Wednesday, July 8, 2015
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By George Donnelly (@geodonnelly) with Sara Brown
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The political action today
It's go time after House and Senate budget conference leaders hammered out a series of compromises. A vote in the Senate is scheduled for 11 am, and the House vote is set for 1 pm... The Education Committee holds a public hearing on special education finance bills, Room A-2, State House, 10 am... Boston Mayor Martin Walsh cuts the ribbon on the newly-renovated Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) Villa Victoria affordable housing development,100 West Dedham Street, Boston at noon.
Pacheco Law suspension: Labor loses a battle but will it win the war?
Charlie Baker won a striking victory with announcement last night of a budget agreement for the new fiscal year that suspends the Pacheco Law that made it difficult to privatize services. But before it's classified as major defeat for the Carmen's Union and organized labor in general, the Legislature's concession may not be as meaningful as it seems. A three-year window to privatize doesn't give the MBTA management a lot of time to figure out where the private sector fits into the T's operations and then put contracts out to bid (amid, doubtlessly, much controversy) before the window closes. The three-year timeframe may not provide enough runway time to inspire private firms to get in the game, knowing there's uncertainty about keeping the contract after only a few short years. It seems like the bigger battle, and the one that may offer more savings in the long run, is stricter management control over contract agreements.
In waiting for the news reports of the budget agreement last night, the earliest and best came from Bruce Mohl at CommonWealth, who explains the expansion of the earned income tax credit among other things: http://bit.ly/1gmMuTu
Also, the Herald's Matt Stout clearly and concisely breaks down the top features of the new budget agreement here:
Report: MBTA lost $450 million because of Pacheco Law
Speaking of Matt Stout and the Herald, the tabloid has a preview of a Pioneer Institute report that claims the Pacheco Law cost the T over $450 million since its inception by not allowing the privatization of some bus contracts. "This amount of lost savings would have gone a long way to reducing the MBTA costs and allowing it to replace older equipment. Instead the money just went into the black hole of the Pacheco Law," the Pioneer's Greg Sullivan said to the Herald.
Op-ed: Why the Sales Tax Holiday is a winner for the economy
Retailers Association of Massachusetts President Jon Hurst weighs in with a multitude of reasons why the sales tax holiday, slated for Aug. 15-16 if approved by the Legislature, makes both political and economic sense. It's another exclusive MASSterList op-ed:http://bit.ly/1flXxw5
The case of the missing DOR employees
The tallies from early retirement are in, and the Department of Revenue is the clear leader in the total number of state employees who took the incentive and left their jobs as of July 1. The DOR lost 289 employees, or about 15 percent of its workforce, including auditors and tax examiners. MassLive's Shira Schoenberg has the details -- including a handy chart with the number of retirements by department.
Group files lawsuit against Wynn, MBTA for casino land sale
Steve Wynn paid $6 million for a 1.75 acre parcel, but did the sale comply with state bidding laws? That's the claim of the group of taxpayers suing Wynn and the T, looking to rescind the sale. The Globe's Sean Murphy has the story in the ongoing saga, which continues to prove that Boston really knows how to roll out the welcome wagon. http://bit.ly/1S7vvR4
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