There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week.
The COVID-19 pandemic was once again the focus on Beacon Hill. Most legislators and staff are working from home to comply with social distancing guidelines. The House and Senate held only informal sessions at which there can be no roll calls and it only takes one member to stop the proceedings if he or she disagrees with anything.
A small group of Democrats and Republicans, all wearing masks, worked together, as they have done for the past several weeks, to approve bills relating to COVID-19. In addition, many new bills were filed.
This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports on several pieces of legislation relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The House and Senate approved and sent to Gov. Charlie Baker a bill that would authorize a notary public to notarize documents via electronic video conferencing in real time as long as both the notary and each principal involved in the transaction are physically located within Massachusetts. Documents include mortgages, wills, trusts, durable power of attorney, health care proxies and caregiver authorizations.
Supporters said the COVID-19 virus has held up the notarization and validity of thousands of important documents across the state because all the parties are practicing social distancing, are sheltering in place and are hesitate to meet in an office with other people.
“Massachusetts should join the over 30 states across the country that allow for remote notarization,” said Sen. John Keenan, D-Quincy, who was instrumental in the bill’s drafting and passage. “We should give our families and friends, faced with difficult decisions, some peace of mind.”
The House and Senate approved and sent to the governor a bill to improve the delivery of public health services through enhanced collaboration between local boards of health and regional health districts. A key provision creates a State Action for Public Health Excellence Program to encourage boards of health and regional health districts to adopt practices that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery of local public health services. The program would also provide grants to improve these health systems and requires not less than 33 percent of the grants go to cities and towns with a median household income below the state average.
Other provisions include the state providing at least four annual free public health educational and training opportunities to boards of health and regional health district officials; and setting minimum standards for local public health services.
Each of the state’s 351 cities and towns has its own board of health, which is designed to ensure many health-related items including food safety in restaurants, response to public health emergencies, housing code violations and water quality at beaches and pools. Cities and towns have vastly different staffing levels and most small towns lack a full-time staff.
“I am thrilled that a significant need identified by the Special Commission on Local and Regional Public Health, of which I was a member, has been passed unanimously by both chambers of the Legislature,” said Rep. Hannah Kane, R-Shrewsbury. “This bill will allow for a more effective and efficient delivery of local and regional public health services and ensure that our public health staff have access to necessary training and professional development opportunities. As we see evident in the current pandemic, our public health officials are on the front line in our communities and this bill provides them with the support necessary to best serve residents.”
The House approved and sent to the Senate legislation that would require long-term care facilities, assisted living residences, elderly housing facilities and the Soldiers’ Homes in Chelsea and Holyoke to report daily to local departments of health, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and residents’ families and guardians the number of known COVID-19 positive cases and deaths among residents and staff. DPH would make the data available on its website and update it daily.
“Our long-term care facilities, assisted living residences and elder housing are the epicenter of this public health crisis,” said sponsor Rep. Ruth Balser, D-Newton. “Those with loved ones in these residences, and the larger community, are understandably alarmed. … It is our hope that with transparent reporting, the necessary testing, personal protective equipment and staff support will be made available to these facilities.”
The Senate approved and sent to the House a bill that temporarily eliminates the maximum countable assets that a welfare family is allowed to have in order to qualify for state funding for people who have lost incomes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposal prohibits the state from denying a family assistance under Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC) because the family’s countable assets exceed $5,000. It also prohibits the state from denying financial assistance under the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children (EAEDC) program on the basis of that program’s exceptionally low asset limits, which are $250 for an individual and $500 for a couple. If the recipient owns a vehicle, $1,500 of its value and the home the person lives in are not accounted as assets.
The bill, estimated by supporters to cost $571,000, would remain in effect from the time Gov. Baker signs it into law until 120 days later or 45 days after the state of emergency is terminated, whichever comes sooner.
“With the widespread loss of jobs and income due to the pandemic, the Legislature must break down as many barriers as we can between people and crucial safety net programs,” said Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, chair of the Senate COVID-19 Working Group. “For many people right now, the small stipend provided by TAFDC and EAEDC could allow them to just hang on, but the (current) asset limit requirement would force these families to start erasing their savings, liquidating stocks and bonds and their retirement savings at the worst possible time.”
