tables and electronic gaming devices that are proposed to be employed at the casino, and the specific location of the gaming at the casino site;
(viii) a description of the ancillary entertainment services and amenities to be provided at the proposed resort casino;
(ix) the number of hotels, rooms per hotel and other amenities located at the proposed resort casino;
(x) the number of employees to be employed at the resort casino, including detailed information on the pay rate and benefits for employees, including any contractors;
(xi) the total amount of investment by the applicant in the resort casino, including all facilities located at the casino site;
(xii) completed studies and reports as required by the authority, which shall include, but are not limited to, an economic benefit study, both for the commonwealth and region; an environmental, traffic and local infrastructure impact study, a study on the impact of the proposed resort casino to the local and regional economy, the cost to the municipality and the state for the casino to be at its proposed location, and the total amounts of municipal and state tax revenue to be generated by the applicant;
(xiii) whether the applicant’s casino is part of a regional or local economic plan;
(xiv) whether the applicant is partnering with a federally recognized native American tribe located in the commonwealth;
(xv) whether the applicant has a contract with organized labor and has the support of organized labor for its application;
(xvi) whether the applicant will be using publicly owned land for the resort casino;
(xvii) a statement that the applicant will comply, in case such a license is issued, with all applicable laws and with all applicable rules and regulations prescribed by the authority or any other relevant entity;
(xviii) a statement that the applicant shall mitigate the potential negative public health consequences associated with gambling and the operation of a destination resort casino. As part of this submission, the applicant must agree to:
(A) maintain as smoke free all indoor facilities operated by the licensee or anyone working for or under contract with the licensee;
(B) provide complimentary on-site space for an independent substance abuse and mental health counseling service to be selected by the commonwealth;
(C) prominently display information on the signs of problem gambling and how to access assistance;
(D) describe a process for individuals to exclude their names and contact information from the licensee’s database or any other list held by the licensee for use in marketing or promotional communications;
(E) provide to the commonwealth aggregate demographic information with respect to its customers in a manner and pursuant to a schedule to be defined by the commonwealth;
(F) institute other public health strategies as determined by the authority;
(xix) a detailed plan showing the levels of security and safety for its employees, guests, equipment and money; and
(xx) answers to such other questions as the authority may prescribe.
(2) The authority may prescribe forms and additional information to be used in making such applications.
(3) An applicant’s request to receive a license under this chapter shall constitute a request for a determination of the applicant’s general character, integrity, and ability to participate or engage in, or be associated with, gaming.
(4) Such applications shall be signed and sworn to, if made by an individual, by such individual; if made by 2 or more individuals or a partnership, by 1 of such individuals or by a member of such partnership; if made by a trust, by a trustee of such trust; and if made by an association or corporation, by the chief executive and chief financial officers thereof.
(5) The authority shall investigate the qualifications of each applicant under this chapter before any license is issued.
(6) With each application, there shall be delivered to the authority a certified check or bank draft, payable to the authority, of a non-refundable deposit in the amount of $350,000 for the processing, analysis and review of the application.
(b) Eligibility. No person shall be eligible to bid on a resort casino license unless the person meets the following initial criteria and clearly states as part of an application that the person:
(1) agrees to be a state lottery reseller for the purpose of lottery and keno games, and to demonstrate that state lottery and keno games are readily accessible to its guests;
(2) shall, prior to beginning operations, invest no less than $1 billion into the resort casino, which shall not include the purchase or lease price of the land where the casino will be located;
(3) meets the licensee bonding requirement as set by the authority;
(4) has a debt to equity ratio of not more than 4:1 when the application is submitted;
(5) will have ownership of the land where the resort casino will be constructed within 60 days after a license has been awarded;
(6) shall demonstrate that it is able to pay and shall commit to paying the licensing fee of at least $200,000,000 and the operating licensing payment of at least 27 percent of all gross gaming revenues or $100,000,000 per year of the license, whichever is greater;
(7) has received a certified and binding vote on a ballot question at an election in the local host community where the resort casino will be located, in favor of such license; provided that the vote must take place after the effective date of this chapter; provided further that a binding vote shall be conducted not less than 60 days after the execution of a signed agreement between the host community and the applicant as provided in (10) below; provided further that the city, town, or district that holds an election shall be reimbursed for its expenses related to the election by the applicant. The authority, in consultation with the local host community and the office of the secretary of state, shall establish parameters for such elections;
(8) shall provide for a community impact fee for the local host community;
(9) shall pay for infrastructure costs of the host and surrounding communities incurred in direct relation to the construction and operation of a resort casino;
(10) shall provide to the authority a signed agreement between the host community and the applicant to have a resort casino located within the host community; provided that the agreement shall include the community impact fee for the local host community and all stipulations of responsibilities between the local host community and the applicant;
(11) shall be able to comply with state and local building codes; and
(12) shall formulate for authority approval and abide by an affirmative-action program of equal opportunity whereby the applicant guarantees to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees qualified for licensure in all employment categories, including a person with a disability, in accordance with Massachusetts law.
(c) Bid Procedure for Each Region
(1) The authority shall request bids for the purpose of awarding casino licenses in each region.
(2) The authority shall accept bids only from applicants who have met the initial eligibility requirements pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
(3) Before applications are received, the authority shall adopt regulations setting forth criteria by which each bid shall be evaluated in each region.
(4) The bids shall be evaluated to determine which proposal provides the highest and best value to the region and to the commonwealth. The criteria for determining the highest and best value to each region and the commonwealth shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
(i) the overall economic benefit to the commonwealth;
(ii) the amount of the licensing fee and the operating licensing payment the applicant shall provide to the commonwealth; provided that the license fee shall be at least $200,000,000 and that the operating licensing payment shall be a percentage of all gross casino revenues annually; provided that the minimum percentage shall be 27 percent of all gross gaming revenues or $100,000,000 per year of the license, whichever is greater.
(iii) the proposed infrastructure improvements and economic development opportunities to the commonwealth, the local host community and the region where the resort casino is located;
(iv) the extent to which the applicant shall contract with local and small business owners for the provision of services and goods at the casino;
(v) whether the applicant is a federally recognized Native American tribe located in the commonwealth or is partnering with a federally recognized Native American tribe located in the commonwealth;
(vi) the extent to which the proposed project is consistent with the commonwealth’s sustainable development principles. For purposes of this section, consistency with these principles means at a minimum the following:
(A) the resort casino has been certified or is capable of being certified as gold or higher pursuant to the U.S. Green Building Council Neighborhood Development Rating System. The authority may prescribe an alternative, independent, third-party rating after consultation with the secretary of the executive office and energy and environmental affairs, if, for example, that rating system is not in effect at the time of the license application;
(B) the resort casino’s proposed buildings have been certified or are capable of being certified as gold or higher pursuant to the green building rating system established by Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED). The authority may prescribe an alternative independent, third-party rating after consultation with the secretary of the executive office of energy and environmental affairs, if, for example, that rating system is not in effect at the time of the license application;
(C) the electrical equipment and appliances used by the casino meet United States Environmental Protection Agency efficiency standards;
(D) the casino shall procure 10 percent of its annual electricity consumption from renewable sources identified by the division of energy resources pursuant to section 11F of chapter 25A. This requirement may be achieved through procurement of renewable energy supply and/or through the production of on-site renewable power;
(E) should the casino develop open space land, the applicant shall purchase, or impose a conservation restriction upon, open space land of equal or greater size to the open space land developed by the casino. Any such conservation restriction shall comply with section 32 of chapter 184; and
(F) the project shall not be located in any area of critical environmental concern designated pursuant to section 2 of chapter 21A.
(vii) the number of permanent jobs created by the casino licensee; provided, that the licensee shall create at least 5,000 new permanent jobs at the casino, or through casino service providers, over a 5-year period;
(viii) whether the applicant agrees to work collaboratively with the Massachusetts workforce development system, including the appropriate local workforce entities, to create a workforce development plan to recruit and train residents of the commonwealth for the casinos, including those who face barriers in finding employment, such as people with low incomes or receiving public assistance, the long-term unemployed, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and participants in federal and state workforce programs;
(ix) whether the applicant shall establish, fund, and maintain internal human resource hiring and training practices that promote the development of a skilled and diverse workforce with access to promotion opportunities by a workforce-training program designed to foster a skilled and diverse workforce by:
(A) establishing transparent career paths with measurable criteria within the casinos that lead to increased responsibility and higher pay grades that are designed to allow employees to pursue career advancement and promotion;
(B) establishing employee access to additional resources, such as tuition reimbursement or stipend policies, to enable employees to acquire the education or job training needed to advance career ladders based on increased responsibility and pay grades;
(C) establishing an on-site child day care program;
(D) establishing a program to train the casino workforce in the identification of and intervention with customers exhibiting problem gaming behavior;
(E) where appropriate, applying for and using workforce training funds grants established under section 2RR of chapter 29 to enhance employee skills; and
(F) establishing access to “career coaches” to assist employees with understanding career advancement opportunities within the resort casino, as well as where appropriate, establishing an employee mentoring program to train and retain entry level employees.
(x) the architectural plans or site plans of all structures and facilities to be used as part of the resort casino;
(xi) whether the applicant is including in its application contracts with labor organizations and a provision assuring labor harmony during all phases of such construction, renovation, or reconstruction of the resort casino;
(xii) whether all contracts and subcontracts to be awarded in connection therewith shall contain appropriate provisions by which contractors and subcontractors or their assignees agree to afford an equal employment opportunity to all prospective employees and to all actual employees to be employed by the contractor or subcontractor in accordance with an affirmative action program approved by the authority and consonant with the provisions of Massachusetts and federal law; and
(xiii) the extent to which the applicant shall mitigate public safety effects;
(xiv) the extent to which the applicant shall provide funding for the marketing of Massachusetts as a tourist destination.
(5) In assessing the highest and best value to the commonwealth, the authority shall take into account the commonwealth’s policy determination that the commonwealth shall have no more than 3 gaming establishments.
(6) It shall be the burden of the applicant to provide convincing evidence in its application, to the satisfaction of the authority, that a resort casino shall provide the highest and best value to the region in which it is located and to the commonwealth.
(7) As part of its determination for licensure, the authority shall investigate and consider the positive and negative effects a casino facility will have to the host community and communities contiguous to the site, provided further, that factors to consider include, but are not limited to, the regional and local economy, the number and location of resort casinos, job creation or loss, road and traffic, public access, water, drainage, sewer, fire department coverage, police department coverage and other public safety coverage, emergency access, housing, public education influx, state and municipal creation or reduction and other infrastructure related issues.
Section 6. Awarding of and Conditions of Licenses
(a) The authority may award casino licenses based on the applications and bids submitted to the authority.
(b) Number of Casino Licenses. Notwithstanding any general or special laws to the contrary, the authority shall award no more than 3 casino licenses in the commonwealth, with no more than 1 license awarded per region, as follows:
region 1 - suffolk, middlesex, and essex counties;
region 2 – norfolk, bristol, plymouth, nantucket, dukes, and barnstable counties; and
region 3 – worcester, hampshire, hampden, franklin, and berkshire counties.
(c) Nothing in this chapter shall require the awarding of a license to a region. If the authority is not convinced that an applicant has both met the eligibility criteria and provided convincing evidence that the applicant shall provide the highest and best value to the region in which the resort casino is located and to the commonwealth, no casino license may be awarded in that region.
(d) For the purposes of determining which applicant may be awarded a license, each applicant’s bid shall be evaluated to determine which will provide the highest and best value to the region and to the commonwealth based on the criteria set out in section 5, and any other terms the authority determines by regulation.
(e) If there is more than 1 applicant in a region who is determined by the authority to be eligible for a casino license pursuant to section 5, the authority shall conduct an auction to award such license. The authority shall retain the services of a reputable financial services firm to assist in the construction of the auction and shall issue final regulations for such auction at least 30 days before the auction occurs.
(f) If an applicant is awarded a casino license, the casino licensee shall pay the commonwealth the following fees:
(1) a licensing fee in the amount indicated in its bid proposal provided that the licensing fee shall be at least $200,000,000;
(2) an annual operating licensing payment in the amount indicated in its bid proposal provided that the operating licensing payment shall be a percentage of all gross gaming revenues; provided further that the minimum percentage shall be at least 27 percent of all gross gaming revenues or $100,000,000 per year of the license, whichever is greater;
(g) No person or affiliate may be awarded more than 1 license and no person or affiliate may have an interest in more than 1 license.
(h) Renewability. Each license is renewable every 10 years, from the date of first issuance. The authority shall adopt regulations to establish standards and the process concerning the renewability of licenses.
(i) Conditions of Casino Licensure.
(1) Every casino licensee shall have an affirmative obligation to abide by every statement made in its application to the authority and every statement made in its bid submission to the authority pursuant to subsection (c) of section 5.
(2) No casino license shall issue to an applicant who is a federally recognized Native American tribe located in the commonwealth or an applicant who is partnered with a federally recognized Native American tribe located in the commonwealth unless the Native American tribe has entered into a contractual agreement with the commonwealth in which the Native American tribe agrees to waive any and all of its rights under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. sections 2701 et seq., and be subject to the civil and criminal laws, statutes, ordinances, and jurisdiction of the commonwealth with respect to all activities relating to the development and operation of the resort casino and the applicable rules and regulations prescribed by the authority.
(3) The authority shall make an assessment in each fiscal year against each licensee operating a casino in the commonwealth. This assessment is in addition to the licensing fee and the operating licensing payment paid by each licensee. This assessment shall be made at a rate as shall be determined and certified annually by the authority as sufficient to produce revenue to reimburse the commonwealth for funds appropriated for the operation of the authority and the division, including the dedicated state police units attached to the division, and public safety costs, including amounts sufficient to cover the cost of fringe benefits as established by the secretary of administration and finance under section 6B of chapter 29. This assessment shall be made proportionately against each licensee based on the proportionate number of gaming devices and tables operated by that licensee. Each licensee against whom an assessment is made shall pay over daily to the authority a pro rata share of the assessment as determined by the authority. If the authority fails to expend in any fiscal year the total amount assessed under this section, any amount unexpended shall be credited against the assessment to be made in the following year and the assessment in such following year shall be reduced by that unexpended amount.
(4) Each licensee shall pay the total amount of the licensing fee to the commonwealth immediately upon the awarding of the license.
(5) Each licensee shall pay daily to the commissioner of the department of revenue as the agent of the authority, the operating licensing payment, as provided in section 5.
(6) No licensee shall operate, invest or own, in whole or in part, another licensee’s license or casino. If a licensee is found in violation of this section, they will be fined up to $5,000 per day for violations.
(7) No person shall be permitted to transfer a license, or a direct or indirect real interest, structure, real property, premises, facility, personal interest, pecuniary interest, including, but limited to, substantial party in interest and affiliates and those entities established under the rules and regulations of the secretary of state, under any license issued under this chapter, or enter into an option contract, management contract, or other agreement or contract providing for such transfer in the present or future, without the notification to and approval by the authority; provided that the authority may require either the transferor or transferee or both, as determined by the authority, to pay to the commonwealth an amount representing the commonwealth’s share of the increased value for those licenses, property or contracts; provided, that the authority shall consider as a factor in determining the amount of the payment the difference in value of the licensee’s property between the time of when the licensee received the license and the time of or anticipated time of the transfer through the average of 3 separate assessments made on the licensee, the authority and an independent assessor chosen by the authority, and the cost of that assessment shall be part of the payment of the transfer; and provided further, that the authority shall consider as a factor in determining the amount of the payment the market value of the license of when it was acquired and at the time of the transfer; provided further, that the authority shall consider as a factor in determining the amount of the payment the increased value of the property, land, establishment, management agent, entity or business value as a result of possessing a gaming operator’s license. In no event shall a bona fide commercial financial institution licensed by the division of banks which becomes a substantial party of interest with a licensee be deemed to be a transfer; provided further, that the authority may reject such transfer if it deems it unsuitable. The authority shall adopt rules and regulations for the determination of the payment which serves the best interest of the commonwealth as a result of the transfer; provided that the authority may consider the actual increase or decrease in the pecuniary value of the license, the real property, and the shares of interest among the time it was initially purchased, the time of receiving a license and the time of the transfer; provided further, that any payments collected by the authority on behalf of the commonwealth are deposited in the same manner as license fees are deposited with the commonwealth.
The authority may place any condition or restriction on the transfer of a license or substantial interest or party of interest, and in all instances it shall consider whether additional compensation is owed to the Commonwealth.
No casino licensee shall be permitted to change its business governing structure under the law and those entities established under the rules and regulations of the secretary of state without the notification and approval of the authority.
The authority shall monitor the conduct of all licensees and other persons having a material involvement, directly or indirectly, with a licensee for the purpose of ensuring that licenses are not issued to, or held by, and there is no direct or indirect material involvement with a licensee by unqualified, disqualified, or unsuitable persons.
(8) Each licensee shall be required to have an office available to the authority. The authority shall establish the minimum requirements for the office.
(9) Each licensee shall be required to have an office available for the division’s state police personnel. The authority shall establish the minimum requirements for square footage for the state police office, office furnishings, and parking space.
(10) All licensees shall make readily available all documents, materials, equipment, personnel and any other items that the attorney general may desire to conduct an investigation. A licensee may withhold material that may be considered a trade secret or detrimental to the licensee if it were made public and have it adjudicated before the authority as to its protected status, and require non-disclosure agreements between the attorney general and the authority for such material.
(11) The licensee shall cooperate with the division with respect to the investigation of any criminal matter that is discovered on its property. The licensee shall, upon receipt of criminal or civil process compelling testimony or production of documents in connection with any civil or criminal investigation, immediately disclose such information to the authority. This section does not prohibit private persons or public entities from seeking any remedy or damages against a licensee.
(12) Each casino licensee shall require the approval of the authority for any capital improvements to the facility in excess of $1,000,000, which is in addition to the original application.
(13) All licensees shall have a duty to inform the authority of any action which they reasonably believe would constitute a violation of this chapter, and shall assist the authority and any federal or state law enforcement agency in the investigation and prosecution of such violation. No person who so informs the authority shall be discriminated against by an applicant or licensee because of the supplying of such information.
(14) All licensees shall collect and annually report to the authority a statistical report on the number of candidates hired and retained in employment in connection with the workforce development plan and the affirmative action program respectively required by sections 5(b). Failure to comply with this section shall cause a licensee to forfeit any state workforce training funds or economic incentives.
(15) All licensees shall agree to make a good faith effort to identify and recruit candidates from the local labor market area and other nearby labor market areas to ensure a diverse workforce. Failure to comply with this section shall cause a licensee to forfeit any state workforce training funds or economic incentives.
(16) Every casino licensee shall keep conspicuously posted on his premises a notice containing the name and numbers of the council on compulsive gambling and a statement of its availability to offer assistance. The authority may require the licensee to provide this information in 1 or more languages.
Section 7. Storage of Documents and Non-Disclosure of Sensitive Documents and Materials
The authority shall maintain a file of applications for licenses under this chapter, together with a record of all action taken by the authority on those applications. Such applications shall be open to public inspection; provided however, that the executive director shall prohibit access to information that contains law enforcement or investigatory information, is a trade secret, or puts the applicant for a license at an unfair disadvantage with other applicants; provided further, that the executive director shall consult with the division on public records on the appropriate manner of distributing or withholding of such information.
The authority may maintain any other files and records as it deems appropriate.
Section 8. Authority Operating Account
There shall be established upon the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Massachusetts gaming control authority trust fund to be expended, without prior appropriation, by the Massachusetts gaming control authority. The fund shall consist of the application fees collected pursuant to section 5(a)(6), and all assessment payments collected from section 6. The executive director of the authority shall make necessary expenditures from this account for the shared administrative costs of the operations and programs of the authority. The executive director shall further direct that funds from the account shall be expended to provide services in an amount reasonably related to the functions of the authority and the comptroller may certify for payment amounts in anticipation of expected receipts; but no expenditure shall be made from the fund which shall cause the fund to be in deficit at the close of each fiscal year. The authority shall pay the attorney general the amount it requested under section 14(b) by July first of each year.
Section 9. Gaming License Fee Trust Fund
(a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, to be known as the gaming license fee trust fund, in this section called the license fee trust fund. The license fee trust fund shall consist of all license fees received in consideration of the award of licenses under section 6, and all other monies credited or transferred to the fund from any other fund or source pursuant to law.
(b) The secretary of administration and finance shall be the trustee of the license fee trust fund, and shall transfer monies in the fund, without further appropriation, as of June 30 of each fiscal year, only as follows and in the following order:
(1) only if and to the extent determined by the secretary of administration and finance, initial payments to the authority and to the division for start-up expenses, to the community mitigation trust fund established by section 11, and to the public health trust fund established by section 12;
(2) the remaining one-half of the balance in the fund, to the general fund for the purpose of reimbursing the cost of the homeowners property tax credit under subsection (m) of section 6 of chapter 62; and
(3) the other remaining one-half of the balance in the fund, to the transportation improvement and maintenance trust fund established by section 13.
Section 10. Gaming Operating Licensing Payment Trust Fund
(a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, to be known as the gaming operating license payment trust fund, in this section called the operating licensing payment fund. The operating licensing payment fund shall consist of all operating licensing payments received in consideration of the award of licenses under section 6, and all other monies credited or transferred to the fund from any other fund or source pursuant to law.
(b) The secretary of administration and finance shall be the trustee of the license proceeds fund, and shall transfer monies in the fund, without further appropriation, as of June 30 of each fiscal year, only as follows and in the following order:
(1) to the community mitigation trust fund established by section 11, an amount that is 2.5 percent of all operating licensing payments made to the operating licensing payment fund under this section;
(2) to the public health trust fund established by section 12, an amount that is 2.5 percent of all operating licensing payments made to the operating licensing payment fund under this section;
(3) to the state lottery fund, an amount that is the difference between the average of the total amounts deposited in the state lottery fund in each of the fiscal years 2003 to 2007, inclusive, increased by 3 percent in each fiscal year after fiscal year 2007, and the total amount deposited in the state lottery fund in the current fiscal year if less than that average amount;
(4) half of the remaining balance in the fund, to the general fund for the purpose of reimbursing the cost of the homeowners property tax credit under subsection (m) of section 6 of chapter 62;
(5) the remaining balance in the fund, to the transportation improvement and maintenance trust fund established by section 13.
