Once again, the focus on Beacon Hill last week was COVID-19. Only a handful of legislators were at the House and Senate sessions to limit contact. There were no roll call votes in the House or Senate as both branches met in informal sessions in which there can be no roll calls, and it only takes one member to stop the proceedings if he or she disagrees with anything.
“You have to realize in informal sessions that only one person can stop the entire proceedings if they object to something, and I think that right now we’ve been doing everything in our power that we can to make sure that we take care of a lot of the health care needs and a lot of the other needs that we are going through in these very unprecedented times,” said House Speaker Bob DeLeo.
Beacon Hill Roll Call reports on COVID-19 and on representatives’ roll call attendance records for the 2020 session through March 27.
The House has held 22 roll call votes so far in 2020. Beacon Hill Roll Call tabulates the number of roll calls on which each representative was present and voting and then calculates that number as a percentage of the total roll call votes held. That percentage is the number referred to as the roll call attendance record.
In the House, 139 of the 157 representatives (88.5 percent) have 100 percent roll call attendance records. Only 18 representatives have missed any roll calls.
The representatives who missed the most roll calls were Reps. Bruce Ayers, D-Quincy, Rady Mom, D-Lowell, and Tom Petrolati, D-Ludlow, who each missed 12 roll calls (45.4 percent attendance record).
Rounding out the top five are Reps. José Tosado, D-Springfield, who missed 11 roll calls (50.0 percent attendance record) and Lori Ehrlich, D-Marblehead, who missed eight (63.6 percent attendance record).
Beacon Hill Roll Call contacted those five legislators and asked them for a comment on their attendance. Only two responded.
Rep. Ayers: “This percentage is not an accurate description of my voting history. I was on an official business trip with city leaders to increase our investment in economic partnerships between the city of Quincy and County Cork, Ireland, during which time I missed 12 votes in two days. This is not reflective of my service in the legislature, as I’ve always maintained a 99 percent voting record in the House.”
Rep. Ehrlich: “My mother, Diana Litman, passed away on Feb. 27 after a nine-year struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. Sometimes, while trying to be present and engaged on behalf of my constituents, life has other plans. But judging from the outpouring of love and wonderful stories from those who knew her well tells me that it’s also OK to pause once in a while, as I did recently at the end of my mother’s life, to be present for her and the rest of my family.”
The percentage listed next to the representative’s name is the percentage of roll call votes for which the representative was present and voting. The number in parentheses represents the number of roll calls he or she missed.
Rep. Natalie Blais — 100 percent (0)
Rep. Paul Mark — 100 percent (0)
Rep. Susannah Whipps — 100 percent (0)
Gov. Charlie Baker urged travelers who are thinking of visiting Massachusetts to reconsider and stay home.
“We’re asking that folks considering travel to Massachusetts for whatever reason do not travel to our communities, especially if you have symptoms,” Baker said at a press conference. He added that anyone arriving via plane or train is advised to self-quarantine for 14 days. “I would call it, at this point, instruction and advisory. There is no enforcement mechanism.”
Baker also disagreed with President Donald Trump’s statement that he would like to see the U.S. economy reopen for business by Easter Sunday on April 12.
“We’re not going to be up and running by Easter, no,” Baker said as he ended the press conference.
Baker filed legislation that would postpone the April 15 deadline for filing state income tax returns and setting a new deadline of July 15. House and Senate leaders have informally agreed to the extension so the bill should sail through the Legislature quickly.
“In partnership with our colleagues in the Legislature, we are committed to providing this flexibility to taxpayers in a way that protects the commonwealth’s strong fiscal footing that we have all worked hard to develop over the past several years,” Baker said in a statement announcing the agreement.
“Taxpayers already hit with declining paychecks and retirement accounts should not bear the additional interest and penalties stemming from an inability to meet the April 15 deadline, especially when their inability to make those filings in a timely way is largely due to compliance with coronavirus containment strategies promoted by health officials and governments at all levels,” reads a press release from the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research. “Additionally, given the current economic crisis, money that would be going to the state could instead be used for life’s necessities and work to keep the local economy afloat during the extension period until payments are due in July.”
“Nothing like keeping them in suspense, but finally, following the lead of the IRS and most states, it’s good to see some consideration for taxpayers, finally,” said Chip Ford, executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation. “With all the chaos and disruption people are suffering in their daily lives this delay was a no-brainer, or should have been.”
“Anything the governor can do to help people keep more of their money at this time should be applauded,” said Paul Craney, spokesperson for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. “By extending the deadline to mirror the federal level, people will have more funds now to pay for essential costs in these trying times. This will end up saving the state money in the long term.”
Baker signed executive orders that extend the temporary closure of all schools and non-emergency child care centers through at least May 4. This supersedes the governor’s original order closing schools until April 6.
