Politics

Healey says no indication Baker administration broke the law after mistaken use of $2.5B

June 7, 2023 by pkzadmin

There is no indication the Baker administration broke the law when $2.5 billion in federal money was erroneously used to pay off pandemic-era unemployment benefits, which should have been funded through state coffers, Gov. Maura Healey said.

Questions have swirled over the past week in the Beacon Hill orbit after the state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development confirmed the withdrawal of $2.5 billion in federal relief funds for unemployment claims that should have been covered by the state.

“No one broke any laws,” Healey told reporters outside the State House Wednesday. “It’s just to a matter of whether this was done the way it was supposed to be done, or whether there were other ways that this could have been done. Again, it’s more about just getting a handle on it right now. And the most important thing is we’re in discussions with the U.S. Department of Labor. And other states are working through similar issues.”

It is still unclear whether Massachusetts is on the hook to pay the federal government back, a question that looms large over legislative conversations on tax relief. The discrepancy, the Healey administration has said, stems back to 2020, when former Gov. Charlie Baker was in office.

It was only recently identified through a yearly audit and previous inspections had not picked up on the error. An outside accounting firm hired to review the state’s Unemployment Trust Fund also previously missed the mistake.

Healey said officials are still “getting to the bottom of what happened in terms of disparities” and the administration is not looking into whether the error was an unlawful or illegal act.

Healey did not specify who in her administration has been in contact with the Department of Labor.

A spokesperson for Baker said the former administration “worked hard” to quickly set up new processes to ensure people received unemployment payments during the pandemic, including distributing tens of billions of dollars in benefits over two years.

“When complications were discovered, the administration immediately engaged an experienced outside consultant to help with reconciliation of the UI Trust Fund balance. The consultants issued a public report in December of 2021 that identified $300 million Massachusetts owed to the federal government, and the state acted quickly to resolve that issue,” the spokesperson, Jim Conroy, said.

Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones said last week the Healey administration is “determined to provide a solution with the goal of minimizing impact to the commonwealth.”

A U.S. Department of Labor spokesperson previously said they have been in discussion with state officials “about their error and is working with the state on options to rectify the situation.”

Members of the state’s congressional delegation sent a letter Wednesday to a U.S. Department of Labor Official urging federal officials to work with Massachusetts to rectify the “accounting error.”

“States have faced significant obstacles in appropriately administering federal pandemic UI funds. This is due in part to the prioritization of speed in disbursements, but also to the federal government’s unfortunate underinvestment in federal and state UI infrastructure,” the letter said, which was signed by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey as well as U.S. Reps. Lori Trahan, Stephen Lynch, Seth Moulton, Katherine Clark, Ayanna Pressley, William Keating, and James McGovern.

The multi-billion episode has drawn comparisons to summer 2022, when a little-known tax cap law required the government to send billions back to residents in the form of reimbursement checks.

That led legislative leaders to scrap talks on tax relief and sideline a massive economic development bill that was in the works at the end of the legislative session.

Senate President Karen Spilka did not say earlier this week whether this year’s scenario is similar to last year’s tax-cap situation.

“We’re in the fact-finding phase right now, trying to figure out what happened,” she said, adding the Senate will continue with a tax relief package that “will be out soon, so stay tuned.”

Addressing the misuse of federal funds should not preclude the Legislature from taking up a tax relief bill, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr told the Herald on Wednesday.

The Gloucester Republican said he is “not convinced” that Massachusetts will be forced to pay the federal government back.

“I’d also hope that the federal government would recognize its responsibility in this matter. They were motivating us to put out the money as quickly … as we could. The rules seemed to be changing quite a bit when we’re trying to do it. And I think there’s some shared responsibility here,” he said.

He said state officials acted “in good faith” despite the error.

“That being said, this is a sizable mistake,” he said. “And I think we need to understand how it happened, and who is responsible for it. And how we can make sure that the employers in the commonwealth are protected, the taxpayers of the commonwealth are protected, and the integrity of our state government is protected.”

Lori Trahan among those who supported debt ceiling compromise

June 7, 2023 by pkzadmin

LEOMINSTER — With two days to spare, President Joe Biden signed a bill to suspend the nation’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling through Jan. 1, 2025 on Saturday.