Section 11. Community Mitigation Trust Fund
(a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, to be known as the community mitigation trust fund, in this section called the mitigation fund. The mitigation fund shall consist of the monies transferred under sections 9 and 10, and all other monies credited or transferred to the fund from any other fund or source pursuant to law.
(b) The secretary of administration and finance shall be the trustee of the mitigation fund and shall expend monies in the fund, without further appropriation, to assist the local host community, cities, towns and district attorneys in the vicinity of resort casino facilities, to address any increases in police, fire, transportation, water, sewer, enforcement and prosecution costs, or other services directly related to the construction and operation of the facilities; provided, however, that the authority shall determine which towns and cities will be affected by construction and operation of the facilities. The secretary of administration and finance may adopt regulations, after a public hearing, governing these expenditures.
Section 12. Public Health Trust Fund
(a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, to be known as the public health trust fund, in this section called the public health fund. The public health fund shall consist of the monies transferred under sections 9 and sections 10, and all other monies credited or transferred to the public health fund from any other fund or source pursuant to law.
(b) The secretary of health and human services shall be the trustee of the public health fund and shall expend monies in the fund, without further appropriation but subject to approval of an annual spending plan by the secretary of administration and finance, to meet increased demand for social service and public health programs resulting from gaming, including but not limited to gambling prevention and addiction services, services to address other problems such as domestic violence and child welfare services, an educational campaign to mitigate the potential addictive nature of gambling, and on an annual basis, a comprehensive study and evaluation system to ensure proper and most effective mitigation of any negative public health costs. The secretary of health and human services may adopt regulations, after a public hearing, governing these expenditures.
Section 13. Transportation Infrastructure Improvement and Maintenance Trust Fund
(a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, to be known as the transportation infrastructure improvement and maintenance trust fund, in this section called the transportation fund. The fund shall consist of the monies transferred under sections 9 and sections 10 of this act, and all other monies credited or transferred to the transportation fund from any other fund or source pursuant to law.
(b) The secretary of administration and finance shall be the trustee of the transportation fund and shall expend monies in the fund, or, as appropriate, shall allocate monies in the fund to other agencies, without further appropriation, to design or construct maintenance and repairs to the commonwealth’s roads and bridges, and to make other investments in the commonwealth’s transportation infrastructure.
Section 14. Division of Gaming Investigation and Enforcement
(a) There is hereby established in the department of the attorney general a division of gaming investigation and enforcement. The attorney general shall designate an assistant attorney general as director of the division. The director of the division may appoint and remove, subject to the approval of the attorney general, such expert, clerical or other assistants as the work of the division may require. The attorney general may purchase any necessary equipment for the purpose of conducting an investigation. Subject to the approval of the secretary of public safety and security, the colonel of the state police shall assign such supervisory and investigative personnel and other resources to the division as may be necessary to fulfill its obligations under this chapter.
The powers and duties of the division shall be as follows:
(1) investigate allegations of crimes committed on the premises, crimes involving or impacting the operation of the casino or games, and violations of this chapter;
(2) be on the premises at any time that it deems appropriate and inspect and examine all operations, books, records, and any other documents;
(3) inspect all gaming devices and equipment used or to be used in a resort casino at any time it deems appropriate;
(4) have access to all records of the authority;
(5) investigate all applications, certificates and permits issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter;
(6) conduct all background checks on applicants for employment by the authority and any gaming establishment in a resort casino and applicants for licensure, including obtaining criminal record information, and share such information as necessary with the authority; provided that such background checks shall be conducted by the state police unit assigned to the division;
(7) conduct audits of casino operations at such times, under such circumstances, and to such extent as the director shall determine, including reviews of accounting, administrative and financial records, and management control systems, procedures and records utilized by a casino licensee;
(8) receive and take appropriate action on any referral from the authority relating to any evidence of a violation of this chapter or the regulations adopted thereunder;
(9) initiate, prosecute, intervene and defend proceedings before the authority, or appeals therefrom, as the division may deem appropriate;
(10) investigate and enforce the provisions of this chapter and any regulations adopted hereunder or any gaming related statutes, rules or regulations adopted by any agency, department, board, commission, division or authority of the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof that is involved in controlled gaming pursuant to this chapter, and prosecute all proceedings for violations of this chapter or any regulations adopted hereunder;
(11) be entitled to request and receive information, materials and any other data from any licensee or registrant, or applicant for a license or registration under this chapter;
(12) ensure that there is no duplication of duties and responsibilities between it and the authority; and
(13) report to the attorney general recommendations that promote more efficient operations of the division.
(b) The division shall be compensated for its duties through the assessment pursuant to section 6. The attorney general shall submit a budget to the authority by January first for an annual appropriation, and the authority shall make such appropriation to the division by July first of each year.
Section 15. Penalties for Licensing and Gaming Violations
(a) Willful evasion of license fees; other acts and omissions.
(1) any person who willfully fails to report, pay, or truthfully account for and pay over any license fee or tax imposed by the provisions of this chapter or by the regulations adopted by the authority, or willfully attempts in any manner to evade or defeat any such license fee, tax, or payment thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 5 years or in a house of correction for not more than 2 and one-half years, or a fine of not more than $100,000, or both, and in the case of a person other than a natural person, the amount of a fine may be up to $5,000,000.
(2) any person who willfully resists, prevents, impedes, interferes with, or makes any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation to the authority or to the division or to their agents or employees in the performance of duties pursuant to this chapter shall be punished by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 5 years or in a house of correction for not more than 2 years and one-half years, or a fine of not more than $25,000, or both.
(b) Unlicensed gaming unlawful.
(1) any person who conducts or operates, or permits to be conducted or operated, any game, electronic gaming device, or gaming equipment in violation of the licensing provisions of this chapter or the regulations adopted by the authority shall be punished by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 5 years or imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 2 and one-half years, or a fine of not more than $25,000, or both such fine and imprisonment, and in the case of a person other than a natural person, the amount of a fine may be up to $100,000.
(2) any licensee who, without the permission of the authority, (1) places controlled games, electronic gaming devices, or gaming equipment into play or displays such controlled games, electronic gaming devices, or gaming equipment in a casino or gaming establishment or (2) receives, directly or indirectly, any compensation or reward or any percentage or share of the revenue, for keeping, running, or carrying on any controlled game, or owning the real property or location in which any controlled game occurs, shall be punished by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 2 and one-half years, or a fine of not more than $25,000, or both, and in the case of a person other than a natural person, the amount of a fine may be up to $100,000.
(3) any person who conducts or operates any controlled game, electronic gaming device, or gaming equipment after his license has expired and prior to the actual renewal thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 1 and one-half years, or a fine of not more than $25,000, or both, and in the case of a person other than a natural person, the amount of a fine may be up to $100,000.
(c) Swindling and cheating.
(1)
In addition to the provisions of section 75 of chapter 266, a person is guilty
of swindling and cheating if the person purposely or knowingly by any trick or
sleight of hand performance or by a fraud or fraudulent scheme, cards, dice, or
other gaming equipment, for himself or for another, wins or attempts to win
money or property, or a representative of either, or reduces a losing wager or
attempts to reduce a losing wager in connection to controlled gaming.
The penalties for swindling and cheating offenses shall be as follows:
(i) any person who swindles or cheats where the amount involved is $75,000 or more shall be punished by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 10 years, or a fine of not more than $1,000,000, or both.
(ii) any person who swindles or cheats where the amount involved is $10,000 or more and less than $75,000 shall be punished by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 5 years, or a fine of not more than $500,000, or both.
(iii) any person who swindles or cheats where the amount involved is $1,000 or more and less than $10,000 shall be punished by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 3 years or imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 2 and one-half years, or a fine of not more than $100,000, or both such fine and imprisonment.
(iv) any person who swindles or cheats where the amount involved is less than $1,000 shall be punished by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 2 and one-half years, or by a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.
(2) Each episode or transaction of swindling or cheating may be the subject of a separate prosecution and conviction. In the discretion of the prosecutor, multiple episodes or transactions of swindling and cheating committed as part of a single scheme or course of conduct may be treated as a single offense, and the amounts involved in acts of swindling and cheating committed pursuant to a scheme or course of conduct, whether by the same person or several persons, may be aggregated in determining the amount involved in the offense.
(d) Unlawful use or possession of devices to obtain an advantage.
(1) Any person who in playing, conducting or operating a game in a licensed casino or gaming establishment, uses or assists another in the use of (1) a computerized, electronic, electrical, or mechanical device, which is designed, constructed, or programmed specifically for use in obtaining an advantage in any game in a licensed casino or gaming establishment or (2) any other cheating or thieving device, including, but not limited to, bogus or counterfeit chips, coins or dice; coins or tokens attached to strings or wires; marked cards; electronic or magnetic devices; or tools, drills, wires, keys, or devices designed for the purpose of and suitable for opening, entering, or affecting the operation of any gaming equipment, or for removing money or other contents therefrom, shall be punished by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 5 years or imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 2 and one-half years, or a fine of not more than $25,000, or both such fine and imprisonment.
(2) Any person who possesses any computerized, electronic, electrical, or mechanical device or other cheating or thieving device described in subsection (1) with the intent to defraud, cheat, or swindle shall be punished by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 2 and one-half years, or a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.
Possession of any computerized, electronic, electrical, or mechanical device or other cheating or thieving device described in subsection (1) within a casino or gaming establishment shall constitute prima facie evidence of an intent to defraud, cheat or swindle, except that possession by any licensee, or employee of a licensee, acting in furtherance of his employment within a licensed casino or gaming establishment shall not constitute such prima facie evidence.
(3) Any cheating or thieving device used or possessed in violation of this section shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture by the division.
(e) Unlawful operation of cheating games and devices by a licensee or employee; penalties.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any licensee or employee to:
(i) knowingly conduct or operate, or allow to be conducted or operated, any cheating or thieving game or device; or
(ii) knowingly conduct or operate or expose for play any game or games played with cards, dice, or any electronic or mechanical device, or any combination of games or devices, which have in any manner been marked or tampered with, or placed in a condition, or operated in a manner, the result of which tends to deceive the public or tends to alter the normal random selection of characteristics or the normal chance of the game or to alter the result of the game.
(2) Any person who violates this section shall be punished by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 5 years or imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 2 and one-half years, or a fine of not more than $25,000, or both such fine and imprisonment, and in the case of a person other than a natural person, the amount of a fine may be up to $100,000.
(3) Any cheating or thieving game or device used in violation of this section shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture by the division.
(f) Unlawful manufacture, distribution, sale, or service of gaming equipment; penalties.
(1) Any person who manufactures, distributes, sells, or services any gaming equipment in violation of the provisions of this chapter or the regulations adopted by the authority for the purposes of defrauding, cheating, or swindling any person playing, operating, or conducting a controlled game at a casino or gaming establishment shall be punished by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 5 years or imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 2 and one-half years, or a fine of not more than $25,000, or both such fine and imprisonment.
(2) Any such unlawfully manufactured, distributed, sold, or serviced gaming equipment shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture by the division.
(g) Employment without license or registration; penalties.
(1) Any person who, without obtaining the requisite license or registration as provided in this chapter, works or is employed in a position whose duties would require licensing or registration under the provisions of this chapter shall be punished by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 6 months, or a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.
(2) Any person who employs or continues to employ an individual not duly licensed or registered under the provisions of this chapter in a position whose duties require a license or registration under the provisions of this chapter shall be punished by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 6 months, or a fine of not more than $10,000, or both, and in the case of a person other than a natural person, the amount of a fine may be up to $100,000.
(h) Gaming by certain persons prohibited; penalties.
(1) Any person under the age of 21 who plays, places wagers at, or collects winnings from, whether personally or through an agent, any controlled game shall be punished by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 6 months, or a fine of not more than $1,000, or both.
(2) Any licensee or employee who knowingly allows a person under the age of 21 to play, place wagers at, or collect winnings, whether personally or through an agent, shall be punished by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 1 year, or a fine of not more than $10,000, or both, and in the case of a person other than a natural person, the amount of a fine may be up to $500,000. A subsequent violation of this section shall subject the licensee or employee to imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 2 years, or a fine of not more than $50,000, or both, and in the case of a person other than a natural person, the amount of a fine may be up to $1,000,000.
(i) Placing, sending, transmitting, relaying wagers to another person prohibited under certain circumstances; penalties.
Any person who knowingly transmits or receives a wager of any type by any telecommunication device, including telephone, cellular phone, Internet, local area network, including wireless local networks, or any other similar device or equipment or other medium of communication, or knowingly installs or maintains said device or equipment for the transmission or receipt of wagering information shall be punished by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 2 years, or a fine of not more than $25,000, or both.
This section shall apply to any person who, from within this commonwealth, transmits a wager to, or receives a wager from, another person or gaming establishment within or outside of this commonwealth and any person who, from outside this commonwealth, transmits a wager to, or receives a wager from, another person or gaming establishment within this commonwealth.
This section shall not apply to the use of a local area network as a means to place authorized wagers in a licensed gaming establishment, or use of said devices or equipment by the authority in it duties in regulating, enforcing, or auditing a licensed gaming operator. Nor shall this section apply to such activities, as described above, which are permitted under federal law.
(j) Post employment restrictions; penalties.
Any person who knowingly violates any of the provisions contained in subsection (a) or subsection (c) of section 4 shall be punished by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 5 years or in a house of correction for not more than 2 and one-half years, or a fine of not more than $100,000, or both.
Section 16. Withholdings from Winnings for Child Support and Tax Payments
Prior to disbursement of gambling winnings in excess of $600, all licensed casinos shall review information furnished by the IV-D agency, as set forth in chapter 119A, and the department of revenue to ascertain whether the individual collecting such winnings owes past-due child support to the commonwealth or to an individual to whom the IV-D agency is providing services, and to ascertain whether the individual owes any past-due tax liability to the commonwealth. If the individual owes past-due child support or a past-due tax liability, after withholding state and federal taxes pursuant to this section, the casino shall first disburse to the IV-D agency the full amount of the winnings or such portion of the winnings that satisfies the individual’s past-due child support obligation and, if funds remain available after that disbursement, the casino shall disburse to the department of revenue the full amount of the winnings or such portion of the winnings that satisfies the individual’s past-due tax liability, and the casino shall notify the IV-D agency or the department of revenue, respectively, of the individual’s name, address, and social security number. The casino shall disburse to the individual only that portion of the winnings, if any, remaining after the individual’s past-due child support obligation and the individual’s past-due tax liability have been satisfied.
Section 17. Other Tax Benefits Unavailable to Resort Casinos
A casino or business located on casino property cannot be a certified project within the meaning of section 3F of chapter 23A. Resort casinos may not be designated an economic opportunity area within the meaning of section 3E of chapter 23A. Resort casinos are not eligible for tax increment financing as set forth in section 59 of chapter 40 or special tax assessments set forth in section 3E of chapter 23A. Resort casinos may not be classified and taxed as recreational land under the provisions of chapter 61B. Resort casinos may not be designated as a development district within the meaning of chapter 40Q. Unless otherwise provided, a resort casino or any business located or to be located within a resort casino is not eligible for the following credits or deductions listed in chapter 62 or chapter 63: the investment tax credit under section 31A of chapter 63, the employment credit under section 31C of chapter 63, the van pool credit under section 31E of chapter 63, the deduction for expenditures for industrial waste treatment or air pollution control under section 38D of chapter 63, the deduction for compensation paid to an eligible business facility’s employees domiciled in a section of substantial poverty under section 38F of chapter 63, the alternative energy sources deduction under section 38H of chapter 63, the research expense credit under section 38M of chapter 63, the economic opportunity area credit under section 6(g) of chapter 62, and section 38N of chapter 63, the abandoned building deduction under section 3B(a)(10) of chapter 62, and section 38O of chapter 63, the harbor maintenance tax credit under section 38P of chapter 63, the brownfields credit under section 6(j) of chapter 62, and section 38Q of chapter 63, the historic rehabilitation tax credit under section 6J of chapter 62 and section 38R of chapter 63, the automatic sprinkler system depreciation deduction under section 38S of chapter 63, and the credit for a solar water heating system under section 38T of chapter 63.
SECTION 97. Subsection (d)(1) of section 2 of chapter 62, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after paragraph (P) the following paragraph:-
(Q) Any deduction for losses from wagering transactions allowed by section 165 of the Code.
SECTION 98. Subsection (k) of section 6 of chapter 62, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after subsection (9) the following subsection :-
(10) A person who is otherwise eligible to claim the credit under subsection (m) of this section may elect the credit available under this subsection or under subsection (m), but not both.
SECTION 99. Section 6 of chapter 62, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after paragraph (l) the following paragraph:-
(m)(1) As used in this subsection the following words shall have the following meanings:-
“Real estate tax payment”', the real estate tax levied pursuant to chapter 59, on the taxpayer’s residence and actually paid by the taxpayer during the taxable year, exclusive of special assessments and delinquent interest, and less any abatement granted. In the case of a multi-unit dwelling, a land area in excess of 1 acre or a multi-purpose building or land area, the real estate tax payment shall constitute that portion of the real estate tax levied and paid on the entire building or area, which corresponds to the portion of the area or building used and occupied as the residence of the taxpayer, in accordance with procedures established by the commissioner.
“Residence”, shall have the same meaning as in subsection (k) of section 6 of chapter 62, except that the term shall not include a residence rented by the taxpayer.
“Taxpayer’s total income”,
(1) An owner of residential property located in the commonwealth who is not a dependent of another taxpayer and who occupies said property as his principal residence shall be allowed a credit based upon the ratio of the taxpayer’s real estate tax payments during the taxable year established by the commissioner to the taxpayer’s total income, expressed as a percentage. The amount of such credit for any qualifying taxpayer shall be determined as follows, based on the “percentage bracket” of a taxpayer’s total income in which such taxpayer’s real estate tax payments fall, as follows:
(i) from 0 to 2.49 percent of total income (“bracket 1”) –no credit;
(ii) from 2.5 percent through 4.99 percent of total income (“bracket 2”) – the base credit amount for the taxable year, as determined by the commissioner;
(iii) from 5 percent through 7.49 percent of total income (“bracket 3”) – the base amount, as so determined, plus $75;
(iv) from 7.5 percent through 9.9 percent of total income (“bracket 4”) – the base amount, as so determined, plus $150; and
(v) from 10 percent of total income and above (“bracket 5”) – the base amount, as so determined, plus $225.
The base amount of credit for purposes of this section shall be determined annually by the commissioner. The base amount shall be computed using reasonable estimates of the number of qualifying taxpayers in each percentage bracket in the taxable year and shall take into account the amount of the operating licensing payments from the prior fiscal year available for funding the credit, as certified to the commissioner by the secretary of administration and finance. The commissioner shall annually determine the base credit amount so as to award credits totaling, as nearly as practicable, the amount of revenue so certified. The secretary may estimate the operating licensing payments available from the previous fiscal year to the extent necessary to provide timely certification to the commissioner on or before September first of each calendar year.
(2) No credit shall be allowed for a married individual unless a joint return is filed.
(3) No credit shall be allowed by this subsection with respect to the real estate tax payment on more than 1 residence of any taxpayer during any taxable year, but a taxpayer whose principal place of residence changes during the course of the year may claim a credit for the real estate tax payment with respect to each such principal residence, attributable to the period that such principal residence is actually occupied as such during the year.
(4) The credit allowed by this subsection shall be allowed against the taxes imposed by this chapter for the taxable year, reduced by the other credits permitted by this section. If the credit exceeds the tax as so reduced, the commissioner shall treat such excess as an overpayment and shall pay the taxpayer, without interest, the amount of such excess. Any person entitled to claim any credit pursuant to this subsection and not otherwise required to file a return under section 6 of chapter 62C may obtain a refund in the amount of such credit by filing a return and claiming a refund.
(5) Any credit provided by this subsection shall not be counted as income in determining eligibility or benefits under any other means-tested assistance program, including but not limited to all such cash, food, medical, housing, energy and educational assistance programs.
(6) A person who is otherwise eligible to claim the credit under subsection (k) of this section may elect the credit available under this subsection or under subsection (k), but not both.
(7) Every board or officer of a city, town, district or local commission responsible for the collection of property taxes, special assessments or water and sewer charges shall transmit to the commissioner at the times and in the form and manner as the commissioner prescribes a report of the payments made by every person who is liable during the taxable year to the city, town, district or commission for such taxes, assessments and charges. The report shall be used solely for purposes of verifying eligibility to claim the credit under this subsection. The commonwealth shall pay to each city, town, district or commission an amount sufficient to defray the additional costs imposed under the provisions of this subsection. In every year not later than August first, the state auditor shall determine and deliver to the commissioner a statement of the incremental costs attributed to this subsection and estimated to be incurred by each city, town, district and commission in the next fiscal year. The commissioner shall include in his budget recommendations for that fiscal year a request for an appropriation in an amount equal to the estimated costs, and shall, not later than September first, disburse to each city, town, district or commission its share of any funds appropriated for the costs.
SECTION 100. Section 2 of chapter 62B, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the seventh paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-
Every person, including the United States, the commonwealth or any other state, or any political subdivision or instrumentality of the foregoing, making any payment of lottery or wagering winnings, which are subject to tax under chapter 62 and which are subject to withholding under section 3402(q) (without the exception for slot machines, and keno, and bingo played at licensed casinos in the commonwealth in subsection (q)(5)) and (r) of the Internal Revenue Code shall deduct and withhold from such payment an amount equal to 5 percent of such payment, except that such withholding for purposes of this chapter shall apply to payments of winnings of $600 or greater notwithstanding any contrary provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended from time to time. For purposes of this chapter and chapter 62C, such payment of winnings shall be treated as if it were wages paid by an employer to an employee. Every person who is to receive a payment of winnings which is subject to withholding under this section shall furnish to the person making such payment a statement, made under penalties of perjury, containing the name, address and taxpayer identification number of the person receiving the payment and of each person entitled to any portion of such payment.
