Thursday, July 26, 2012
Included as an amendment to a bigger jobs bill, the update would expand the bottle redemption law to include plasticbottles used for water and juice.
House and Senate leaders started debating Wednesday whether to include an expanded bottle deposit amendment in abill designed to spur job creation. The bill was passed in the Senate Thursday and is now being hashed out in a conference committee comprised of member of both chambers. Gov. Deval Patrick has said that he supports it. But the House has fought passage of an expanded bottle bill, which Speaker Robert DeLeo and others in the House view as a tax. But Sen. Robert Hedlund disputes this view, saying that taxes can't be redeemed. The expansion to the 31-year-old law designed to promote recycling and reduce litter would add plastic bottles used for water, juices, iced tea and sports drinks to the list of containers subject to the 5-…
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Let us know by taking our poll and posting a comment below.
With the Legislature recently shooting down a proposal to implement a soda tax, we'd like to know: Do you think soda should be taxed? Let us know where you stand on this issue by taking our poll and also posting your thoughts in the comments section below. We look forward to seeing your responses.
Amendment withdrawn in face of opposition on new taxes.
Soda won't be taxed in Massachusetts any time soon. While most Massachusetts voters want to see soda taxed, the effort did not have adequate support in the Legislature, which is wary of imposing any new taxes on state's citizens. Representative Kay Khan (D-Newton) had proposed to lift the tax exemption on several beverages including sodas, juice drinks with less of 50 percent natural juice, and bottled coffee and tea drinks. The amendment was one of 275 attached to the 188-page health care reform bill, designed to cut $160 million in spending over the next 15 years. The amendment was backed by Reps. Jason Lewis (D-Winchester), who represents Stoneham, and Carl Sciortino (D-Medford). Khan had argued that soda is not food and should be …
Friday, January 20, 2012
The two-day seminar, spearheaded by Katherine Clark, is in March.
[Editor's note: The information below was issued in a press statement from the Office of Sen. Katherine Clark.] Recently, Sen. Katherine Clark announced that the 68th Citizens' Legislative Seminar (CLS) will be held on March 20-21 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CLS is a citizen workshop that aims to better educate the public on the Commonwealth’s legislative process. Established in 1976 through a collaborative effort of the Massachusetts Senate and the University of Massachusetts, the two-day workshop features presentations by senators and staff on aspects of the day-to-day experience of legislators in the Commonwealth. Topics will include the history and process of the legislature, the parliamentary role of the clerk of the Senate and the …
David Whelan
1:03 pm on Friday, January 20, 2012
Here's the bottom line if you live in Woburn, Wakefield, Swampscott, or Stoneham. You are getting cheated out of local aid funding due to the ineffectiveness of your local deligation. Chapter 70 was suppossed to be fixed by fy 11. We are soon to be discussing fy 13 with NO clear indication that the referenced comunities will be treated comparably to Wellesley. No seminar required! That's the … more ›