#2021-10 March 26, 2021

Speaker Mariano Highlights Key Priorities in Speech to Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce

During a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce this week, House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy) outlined his policy priorities for the legislative session, highlighting initiatives on job training, broadband and wind energy as key areas the House is expected to address in the coming months.  In particular, Speaker Mariano indicated there is a need to “act boldly” on job creation indicating that the House is open to embracing innovative approaches to some old issues.

As part of this effort, he indicated that the House would pursue a skill credentialing system so employers can find the talent they need to run their businesses.  Speaker Mariano envisions a credentialing system as a “standardized way to verify that a person has achieved competency in a particular skill.”  The system, he said, could benefit people who choose not to go to a two- or four-year college, as well as more highly educated workers seeking to acquire new skills to keep pace with the changing times.

He also outlined plans to work this session “to authorize a large-scale bonding effort to establish the South Coast of Massachusetts as a regional hub of the offshore wind energy industry.”  The Speaker also said he wants to address broadband accessibility, highlighting uneven broadband access in dense urban centers, not just rural access problems that have been a focus of attention.

Speaker Mariano did not mention any House efforts to revisit new taxes to support transportation but did note the influx of federal funds arriving in Massachusetts as part of the new stimulus law.  During the question-and-answer period, he discussed the efforts to bring tax measures to the ballot through the initiative process, stating that, “It really bypasses the whole spirit of the Legislature.  It bypasses compromise.  It bypasses the ability to work for a better product on the issue, and it’s very frustrating for us.”

Before he was speaker, Mariano initially voted against putting a constitutional amendment on the ballot to add a surtax on millionaires but supported the measure when it came up for a vote in 2020.  The Legislature must vote one more time in the 2021-2022 session for the question to advance to the 2022 ballot.  Last year, the joint session of the House and Senate voted 147-48 in favor of putting the surtax on the ballot, including a 112-43 vote in the House. 

Senate President Spilka Discusses Taxes, Early Education and Public Health in Speech to AIM

On Friday, Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) spoke to the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (AIM) executive forum, discussing several of her policy priorities for the year including the recent passage of a major climate policy bill set to become law and ongoing work on key unemployment system changes.  She also noted that fully funding the state’s new education equity law, increasing investments in public health infrastructure, and minimizing additional draws from the state’s cash reserves are issues the Senate will consider this year.

President Spilka announced that a new panel led by Senator Adam Hinds (D- Pittsfield) to help Massachusetts reimagine its post-pandemic future and “come back better” will hold an April 6 session to hear about business, housing, and the digital divide; and an April 14 listening session will focus on education and childcare.  She indicated that she remains concerned about wealth gaps, saying there is “room for improvement” in the state tax code over the long term.  Spilka also said the pandemic exposed gender pay gaps and “wiped out” a decade of progress for women, equating the need for childcare with the need for improved transportation infrastructure.

In addition to the educational importance to children, she emphasized the role that quality childcare and early education can play; in ensuring that all residents are participating in and growing the state’s economy and pointed to the availability of $500 million in supports in the American Rescue Plan.  With remote work likely to endure, President Spilka said that even the locations of childcare facilities are also an issue.

Public health investments, either at the local or state levels, will come into clearer focus during legislative budget deliberations in April and May, President Spilka said and replacing $3.5 billion in one-time fiscal 2021 revenues will be a challenge for budget writers.  However, with state tax collections surpassing estimates and “billions” in federal aid flowing in, she said she hopes to minimize any withdrawal from our rainy-day fund.