SECTION 101. Chapter 62B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out section 5, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 5. Every employer required to deduct and withhold from an employee or payee a tax under section 2, or who would have been required under said section in the case of an employee to deduct and withhold a tax if the employee had not claimed any personal exemption or dependency exemptions, shall furnish to each such employee or payee in respect of the wages or other payments paid by such employer to such employee or payee during the calendar year, on or before January 31 of the succeeding year, or, if an employee’s employment is terminated before the close of such calendar year, within 30 days from the day on which the last payment of wages is made, a written statement in duplicate showing the name of the employer, the name of the employee or payee and his social security account number, if any, the total amount of wages or other amounts subject to taxation under chapter 62, and the total amount deducted and withheld as tax. This statement may contain such other information as the commissioner may prescribe. The commissioner may grant reasonable extensions of time, not exceeding 60 days, for the furnishing of the statement.
Every
employer who fails to withhold or pay to the commissioner any sums required by
this chapter to be withheld or paid shall be personally and individually liable
therefore to the commonwealth. The term “employer,” as used in this section
and in section 11, includes any person or entity required to withhold tax from
any payee, and includes an officer or employee of a corporation, or a member or
employee of a partnership or limited liability company, who as such officer,
employee or member is under a duty to withhold and pay over taxes in accordance
with this section and section 2. Any sum withheld in
accordance with section 2 shall be considered to be held in trust for the
commonwealth.
If an
employer in violation of the provisions of this chapter fails to withhold the
tax in accordance with section 2, and thereafter the tax against which such tax
may be credited, pursuant to section 9, is paid, the tax so required to be
withheld shall not be collected from the employer; but this paragraph shall in
no case relieve the employer from liability for any penalties or addition to
the tax otherwise applicable in respect of such failure to withhold.
SECTION 102. Section 8 of chapter 62C, as appearing in the 2006 Official
Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence of the first
paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-
The same basis of reporting shall be utilized for income that is subject to taxation or withholding under chapter 62 or 62B but is not subject to taxation or withholding under the Code.
SECTION 103. Subsection (f) of section 38 of chapter 63, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking the word “and” in line 162, and is further amended by inserting at the end of the paragraph in line 169 the following phrase:-
and (6) in the case of a business deriving receipts from operating a gaming facility or otherwise deriving receipts from conducting a wagering business or activity, income-producing activity shall be considered to be performed in this commonwealth to the extent that the location of wagering transactions or activity that generated the receipts is in this commonwealth.
SECTION 104. Section 1 of chapter 137 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting in the first sentence after the word “gaming,” the following phrase:-, except for controlled gaming conducted pursuant to chapter 12B,.
SECTION 105. Section 2 of chapter 137 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the words “preceding section” in line 3 the following phrase:-, except for controlled gaming conducted pursuant to chapter 12B,.
SECTION 106. Section 1 of chapter 271 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the words “hands of those gaming,” the following words:- except as permitted under chapter 12B,.
SECTION 107. Section 2 of chapter 271, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the words “hands of those playing,” the following words:-, except as permitted under chapter 12B,.
SECTION 108. Section 3 of chapter 271, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the words “used in gaming,” the following words:-, except as permitted under chapter 12B,.
SECTION 109. Section 5 of chapter 271, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the words “valuable thing,” the following words:-, except as permitted under chapter 12B,.
SECTION 110. Section 5A of chapter 271, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting at the end of the second paragraph the following sentence:- This section shall not apply to persons who manufacture, transport, sell, offer for sale, store, display, repair, recondition, possess or use any gambling device or parts for use therein for controlled gaming conducted under chapter 12B.
SECTION 111. Section 16A of chapter 271, as so appearing is hereby amended by inserting after the word “wagerers” in line 17 the following phrase:- or to persons who organize, supervise, manage or finance persons for purpose of controlled gaming conducted under chapter 12B.
SECTION 112. Section 17 of chapter 271, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting at the end of the paragraph the following sentence:- This section shall not apply to persons who organize, supervise, manage or finance persons for purpose of controlled gaming conducted under chapter 12B.
Messrs. Rosenberg, Morrissey and Ms. Menard moved that the bill be further amended by adding after section ___, the following new section:-
SECTION XXX. There shall be a special commission on the expansion of gaming in the commonwealth for the purpose of making an investigation into, and recommendations relative to, the potential establishment and regulation of resort-style casinos and racinos. The commission shall investigate, without limitation: the potential effects of installing slot machines at the existing race tracks within the commonwealth would have on the state; the financial and social impact of approving the construction and operation of one or more resort-style casinos in the commonwealth; existing Indian gaming regulations and their potential impact, including, but not limited to, the possibilityof federal action that could lead to the approval of one or more Indian gaming venues in the commonwealth; and whether the commonwealth should attempt to negotiate a compact in advance of any federal action. The commission shall, to the greatest extent possible, study and make recommendations with regard to the impact any expansion of gaming in the commonwealth, through the operation of racinos or resort style casinos, would have on the state’s economy, tax revenue, state lottery, public infrastructure, addiction and addiction services, public health, as well as the social impact such expansion would have on the state. The commission may consider and make recommendations regarding the number, if any, of new facilities or expanded facilities offering gaming, qualifying factors for proposed sites or expansion of existing facilities, and shall make recommendations with regard to minimum criteria for the establishment and operation of any racinos or resort style casinos in the commonwealth, whether operated by a federally recognized Native American tribe or other entities. The commission may also recommend a regulatory structure or oversight plan for any gaming expansion. The commission shall consist of 13 members: 5 members of the senate, 4 of whom shall be appointed by the senate president, and 1 by the minority leader; 5 members of the house of representatives, 4 of whom shall be appointed by the speaker of the house, and 1 by the minority leader; and 3 members to be appointed by the governor. The costs associated with the work of this commission including, but not limited to, staff support shall be made available in equal parts by the executive branch, the house of representatives and the senate. The commission shall be chaired by 1 member of the senate, to be chosen by the senate president, 1 member of the house of representatives, to be chosen by the speaker of the house, and 1 member to be chosen by the governor. The commission shall file a report of its findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation, if any, with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and the house and senate committees on ways and means on or before February 15, 2009.
OTHER 2
ESTABLISHING A LUNG CANCER RESEARCH FUND
Ms. Fargo and Mr. Augustus moves to amend the bill by inserting, after Section ______, the following new Section:-
“SECTION____. (a) Section 7C of chapter 64C of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 28, all revenues received pursuant to this section, together with any penalties, forfeitures, interests, and costs of suits and fines connected therewith, less all amounts refunded or abated in connection therewith, as determined by the commissioner of revenue according to his best information and belief, shall be credited as follows:
(1) An amount equal to 2 million dollars for which an excise and other monies have been collected under this section and not refunded or abated, during each fiscal year, shall first be credited to the Commonwealth Lung Cancer Early Detection and Treatment Research Trust Fund established pursuant to section 35FF of chapter 10.
(2) The remaining funds, after first crediting the amounts required under clause (1), shall be credited to the General Fund.
(b) Chapter 10 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 35EE the following section:-
Section 35FF. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund as a trust to be known as the Commonwealth Lung Cancer Early Detection and Treatment Research Trust Fund, hereinafter referred to as the “trust fund”. The trust fund shall consist of monies to be credited under this section; and any other amounts to be explicitly credited to the trust fund from any source, to include any public or private, donations, grants, repayments and other receipts.
The state treasurer shall receive and deposit, in accordance with state law, all monies credited to the trust fund in financial institutions as to provide the highest interest rate consistent with the safety of the monies so deposited and to allow the immediate withdrawal of such monies without penalty. All accrued investment income shall be credited to the trust fund.
Amounts credited to the trust fund shall be made available, without appropriation, to the department of public health solely for the following purposes:
(1) To establish screening pilot programs based on the findings of the National Cancer Institute’s National Lung Screening Trial or the most up to date research, provided that: (i) at least 25 per cent of all individuals screened under the program shall be from racial or ethnic minority populations; and (ii) at least 50 per cent of all individuals screened under the program shall have a family income that does not exceed 150 per cent of federal poverty guidelines; and (iii) the cost for program screening or diagnostic services shall not be assessed to an individual that has a family income that does not exceed 150 per cent of the federal poverty income guidelines; and (iv) only licensed hospitals or other licensed medical facilities in the commonwealth shall provide program screening or diagnostic medical services to participating individuals; and (v) adequate counsel and referral to the medical treatment shall be provided to participating individuals with detected lung cancers.
(2) To promote the development of early detection diagnostic tools and screening
technologies for lung cancer.
(3) To promote the development of chemoprevention and targeted therapies for lung
cancer.
(4) To support research into the disparities in lung cancer incidence and mortality rates.
(5) To support research to discover a cure for lung cancer.
Expenditure of trust fund monies shall be at the discretion of the commissioner who shall be authorized to administer the monies only for the purposes of this section; provided that, in a fiscal year no greater than 8 per cent of the amounts credited to the trust fund, inclusive of any costs to be recovered for such period under section 5D of chapter 29, may be expended during such fiscal year for the administration of the trust fund; and provided further, any other expenditures from the trust fund shall be made only to public, quasi-public, or non-public: (i) hospitals, clinics, clinical laboratories and other medical facilities licensed by the department of public health, and (ii) universities, colleges and medical schools authorized to confer degrees that are located in the commonwealth. No expenditure or obligation for expenditure from the trust fund shall be made to cause the trust fund to become deficient at any time.
To encourage recipients to seek additional funding from other sources, any expenditure to a recipient from the trust fund shall be made as a matching grant unless such requirement is waived or modified by the commissioner.
There shall be an advisory committee that shall make recommendations to the commissioner about the expenditure of trust fund monies. The committee shall be comprised of the commissioner or his representative, who shall serve as the chairman and 8 voluntary and uncompensated members, 1 representative from each of the following organizations: the Lung Cancer Alliance, Massachusetts chapter; the Massachusetts Medical Society; the Massachusetts Hospital Association; the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers; the Oncology Nursing Society; the American Cancer Society, Massachusetts chapter; the American Lung Association; and the Massachusetts Public Health Association. The commissioner may fill any member vacancies to the committee. A member or his representative, who is not otherwise a state employee, shall not be in violation of sections 4 and 6 of chapter 268A with respect to a particular matter before the committee, where such member or representative, his immediate family or partner has a financial interest or other conflict as proscribed by said sections provided, such member or representative, acting on behalf of the member or himself, first discloses such interest or other conflict to the chairman, and provided further, the chairman approves before his further participation on such matter. Any such disclosure and approval shall be recorded in the minutes of the committee meeting.
To further increase funding to accomplish the purposes of this section, the commissioner shall be authorized to apply to the federal government for any grants, reimbursements and other funding available to the department of public health that is specifically related to such stated purposes. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, all federal monies received shall be deposited into the General Federal Grants Fund in accordance with section 2C of chapter 29. The application for, and receipt and expenditure of, such monies shall be subject to section 6B of chapter 29; except, expenditure of such monies in the fiscal year such monies are received shall not require further appropriation by the general court and no costs other than for fringe benefits may be charged pursuant to subsection (f) of said section. Consistent with federal law and regulations, the commissioner shall be authorized to expend any available federal monies for the purposes that such funding was received.
Within the first 30 days after the anniversary of the effective date of this act, and within 30 days after each such subsequent anniversary date, the commissioner shall prepare and submit to the secretary of administration and finance and to the chairmen of the joint committee of public health, a complete report for the period of the prior fiscal year of: (i) the financial condition of the trust fund with a list of the receipts, income and expenditures from the trust fund including the disposition of monies for each program, research study funded and the purpose and amount of administrative expenditures; (ii) a summary of federal grants, reimbursements or other funding related to the purposes of this section that was received, expended or application made for during such period; and (iii) a summary of the outcomes and findings reported to the department of public health as a result of programs and research studies funded by the trust fund or from expenditure of federal monies as related to the purposes of this section.
The commissioner may make agreements with others, and may enact regulations to establish standards, procedures and guidelines related to the expenditure of monies under this section.”
Redraft OTHER 3
EXCISE TAX DUE DATE
Ms. Fargo moves to amend the bill by inserting, after Section________, the following new Section:-
SECTION ______. Section 2 of chapter 60A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 35 through 45 inclusive, the wording:- “All tax notices sent to owners of vehicles notifying said owners of the amount of the excise tax due and the due date shall indicate the owner’s license to operate number as appearing on the registration application, renewal application or amended registration as provided in section 2 of chapter 90.” and inserting in place thereof, the following words:- “All tax notices sent to owners of vehicles or trailers notifying said owners of the excise tax due, shall have printed on such notice, the amount of excise tax due, the last day, month and year for receipt of payment without interest being due and the owner’s license to operate number as appearing on the registration application, renewal application or amended registration as provided in section 2 of chapter 90.”
And further moves to amend the bill by inserting, after Section _____, the following new Section:-
“SECTION ____. Section ____ shall take effect as of January 1, 2010.”
OTHER 4
MUNICIPAL GAS TAX REIMBURSEMENT
Ms. Fargo and Mr. Brown move to amend the bill by inserting after Section _____, the following new Section: -
“SECTION ____. Chapter 64A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 7A, the following section:-
Section 7B. Any municipality of the commonwealth that buys any fuel on which an excise tax has been paid under this chapter and, which fuel has been purchased for its municipal consumption and use, shall be reimbursed the amount of such excise tax paid in the manner and subject to the conditions herein provided. All claims for reimbursement shall be filed with the commissioner of revenue and shall be made in such form and containing such information, and accompanied with supporting documentation, as the commissioner of revenue shall prescribe. The commissioner of revenue shall establish a quarterly calendar year schedule for the submission of claims by municipalities for reimbursement of such paid fuel excise taxes. No reimbursement for such excise tax paid shall be made for any claim submitted after 6 months from the date of the purchase of such fuel. The commissioner of revenue shall transmit all claims approved by him to the comptroller for certification, and the amount so approved and certified as aforesaid shall be paid forthwith from the proceeds of the excise tax levied under this chapter, without specific appropriation. No claim for reimbursement for said excise tax shall be made by a municipality under sections 7 and 7A of this chapter, for fuel purchased during said period, to which a municipality is entitled to claim a reimbursement under this section.”
And further moves to amend the bill by inserting after Section _____, the following new Section:-
“SECTION _____. Section 13 of Chapter 64A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the words “seven and seven A” in line 3, and inserting in place thereof, the following words:- “seven, seven A and seven B”.”
OTHER 5
SENIOR CIRCUIT BREAKER CREDIT ADJUSTMENT
Ms. Fargo and Mr. Hedlund move to amend the bill by inserting after Section ______, the following new Section:-
“SECTION ____. Paragraph (2) of subsection (k) of section 6 of chapter 62 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is amended by inserting after the figure “$750”, as so appearing in line 352, at the end of said paragraph, the following words:- ; provided however, in the event that the taxpayer’s total income does not exceed 50 percent of the income limitation as applicable to the taxpayer under clause (i) of paragraph (3) of this subsection, as increased under paragraph (4) of this subsection, then such amount to which the real estate tax payment or the rent constituting real estate tax payment exceeds the taxpayer’s total income shall be calculated based on 8 ½ percent of such total income.”
And further moves to amend the bill by inserting, after Section ______, the following new Section:-
“SECTION ____. Section ____ shall be effective for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2008.”
OTHER 6
Civil Service Physical Fitness Exemption for Active Duty Military Personnel
Mr. Baddour moves to amend the bill by inserting, after Section 89, the following new Section:-
SECTION XX. Section 61A of chapter 31 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition is hereby amended by inserting after the third paragraph the following paragraph:-
An appointee for a permanent, temporary, intermittent or reserve firefighter position shall be exempt from undergoing the initial physical fitness examination if the appointee is in active service in the armed forces and has successfully passed a military physical fitness test within the past 6 months.
OTHER 7
Railroad Assessment
Messrs. Baddour and Augustus moved that the bill be amended by striking out Section 11.
OTHER 8
POWER PLANT SITING
Ms. Tucker, Mr. Timiltyand Mr. Creedon moved that the bill be amended by inserting, after Section 90, the following new Section: -
“SECTION 91. Notwithstanding any general or special law, rule or regulation to the contrary, no fossil fuel electric power facilities or facility shall be located in an area which is less than 1 mile in linear distance from a day-care center, school or an area occupied by residential housing. Said linear distance shall be measured from the outermost perimeter of such facility to the outermost point of the aforementioned zones; provided, however that any such facility in operation on January 1, 2007, shall not be subject to this act. For the purpose of this section, “fossil fuel electric power facilities or facility” shall be defined as any electric generating power plant that is fueled in whole or in part, by coal, oil or natural gas.”
OTHER 9
SOBRIETY HIGH SCHOOL REIMBURSEMENT
Mr. Tolman moved that the bill be amended by inserting, after Section 90, the following new Section:- “Section XX. Any school district in the Commonwealth that may have students that are currently or were last enrolled in said district that are considered both clinically and academically appropriate for placement at a Massachusetts Recovery High School shall ensure tuition for students that attend a Massachusetts Sobriety High School and, upon completion of all other graduation requirements, conferment of a diploma.”
OTHER 10
An Amendment Relative to Aging Infrastructure
Mr. Tarr moved that the bill be amended by adding at the end the following section:-
“SECTION 91. The Secretary of Administration and Finance, in consultation with the Commissioner of the Department of Revenue and the Secretary of Housing and Economic Development, is hereby authorized and directed to evaluate the needs and circumstances of communities in the Commonwealth with aging and deteriorating infrastructure including but not limited to municipal buildings, wastewater collection and treatment facilities, drinking water treatment and distribution facilities, transportation facilities including roads and bridges, and other capital facilities, and to develop a plan for the Commonwealth to assist such communities with the costs of replacing, repairing, maintaining or otherwise addressing problems arising from such infrastructure.
Said plan shall include but not be limited to an identification of needs and an estimation of their cost, a means for equitably providing assistance which may include grants, loans or other mechanisms, a means for funding such assistance, taking into account current and projected fiscal constraints, and a reasonable time frame for such plan to be executed.
The Secretary shall file said plan, together with any necessary legislation necessary for its implementation, not later than ten months following the passage of this act.”
OTHER 11
An Amendment Relative to the Appropriate Use of Public Funds
Mr. Tarr moved that the bill be amended by inserting at the end thereof the following additional section:-
“SECTION 91. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding at the end the following additional section:-
‘Section 72. Services Provided by the Department of Corrections and Municipal Jails
(a) No public funds shall be expended for the purpose of sex reassignment surgery for any person in the custody of any jail or prison in the commonwealth.
(b) No public funds shall be expended for the purpose of laser hair removal for any person in the custody of any jail or prison in the commonwealth.
(c) No public funds shall be expended for the purpose of hormone replacement therapy for any person in the custody of any jail or prison in the commonwealth except for a use, prescribed by a physician, other than preparation for sex reassignment surgery.
If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are declared to be severable.’”
OTHER 12
An Amendment Relative to Studying Educational Inequities
Mr. Tarr moved that the bill be amended by adding at the end the following section:-
“SECTION 91. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Department of Education is hereby authorized and directed to study the inequities resulting from the past and current applications of the educational funding methodology contained in Chapter 70 of the general laws as established in the Education Reform Act of 1993 and subsequently modified from time to time.
Said study shall include but not be limited to a) inequities between communities arising from the utilization of local educational authority spending prior to 1993 as a factor in determining a community’s ability to pay for education in subsequent years, b) inequities caused by an over-reliance on the property value in a community in calculating a community’s ability to pay for education, and c) inequities produced by other elements involved in measuring the ability to pay for education or the accurate cost of education in a particular community.
The results of said study, together with any necessary legislative recommendations to eliminate inequities in state educational funding for local school districts, shall be filed with the clerks of the House and Senate not later than February 15, 2009.
OTHER 13
An Amendment Relative to the Establishment of a Commonwealth Cost Containment Council
Mr. Tarr moved that the bill be amended by adding at the end the following section:-
“SECTION 91. There is hereby established the Commonwealth Cost Containment Council, the purpose of which shall be to examine the operations of state government on a regular basis and to seek opportunities to reduce or contain the costs of programs and operations and to eliminate unnecessary costs or expenditures which are duplicative, redundant, or ineffective.
The council shall consist of the Auditor of the Commonwealth, who shall serve as its chair, the Secretary of Administration and Finance, the Treasurer of the Commonwealth, the Inspector General, two members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee to be appointed by the President of the Senate and one member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee to be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, three members of the House Ways and Means Committee, two of whom shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House and one of whom shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the House, and one member appointed by the auditor who shall represent the interests of taxpayers in the Commonwealth.
The council shall meet on a regular basis, not less than twice a year, and shall consult with academic institutions and organizations including but not limited to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, the Pioneer Institute and others as it may deem appropriate in carrying out its purposes.
The Council shall solicit and receive public suggestions for reducing the cost of government for a period of not less than thirty days per year, and shall conduct not less than one public hearing per year for the purpose of receiving testimony relevant to cost containment and reduction.
The Council shall issue a report on any opportunities for cost reductions or containment and any methodologies for achieving those reductions or containment on an annual basis on or before December 31 of each year, and shall file said report, together with any legislative recommendations, with the clerks of the House and Senate.
OTHER 14
An Amendment Relative to Commonwealth Funding Accountability and Transparency
Mr. Tarr moved that the bill be amended by inserting at the end the following new Section:-
“SECTION 91.