Hospital executives from across the state along with Gov. Baker made it clear that the state’s health care system can still treat other conditions as it works its way through the surge in COVID-19 cases. They noted that patients shouldn’t let concerns about contracting the contagious respiratory disease drive them to delay treatment.
Baker said that, statewide, more than half of the state’s 18,000 hospital beds are empty. He said planning and modeling have made the state’s hospitals well-positioned to help the state withstand the surge in COVID-19 cases.
“The purpose of all that surge planning and response was to ensure that our health care system would not be overrun and could continue to respond to other emergency needs,” Baker said. “People should still call their doctor to talk about their health needs and go to the hospital if they have an emergency.”
Dr. Michael Apkon, president and CEO of Tufts Medical Center, said there has been a huge decline in non-COVID-19 patients coming to hospitals, which can partially be attributed to the drop in activity and travel as people practice social distancing.
“But we also know that part of it is because people are afraid to come to the hospital, and our concern is that that fear is leading to adverse outcomes,” he explained.
“We’ve seen children coming to the hospital after having several days of abdominal pain and coming with a ruptured appendix,” Apkon continued. “We’ve seen patients with symptoms of stroke that are staying at home long beyond the point at which medications that would markedly improve their outcome could safely be delivered. We’ve seen patients with kidney disease that are staying at home, coming to the hospital too sick to be cared for and survive.”
Several new bills relating to COVID-19 have been filed, including:
Provides a stimulus check to taxpayers who use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) and who are not eligible to obtain a Social Security number. The state-funded stimulus check would be equal to the stimulus checks of $1,200 for individual filers, $2,400 for joint filers and $500 per child that is currently provided by the federal government through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. It will also provide $10 million to immigrant aid organizations.
According to the National Immigration Law Center, taxpayers who file their tax return with an ITIN include “undocumented immigrants and their dependents as well as some people who are lawfully present in the U.S., such as certain survivors of domestic violence, Cuban and Haitian entrants, student visa holders, and certain spouses and children of individuals with employment visas.”
“Immigrants play a crucial role in Massachusetts’ economy, and we need to ensure that undocumented immigrants and their families receive the same financial support as other taxpayers have through the federal CARES Act,” said the bill’s sponsor Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton. “At a time of a pandemic, more than ever, we need to take serious action and provide financial help to all vulnerable populations. While the federal government did not provide direct financial relief to tens of thousands of Massachusetts immigrant families, the Legislature, reflecting Massachusetts’ values, can.”
Prohibits retail food stores from accepting the bulk return of any groceries and other household goods purchased by a consumer during, and for 30 days following, a declared state of emergency resulting from a pandemic or other public health emergency. Violators would be fined $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second offense and $1,000 for a third or subsequent offense.
“I am sponsoring the bill simply because we have too many people affected by hoarding items that should be available to the public, especially in a time of crisis,” said Rep. Al Silvia, D-Fall River, the sponsor of the bill. “There is no reason people shouldn’t be able to purchase items, such as hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes, when we need them the most.”
Grants indemnity from lawsuits to public and private colleges as a result of any act or omission by the institution when it develops, manufactures, tests or distributes personal protective equipment (PPE) in response to COVID-19, unless the act or omission constitutes willful, wanton or reckless conduct.
“Quite simply, we are in a situation where we need all hands on deck,” said the bill’s sponsor Sen. Walter Timilty, D-Milton. “The state has been asking companies that are able to repurpose their manufacturing processes to help with the emergency demand of PPE. Here in the commonwealth, we have some of the best colleges and universities around that are able to help, but currently cannot. This bill will remove that hurdle.”
Requires insurance companies to cover businesses’ costs if they close due to the pandemic. According to the bill’s sponsor Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, the bill would allow insurers to apply for reimbursement for the costs through the Division of Insurance, and then allow the Division of Insurance to reimburse insurers that sell business interruption coverage.
“Business owners are in a financial crisis as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, while facing the requirement to pay rent, various business costs and employee wages,” Eldridge said. “Many of these businesses purchased business interruption insurance, yet in speaking to their insurance agents, have confirmed that this insurance does not cover virus pandemics.”