“This will allow school districts to provide the best possible opportunities for remote learning to all students and we want to be clear on this: This is not an extended school vacation,” Baker said.
“We believe the governor is following the advice of the medical experts,” said Massachusetts Teachers Association President Merrie Najimy. “The safety of our students and staff must come first.”
The state has launched a portal to be coordinated by the Massachusetts Medical Society for volunteers with professional health backgrounds to sign up and be matched where their expertise can be used. Potential volunteers can sign up at maresponds.org.
“The COVID-19 public health emergency has put a tremendous demand on our health care system and access to health care workers,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders. She noted finding workers in the respiratory therapy and public health nursing fields is a big problem.
The Department of Public Health issued an order requiring supermarkets and pharmacies to provide at least one hour per day exclusively for people ages 60 and up to shop because they are at greater risk of dying from the coronavirus if they contract it. The order mandates the closing of all self-serve food stations; making sanitizing wipes available to clean supermarket carts and baskets; and marking check-out lanes with 6-foot distances to encourage social distancing.
The Senate approved and sent to the House a bill that would temporarily authorize board-certified nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives and psychiatric mental health clinical nurse specialists with at least two years of supervised practice to operate independently from an overseeing physician until 90 days after the governor revokes the state of emergency. The Board of Registration in Nursing would have the authority to waive the two-year experience requirement, if necessary, to increase access to these nurses during the current state of emergency.
The bill also enables pharmacists to better coordinate with health care teams and engage in a broad range of patient services beyond filling prescriptions including performing health and wellness tests, managing chronic diseases, performing medication management and administering immunizations.
“As doctors come down with the virus, as they will, we need to make sure there are people who can step in and perform a number of functions,” said Sen. Cindy Friedman, D-Arlington. “That includes prescribing medicines, ordering tests and, in some cases, admitting patients to a hospital.”
“The passage of this vitally important piece of legislation is critical to bolstering our healthcare workforce and helping our health care system during this public health crisis,” said Sen. Mike Rodrigues, D-Westport, chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “Thank you to Sen. Friedman for her hard work and thank you to our heroic health care workers who are going above and beyond to keep us safe in these incredibly difficult times.”
Supporters know the bill will likely not be approved by the House, where it is opposed by the leadership.
“We’re not going to do it,” said House Majority Leader said Ron Mariano, D-Quincy. “I don’t think we should be rushing legislation through in reaction to a truly unprecedented crisis.”
Opponents also noted the governor has the authority to issue an executive order mandating everything that is in the bill.
The House approved and sent to the Senate a bill designed to help cities, towns, businesses and individuals solve some of the problems created by the coronavirus. Provisions permit a moderator of a Town Meeting to declare a 30-day postponement due to a public health emergency after consulting with the Selectboard; permit a Selectboard to vote to extend the date of an Annual Town Meeting beyond the existing statutory cut-off of June 30; allow towns that are unable to finalize a budget before the start of the new fiscal year to continue month-to-month spending on essential operations at the same levels as the current fiscal year; and modify local permitting processes, extending municipal tax deadlines and allowing municipalities to extend property tax exemptions and deferrals.
“The bill has several provisions that give towns and municipalities the flexibility they need to allow for extending time frames for Town Meetings and assessing some kind of temporary leniency with paying taxes and late fees,” said Rep. James O’Day, D-West Boylston, House chair of the Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government. “I applaud the many adjustments that are addressed in this bill during these very trying times.”
Another key section of the bill is designed to help restaurants cope with the ban on dining in by allowing restaurants with liquor licenses to sell beer, wine and liquor to customers ages 21 and up who order takeout or delivery food in the same transaction. That section of the bill was based on three similar bills filed by three legislators who explained why they support the measure.
“Across Massachusetts, we are seeing many small, local restaurants and pubs adversely impacted by COVID-19, with mom-and-pop establishments fearful that in addition to layoffs and lost revenue, they will not be able to reopen their doors once this shutdown is over,” said Sen. Diana DiZoglio, D-Methuen. “This important measure regarding beer, wine and liquor sales would help alleviate the burden that restaurants in our communities are feeling. It is time for Massachusetts to step it up and help our small businesses and the many neighbors they employ to weather this storm.”
“(I filed) the bill to support restaurants in the commonwealth during this crisis,” said Rep. Ken Gordon, D-Bedford. The bill … would apply to pick-up and delivery orders, but deliveries must be fulfilled by either employees of the restaurants or those of a licensed and certified restaurant delivery service.”
“Under the current circumstances, all of my colleagues and I are trying to think of ideas we could put into place that would help restaurant owners during this difficult time,” said Rep. Angelo D’Emilia, D-Bridgewater. “This legislation is very similar to the one filed by Gov. Baker and I am proud to see this idea getting so much bi-partisan support. We will continue to do everything we can to support our restaurants and local businesses.”