(a) Definitions – For the purposes of this section, the terms below shall be defined as follows:
1. Entity – whether for-profit or not for profit,
a. a corporation
b. an association
c. a partnership
d. a limited liability corporation
e. a limited liability partnership
f. a sole proprietorship
g. any other legal business entity
h. a political subdivision of the Commonwealth
provided that an employee of the Commonwealth or an individual recipient of assistance shall not be considered an entity.
2. State expenditure – an expenditure of state funds including grants, subgrants, loans, awards, cooperative agreements, financial assistance, contracts, subcontracts, purchase order, task orders and delivery orders, and excluding transactions below $25,000.
3. Searchable website – a website which allows the public to:
a. Search and aggregate state expenditures by any item identified in the definition of website contained herein
b. Ascertain through a single search the total amount of state funding awarded to an entity by fiscal year, and
c. Download information, including the results of searches.
4. Website – a searchable website which includes for each state expenditure:
a. The name of the receiving entity
b. The amount of the expenditure
c. Information describing the expenditure such as transaction type, funding agency or program, and title descriptive of the purpose of the expenditure
d. The location of the entity receiving the expenditure and the primary location of performance pursuant to the expenditure, including the city, state, country and legislative district
e. A unique identifier of the entity receiving the award and of any parent entity of the recipient
f. Any other relevant information specified by the Operational Services Division.
(b) The Secretary of Administration and Finance, the Comptroller, the Treasurer and the Operational Services Division are hereby authorized and directed to develop a single searchable website, accessible by the public without cost, to enable the public to research and examine state expenditures as defined herein. Said website shall be designed so as to maximize utility, minimize cost and promote accessibility of information, and shall build upon resources currently existing, including, but not limited to, the “EASI” website, so-called, administered by the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, and the Comm-Pass system, so-called, administered by the Operational Services Division of the Executive Office of Administration and Finance.
In developing said website, the Secretary shall seek to obtain the use of coding and other information management infrastructure developed by the federal government pursuant to the “Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006”.
Said website shall seek to provide information for Fiscal Year 2009 and subsequent years.
A plan for the development and implementation of said website, together with any estimates for funding required and other legislative recommendations, shall be filed with the clerks of the House and Senate not later than November 31, 2008.
Redraft OTHER 15
An Amendment Relative to Educational Collaboratives
Mr. Tarr moved that the bill be amended by adding at the end the following section:-
“SECTION 91. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there shall be a special commission to investigate and study the commonwealth's ability to expand the use of educational collaboratives by school districts in order to fully maximize efficiencies in areas including, but not limited to, special education transportation, instruction, and procurement. The commission shall consist of 11 members, as follows: the chairs of the joint committee on education, who shall chair the commission; a designee appointed by the governor; the commissioner of the board of education or his designee; the chairs of the house and senate committees on ways and means; the executive director of the Massachusetts association of school superintendents; the executive director of the Massachusetts association of school committees; the executive director of the Massachusetts organization of education collaboratives; a representative of the statewide parents advisory council; and the secretary of administration and finance, or his designee. The commission shall report its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the clerk of the senate, the clerk of the house of representatives, the chairs of the joint committee on education, the House minority leader and the Senate minority leader not later than July 1, 2009.”
OTHER 16
WITHDRAWN
Redraft OTHER 17
An Amendment Relative to Municipal Management Tools
Mr. Tarr and Ms. Tucker moved that the bill be amended by adding at the end the following section:-
“SECTION 91. (a) Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after Section 37M the following section:-
‘Section 37M ½. Consultations regarding consolidation of administrative functions with city or town.
For any city or town accepting the provisions of this section, not earlier than December 1st of each alternating year beginning in 2009, and not later than January 31st of the subsequent year, the superintendent of schools for each school district serving such municipality shall meet with the mayor, town manager, or chief municipal officer or his designee for that municipality. The purpose of this meeting shall be to review the fiscal status of the school district budget and to identify opportunities for cost savings and efficiencies and any potential methodologies, including, but not limited to, joint procurement or consolidation of redundant functions. The results of each meeting shall be transmitted to the local legislative body and the local school committee not later than thirty days following the conclusion of such meeting.’
(b) There is hereby established a special commission for the purpose of investigating potential options for the modification of the means by which municipal entities are permitted to join the State Group Insurance Commission, the impacts of such options, the feasibility of such options, and their relative advantages and disadvantages.
Such commission shall consist of the Secretary of Administration and Finance or a designee who shall chair the commission, the executive director of the Group Insurance Commission, three representatives of municipal governments currently serving in an elected or appointed capacity and selected from a list provided by the Massachusetts Municipal Association by the governor, three representatives of public employee unions appointed by the governor, one member appointed by the governor, with actuarial experience in health insurance and three additional members appointed by the governor, one of whom shall represent the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and two of whom shall represent the citizens of the Commonwealth.
Said Commission shall report its findings, together with legislative recommendations for changes and/or modifications, to the clerks of the House and Senate not later than six months following the passage of this act.
(c) (1) Methodology - Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Secretary of Health and Human Services is hereby authorized and directed to, in consultation with the University of Massachusetts, change the methodology by which the Commonwealth seeks reimbursement from the federal Medicaid program for students educated pursuant to Chapter 71B of the General Laws from the current “per diem” format, so-called, to a “fee-for-service” format, so-called.
(2) Certification of Increased Reimbursement – Not later than thirty days following the initial receipt of funds pursuant to the “fee-for-service” methodology and in periods of not more than ninety days thereafter, the Secretary shall certify the amount by which reimbursement received using this methodology exceeds the amount which would have otherwise been received, taking into account inflation and any other relevant factors. Such excess amount shall be deposited into the Special Education Assistance Fund established herein.
(3) There shall be established and set up on the books of the Commonwealth the Special Education Assistance Fund, into which shall be deposited sums resulting from federal Medicaid reimbursement pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.
Not less than seventy-five percent of the total amount in said fund shall be appropriated annually for the purposes of assisting municipalities and regional school districts with the cost of transportation of students provided pursuant to Chapter 71B of the General Laws. Said appropriation shall be made in a form designed to ensure equity among students and local educational authorities by utilizing a methodology based on a uniform percentage of eligible transportation costs to be compensated.
The remainder of said fund shall be available for appropriation in the form of grants of assistance to private institutions providing educational services pursuant to Chapter 766 of the Acts of 1972 and its implementing regulations.
No funds provided in this section shall be considered funding for the purposes of Section 72 of Chapter 44 of the General Laws.
(4) The Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Administration and finance and the Commissioner of the Department of Education, in consultation with the University of Massachusetts, shall develop a system of acquiring from municipalities and regional school districts the information necessary to utilize a fee-for-service method of reimbursement from the federal Medicaid system following the passage of this act and prior to a request for a change in reimbursement methodology to the federal government.
Said system shall be designed to maximize efficiency and minimize the cost and burden of compliance for municipalities and regional school districts.
(d) (1) Section 4A of Chapter 40 of the General Laws is amended by striking out the first sentence of said section and inserting the following new sentence:
“The chief executive officer of a city or town, or a board, committee or officer otherwise authorized by law to execute a contract in the name of a governmental unit, as hereinafter defined, may enter on behalf of such unit into an agreement with one or more other governmental units to perform jointly or for such other unit or units any services, activities or undertakings which any of the contracting unties is authorized by law to perform, if such agreement is authorized by the parties thereto, in a city by the city council with the approval of the mayor, in a town by the Board of Selectmen and in a district by the Prudential Committee; provided, however, that when such agreement involves the expenditures of funds for establishing supplementary education centers and innovative educational programs, the agreement and its termination shall be authorized by the school committee.”
(2) Section 4A of Chapter 40 of the General Laws is amended by striking the last sentence of the first paragraph of said section and inserting the following new sentence:
“The words “governmental unit” as used herein shall mean a city, town, a regional school district, a district as defined in section one A, regional planning commissions, however constituted, regional transit authorities established under the provisions of chapter one hundred and sixty-one B, a water and sewer commission established under the provisions of chapter forty N or of a special law, counties, and a state agency as defined in section one of chapter six A”.
(e) Section 18 of Chapter 32B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 official edition, is hereby amended by striking out the entire section and inserting in place thereof the following new sections:-
“Section 18 (a) In a governmental unit which has accepted the provisions of section ten and which accepts the provisions of this subsection, all retirees, their spouses and dependents insured or eligible to be insured under this chapter, if enrolled in medicare part A at no cost to the retiree, spouse or dependents or eligible for coverage thereunder at no cost to the retiree, spouse or dependents, shall be required to transfer to a medicare extension plan offered by the governmental unit under section eleven C or section sixteen; provided, that benefits under said plan and medicare part A and part B together shall be of comparable actuarial value to those under the retiree’s existing coverage. Each retiree shall provide the governmental unit, in such form as the governmental unit shall prescribe, such information as is necessary to transfer to a medicare extension plan. If a retiree does not submit the information required, he shall no longer be eligible for his existing health coverage. The governmental unit may from time to time request from any retiree, a retiree’s spouse and dependents, proof certified by the federal government of their eligibility or ineligibility for medicare part A and part B coverage. The governmental unit shall pay any medicare part B premium penalty assessed by the federal government on said retirees, spouses and dependents as a result of enrollment in medicare part B at the time of transfer into the medicare health benefits supplemental plan.
This subsection shall take effect in a county, except Worcester county, city, town or district upon its acceptance in the following manner: In a county, by vote of the county commissioners; in a city having a Plan D or Plan E charter, by a majority vote of its city council; in any other city, by vote of its city council, approved by the mayor; in a district, except as hereinafter provided, by vote of the registered voters of the district at a district meeting; in a regional school district, by vote of the regional district school committee; and in a town, either by vote of the town at a town meeting or, by a majority of affirmative votes cast in answer to the following question which shall be printed upon the official ballot to be used at an election of said town – ‘Shall the town require that all retirees, their spouses and dependents who are enrolled in medicare part A at no cost to a retiree, their spouse or dependents, or eligible for coverage thereunder at no cost to a retiree, their spouse or dependents, be required to enroll in a medicare health benefits supplement plan offered by the town?’
Section 18 (b). In a governmental unit which has accepted the provisions of section ten and which accepts the provisions of this subsection, all health benefit eligible retirees who retire after the governmental unit’s acceptance of this subsection, their spouses and dependents insured or eligible to be insured under this chapter, if enrolled in medicare part A at no cost to the retiree, spouse or dependents or eligible for coverage thereunder at no cost to the retiree, spouse or dependents, shall be required to transfer to a medicare extension plan offered by the governmental unit under section eleven C or section sixteen; provided, that benefits under said plan and medicare part A and part B together shall be of comparable actuarial value to those under the retiree’s existing coverage. Each benefit eligible individual who retires after the governmental unit’s acceptance of this subsection shall provide the governmental unit, in such form as the governmental unit shall prescribe, such information as is necessary to transfer to a medicare extension plan. If such a retiree does not submit the information required, the retiree shall no longer be eligible for his existing health coverage. The governmental unit may from time to time request from any retiree who retires after the governmental unit’s acceptance of this subsection, and/or the retiree’s spouse and dependents, proof certified by the federal government of their eligibility or ineligibility for medicare part A and part B coverage. The governmental unit shall pay any medicare part B premium penalty assessed by the federal government on said retirees, spouses and dependents as a result of enrollment in medicare part B at the time of transfer into the medicare health benefits supplemental plan. Notwithstanding anything in this subsection to the contrary, no retiree, their spouse or dependent, shall be required to enroll in medicare part B and a medicare extension plan if said requirement would require the retiree to purchase a separate non-medicare extension plan in order to provide coverage for a non-medicare eligible spouse or dependent.
No retiree, their spouse or dependent, who retires prior to the acceptance of this subsection by a governmental unit, shall be subject to the provisions of this subsection, except as provided herein. Any retiree, their spouse or dependent, retired prior to a governmental unit’s acceptance of this subsection, shall be eligible for benefits under this chapter as if this subsection had not been accepted by the governmental unit, provided that any health benefit eligible retiree, their spouse and dependents insured or eligible to be insured under this chapter, if enrolled in medicare part A at no cost to the retiree, spouse or dependents or eligible for coverage thereunder at no cost to the retiree, spouse or dependents, may voluntarily enroll in a medicare extension plan offered by the governmental unit under section eleven C or section sixteen under the same terms as are available to any retiree, spouse or dependent under this subsection. If any such eligible retiree, their spouse or dependents voluntarily enrolls in such a medicare extension plan, said individual shall no longer be eligible to participate in any other group health insurance benefits available to active employees under this chapter.
This subsection shall take effect in a county, except Worcester county, city, town or district upon its acceptance in the following manner: In a county, by vote of the county commissioners; in a city having a Plan D or Plan E charter, by a majority vote of its city council; in any other city, by vote of its city council, approved by the mayor; in a district, except as hereinafter provided, by vote of the registered voters of the district at a district meeting; in a regional school district, by vote of the regional district school committee; and in a town, either by vote of the town at a town meeting or, by a majority of affirmative votes cast in answer to the following question which shall be printed upon the official ballot to be used at an election of said town – ‘Shall the governmental unit require that all individuals who retire after the governmental unit’s acceptance of this subsection and their spouses and dependents who are enrolled in medicare part A at no cost to a retiree, their spouse or dependents, or eligible for coverage thereunder at no cost to a retiree, their spouse or dependents, be required to enroll in a medicare health benefits supplement plan offered by the governmental unit?’”.
(f) Section 44A of Chapter 149 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking Section 2 and replacing it with the following:-
“(2)(A) Every contract for the construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance or repair of any building by a public agency estimated to cost less than $5,000 shall conform to sound business practices.
(B) Every contract for the construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance or repair of any building by a public agency estimated to cost not less than $5,000 but not more than $10,000 shall be awarded to the responsible person offering to perform the contract at the lowest price quotation; provided, however, that the public agency shall seek written price quotations from no fewer than 3 persons customarily providing the work for which the contract is being made available. When seeking written quotations the public agency shall make and keep a record of the names and addresses of all persons from whom price quotations were sought, the names of the persons submitting price quotations and the date and amount of each price quotation.
(C) Every contract for the construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance or repair of any building estimated to cost more than $10,000 but not more than $25,000 shall be awarded to the responsible person offering to perform the contract at the lowest price. The public agency shall make public notification of the contract and shall seek written responses from persons who customarily perform such work. The public notification shall include a scope of work statement that defines the work to be performed and provides potential responders with sufficient information regarding the objectives and requirements of the public agency and the time period within which the work is to be completed. For purposes of this subsection “public notification” shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, posting, no less than 2 weeks before the time specified in the notification for the receipt of responses, the contract and scope of work statement on the website of the public agency, on the COMPASS system, so-called, or in the central register established under section 20A of chapter 9, and in a conspicuous place in or near the primary office of the public agency.
(D) Every contract for the construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance or repair of any building by a public agency estimated to cost more than $25,000 but not more than $100,000, except for a pumping station to be constructed as an integral part of a sewer construction or water construction project bid under the provisions of section 39M of chapter 30, shall be awarded to the lowest responsible and eligible bidder on the basis of competitive bids publicly opened and read in accordance with the procedure set forth in said section 39M of said chapter 30. The term “pumping station” as used in this section shall mean a building or other structure which houses solely pumps and appurtenant electrical and plumbing fixtures.
(E) Every contract for the construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance or repair of any building by a public agency estimated to cost more than $100,000, except for a pumping station to be constructed as an integral part of a sewer construction or water construction project bid under the provisions of section 39M of chapter 30, shall be awarded to the lowest responsible and eligible general bidder on the basis of competitive bids in accordance with the procedure set forth in section 44A to 44H, inclusive.
(F) When the general court has approved the use of an alternative mode of procurement of construction for a project pursuant to section 7E of chapter 29, the awarding authority responsible for procuring construction services for the project shall follow the policies and procedures of this section and of section 44B to 44H, inclusive, to the extent compatible with the mode of construction procurement selected.
(G) Notwithstanding paragraph (E), a public agency may undertake the procurement of modular buildings, in accordance with section 44E. A public agency may procure site work for modular buildings, including but not limited to, construction of foundations, installations, and attachment to external utilities, or any portion of site work, either in combination with the procurement of modular buildings pursuant to section 44E or on the basis of competitive bids pursuant to the paragraph (E). Notwithstanding the paragraph (E), a public agency may procure energy management services in accordance with section 11C of chapter 25A and regulations promulgated thereunder.”
(g) (1) Section 2 of Chapter 30B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended, after line 36 by inserting the following:-
"Electric bidding", the electronic solicitation and receipt of offers to contract for supplies and services. Offers may be accepted and contracts may be entered by use of electronic bidding.
(2) Section 2 of Chapter 30B of the General Laws, as 50 appearing, is hereby amended, after line 90 by inserting the following:-
"Reverse auction", a competitive online solicitation process for supplies and services in which vendors compete against each other online in real time in an open and interactive environment.
(3) Chapter 30B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding after Section 6 the following new section:-
“6A. (a) A chief procurement officer may enter into procurement contracts in the amount of $25,000 or more utilizing reverse auctions for the acquisition of supplies and services. The reverse auction process shall include a specification of an opening date and time when real-time electronic bids may be accepted, and provide that the procedure shall remain open until the designated closing date and time.
(b) All bids on reverse auctions shall be posted electronically on the Internet, updated on a real-time basis, and shall allow registered bidders to lower the price of their bid below the lowest bid on the Internet.
(c) The chief procurement officer shall require vendors to register before the reverse auction opening date and time, and as part of the registration, agree to any terms and conditions and other requirements of the solicitation. The chief procurement officer may require vendors to be pre-qualified prior to placing bids in a reverse auction. The pre-qualification criteria shall include, but not be limited to statements of vendors: financial stability, past performances and professional references. The statement of qualifications shall be signed under pains and penalties of perjury.”
(4) Any mechanism, including but not limited to software, developed by the Operational Services Division for the purpose of conducting reverse auctions by the Commonwealth, shall provide for the utilization of such mechanism by municipalities. The Operational Services Division may assess any municipality utilizing such reverse auction mechanism a reasonable fee, calculated to compensate for any increased cost attributable to such utilization, which shall be credited to the general fund.”
OTHER 18
WITHDRAWN
OTHER 19
An Amendment Relative to Renewable Energy Sites
Mr. Tarr moved that the bill be amended by adding at the end the following section:-
“SECTION 91. The Division of Capital Asset Management and the Division of Energy Resources are hereby authorized and directed to identify, evaluate and inventory property and facilities owned or under the care and control of the Commonwealth or any of its quasi-public agencies, so-called, which may be suitable for use in the production of renewable energy.
For the purposes of this section, the term “renewable energy” shall refer to solar, wind, and geothermal energy and the harvest or refinement of materials comprising biofuels for space heating, the production of electricity or transportation.
In carrying out the purposes of this section, the department shall consult with the Massachusetts Highway Department, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, the Massachusetts Port Authority and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, provided that in each case the respective department or authority may be charged with developing its own inventory of suitable property and facilities for review and further inventory by the Department of Capital Asset Management and the Division of Energy Resources.
In developing the inventory and evaluation, the departments and authorities may utilize requests for proposals from private entities engaged in the production of renewable energy, and may consult with academic institutions, including the University of Massachusetts.
Said inventory shall be completed not later than twelve months following the passage of this act, and shall be provided to the clerks of the House and Senate and to the Joint Committee on Telecommunication, Utilities and Energy.
OTHER 20
An Amendment Relative to the Seaport Bond Bill
Mr. Tarr moved that the bill be amended by adding at the end the following section:-
“SECTION 91. (a) Section 2A of Chapter 28 of the Acts of 1996 is hereby repealed.
(b) Section 2 of Chapter 28 of the Acts of 1996, is hereby amended by striking out, in item 2000-6966, the figure “$65,000,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$150,000,000”.
(c) Section 3 of Chapter 28 of the Acts of 1996 is hereby amended by striking out, in line 4 of the first paragraph, the words “one hundred eighty-three million eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars” and replacing in place thereof the following:- “two hundred and sixty-eight million eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars”.
(d) Sections 5 and 6 of Chapter 28 of the Acts of 1996 are hereby repealed.
OTHER 21
An Amendment Providing Predictability in SPED Rate Setting
Mr. Tarr moved that the bill be amended by adding at the end the following section:-
“SECTION 91. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the Department of Education shall not approve any increase in tuition rates at private institutions providing services pursuant to Chapter 766 of the Acts of 1972 subsequent to May 31 in the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which such increase will take effect; provided further, that no such increase shall be retroactive.”
OTHER 22
An Amendment Relative to State Pensions
Mr. Tarr moved that the bill be amended by adding at the end the following section:-
“SECTION 91. Section 1 of Chapter 32 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 official edition, is hereby amended by inserting in the definition of “regular compensation” after the first paragraph the following new paragraph: -
‘“Regular compensation,” during any period subsequent to January 1, 2007, shall mean the full salary, wages or other compensation in whatever form, lawfully determined for the individual service of the employee by the employing authority, not including bonus, overtime, allowances for housing, transportation, travel, any and all employment related expense reimbursements, severance pay for any and all unused sick leave, or any other payments made as a result of giving notice of retirement, and any other such compensation in excess of salary or wages or as reasonably determined by the board.
Section 2. Section 1 of chapter 32 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting following the definition of the words “Annuity savings fund” the following: - “Average annual rate of regular compensation”, shall be the average of the rate of regular compensation for any qualifying year of credible service received during each pay period during the qualifying year.
Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subdivision (1) of section 5 of chapter 32, of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended at the end thereof by adding following: - In the event that eighty per cent or greater of his regular compensation is in payment for duties in the group having the higher maximum age limit, such member shall not be considered to have achieved the maximum age for superannuation until he has attained the maximum age limit in the group having the higher maximum age limit, said member shall be limited to the performance of such later duties as prescribed in this paragraph.
Section 4. Subdivision (2) of section 5 of chapter 32, of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended at the end thereof by adding the following sentences: - Provided that in any given year, no retirement allowance, as provided for by this chapter, shall exceed four hundred per cent of the average retirement allowance in the Commonwealth. The board shall determine the average retirement allowance in the Commonwealth as of January 1 of each year.’”
OTHER 23
WITHDRAWN
OTHER 24
An Amendment Relative to Zero-Based Budgeting
Mr. Tarr moved that the bill be amended at the end by adding the following section:-
“SECTION 91. Chapter 29 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following new section after Section 5F: -
Section 5G: Development and Adoption of Zero-Based Budget Estimates
1. The Secretary of Administration and Finance, with the approval of the Governor, shall on a quadrennial basis develop and submit to the Clerks of the Senate and House of Representatives a zero-based budget, so-called, for each agency and department of state government.
Said zero-based budget shall reflect the amount of funding deemed necessary to achieve the most cost-effective performance of each agency or department pursuant to an accompanying narrative delineating the tasks to be performed by that agency or department, together with goals and objectives for each agency or department for a period not to exceed four years. Said budget shall have a zero dollar amount as its basis, and shall not reflect any prior appropriation amount, adjusted or otherwise.
2. Said zero-based budget shall be referred by the Senate and House of Representatives to the committees of subject matter jurisdiction relevant to each component of said budget. Such committees shall evaluate each such component, taking into account all available information, including that provided by public testimony in oral and written form. The evaluations of the committee shall then be reported to the Senate and House Committees on Ways and Means.
3. The Ways and Means Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives shall, jointly or individually, conduct at least one public hearing on the zero-based budget and shall also receive written and electronic testimony for a period of not less than 30 days on said budget.
Said ways and means committees shall jointly develop and submit to the Clerks of the Senate and House of Representatives a zero-based budget estimate not later than 60 days following the receipt of the zero-based budget estimate filed by the Secretary pursuant to Section 1 above.
Said zero-based budget estimate shall be included in a joint resolution and placed before the members of the General Court for their consideration. Such joint resolution, if adopted, shall be employed in evaluating each annual budget considered by the General Court for the four years following its adoption.
4. Zero-based budgeting shall mean, for the purposes of this section, a means of developing appropriations based on the cost-effective achievement of the tasks and goals of a particular agency or department without regard to prior appropriations, adjusted for inflation or otherwise. Any appropriation so developed shall to the extent possible, be accompanied by a brief description of said tasks and goals together with the performance measure of the achievement of those tasks and goals.
OTHER 25
An Amendment Relative to the Environmental Police
Mr. Tarr moved that the bill be amended by adding at the end the following section:-
“SECTION 91. Notwithstanding any general or special law or regulation to the contrary, police officers within the Office of Environmental Law Enforcement shall be permitted to retain on their person their state-authorized weapon while in any state or county courthouse on official police business”.
OTHER 26
An Amendment Relative to Fair Employment in the Commonwelath
Mr. Tarr moved that the bill be amended by inserting at the end thereof the following section:-
“SECTION 91. (a) Chapter 149 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 19(c) the following new section:
“19(d): Whoever utilizes in any way a false identification document for the purposes of soliciting, securing, or maintaining employment from a public employer as defined in section 1 of chapter 30C shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in a jail or house of correction for not more than two years.”
(b) Section 24B of chapter 90 of the general laws is hereby amended by adding, after the first paragraph, the following:-
“Whoever falsely makes, steals, alters, forges or counterfeits a learner’s permit, a license to operate motor vehicles or an identification card issued under section 8E with the intent to distribute such learner’s permit, license to operate motor vehicles or identification card or assists another to do so shall be punished as follows:
- For the above acts involving 1 to 5 documents, by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 7 years or in a house of correction for not more than five years, or both;
- For acts involving 5 to 10 documents, by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 10 years or in a house of correction for not more than 8 years, or both;
- For acts involving more than 10 documents, by a fine of not more than $100,000 or by imprisonment in state prison for not more than 20 years or for not more than 15 years in a house of correction, or both.”
(c) The general laws are hereby amended by inserting after chapter 30B the following:-
“Chapter 30C. PUBLIC CONTRACT INTEGRITY
Section 1. For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
“public employer”: any department, agency, or public instrumentality of the commonwealth and any person, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, joint venture, or other business entity providing goods or services to any department, agency or public instrumentality of the commonwealth, including but not limited to the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Massachusetts Port Authority, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
“Work authorization program”: any of the electronic verification of work authorization programs operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security or any equivalent work authorization program operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security, the United States Department of Labor, the Social Security Administration, other federal agency, or any private verification system authorized by the director of the department of labor to verify information of newly hired employees, pursuant to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) and its progeny.
Section 2. No public employer shall enter into a contract for the provision of goods or services within the commonwealth unless the contractor registers and participates in a work authorization program to verify information of all new employees and certifies to that effect in writing to the director of the department of labor.
Section 3. No contractor or subcontractor who enters a contract with a public employer shall enter into such a contract or subcontract in connection with the provision of goods or services in the commonwealth unless the contractor or subcontractor registers and participates in a work authorization program to verify information of all employees and certifies to that effect in writing to the director of the department of labor.
Section 4. Sections 2 and 3 of this chapter shall apply as follows:
(A) On or after September 1, 2007, with respect to public employers, contractors, or subcontractors of 500 or more employees;
(B) On or after September 1, 2008, with respect to public employers, contractors, or subcontractors of 100 or more employees; and
(C) On or after September 1, 2009, with respect to all public employers, contractors, or subcontractors.
Section 5. The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced without regard to race, religion, gender, ethnicity, or national origin.
Section 6. Except as provided in section 4 of this chapter, the director of the department of labor shall prescribe forms and promulgate rules and regulations deemed necessary in order to administer and effectuate the provisions of this chapter.
Section 7. The Inspector General shall develop and promulgate regulations for the purpose of ensuring that any person receiving funds pursuant to a contract awarded subject to the provisions of chapter 30B and section 44A of chapter 149 of the general laws is in compliance with federal laws pertaining to immigration and citizenship, including but not limited to 42 U.S.C. 1436(a). Such regulations shall include but not be limited to the ascertaining and verification of immigration and/or citizenship status through a work authorization program maintained by the United States Department of Homeland Security or its substantial equivalent.
Section 8. No contract shall be awarded by or to a public employer, and no public funds shall be expended in accordance with such a contract, unless the public employer named in the contract complies with the regulations prescribed in this chapter.
Section 9. No funds shall be expended in accordance with a contract awarded by or to a public employer which will result in the payment of any kind to a person not in compliance with any and all federal laws pertaining to immigration and citizenship, including but not limited to 42 U.S.C. 1436(a).”
Section 10. The auditor is hereby authorized to conduct random audits to ensure compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
(d) Chapter 149 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended in the second paragraph of section 19c by adding the following at the end thereof:
“Such regulations shall include but not be limited to ascertaining and verifying immigration and/or citizenship status utilizing a work authorization program maintained by the United States Department of Homeland Security or a similarly authorized and efficacious system.”
(e) Chapter 149 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended in Section 2 by adding the following at the end thereof:
“Compliance
with this section shall include but not be limited to entering into,
maintaining and enforcing any and all memoranda of understanding with the
Attorney General of the
(f) Section 2 of chapter 149 of the general laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following:-
”The attorney general shall make available to the residents of the commonwealth
a 24-hour toll-free hotline which may be used for reporting any suspected
violations of the provisions of this chapter, including sections 19c and 26,
relative to immigration status and wage laws, or of 8 U.S.C. 1324a, relative to
the unlawful employment of unauthorized aliens. Calls to the hotline
shall be treated confidentially, and callers shall have the option of reporting
any violations anonymously. All complaints, whether received through the
hotline, in writing, electronically, or in any other form, shall be recorded
and documented by the attorney general and shall immediately refer any
violations of federal law, including but not limited to 8 U.S.C. 1324a, to the
attorney general of the United States and shall investigate all alleged
violations of state law as authorized by the general laws. The attorney
general shall annually prepare a year-end report detailing all reported
violations of sections 19C and 26 of this chapter and of 8 U.S.C. 1324a, the
nature of said violations, the date on which each complaint was received and
documented, any enforcement action taken against an employer who knowingly
employs illegal aliens in the commonwealth, and any violations of federal law
forwarded to the attorney general of the United States. Said report shall
be submitted to the house and senate committees on ways and means and to the joint
committee on labor and workforce development on or before February 1 of each
year.
(g) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Attorney General is hereby authorized and directed to facilitate and enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Attorney General of the United States, pursuant to the provisions of 8 U.S.C. 1357(g), for the purpose of enforcing state and federal laws pertaining to immigration and citizenship, not later than eight months following the passage of this act.
(h) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, when any person charged with a felony or with driving under the influence pursuant to section 24 of chapter 90 of the general laws is confined, for any period, in any correctional institution or prison in the commonwealth, the commissioner of the department of corrections, the county sheriff, or the municipal police chief or other officer shall make a reasonable effort to verify that the prisoner has been lawfully admitted to the United States and if lawfully admitted, that such lawful status has not expired. If verification of lawful status can not be made from documents in the possession of the prisoner, verification shall be made within 48 hours through a query to the Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC) of the United States Department of Homeland Security or other office or agency designated for that purpose by the United States Department of Homeland Security. If the prisoner is determined not to be lawfully admitted to the United States the commissioner of the department of corrections, the county sheriff, the municipal police chief or an other officer shall notify the United States Department of Homeland Security.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to deny a person bond or from being released from confinement when such person is otherwise eligible for release.
(c) The secretary of the executive office of public safety shall prepare and issue guidelines and procedures used to comply with the provisions of this section.”
(i) Section 32 of chapter 121B of
the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended
by adding the following paragraph:-
“Notwithstanding
any general or special law or regulation to the contrary, an applicant for
assisted housing under this chapter who is not eligible for federal assisted
housing under 42 U.S.C. section 1436a, and who is not a person residing in the
United States under color of law as defined in regulations of the federal
Department of Health and Human Services as in force on May 25, 2006, shall not displace or be
given priority over any applicant who is so eligible.”
(j) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary the immigration status of every defendant shall be confirmed at the arraignment stage of any civil or criminal court proceeding.
(k) If any of the provisions of this act, or the application of such provision to any persons or circumstances, shall be held invalid, the remainder thereof, or the application of such provision to persons or circumstances other than those wherein it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby.
Redraft OTHER 27
Mr. Buoniconti moved that the bill be amended by adding the following outside section:-
“SECTION XX: Section 142m of chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph:
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, a licensed emissions inspection facility shall not be limited from seeking reimbursement or compensation for any loss from the network contractor, or any other party the network contractor has contracted with, as the result of breach of contract, negligence, misrepresentation or fraud, or any other allowable action under Massachusetts law.”
OTHER 28
Ms. Chandler Messrs. Augustus and Rosenberg moved that the bill be amended by adding the following two sections: -
“SECTION ____. Section 10 of chapter 161B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following new paragraph after line 28:If at any time any principal or interest is due or about to come due on any note issued by the authority pursuant to this section, and funds to pay the same are not available, the administrator shall certify to the state treasurer the amount required to meet such obligations and the commonwealth shall thereupon pay over to the authority the amount so certified. If the commonwealth shall not make such payment within a reasonable time, the authority or any holder of an unpaid note issued by the authority pursuant to this section, acting in the name and on behalf of the authority, shall have the right to require the commonwealth to pay the authority the amount remaining unpaid, which right shall be enforceable as a claim against the commonwealth. The authority or any such holder of an unpaid note issued pursuant to this section may file a petition in the superior court to enforce such claim or intervene in any such proceeding already commenced and the provisions of chapter two hundred and fifty-eight shall apply to such petition insofar as it related to the enforcement of a claim against the commonwealth. Any such holder who shall have filed such a petition may apply for an order of said court requiring the authority to apply funds received by the authority on its claim against the commonwealth to the payment of the petitioner’s unpaid note, and said court if it finds such amount to be due him shall issue such an order.
SECTION _____. Section 12 of chapter 161B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following new paragraph after line 10: A copy of each biennial audit shall be provided to the chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, the chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, the Senate chair of the Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets and the House chair of the Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets.
OTHER 29
ESSENTIAL COMMUNITY PROVIDER TRUST FUND
Mr. Buoniconti moved that the bill be amended in section 70 by striking in the first sentence $25 million and inserting in place thereof $37.5 million, and further moves in the last sentence to strike ‘General Fund’ and insert in place thereof ‘Essential Community Provider Trust Fund’, and to strike the words ‘further appropriation for’ and insert in place thereof ‘the’.
OTHER 30
CONTAINING CAPITAL COSTS
Messrs. Montigny and Knapik moved that the bill be amended by adding the following section:
“SECTION ____. The treasurer of the commonwealth, all quasi-public entities of the commonwealth and independent authorities of the commonwealth shall make biannual reports on their borrowing practices. These reports shall be submitted to the Secretary of Administration and Finance, the auditor of the commonwealth, the House and Senate chairs of the Committee on Ways and Means, and to the Senate and House chairs of the Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures & State Assets. This report shall include all transactions entered into, other than fixed-rate borrowing, during the six month period prior to the report filing deadline. Reports shall be due on the 30th day of April and the 31st day of October in each calendar year. The report shall include all transactions related to derivative financial products. For purposes of this section, derivative financial products shall be defined as financial instruments whose own value is derived from or based upon the value of other assets or on the level of an interest rate index, including, but not limited to a call option on a bond, an interest rate swap, caps, floors, collars, inverse floaters, auction rate securities, or any other financial transaction other than fixed-rate, long term borrowing. This report shall include the terms and conditions of each derivative financial product transaction; the parties involved in negotiating each derivative financial product transaction; copies of all agreements entered into between the parties relative to derivative financial product transactions; the financial impact of each transaction including, but not limited to, the interest rates, fluctuation in interest rates, and payments associated therewith; and a written rationale of the treasurer of the commonwealth, quasi-public entities of the commonwealth as to how the determination to enter into such a transaction was made. The report shall be signed under the pains and penalties of perjury by the treasurer, on behalf of the commonwealth; and by the chief financial officers of each quasi-public entity or independent authority of the commonwealth.”
OTHER 31
GROUP MARKETING
Mr. Buoniconti moved that the bill be amended by adding the following outside section:-
“SECTION XX: Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, a group marketing plan approved and in effect, pursuant to Section 193R of Chapter 175 of the General Laws, during calendar years 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 may be approved upon renewal, notwithstanding that less than 35 percent of its members are insured during the subsequent calendar year, respectively. The commissioner is authorized and directed to examine group marketing plans for motor vehicle insurance for this period and to make findings relative to:— (1) the number of group marketing plans; (2) the number of members within each group marketing plan; (3) the average discount offered through group marketing plans; (4) the number of group marketing plans that do not have at least 35 percent of their members insured through such plans; and (5) any other relevant issues that the commissioner wishes to bring to the attention of the general court. Such examination and findings are to be submitted to the chairs of Joint Committee on Financial Services no later than December 31, 2011”
Redraft OTHER 32
SAIL BOSTON
Mr. Hart moved that the bill be amended, in Section 2, in item 7007-0900, “provided further that not less than $1,000,000 shall be expended for the marketing, promotion and operation of Sail Boston 2009 and in such item striking the figure “$19,202,209” and inserting “20,202,209.”
OTHER 33
COUNTY SHERIFFS OPERATIONS STUDY
Mr. Morrissey moved that the bill be amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section:-
SECTION 91. The secretary of administration and finance and the senate and house committees on ways and means shall conduct a study evaluating the costs and the benefits of transferring Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth and Suffolk County Sheriffs operations to the commonwealth. The study shall include but not be limited to an analysis of all revenues generated by such agencies, all non-financial benefits including increased accountability, and all financial costs associated with operating the offices. The study shall be filed with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives no later than December 31, 2008.
Redraft OTHER 34
SPECIAL COMMISSION ON CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND LEARNING
Mr. Moore moved that the bill be amended by inserting, after Section____, the following Section:-
SECTION ____. (a) There shall be a special commission on civic engagement and learning consisting of: 3 members of the senate, 1 of whom shall be the senate chairperson of the joint committee on education, 1 of whom shall be a member of the majority party to be appointed by the president of the senate and 1 of whom shall be a member of the minority party to be appointed by the minority leader of the senate; 3 members of the house of representatives, 1 of whom shall be the house chairperson of the joint committee on education, 1 of whom shall be a member of the majority party to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and 1 of whom shall be a member of the minority party to be appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives; the director of the legislative education office of the general court , or his designee; the chancellor of the board of higher education, or his designee; the commissioner of the department of education, or his designee; the president of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, or his designee; the president of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, or his designee; the president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, or his designee; the president of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, or his designee; the president of the Massachusetts Council for the Social Studies, or his designee; the president of the Massachusetts League of Women Voters, or his designee; the president of the Massachusetts Bar Association, or his designee; the Massachusetts state coordinator of the Center for Civic Education; a representative of local government appointed by the Massachusetts Municipal Association; a representative of the judicial branch appointed by the chief administrative justice of the trial court; the president of the Massachusetts Secondary Schools Administrators Association or his designee; and 6 members appointed by the governor, 1 of whom shall be the dean of a school of education or chair of a department of education skilled in the preparation of teachers, 1 of whom shall have expertise in adult education, 1 of whom shall be a scholar in the field of civic education, 1 of whom shall have expertise in curriculum development with special emphasis on civic learning, 1 of whom shall have expertise in the field of civic engagement of youth, and 1 of whom shall have expertise in service learning.
(b) The co-chairpersons of the special commission shall be a member of the senate designated by the senate president and a member of the house designated by the speaker of the house of representatives. The organizational session of the commission shall be convened by the co-chairpersons once the members of the commission have been appointed, but not later than 60 days after the effective date of this act whether or not all of the gubernatorial appointees have been appointed and qualified.
(c) The special commission shall make an investigation and study of the status of civic engagement and learning in the commonwealth including, but not limited to: (1) an assessment of the status of civic education in the commonwealth from kindergarten through high school and undergraduate college education with particular attention to compliance by agencies of public education and public higher education with section 2 of chapter 71 and section 2A of chapter 73 of the General Laws; including an assessment of the civic knowledge of graduates of the public high schools of the commonwealth; (2) an investigation of the opportunities available to the students of the commonwealth for service learning that develops an understanding of the relationship of those experiences with democratic government and a review of programs that teach civic engagement knowledge and skills that are essential to the development of active citizens; (3) an investigation of the status of public and private programs that promote civic engagement and learning including, but not limited to Massachusetts History Day, established pursuant to this act and Massachusetts Student Government Day, established pursuant to section 12M of chapter 6 of the General Laws; and how those programs could be enhanced or expanded through cooperation among themselves and with other entities such as schools and colleges, and through additional resources from public or private sources to be more effective and generally available to a larger number of students or the population at large; (4) an assessment of best practices in civic education in the United States that could serve as models for improving civic engagement and learning in the commonwealth; (5) an assessment of the implementation of the history and social studies curriculum frameworks by the department of education and the school districts of the commonwealth, including recommendations for the development and assessment of practical skills for civic engagement that are complementary to the knowledge based aspects of the frameworks; (6) an assessment of the need for a permanent entity students to promote civic engagement by a responsible citizenry and to encourage the building of partnerships to enhance the teaching and learning of the principles of representative democracy in the commonwealth; and (7) any other matters that the special commission considers relevant to the fulfillment of its mission and purpose.
(d) The special commission may conduct public hearings appropriate to gathering information and to raising the civic awareness of the people of the commonwealth, including the sponsorship of 1 or more statewide or regional conferences involving educators, students, or the public at large. The department of education and the board of higher education shall provide staff and other resources as the commission and those agencies consider appropriate. The special commission shall make its final report to the joint committee on education, including recommendations for legislation or other appropriate measures as it considers necessary, not later than January 1, 2009, and may make interim reports as it considers appropriate.”
OTHER 35
LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS AND LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES
Mr. Morrissey moved that the bill be amended by adding at the end thereof the following 12 sections:-
SECTION 91. Chapter 109 section 3 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking in lines 18 and 19 the word “thirty” and inserting in place thereof the word:- sixty.
SECTION 92. Chapter 109 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding after section 4 the following new section:-
Section 4A. (a) A limited partnership may change its resident agent or the street address of the resident agent by filing a certificate of change of agent or office in the office of the secretary of state. The statement of change shall set forth:
(1) the name of the limited partnership;
(2) the name and street address of its current resident agent;
(3) if the current resident agent is to be changed, the name and street address of the new resident agent, and the new agent’s written consent, either on the statement or attached to it, to the appointment;
(4) if the street address of the business office of the resident agent is to be changed, the new street address of the business office of the resident agent.
(b) If a resident agent changes the street address of his business office, he may change the street address of the business office of any limited partnership for which he is resident agent by notifying the limited partnership in writing of the change and signing (either manually or by facsimile) and delivering to the secretary of state for filing a statement of change that complies with the requirements of subsection(a) and recites that the limited partnership has been notified of such change. If the street address of more than one limited partnership is being changed at the same time, there may be included in a single certificate the names of all limited partnerships the street addresses of the business office of which are being changed.
(c) Any resident may resign his agency appointment by signing and delivering to the secretary of state a certificate of resignation. The resident agent shall furnish a copy of such statement to the limited partnership. The agency appointment is terminated on the thirty-first day on which the statement was filed.
SECTION 93. Section 8 of Chapter 109, as so appearing is hereby amended by striking clause (a)(3) and inserting in place thereof:-
(3) The address of the office and the name and address of the agent for service of process required to be maintained by section four. The agent’s written consent to the appointment as agent shall be either in the certificate or attached to it.
SECTION 94. Section 49 of Chapter 109 as amended by Chapter 178 of the Acts of 2004 is hereby amended by striking clause (7) and inserting in place thereof:-
(7) The name and business address of its resident agent and the agent’s written consent, either on the certificate or attached to it, to its appointment as agent; and
SECTION 95. Section 52 of Chapter 109, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking said section and inserting in place thereof:-
Section 52. Each foreign limited partnership doing business in the commonwealth shall appoint a resident agent as its true and lawful attorney upon whom all lawful process in any action or proceeding against such foreign limited partnership in the commonwealth may be served. The provisions of Chapter 156D section 15.07, 15.08 and 15.09 relative to the appointment and qualifications of a resident agent shall be applicable to the appointment of a resident agent pursuant to this section.
SECTION 96. Chapter 109 as so appearing is hereby amended by adding after section 62 the following new sections:-
Section 63. Annual report.
(a) Each domestic limited partnership and foreign limited partnership authorized to transact business in the commonwealth shall file an annual report with the secretary of state on or before the anniversary date of the filing of the certificate of limited partnership. The annual report shall contain all information required to be included in the certificate of limited partnership.
(b) The fee for filing the annual report shall be $500 if the report is filed on paper or via fax. The fee for filing the annual report electronically shall be $450.
Section 64. Administrative Dissolution.
(a) The secretary of state may commence a proceeding to dissolve a limited partnership if:
(1) The limited partnership has failed to comply with the provision of law requiring the filing of annual reports with the secretary of state for two or more consecutive years; or
(2) The secretary of state is satisfied that the limited partnership has become inactive and its dissolution would be in the public interest.
(b) If the secretary of state determines that one or more grounds exist under sub-section (a), he shall serve the limited partnership with written notice of his determination. The notice shall be sent to the address of the office in the commonwealth required by section 4(1). If the limited partnership does not correct each ground for dissolution or demonstrate to the reasonable satisfaction of the secretary of state that each ground determined by the secretary of state does not exist within 90 days of the date of the notice, the secretary of state shall administratively dissolve the limited partnership.
(c) A limited partnership administratively dissolved continues its existence, but may not carry on any business except that necessary to wind up and liquidate its affairs.
Section 65. Reinstatement. A limited partnership administratively dissolved under section 64 or whose authority to transact business in the commonwealth has been revoked under section 66 may apply to the secretary of state for reinstatement at any time. The application shall:
(1) recite the name of the limited partnership and the effective date of its administrative dissolution or revocation;
(2) state that the ground or grounds for dissolution or revocation either did not exist or have been eliminated;
(3) state that the name of the limited partnership satisfies the requirements of section 2. If the secretary of state determines that the application contains the information and that such information is correct, he shall reinstate the limited partnership.
Section 66. Revocation of Authority to Transact Business.
(a) The secretary of state may commence a proceeding to revoke the authority of a foreign limited partnership to transact business in the commonwealth if:
(1) The limited partnership has failed to comply with the provisions of law requiring the filing of annual reports with the secretary of state for two or more consecutive years; or
(2) The secretary of state is satisfied that the revocation of the limited partnership’s authority to transact business in the commonwealth would be in the public interest.
(b) If the secretary of state determines that one or more grounds exist under subsection(a), he shall serve the limited partnership with written notice of his determination. The notice shall be sent to the address of the foreign limited partnership. If the limited partnership does not correct each ground for revocation or demonstrate to the reasonable satisfaction of the secretary of state that each ground determined by the secretary of state does not exist with 90 days of the date of the notice, the secretary of state shall administratively revoke the authority of the foreign limited partnership to do business in the commonwealth.
(c) The authority of the foreign limited partnership to transact business in the commonwealth ceases on the date on which the secretary of state makes such revocation effective.
SECTION 97. Chapter 156C Section 4 of the General Laws as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition is hereby amended by striking in lines 18 and 19 the word “thirty” and inserting in place thereof the word:- sixty
SECTION 98. Chapter 156C of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding after section 5 the following new section:-
Section 5A(a). A limited liability company may change its resident agent or the street address of the resident agent by filing a certificate of change of agent or office in the office of the state secretary. The statement of change shall set forth:
(1) the name of the limited liability company;
(2) the name and street address of its current resident agent;
(3) if the current resident agent is to be changed, the name and street address of the new resident agent and the new agent’s written consent, either on the statement or attached to it, to the appointment;
(4) if the street address of the business office of the resident agent is to be
changed, the new street address.
(b) If a resident agent changes the street address of his business office, he may change the street address of the business office of any limited liability company for which he is resident agent by notifying the limited liability company in writing of the change and signing (either manually or in facsimile) and delivering to the secretary of state for filing a statement of change that complies with the requirements of subsection (a) and recites that the limited liability company has been notified of such change. If the street address of more than one limited liability company is being changed at the same time, there may be included in a single certificate the names of all limited liability companies the street address of the business office of which are being changed.
(c) any resident agent may resign his agency appointment by signing and delivering to the secretary of state a certificate of resignation. The resident agent shall furnish a copy of such statement to the limited liability company. The agency appointment is terminated on the thirty-first day after the date on which the statement was filed.
SECTION 99. Section 12 of Chapter 156C as so appearing is hereby amended by striking clause (a)(3) and inserting in place thereof:-
(3) the name and address of the resident gent for service of process required to be maintained by section five, and the agent’s written consent, either on the certificate or attached to it, to its appointment as agent.
SECTION 100. Section 48 of Chapter 156C as amended by Chapter 178 of the Acts of 2004, is hereby amended by striking clause (7) and inserting in place thereof:-
(7) the name and address of the resident agent of the foreign limited liability company and the agent’s written consent, either on the certificate or attached to it, to its appointment as agent.
SECTION 101. Section 51 of the said Chapter 156C, as amended by Chapter 178 of the Acts of 2004, is hereby amended by striking Section 51 and inserting in place thereof:-
Section 51. Each foreign limited liability company doing business in the commonwealth shall appoint a resident agent as its true and lawful attorney upon whom all lawful process in any action or proceeding against such foreign limited liability company in the commonwealth may be served. The provisions of Chapter 156D section 15.07, section 15.08 and section 15.09 relative to the appointment and qualification of a resident agent shall be applicable to the appointment of a resident agent pursuant to this section.
SECTION 102. Chapter 156C is hereby amended by adding after section 69 the following sections:-
Section 70. Administrative Dissolution
(a) The secretary of state may commence a proceeding to dissolve a limited liability company if:
(1) the limited liability company has failed to comply with the provisions of law requiring the filing of annual reports with the secretary of state for two or more consecutive years; or
(2) the secretary of state is satisfied that the limited liability company has become inactive and its dissolution would be in the public interest.
(b) If the secretary of state determines that one or more grounds exist under sub-section (a), he shall serve the limited liability company with written notice of his determination. The notice shall be sent to the address of the office in the commonwealth required by section 5. If the limited liability company does not correct each ground for dissolution or demonstrate to the reasonable satisfaction of the secretary of state that each ground determined by the secretary of state does not exist within 90 days of the date of the notice, the secretary of state shall administratively dissolve the limited liability company.
(c) A limited liability company administratively dissolved continues its existence, but may not carry on any business except that necessary to wind up and liquidate its affairs.
Section 71. Reinstatement
A limited liability company administratively dissolved or whose authority to transact business in the commonwealth has been revoked under sections 70 and 72 may apply to the secretary of state for reinstatement at any time. The application shall:
(1) recite the name of the limited liability company and the effective date of its administrative dissolution or revocation;
(2) state that the ground or grounds for dissolution or revocation either did not exist or have been eliminated;
(3) state that the name of the limited liability company satisfies the requirements of section 3.
If the secretary of state determines that the application contains the information required and that such information is correct, he shall reinstate the limited liability company.
Section 72. Revocation of Authority to Transact Business.
(a) The secretary of state may commence a proceeding to revoke the authority of a foreign limited liability company to transact business in the commonwealth if:
(1) the limited liability company has failed to comply with the provisions of law requiring the filing of annual reports with the secretary of state for two or more consecutive years; or
(2) the secretary of state is satisfied that the revocation of the limited liability company’s authority to transact business in the commonwealth would be in the public interest.
(b) If the secretary of state determines that one or more grounds exist under subsection (a), he shall serve the limited liability company with written notice of his determination. The notice shall be sent to the address of the foreign limited liability company. If the limited liability company does not correct each ground for revocation or demonstrate to the reasonable satisfaction of the secretary of state that each ground determined by the secretary of state does not exist with 90 days of the date of the notice, the secretary of state shall administratively revoke the authority of the foreign limited liability company to do business in the commonwealth.
(c) The authority of the foreign limited liability company to transact business in the commonwealth ceases on the date on which the secretary of state makes such revocation effective.
OTHER 36
SIMULCAST EXTENSION
Messrs. Morrissey, Petruccelli and Brown moved that the bill be amended by adding at the end thereof the following 13 sections:-
SECTION 91. The first paragraph of section 12A of chapter 494 of the acts of 1978 is hereby amended by striking out the words “, and until December 31, 2008”, inserted by section 8 of chapter 49 of the acts of 2006, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- , and until December 31, 2010.
SECTION 92. The last paragraph of said section 12A of said chapter 494 is hereby amended by striking out the words “December 31, 2008”, inserted by section 9 of said chapter 449, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- December 31, 2010.
SECTION 93. The introductory paragraph of section 13 of said chapter 494 is hereby amended by striking out the words “, and until December 31, 2008”, inserted by section 10 of said chapter 449, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- , and until December 31, 2010.
SECTION 94. Section 15 of said chapter 494 is hereby amended by striking out the words “, and until December 31, 2008”, inserted by section 11 of said chapter 449, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- , and until December 31, 2010.
SECTION 95. The first paragraph of section 9 of chapter 277 of the acts of 1986 is hereby amended by striking out the words “, and until December 31, 2008”, inserted by section 12 of said chapter 449, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- , and until December 31, 2010.
SECTION 96. The first sentence of the first paragraph of section 3 of chapter 114 of the acts of 1991 is hereby amended by striking out the words “, and until December 31, 2008”, inserted by section 13 of said chapter 449, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- , and until December 31, 2010.
SECTION 97. The last paragraph of said section 3 of said chapter 114 is hereby amended by striking out the words “December 31, 2008”, inserted by section 14 of said chapter 449, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- December 31, 2010.
SECTION 98. The first paragraph of section 4 of said chapter 114 is hereby amended by striking out the words “, and until December 31, 2008”, inserted by section 15 of said chapter 449, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- , and until December 31, 2010.
SECTION 99. The last paragraph of said section 4 of said chapter 114 is hereby amended by striking out the words “December 31, 2008”, inserted by section 16 of said chapter 449, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- December 31, 2010.
ECTION 100. The first paragraph of section 5 of said chapter 114 is hereby amended by striking out the words “, and until December 31, 2008”, inserted by section 17 of said chapter 449, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- , and until December 31, 2010.
SECTION 101. Section 13 of chapter 101 of the acts of 1992 is hereby amended by striking out the words “December 31, 2008”, inserted by section 18 of said chapter 449, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- December 31, 2010.
SECTION 102. Section 45 of chapter 139 of the acts of 2001 is hereby amended by striking out the words “December 31, 2008”, inserted by section 19 of said chapter 449, and inserting in place thereof the following words:-December 31, 2010.
SECTION 103. Section 20 of chapter 449 of the acts of 2006 is hereby amended by striking out the words “December 31, 2008” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- December 31, 2010
OTHER 37
PREVENTING OIL SPILLS IN BUZZARDS BAY
Messrs. Montigny, O'Leary and Resor moved that the bill be amended by inserting, after Section ____, the following new Section:-
“SECTION____. Section 4 of chapter 21L of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following subsection:-
(f) Any person that owns or operates a tank vessel, as defined in section 1 of chapter 21M, carrying 6,000 or more barrels of oil within Buzzards Bay, as defined in said section 1 of said chapter 21M, fails to provide notice to the department of environmental protection as provided in section 9(a) of chapter 21M; and violates a provision of this chapter, by spilling oil into Buzzards Bay, shall be assessed triple the fines provided in this section.
Section 1 of chapter 21M of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting before the definition of “Area of special interest” the following 2 definitions:-
“AIS”, automatic identification system .
“ARPA”, automatic radar plotting aids.
Said section 1 of said chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of “Covered vessel” the following definition:-
“Department”, department of environmental protection.
Said section 1 of said chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of “Double hull” the following definitions:-
“ECIDIS”, an electronic chart display and information system.
“Fund”, the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Trust Fund established in section 8.
Said section 1 of said chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the definition of “Illicit drug” the following 3 definitions:-
“Rescue tug”, a tugboat escort having twin radar displays equipped with ECDIS or ARPA capable of integrating AIS, a towing winch and associated wire and gear capable of towing a minimum of a 470 foot fully loaded tank vessel, pilot disembarkment gear, and 600 feet of oil spill response boom and associated response gear
“Response time”, the amount of time required for a rescue tug to assist a tank vessel.
“State pilot”, a pilot commissioned under chapter 103.
Section 8 of said chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby amended, in line 3, by inserting after the words “response teams” the following words: - , rescue tugs dispatched under the authority of chapter 21M, section 9 of the General Laws.
Said section 8 of said chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 22 and 23, the words “2 cents for each barrel of petroleum product, as set by the commissioner pursuant to clause (4)” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- 5 cents for each barrel of petroleum product.
Subsection (c) of said section 8 of said chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out clauses (3) to (5), inclusive.
Said section 8 of said chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 50, the figure “6” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 3.
Said section 8 of said chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 80, the word “and”, the second time it appears.
Said section 8 of said chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 84, the word “Administration.” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- Administration; and
(10) to pay for appropriately manned rescue tugs and state pilots in Buzzards Bay, dispatched under the authority of chapter 21M, section 9 of the General Laws.
Said section 8 of said chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby further amended, by striking out, in line 127, the word “and”.
Said section 8 of said chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the word “reimbursements.” , in line 128, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- reimbursements; and
(vii) payment of costs associated with appropriately manned rescue tugs and state pilots in Buzzards Bay, dispatched under the authority of chapter 21M, section 9 of the General Laws .
Said chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
Section 9. (a) An owner or operator of a tank vessel carrying 6,000 or more barrels of oil may provide 24 hour notice to the department, in a manner to be determined by the department, of the owner or operator’s intent to enter or operate such vessel in Buzzards Bay.
(b) If such 24 hour notice is given pursuant to section 9(a) of this chapter and the tank vessel is unaccompanied by a tug boat escort, the commissioner shall dispatch a state pilot, if requested by such owner or operator, to the towing vessel.
(c) The commissioner shall dispatch rescue tugs in Buzzards Bay to be available to tank vessels carrying 6,000 or more barrels of oil, unaccompanied by a tugboat escort, entering or operating in Buzzards Bay. The commissioner shall establish by regulation the maximum response times that rescue tugs shall maintain upon being dispatched.
(d) If no state pilot is requested under subsection (b), a rescue tug dispatched under subsection (c) shall be manned by a state pilot. The pilot shall monitor the safe passage of vessels and provide information to tank vessel operators on current and anticipated navigational issues.
(d) The state pilot or operator of the rescue tugs shall report to the commissioner all near and actual navigational incidents that could potentially lead to an oil spill including, but not limited to: tank vessels traveling outside of the designated vessel route as appearing on the national oceanic and atmospheric administration chart for Buzzards Bay; failure to use AIS; near or actual collisions, allisions or groundings; steering or engine failures; and towing gear failures. The commissioner shall record, make available to the public, and keep on file these reports for not less than 10 years.
(e) Notwithstanding subsection (b), the commissioner may authorize longer response times and fewer state pilots if he determines that exigent circumstances exist. No such authorization shall be construed to relieve or otherwise limit the liability of an owner or operator of a tank vessel for any release of oil that occurs while the tank vessel enters or operates in Buzzards Bay. The commissioner shall report, not later than January 1, 2009, and annually thereafter, to the joint committee on the environment, natural resources and agriculture the number of occasions that such exemptions were authorized.
(f) The commissioner shall adopt regulations to implement this section including, but not limited to, the dispatching of state pilots, manning requirements, and maximum response times.
(g) The commissioner, after a competitive bidding process, may evaluate such bids and may enter into a contract with a company to dispatch and provide rescue tugs, which meet or exceed the standards required under this section.
The commissioner of the department of environmental protection shall adopt initial regulations not later than 180 days of the effective date of this act.
Subsections (f) and (g) of section 9 of chapter 21M of the General Laws, as appearing in section 14 and section 15, shall take effect on the effective date of this act.”; and
by inserting before the enacting clause the following emergency preamble:-
“Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to further protect Buzzards Bay, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public safety.”
The remainder of this act shall take effect 210 days after its passage.
OTHER 38
NURSING HOME TAX
Mr. Brown moved that the bill be amended by inserting, after Section 90, the following new Section:-
“SECTION 91. Section 25 of Chapter 118G of the Massachusetts General Laws as created in Section 101 of Chapter 184 of the Acts of 2002, is hereby repealed.
OTHER 39
RAW ARTS
Mr. McGee moved that the bill be
amended, in Section 2, in item 0640-0300 by adding the following: - “provided
further, that not less than $50,000 shall be expended to RAW Arts, Inc. in the
city of Lynn to facilitate youth expansion programs approved by the Board of
Directors of said organization.”
OTHER 40
WENDELL EMERGENCY GRANT
Mr. Rosenberg moved that the bill be amended, in Section 2, in item xxxx-xxxx, by adding the following:- “provided further, that not less that $150,000 shall be expended to the town of Wendell for an emergency assistance safety grant;”
OTHER 41
EMPLOYEE RECORDS
Mr. Brown moved that the bill be amended by inserting, after Section 90, the following new Section:-
“SECTION 91. Chapter 149 of the General Laws as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is amended by inserting after Section 52C. the following new section: -
SECTION 52D. (a) Unless otherwise provided by law, an employer, or an employer’s designee, who discloses information about a current or former employee to a prospective employer of the employee shall be absolutely immune from civil liability if the disclosed information includes any or all of the following: (1) date of employment; (2) pay level; (3) job description and duties; and (4) wage history. An employer who responds in writing to a written request concerning a former employee from a prospective employer of that employee shall be absolutely immune from civil liability if the disclosed information includes either or both of the following: (1) written employee evaluations which were conducted prior to the employee’s separation from the employer; and (2) whether the employee was voluntarily or involuntarily released from service and the reasons for the separation.
(b) This section shall apply to causes of action accruing on and after the effective date of this act.”
OTHER 42
HADLEY HALL
Mr. Rosenberg moved that the bill be amended, in Section 2, in item xxxx-xxxx, by adding the following:- “provided further, that $100,000 shall be expended for the historic Hadley Hall in Hadley”;
Redraft OTHER 43
Messrs. Buoniconti and Downing moved that the bill be amended after section 46 by adding the following new section:-
“SECTION __. Chapter 100A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
Section 11. (a) There shall be an advisory commission on auto body labor rates. It shall consist of 11 members, including the director of consumer affairs and business regulation, or a designee, who shall chair the commission, 1 member of the senate from the joint committee on financial services to be appointed by the president of the senate, 1 member of the senate to be appointed by the senate minority leader, 1 member of the house of representatives from the joint committee on financial services to be appointed by the speaker of the house, 1 member of the house to be appointed by the house minority leader, 3 members from the auto insurance industry to be appointed by the Automobile Insurers Bureau (AIB), 2 members from the auto repairer industry appointed by the state affiliate of the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP), and one member whom shall be a motor vehicle dealer as pursuant to section 1 of chapter 93B of the general laws to be appointed by the Massachusetts State Auto Dealers Association. All members of the commission shall serve on a voluntary, unpaid basis.
(b) The commission shall have the authority to adopt regulations by a two-thirds majority vote and may amend these regulations at anytime by a two-thirds majority vote. The commission shall collect fees to pay for staffing and administrative costs. Each licensed repair shop shall pay an annual fee of $100 in addition to any other fees imposed under this chapter. Each insurer writing auto insurance in Massachusetts shall pay an annual fee of $1000. These funds shall be deposited in a separate account with the state treasurer, be received by said treasurer on behalf of the commonwealth, and be expended by the commission in accordance with law
(c) The commission shall develop and implement procedures, updating at least every 3 years to establish an average national auto repairer hourly compensation rate for all categories of labor performed by auto repairers, including but not limited to, body labor, paint labor, unibody or frame labor, and mechanical labor, as well as a number to be used as a cost of labor multiplier for the commonwealth based on information provided by the Bureau of Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor that indexes labor costs across all industries for the commonwealth relative to other states. In addition, the commission shall define 3 distinct levels of qualifications to designate auto repair shops as class A, B or C and an application process for auto repair shops to be classified under this system as well as inspection requirements that correspond to the specific classifications of these shops. At a minimum, any shop that applies for certification must be inspected within 90 days upon receipt of the application, and shall be notified within 30 days of the inspection of the commission’s determination. In addition, shops classified at level C must be paid a fair and reasonable amount for all labor hours negotiated under 212 C.M.R. of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, regardless of any financial terms, arrangements, or contracts to the contrary. Shops classified at level B must be paid an amount not less than 90 per cent of the indexed hourly labor rate in force at the time of the completion of the job for all labor hours negotiated under 212 C.M.R. of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, regardless of any financial terms, arrangements, or contracts to the contrary.. Shops classified at level A must be paid an amount not less than 100 per cent of the indexed hourly labor rate in force at the time of the completion of the job for all labor hours negotiated under 212 C.M.R. of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, regardless of any financial terms, arrangements, or contracts to the contrary. The commission shall also develop a formal complaint process for both auto body repair shops and auto insurers for non-compliance with this section or any regulations adopted by the commission.
(d) The commission shall meet in public not less than 8 times per calendar year and to conduct business. The commission shall also appoint teams of auto repair inspectors that consist of at least 1 person from the auto insurance industry, to be selected from a list of names provided by the Auto Insurers Bureau and 1 person from the auto repair industry, to be selected from a list of names provided by the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers. The commission shall set the rate by which the individuals on inspection teams are compensated for each inspection filed, to be paid out of the commission’s fund. Such total amount for each inspection may not exceed 75 per cent of the application fee in force at the time of the inspection, and each team member shall be compensated at an equal amount.
(e) The commission shall report not later than June 1, annually, to the division of insurance and the office the attorney general its indexed labor rates. If the commission of insurance determines not to fix and establish auto insurance rates under chapter 175, the division of insurance shall also distribute the indexed labor rates to those insurers who write auto insurance in the commonwealth within 30 days of receiving the report from the commission.”
OTHER 44
URBAN LEAGUE
Mr. Hart moved that the bill be amended, in Section 2, in item 7003-0702, by adding the following: “;provided further, that not less than $500,000 shall be expended for education, career development and employment service programs operated by the Urban League of Massachusetts
OTHER 45
YOUTHWORKS
Mr. Hart moved that the bill be amended, in Section 2, in item 7002-0012, by striking the figure “$8,000,000” and inserting in place thereof the figure “$9,200,000”
OTHER 46
HEARING AID TAX CREDITS
Messrs. Timilty and Augustus, Ms. Spilka, and Ms. Candaras moved that the bill be amended by inserting the following new section:-
SECTION XX. Section 6 of Chapter 62 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following subsection: -
(l) There is hereby established a tax credit for those who incur expenses associated with the purchase of hearing aids. The amount of such credit shall be thirty percent of the cost of the hearing aid or four hundred dollars, whichever figure is less. The credit applies to no more than one hearing aid every five years. If the credit provided in this section reduces the tax to zero, the taxpayer shall be entitled to a refund equal to the amount of the credit exceeded the amount of tax due.
OTHER 47
STUDENT ATHLETICS & ACTIVITIES FEES TAX CREDIT
Mr. Timilty moved that the bill be amended by inserting the following new section;-
SECTION XX. Section 6 of Chapter 62 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following subsection: -
(m) Any taxpayer who maintains a household which includes as a member one or more individuals who are pupils enrolled in a public school shall be allowed a credit against the tax liability imposed by this chapter equal to fifty per cent or five hundred dollars, whichever is lesser, of the net expenditures for fees paid in connection with activities authorized by section 47 of Chapter 71 of the general laws.
OTHER 48
STUDENT TRANSPORTATION FEES TAX CREDIT
Mr. Timilty moved that the bill be amended inserting the following new section:-
SECTION XX. Section 6 of Chapter 62 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following subsection: -
(m) Any taxpayer who maintains a household which includes as a member one or more individuals who are pupils enrolled in a public school shall be allowed a credit against the tax liability imposed by this chapter equal to fifty per cent or five hundred dollars, whichever is lesser, of the net expenditures for fees paid in connection with student transportation provided under section 68 of Chapter 71 of the general laws.
OTHER 49
TAX ROLLBACK
Messrs. Hedlund and Brown moved that the bill be amended after Section 90, the following new Section:-
“SECTION _____. Section 4 of chapter 62 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out paragraph (b) and inserting in place thereof the following:-
(b) Part B taxable income shall be taxed at the rate of 5.0 per cent for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2009.”
OTHER 50
WORKFORCE COMPETITIVENESS TRUST FUND
Messrs. McGee, and Montigny moved that the bill be amended in section 7 by inserting after the words “23G” the words “; and $15,000,000 to the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund, established by section 2WWW of chapter 29”
OTHER 51
WITHDRAWN
OTHER 52
MUNICIPAL RELIEF RESERVE FUND
Ms. Spilka moves to amend the bill in Section 2, by inserting after item 1599-7104, the following item:- “1599-XXXX For a reserve to: 1) meet the extraordinary increases in the cost of public safety services provided by a municipality, provided that the provision of services has been in response to requests for assistance from mental health facilities, community residential programs, homeless shelters, and rehabilitation facilities and related educational facilities which provide clinical, rehabilitative and supportive services for adults or children; and provided further that preference shall be given to municipalities in which there has been an increase in requests for public safety services during the previous 60 months of at least 25%; and 2) meet the extraordinary increases in the cost of public safety services provided by a municipality provided that the provision of services has been in response to requests for assistance from a correctional institution or other facility operated by the department of correction, and provided further that preference shall be given to communities in which such requests for public safety services in fiscal year 2007 was increased by at least 20% over such requests in fiscal year 2006; and 3) assist municipalities in which at least 190 parcels, representing at least 1% of the total number of parcels in that municipality are exempt from taxation under clause 3 of section 5 of chapter 59 of the General Laws; provided further, that notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, assistance funded by this item shall only be available on a one time non-recurring basis. ………………..……………………………………………………………$2,500,000”
OTHER 53
WITHDRAWN
GOV 54
OTHER 55
SUFFOLK COUNRY CORRECTION
Mr. Hart moved that the bill be amended, in Section 2, in item 8910-0000, by striking the following; “the maintenance of effort obligations for Suffolk county shall be 4 per cent of the total fiscal year 2008 Suffolk county correction operating budget as approved by the county government finance review board”, and inserting in place thereof the following; “the maintenance of effort obligations for Suffolk county shall be 2 per cent of the total fiscal year 2008 Suffolk county correction operating budget as approved by the county government finance review board”.
OTHER 56
REPORT ON CHILD SUPPORT TO CHILDREN
Ms. Creem, Ms. Canderas and Ms. Wilkerson, and Mssrs. Galluccio and Timilty, moved that the bill be amended, in Section 2, in item 1201-0160, by inserting at the end thereof the following:--
provided further, in fiscal year 2009, the department will take all steps necessary to enable the commonwealth to implement, by October 1, 2009, the options set forth in 42 U.S.C. §§ 657(a)(2)(B)(i), 657(a)(7)(B) and 657(b)(2) to pay the federal share of certain child support collections to families; provided further, that on or before November 1, 2008, the department shall report to the chairs of the house and senate committees on ways and means and the chairs of the joint committee on revenue setting forth in detail the steps the department has taken and those it still needs to take, along with a timetable for accomplishing each of the steps still necessary and identification of any additional funding or statutory changes needed, to implement such options by October 1, 2009.
Redraft OTHER 57
RELATIVE TO SENIOR CITIZEN PROPERTY TAXES
Ms. Creem and Mssrs. Timilty and Joyce move that the bill be amended by adding the following sections:-
SECTION __. Clause Forty-first A of section 5 of said chapter 59 of the General Laws is hereby further amended by inserting, in line 1060, after the words “the property or” the following words:— “one year after” .
SECTION __. Section 5K of chapter 59 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 13, the figure “$750” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:— “$1,000”.
SECTION __. There is hereby established the elderly and disabled person’s tax relief outreach program for the purposes of assisting elderly and disabled residents of the commonwealth in obtaining information about available options designed to provide limited relief from state and local taxes.
The secretary of the commonwealth shall administer the program in conjunction with the secretary of the executive office of elder affairs and the commissioner of the department of revenue.
In order to assist interested persons in obtaining such information, the outreach program shall:
(a) create and distribute literature outlining all tax relief programs for the elderly and disabled, including those providing relief from state and local taxes and describing the benefits and eligibility criteria for each option;
(b) organize presentations and workshops to better facilitate the awareness and education of elderly and disabled persons in the tax-related issues that concern them, what relief is available to them and the application process for such relief programs; and
(c) create and maintain a statewide toll free telephone number staffed by individuals qualified to inform and advise interested and potentially eligible persons about available options designed to provide limited relief from state and local taxes.
The secretary of the commonwealth, in consultation with the secretary of the executive office of elder affairs and the commissioner of the department of revenue shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary to implement the elderly and disabled person’s tax relief outreach program.
Redraft OTHER 58
AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMING
Mr. Galluccio moves that the bill be amended in Section 2, in item 7007-0900 by adding the following:-
“provided further that, not less than $150,000 be expended for the enhancement of youth programs in the city of Everett.”
OTHER 59
CONDUCT OF RAFFLES AND BAZAARS
Mr. Tisei moved that the bill be amended by inserting, after Section 90, the following new Section:-
“SECTION 91. Section 7A of chapter 271 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the first appearance of the word “bazaar” in line 36 the following:- “, except that the sponsoring organization may retain, at a reasonable fee, non-members to assist in the operation of such raffle or bazaar, including providing paid dealers and game supervisors to insure that the rules of the game are properly administered and complied with, so long as only qualified members of the sponsoring organization handle the funds collected and disbursed at the raffle or bazaar”.
OTHER 60
MASSACHUSETTS HOMECOMING WEEK
Mr. Tisei moved that the bill be amended by inserting after section 90 the following:-
“SECTION 91. There is hereby established the first week of August 2008 the first annual Massachusetts Homecoming Week.”
OTHER 61
REGISTRY OF DEEDS FILING FEES CLARIFICATION
Mr. Creedon moved that the bill be amended by inserting after section 15 the following section:-
“SECTION 15A. Section 8 of chapter 44B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out paragraph (a) and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-
(a) The fees of the registers of deeds, except as otherwise provided, to be paid when the instrument is recorded, shall be subject to a surcharge of $20, but if the paper includes multiple references to any document or instrument intending or attempting to assign, discharge, release, partially release, subordinate or notice any other document or instrument, each reference shall be separately indexed and separately assessed an additional $20 surcharge. The fees for recording a municipal lien certificate shall be subject to a surcharge of $10, but if the instrument includes multiple references to any document or instrument intending or attempting to assign, discharge, release, partially release, subordinate or notice any other document or instrument, each reference shall be separately indexed and separately assessed an additional $10 surcharge. The surcharges shall be imposed for purposes of community preservation. No surcharge shall apply to a declaration of homestead under chapter 188. No surcharge shall apply to the fees charged for additional pages, photostatic copies, abstract cards or additional square feet for the recording of plans.”;
by inserting after section 54 the following section:-
“SECTION 54A. Chapter 262 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out section 38 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 38. The fees of the registers of deeds, except as otherwise provided, to be paid when an instrument is recorded shall be as follows:
For entering and recording any paper, certifying the same on the original, and indexing it and all other duties pertaining thereto, $50, but if the paper includes multiple references to any document or instrument intending or attempting to assign, discharge, release, partially release, subordinate or notice any other document or instrument, each reference shall be separately indexed and separately assessed an additional $50 fee;
For recording a declaration of trust, $200;
For recording a deed or conveyance, $100;
For recording a mortgage, $150;
For recording a declaration of homestead, $30;
For recording and filing a plan, $50 per sheet; and
For all copies of documents, whether copied out of books or generated electronically, $1 per page, and all coin operated copy machines shall be $.50 per page.
The fees of the registers of deeds, except as otherwise provided, to be paid when the instrument is recorded shall be subject to a surcharge under section 8 of chapter 44B.”; and
by inserting after section 87 the following section:-
“SECTION 87A. Sections 15A and 54A shall take effect as of March 5, 2003.”
OTHER 62
TAX REVENUE ENFORCEMENT EFFICIENCIES
Mr. Creedon moved that the bill be amended in section 43, in line 14, after the word “charged.”, by inserting the following new sentence:- “This section shall not apply to manufacturers and unclassified acquirers to the extent that said manufacturer and unclassified acquirer distributes such product through a licensed wholesaler or unclassified acquirer.”
Redraft OTHER 63
TOBACCO RECLASSIFICATION
Mr. Creedon moved that section 41 of the bill be amended by striking out the definition of “cigar” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “Cigar”, any roll of tobacco wrapped in leaf tobacco or in any substance containing tobacco other than any roll of tobacco that is a cigarette as defined in section 1.
OTHER 64
CORRECTIVE AMENDMENT
Mr. Panagiotakos moved that the bill be amended, in Section 2 in item 0321-2100 by striking the figure “$840,000” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “$985,824”
And, in said Section 2, in item 0337-0002 by striking the figure “$12,183,895” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “$12,191,060”
And, in Section 2, in item 0340-0100, by inserting the following language:- “provided further that not more than $230,000 shall be expended for the cost of rent increases and property tax pass through increases at One Bullfinch Place”
And in item 0340-0400 by inserting at the end the following: “provided further, that no more than $45,000 be expended for the Victim Survivor Care Program at Anna Maria College" and further amends said item by striking "9,205,428" and inserting in place thereof the following figure: "$9,250,428”
And, in said Section 2, by striking out items 1108-5200 and 1108-5201 and inserting in place thereof the following items:-
1108-5200 For the commonwealth’s share of the group insurance premium and plan costs incurred in fiscal year 2009; provided, that notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, funds in this item shall not be available during the accounts-payable period of fiscal year 2009, and any unexpended balance in this item shall revert to the General Fund on June 30, 2009; provided, that the secretary of administration and finance shall charge the division of unemployment assistance and other departments, authorities, agencies and divisions, which have federal or other funds allocated to them for this purpose, for that portion of insurance premiums and plan costs as the secretary determines should be borne by such funds, and shall notify the comptroller of the amounts to be transferred, after similar determination, from the several state or other funds and amounts received in payment of all such charges or such transfers shall be credited to the General Fund; provided further, that funds may be expended from this item for the commonwealth’s share of group insurance premium and plan costs provided to employees and retirees in prior fiscal years; provided further, that the group insurance commission shall report quarterly to the house and senate committees on ways and means the amounts expended from this item for prior year costs; provided further, that the group insurance commission shall obtain reimbursement for premium and administrative expenses from other agencies and authorities not funded by state appropriation; provided further, that the secretary of administration and finance may charge all agencies for the commonwealth’s share of the health insurance costs incurred on behalf of any employees of those agencies who are on leave of absence for a period of more than 1 year; provided further, that the amounts received in payment for the charges shall be credited to the General Fund; provided further, that notwithstanding section 26 of chapter 29 of the General Laws, the commission may negotiate, purchase and execute contracts before July 1 of each year for policies of group insurance as authorized by chapter 32A of the General Laws; provided further, that notwithstanding chapter 150E of the General Laws and as provided in section 8 of chapter 32A and for the purposes of section 14 of chapter 32A, the commonwealth’s share of the group insurance premium for state employees who have retired before July 1, 1994, shall be 90 per cent and the commonwealth’s share of the group insurance premium for state employees who have retired on or after July 1, 1994, shall be 85 per cent; provided further, that the commonwealth’s share of the group insurance premium for active employees upon retirement shall be 85 per cent; provided further, that the commonwealth’s share of the premiums for active state employees and their dependents shall be 85 per cent; provided further, that the commonwealth’s share of the premiums for active state employees hired after June 30, 2003, and their dependents shall be 80 per cent; provided further, that the commission shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means by March 15 of each year of the cost of the commonwealth’s projected share of group insurance premiums for the next fiscal year; and provided further, that the group insurance commission may pay premium and plan costs for municipal employees and retirees who are enrolled in the group insurance commission’s health plans pursuant to the commission’s regulations............ $839,000,000
1108-5201 For the costs incurred by the group insurance commission associated with providing municipal health insurance coverage pursuant to section 19 of chapter 32B of the General Laws; provided, that the commission may expend revenues in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000 from the revenue received from administrative fees associated with providing municipal health insurance coverage pursuant to said section 19 of said chapter 32B; and provided further, that notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for the purpose of accommodating timing discrepancies between the receipt of revenues and related expenditures, the commission may incur expenses and the comptroller may certify for payment the amounts not to exceed the lower of this authorization or the most recent revenue estimate, as reported in the state accounting system.................................................................................................................... $1,000,000
And, in said Section 2, in item 1410-0010, by striking the figure “$2,213,552” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$2,223,552”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 1410-0012, by striking out the words “provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be expended for veteran’s services to be administered by the Falmouth veterans agent through the Falmouth Free Clinic and Community Center;” and inserting in place thereof the following words:-
“provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be expended for veteran’s services to be administered by the Cape Community Health Center of Cape Cod;”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 1410-0012, by striking out the words “provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be expended for the Nathan Hale Foundation of Plymouth to assist veterans with transportation;” and inserting in place thereof the following words:-
“provided further, that not less than $150,000 shall be expended for the Nathan Hale Foundation of Plymouth to assist veterans with transportation;”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 2000-0100, by inserting after the words “Green Building Initiative” the following words:- “provided further, that not less than $70,000 shall be expended for the Falmouth Kids Global Climate Change Institute; provided further, that $118,308 shall be expended to the Town of Rutland”
And, in said Section 2, in said item 2000-0100, by striking out the figure “$7,236,256” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “$7,474,564”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 2800-0100, by inserting after the words “February 13, 2009” the following words:- “provided further, that not less than $200,000 shall be expended for the operation of the Bellegarde Boathouse in the city of Lowell;
And, in said Section 2, in said item 2800-0100, by striking out the figure “$6,114,096” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “$6,664,096”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 2800-0101, by striking out the figure “$1,680,310” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “$1,715,310”
And, in said Section 2, in item 2800-0700 by inserting after the words “public safety” the following:- “provided further, that no less than $500,000 shall be directed toward the hiring of dam safety inspectors; provided further, that the department shall file a report with the house and senate committees on ways and means not later than December 15, 2008, that shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (a) the number of staff that are assigned from this item and their job title, (b) the number of dam inspections that are scheduled for fiscal year 2009, and (c) the number of dams that are in need of repairs or need to be replaced”
And, in said Section 2, in item 3000-7050, by striking out the figure “$4,000,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$9,555,694”.
And in item 4000-0112 by inserting at the end the following: “provided further, that $50,000 be expended for programs at the Athol Area YMCA”
And, in said Section 2, in said item 4000-0112, by striking out the figure “$5,255,000” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “$5,360,000”
And, in said Section 2, in said item 4000-0300, by striking out the figure “$145,118,773” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “$145,368,773”
And, in said Section 2, in item 4400-1001, by striking out the figure “$2,932,760” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$3,032,760”.
And, in said section 2 in item 4403-2000 by striking out the words “the department shall review and revise its disability standards to reflect current medical and vocational criteria;” and inserting in place thereof the following language: “the department shall review its disability standards to determine the extent to which they reflect current medical and vocational criteria and report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities on the results of that review before any changes to the standards are proposed;”
And, in said Section 2, in item 4510-0110, by striking the figure “6,917,772” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “7,147,772”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 4510-0710, by striking the figure “8,717,714” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “9,006,018”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 4512-0200, by striking out the words “provided further, that not less than $2,000,000 shall be expended for six regional recovery support centers;” and inserting in place thereof:- “provided further, that not less than $250,000 shall be expended for Phoenix House, for the purposes of establishing an independent 18-bed woman’s sober-living facility in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, for females with alcohol and chemical dependency; provided further, that not less than $200,000 shall be expended for the operation of 24-hour services at the Albany Street Shelter operated by Cambridge and Somerville Program for Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation; provided further, that not less than $150,000 shall be expended for the Lowell House;”;
And in said Section 2, in item 4512-0500, by striking the figure “3,119,016” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “3,147,016”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 4513-1000, by inserting after the words “city of Boston;” the following words:- “provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be expended for the Massachusetts Sudden Infant Death Center at Boston Medical Center;” ;
And, in said Section 2, in item 4513-1000, by striking the figure “7,260,000” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “7,360,000”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 4513-1130, by inserting at the end thereof the following words:- “and provided further, that not less than $75,000 shall be expended for the Alternative House” and by striking the figure:- “5,096,677” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “5,271,677”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 4590-0250, by striking the figure “16,782,134” and inserting in place thereof:- “17,057,134”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 4590-0915, by striking the figure “144,026,131” and inserting in place thereof :- “144,926,131”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 4800-0038, by striking out the figure “$312,209,552” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$312,979,052”.
And in said Section 2, in item 4800-1400, by inserting at the end thereof the following wording:- “; provided further, that not less than $75,000 shall be expended for a contract with House of Hope in the city of Lowell”; and by striking out the figure “$23,248,406” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$23,373,406”.
And, in said Section 2, in item 5046-0000, by inserting at the end thereof the following words:- “and provided further, that $20,000 shall be expended for The Samaritans on Cape Cod and the Islands;”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 5046-0000, by striking out the figure “$75,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$125,000”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 5046-0000, by striking out the figure “321,748,305” and inserting in place thereof:- “321,868,305”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 5920-2025, by striking out the figure “128,859,457” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “129,259,457”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 5920-3010, by striking out the figure “$50,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$75,000”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 7000-9501, by inserting after the words “the library incentive grant program” the following words:- “ and under the guidelines for the nonresident circulation offset program”;
And, in Section 2, in item 7002-0201 by striking out the figure “$152,850” each time that it appears, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$252,850” and by inserting at the end thereof the following words:- “and civil fines issued under sections 197B of chapter 111, 46R of chapter 140, and 6F1/2 of chapter 149 of the General Laws.
And, in said Section 2, in item 7003-0605 by striking the figure “$1,100,000” and inserting in place thereof the figure “$1,375,000”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 7003-0702 by striking the figure “$6,363,000” and inserting in place thereof the figure “$7,579,500”
And, in said Section 2, in item 7003-0702 by striking out the words “Year Up, Inc. of Cambridge” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- “Year Up, Inc. of Boston”.
And, in said Section 2, in item 7003-0702 by inserting after the words “Quinsigamond Community College;” the following:- “provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be expended for the Paul Sullivan Foundation at Middlesex Community College; provided further, that not less than $50,000 shall be expended for the purpose of providing training for members of the Massachusetts Superior Clerks Association as well as employees of the Superior Court Clerks’ offices;”
And, in said Section 2, in item 7004-0099, by striking out the figure “9,580,805” and inserting in place thereof the following: -“10,005,805”
And, in said Section 2, in item 7007-0515 by striking the figure “$725,000” and inserting in place thereof the figure “$1,125,000”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 7007-0515, by adding at the end thereof the following words:- “provided further, that not less than $250,000 shall be expended for the North Shore Alliance for Economic Development.”
And in said Section 2, in item 7007-0900 by striking out the words “that not less than $200,000 shall be expended for the Regional Technology Development Corporation of Cape Cod” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “that not less than $225,000 shall be expended for the Regional Technology Development Corporation of Cape Cod”.
And in said Section 2, in item 7007-0900 by inserting after the words “Spirit of Springfield:” the following:- “provided further, that not less than $200,000 shall be expended by the local chambers on Cape Cod to include Cape Cod Canal Region, Brewster, Chatham, Dennis, Eastham, Falmouth, Harwich, Hyannis, Mashpee, Orleans and Yarmouth, for the purpose of operating visitor centers;”
And in said Section 2, in item 7007-0900 by inserting after the words “Freedom’s Way Heritage Commission;” the following:- “provided further, that not less than $25,000 shall be expended for the Salisbury Beach Maritime Festival;”
And in said Section 2, in item 7007-0900 by inserting after the words “Russian Community Association of Massachusetts (RCAM) in Boston;” the following:- “provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be expended for a youth recreation and enrichment program in Pembroke;”
And in said Section 2, in item 7007-0900 by inserting after the words “Freedom’s Way Heritage Commission” the following:- “provided further, that not less than $25,000 shall be expended for the Plymouth County Development Council for a matching grant program in support of non-profit organizations; provided further, that not less than $20,000 shall be expended for the Captain Gerald F. DeConto program in the town of Sandwich;”
And in Section 2, in item 7007-0900 by inserting after the words “City of Springfield;” the following:- "provided further, that not less than $150,000 shall be expended for The Greater Food Warehouse of Plymouth Emergency Food Assistance Program;”
And in item 7007-0900 by inserting at the end the following, “provided further, that $200,000 be expended to Old Sturbridge Village for an international marketing campaign; provided further that $10,000 be expended to the Town of Palmer for its annual winter festival; provided further, that $35,000 be expended to Monson Bellman, Inc. to support museum activities; provided further, that $20,000 be expended to the Town of Palmer for the Palmer Youth Program”
And, in said Section 2, in item 7007-0900, by adding at the end thereof the following words:- “provided further, that not less than $25,000 shall be expended for the Edson and Westlawn cemeteries.”
And in said Section 2, in item 7007-0900 by striking the figure “$19,202,209” and inserting in place thereof the figure “$22,693,209”
And in said Section 2 in item 7007-0951 by striking the figure “$7,100,000” and inserting in place thereof the following;- “$7,150,000”
And in said Section 2 by striking out item 7009-6379 and inserting in place thereof the following:-
7009-6379 For the operation of the office of the secretary of education; provided, that agencies within the executive office may, with prior approval of the secretary, streamline and improve administrative operations under interdepartmental service agreements; provided further, the Secretary shall expend not less than $15,000 for the commission relative to the scope of the degree-granting authority of the state colleges and the feasibility of establishing a system of state universities established by this act....................................... $500,000
And, in said Section 2, in item 7010-0005 by striking the figure “$16,580,047” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$16,680,047”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 7030-1003 by striking the figure “$3,440,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$3,640,000”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 7035-0002 by striking out the word “contracts”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 7061-0012 by striking out the words “provided further, that not more than $9,250,000 shall be used to continue and expand voluntary residential placement prevention programs between the department of elementary and secondary education and other departments within the executive office of health and human services that develop community-based support services for children and their families; provided further, that of this $9,250,000, not less than $8,000,000 shall be made available to the department of mental retardation for the voluntary residential placement prevention program administered by that department;” and inserting in place thereof the following words:-
“provided further, that not more than $11,250,000 shall be used to continue and expand voluntary residential placement prevention programs between the department of elementary and secondary education and other departments within the executive office of health and human services that develop community-based support services for children and their families; provided further, that of this $11,250,000, not less than $10,000,000 shall be made available to the department of mental retardation for the voluntary residential placement prevention program administered by that department;”
And, in said Section 2, in item 7061-0012, by striking the figure “$226,043,700” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$228,043,700”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 7061-9404 by striking the figure “$10,953,893” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$11,091,393”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 7061-9408 by striking the figure “$9,101,718” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$9,301,718”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 7061-9412, by inserting after the words “qualifying applications which were approved by the department in fiscal year 2008” the following words:- “and which included adding a minimum of 300 hours on a mandatory basis for all children attending that school”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 7061-9604, by inserting after the word “preparations” the following words:- “ provided further that not more than $70,000 Shall be expended for the Sea Education Association Programs for Teachers”; and by striking the figure “$1,962,758” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$2,032,758”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 7061-9611by striking the figure “$5,450,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$5,550,000”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 7061-9612, by striking the figure “$600,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- “$850,000”;
And, in said Section 2, in item 7118-0100, by inserting at the end thereof the following wording:- “; provided further, that not less than $454,000 shall be expended for the one-time purchase of a engineering power plant simulator to provide training for public safety officials and other maritime agencies; provided further, that $100,000 shall be expended for the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee” and by striking the figure “$14,176,086” and inserting in place thereof the figure “$14,730,086”;
And in item 8000-0000 by inserting at the end the following: “provided further, that $25,000 be expended to the Quabbin Regional School District for the implementation of the Quabbin Emergency Preparedness Plan; provided further, that $70,000 be expended to the Town of Hubbardston to support its emergency shelter”
And, in Section 2, in item 8000-0000, by striking out the figure “$2,587,276” and inserting in place thereof the figure “$2,682,276”
And, in Section 2, in item 8324-0000, by striking out the figure “$1,178,666” and inserting in place thereof the figure “$1,200,000” and by striking out the figure “$15,548,169” and inserting in place thereof “16,798,315”
And, in Section 2, in item 8900-0011, by striking out the figure “$2,600,000” and inserting in place thereof the figure “$1,600,000”
And, in said Section 2, in said item 9110-9002, by striking out the figure “$8,457,068” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “$9,115,068”
And, in said Section 2, in said item 9110-1500, by striking out the figure “$48,024,305” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “$48,199,305”
And, in said Section 2, in said item 9110-1660, by striking out the figure “$2,223,031” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “$2,323,031”
And by striking out sections 25 and 26 and inserting in place thereof the following 2 sections:-
“SECTION 25. Said chapter 62C is hereby further amended by inserting after said section 47A the following section:-
Section 47B. (a) If the commissioner determines that any person who holds a driver’s license, learner’s permit, right to operate a motor vehicle or certificate of motor vehicle registration has neglected or refused to file any returns or to pay any tax required under this chapter and that the person has not filed in good faith a pending application for abatement of such tax or a pending petition before the appellate tax board contesting such tax or entered a payment agreement with which the taxpayer is fully compliant, the commissioner shall so notify the person in writing and the registry of motor vehicles. Upon receipt of notice from the commissioner as specified by the registrar, the registry shall promptly suspend, revoke, or prohibit issuance or renewal of the license, learner’s permit, right to operate a motor vehicle, or certificate of motor vehicle registration of the taxpayer. Any license, learner’s permit, right to operate a motor vehicle or certificate of motor vehicle registration suspended or revoked under this section shall not be reissued or renewed until the registry receives a certificate issued by the commissioner that the taxpayer is in good standing with respect to any and all returns due and taxes payable to the commissioner as of the date of issuance of the certificate, including all taxes and returns referenced in the initial notification.
(b) Where a revocation, suspension or non-renewal of a license, permit, right to operate or certificate of motor vehicle registration is based upon nonpayment of an assessed tax administered under this chapter, the sole right of appeal and to a hearing shall be pursuant to and within the time limitations of this chapter and not pursuant to chapter 30A. The commissioner shall give the taxpayer not less than 30 days notice of any such proposed action, during which the taxpayer may enter into a payment agreement with the commissioner under mutually agreeable terms or may file a good faith abatement application within the time periods determined under section 37. Such an abatement application shall stay the proposed revocation, suspension, or non-renewal of a license or certificate of motor vehicle registration until the amount of disputed tax due is finally determined. The taxpayer subject to a proposed revocation, suspension or non-renewal of a license, permit, right to operate or certificate of motor vehicle registration, who is beyond the time limitations in section 37 but who disputes that he is liable for the assessment and is unable to resolve that issue with the commissioner during the 30-day period may appeal the proposed revocation, suspension or non-renewal by filing a civil action as provided in section 14 of chapter 30A. The scope of this appeal shall be limited to assertions of mistake or verification of payments made and shall not include determination or redetermination of the proper amount of tax assessed or any other issues appropriately raised through a timely filed abatement under section 37. Any stay of the proposed revocation, suspension or non-renewal pending resolution of this appeal shall be within the discretion of the court.
SECTION 26. Section 49A of said chapter 62C, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following subsection:-
(f) Where the revocation, suspension or non-renewal of a license, permit, right to operate or certificate of motor vehicle registration is based upon nonpayment of an assessed tax administered under this chapter, the sole right of appeal and to a hearing shall be pursuant to and within the time limitations of this chapter and not pursuant to chapter 30A. The commissioner shall give the taxpayer not less than 30 days notice of any proposed action, during which the taxpayer may enter into a payment agreement with the commissioner under mutually agreeable terms or may file a good faith abatement application within the time periods determined under section 37. Such an abatement application shall stay the proposed revocation, suspension or non-renewal of a license, permit, right to operate or certificate of motor vehicle registration until the amount of disputed tax due is finally determined. The taxpayer subject to a proposed revocation, suspension or non-renewal of a license, permit, right to operate or certificate of motor vehicle registration, who is beyond the time limitations in section 37 but who disputes that he is liable for the assessment and is unable to resolve that issue with the commissioner during the 30-day period may appeal the proposed revocation, suspension or non-renewal by filing a civil action as provided in section 14 of chapter 30A. The scope of this appeal shall be limited to assertions of mistake or verification of payments made and shall not include determination or redetermination of the proper amount of tax assessed or any other issues appropriately raised through a timely filed abatement under section 37. Any stay of the proposed revocation, suspension, or non-renewal pending resolution of this appeal shall be within the discretion of the court.”
And further by inserting after Section 59 the following section:-
“SECTION 59A. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for fiscal year 2009, not more than $4,200,000 of the amounts designated in 4000-0700 for Medicaid rate increases for community health centers shall be contingent on community health center adherence to quality standards and achievement of performance benchmarks, and for infrastructure and system of care development including, but not limited to, infrastructure and system of care development necessary to enable community health centers to meet performance standards and achieve benchmarks, and may be paid in fiscal year 2010.”
And by striking out Section 65 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
“SECTION 65. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the comptroller shall, on or before June 30, 2009, transfer $210,000,000 to the General Fund from the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund, but the comptroller shall instead transfer a lesser amount if the secretary of administration and finance so requests in writing.”
And in Section 67, by striking out the section in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following:-
“SECTION 67. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, during fiscal year 2009, the comptroller shall transfer from the Health Care Security Trust established pursuant to section 1 of chapter 29D of the General Laws to the General Fund an amount equal to 100 per cent of the total of all payments received by the commonwealth in fiscal year 2009 pursuant to the master settlement agreement in the action known as Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Phillip Morris, Inc. et. al., Middlesex Superior Court, No. 95-7378 and 100 per cent of the earnings generated in fiscal year 2009 from the Health Care Security Trust as certified by the comptroller pursuant to paragraph (f) of section 3 of chapter 29D of the General Laws for certain health care expenditures appropriated in section 2.”
And by striking out sections 80 and 81 and inserting in place thereof the following 2 sections:-
“SECTION 80. (a) Notwithstanding sections 40E to 40K and 52 to 55, inclusive, of chapter 7 of the General Laws, the division of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the department of conservation and recreation, may, using competitive proposal processes that the division considers necessary or appropriate, lease and enter into other agreements, for terms not to exceed 25 years, to 1 or more proponents, so as to provide for the continued use, operation, maintenance, repair and improvement of all or a portion of the golf courses, practice greens, driving range, restaurant or any other structure and associated lands that comprise the facilities of the Ponkapoag Golf Course of the department. The division shall hold open a pre-qualification period of at least 30 days for the town of Canton.
These leases and other agreements shall be on terms acceptable to the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, after consultation with the commissioner of department of conservation and recreation, and, notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, shall provide for the lessees to operate, manage, improve, repair and maintain the facilities, and may provide for the department to make initial capital improvements or direct grant funds to the lessee to undertake initial capital improvements as the commissioner of the department determines is necessary due to the condition of the facilities. Any such leases or other arrangements requiring improvements to be made to any portion of the facilities may include a description of the initially required improvements and, at minimum, performance specifications. Such leases and other agreements may provide that any benefits to the communities and the costs of improvements and repairs made to the facilities provided by the lessees or the recipients of the properties shall be taken into account as part of the consideration for such leases or other agreements. All consideration received from the leases or other agreements shall be payable to the department of conservation and recreation for deposit into the Blue Hills Reservation Trust Fund in accordance with section 34C of chapter 92 of the General Laws. The lessees or the recipients of these facilities shall bear all costs found necessary or appropriate by the commissioner of conservation and recreation for the transactions, including without limitation, all costs for legal work, survey, title and the preparation of plans and specifications.
SECTION 81. (a) Notwithstanding sections 40E to 40K, inclusive, and sections 52 to 55, inclusive, of chapter 7 of the General Laws, and using those competitive proposal processes as the division of capital asset management and maintenance considers necessary or appropriate, the division, in consultation with the department of conservation and recreation, may lease and enter into other agreements, for terms not to exceed 25 years, to 1 or more proponents, for Ulin memorial rink in the town of Milton and the Connell memorial rink in the town of Weymouth, so as to provide for the continued use, operation, maintenance repair and improvement of such state-owned buildings and facilities, together with the land and appurtenances associated therewith,
(b) The failure of a city or town to apply for prequalification, as set forth below, shall not prohibit that city or town from bidding under this section.
(c) Before the division, in consultation with the department, sends out a request for proposals under this section, the division shall hold open a prequalification period of 30 days for the towns of Milton and Weymouth and any nonprofit organizations that desire to bid on rinks that are listed in this section and are located within the towns of Milton and Weymouth, or for a partnership of municipalities which share geographic boundaries as long as the subject rink is located within the geographic area of the municipalities comprising the partnership. A city, town, nonprofit organization or partnership of municipalities that desires to lease a rink under this section may submit materials for prequalification. The prequalification determination may consider, but need not be limited to, the city’s, town's, nonprofit organization’s or partnership’s ability to finance the capital improvements determined to be necessary at each rink listed in this section by the division and to manage, operate and maintain the properties. The division, in consultation with the department, shall determine whether a city, town, nonprofit or partnership is prequalified within 15 days of the end of the prequalification period. If a city, town, nonprofit organization or partnership is determined to be prequalified, that city, town, non-profit organization or partnership shall be awarded the lease for that rink under the terms and conditions set forth in this section. If a city, town, nonprofit organization or partnership is determined to be prequalified, that city, town, non-profit organization or partnership shall pay consideration for a lease subject to the required capital improvements, performance specifications and other prequalification requirements and terms of the division and submitted proposal. The length of the lease shall be determined between the division and the city, town, nonprofit organization or partnership.
(d) The lease and other agreements shall be on terms acceptable to the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, after consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation and, notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, shall provide for the lessees to operate, manage, improve, repair and maintain the properties and to undertake initial capital improvements the commissioner determines is necessary due to the structural condition of the property. Leases or other arrangements requiring improvements to be made to a property may include a description of the initially required improvements and performance specifications. Ice time at rinks under the jurisdiction of the division of urban parks and recreation shall be allocated to user groups in the following order of priority: general public skating; non-profit youth groups; high school hockey; for-profit youth groups, and adult organizations or informal groups. Ice time may be allocated at the discretion of the operator, but general public skating shall be booked, in two-hour contiguous blocks at a minimum of 12 hours per week, with a range of times and days which reasonably allow for public skaters of all ages to participate in some public skating sessions. Every effort shall be made to balance the ice allocation needs of long-established youth organizations and newly-formed youth organizations in a manner that provides equal opportunity and equal access for youths of each gender. The leases and other agreements authorized in this section shall provide that any benefits to the communities and the costs of improvements and repairs made to the properties provided by the lessees or the recipients of the properties shall be taken into account as part of the consideration for such leases or other agreements. Consideration received from the leases or other agreements for Ulin Memorial Rink in Milton shall be payable to the department of conservation and recreation for deposit into the Blue Hills Reservation Trust Fund in accordance with section 34C of chapter 92 of the General Laws. Consideration received from the leases or other agreements for Connell Memorial Rink in Weymouth shall be payable to the department of conservation and recreation for deposit into the Division of Urban Parks Trust Fund in accordance with section 34 of chapter 92 of the General Laws. The lessees or the recipients of the properties shall bear the costs considered necessary or appropriate by the commissioner of conservation and recreation for the transactions including, without limitation, costs for legal work, survey, title and the preparation of plans and specifications.
(e) The names of the ice skating rinks and facilities referenced in this section shall not be altered or changed under the leases or agreements.”
And in Section 83, by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following:- “The Secretary of Administration and Finance and the State Treasurer, in consultation with the Comptroller shall submit a report to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on bonding, capital expenditures and state assets no later than January 1, 2009 detailing the current status of state finance law pertaining to the use and sales of bonds and recommendations on legislation to update the commonwealth’s General Laws to better reflect current standards and to better utilize the state’s capital program.”
And further by inserting the following 2 sections:-
“SECTION __. The initial procedures required by Section ____ relative to the auto body commission shall be adopted not later than March 1, 2009.
SECTION __. The rates established by the auto body commission under Section ___, shall apply to all agreements for labor which are entered into on after March 1, 2009.”
And by inserting, after Section ___, the following new sections: -
“SECTION___. Section 4 of chapter 32 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 88, 208, 218, 227, 250, 261, 269, 278, 294 and 516, the words “regular interest” and inserting in place thereof the words:- “buyback interest”.
SECTION___. Section 4 of Chapter 32, as so appearing, is hereby amended, in line 379, by inserting after the words “would have otherwise paid into the retirement system” the following words:- “plus buyback interest thereon”.
SECTION___. Section 105 of chapter 32, as so appearing, is hereby amended in lines 5 and 6 by striking out the words “actuarial assumed interest thereon” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- “buyback interest”.
SECTION ___ . The provisions of sections ___ (first two above) shall apply to any buyback payments begun on or after July 1, 2009.”
And by inserting at the end thereof the following section:
“SECTION XXX. Chapter 81 of the Acts of 2005 is hereby amended, in item 1599-2005, by inserting the following:- “provided further, that not less that $150,000 shall be expended to the Town of Spencer for the reimbursements of costs associated with the drinking water emergency in April 2007”
And by inserting the following new section:-
“Section ____. Section 44 of chapter 85 of the acts of 1994, as amended by section 50 of Chapter 15 of the Acts of 1996, and as further amended by section 19 of Chapter 23 of the Acts of 2002, is hereby further amended by inserting after the words “Mount Greylock state reservation” the following words:- , Wilbur Farmhouse and Barn at Borderland state park, Whitehead House at Willowdale state forest, Kerighan House at Bradley Palmer state park, Police Station, Dormitory, Laundry and Waiting Room structures at Nantasket Beach reservation, Caretaker’s Cottage and the Barn at Brookwood Farm in the Blue Hills reservation, 1 Woodland Road in the Middlesex Fells reservation, Print Shop at the Brook Farm Historic Site in West Roxbury, Carriage House at Havey Beach in West Roxbury, CCC Camp in Upton state forest, Teahouse and Boathouse in Maudsley state park.
Redraft OTHER 65
Messrs. Joyce and Timilty moved that the bill be amended by inserting, after Section ____, the following new Section:-
“SECTION___. Section 1. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for the benefit of their school programs, education collaboratives as defined in section 4E of chapter 40 of the General Laws may make purchases from a vendor’s contract that has been competitively procured by another state or political subdivision or public entity thereof for the item or items being purchased.
Section 2. These education collaboratives shall not be subject to section 1(c) of chapter 30B of the general laws of section 22A of chapter 7 of the general laws insofar as those laws preclude out-of-state collective purchases by education collaboratives for a perioud not to exceed 2 years after the effective date of this act, and thereafter the provisions of said section 1(c) of chapter 30B and sections 22A of chapter 7 shall apply for any future collective purchasing by education collaboratives.
Section 3. The inspector general shall review the process by which education collaboratives are making out-of-state collective purchases. Education collaboratives participating in out-of-state collective purchasing must submit biannually the following summary information to the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General. (1). Written evidence for all items purchased that the vendor contracts for such items were competitively procured by a state or one of its political subdivision or public entities; (2) A full and complete description of the item(s) purchased. (3) Documentation of savings obtained with relevant Massachusetts cost comparisons.
OTHER 66
NON-PROFIT CREDITABLE SERVICE
Mr. Joyce moved that the bill be amended by inserting, after Section ____, the following new Section:-
“SECTION ____. Chapter 32 section 4(1) of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:
(t) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter or any general or special law to the contrary, if a non-profit organization receives more than fifty percent of its funding from the state, and is officially designated by the state to perform services previously performed by a state agency, then any employee of said non-profit organization shall receive full credit for the period of their employment there. Eligibility for the creditable service shall be conditioned upon payment, in lump sum or in installments upon such terms as the applicable retirement board may provide, into the annuity savings fund of the applicable retirement system, of an amount equal to the contributions such member in service would have otherwise paid into the applicable retirement system for the period of said service based upon the annual salary the member received at the qualifying non-profit organization.”
OTHER 67
Mr. Hart moved that the bill be amended, in Section 2, in item 7003-0702, by adding the following: “; provided further, that not less than $200,000 shall be expended for the Women’s Career Mentoring Program operated by the Jewish Vocational Service’s Center for Careers and Lifelong Learning and Crittenton Women’s Union Woman to Woman Program”
OTHER 68
STUDENT TUITION ASSISTANCE
Mr. Montigny moved that the bill be amended by inserting, after Section _____, the following new Section;-
“SECTION_____. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of the department of revenue shall determine whether the endowment funds of a private education institution have been expended such that less than 93.5 percent of such fund have been expended for other than tuition assistance for current students or loan forgiveness for alumni. For the purposes of this section, an endowment fund shall be an institutional fund of a private education institution with an endowment fund that exceeds 250,000,000 and the fund is not wholly expendable by the institution on a current basis under the terms of the applicable gift instrument and designated a public charity under the General Laws. Upon such determination, the commissioner shall cause such institutions endowment fund’s annual capital gains increase to be subject to the long-term capital gains tax.”