As it looked like a deal may not be reached, Americans grew anxious of what a default on the national debt could mean.

The national debt ceiling is a fixed number of allowed money to be borrowed by the United States government to cover its spending and debt. Even with the bill signed, many are concerned about the growing amount of money the country owes. Defaulting would have meant that the country would have been unable to pay its bills.

“Most of the federal budget is devoted to mandatory spending on social insurance programs such as income security, healthcare and social security.” said Christa Marr, a professor of Economics at Fitchburg State University.

Millions of Americans are reliant on federally funded programs like Social Security. If the nation were to default, economists believe that the first people to feel the effects would be federal employees and those reliant on federally funded programs and benefits.

“Many Americans rely on payments from these programs in order to afford basic necessities like food and housing.” Marr said.

Although Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey voted no on the compromise bill struck between Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan was among those to support the bill’s passage.

“This compromise bill helped protect [federally funded] programs,” Trahan said, discussing social security, medicaid and disability income programs.

To put the impact of a default in perspective, Trahan’s office said the impact could have seen 73,000 jobs lost, put 823,000 families on social security at risk, jeopardized healthcare benefits for 2.3 millions residents which includes Medicare, Medicaid and Veterans Affairs, increased lifetime mortgage costs by $90,000, raised the costs of new car loans by $800, threatened retirement savings of 962,000 residents by eliminating $20,000 from the typical retirement portfolio.

Not would this have affected income for millions of Americans but also communities. Local projects are often funded at the federal level, such as the Theater Block in Fitchburg. However, Trahan assured that projects such as these are not in immediate detriment and “will be dealt with in the appropriations process.”

“While I do disagree with some of the provisions in this compromise bill, it is far from where we began.” Trahan said, “This deal fulfilled our obligation to the United States, which is why I voted yes.”

Lawmaker wants hospitals to have test kits on hand amid drink spiking concerns

June 6, 2023 by pkzadmin

Madeline LeBlanc, a UMass Lowell student who lives in Pembroke, said she believes her drink was spiked in August 2018.

“I was brought to the hospital where I was treated like a dumb, drunk teenage girl,” LeBlanc told a group of lawmakers on Tuesday. “They didn’t have any testing available to test me for date rape drugs. So since then, I have lived with not knowing if and what was placed into my drink that night.”

And during her first week in college in September 2019, LeBlanc said she was raped.

“I do believe that my drink was spiked by the monster who raped me, but I will never have proof because again, testing was not available, even with the rape kit,” she said. “There has been a lot of unknown with both of these traumatic events. I wonder what drugs were put into my drink and were they different drugs both times? I wonder how many people they have done this too.”

LeBlanc said she supports legislation from state Sen. Paul Feeney that would require hospitals across the state to provide upon the request of a patient kits to test for the presence of drugs commonly used to spike drinks.

Feeney said the bill allows anyone to get tested at a hospital if they believe someone spiked their drink, a policy push that the Foxborough Democrat said is necessary to combat an “alarming” rise in drink-spiking cases.

“Time and time again, we’ve seen warnings from law enforcement officials to use the buddy system, cover your drink, make sure you’re not handing your drink over to anybody else, you’re leaving it unattended,” he said at a legislative hearing Tuesday afternoon. “Yet, reports of these incidents persist.”

The bill earmarks money from the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Trust Fund to fund the development and implementation of testing standards for patient-reported involuntary consumption of drugs commonly used for drug-facilitated sexual assault, regardless if sexual assault occurred.

Money would also be used to establish a “trauma-based empathy training program” for nurses examining patients who have reported the involuntary consumption of drugs.

The proposal also requires the Department of Public Health to set up a “date rape drug response and intervention task force” to study how to best collect data on confirmed incidents of drink spiking.

Feeney said he heard from two Boston-area hospitals that changed their testing protocols after he filed his bill.

“I’m glad that they did that. But again, we shouldn’t have a patchwork of care for people that are expecting to get tested when they show up,” he said. “I’m happy those hospitals adapted but I think it’s important … that we do this across Massachusetts.”

The Boston Police Department received 116 reports of drink spiking last year and police issued an alert on the topic in late-April 2023, urging people to make sure their drink is served directly from a bartender or server.

“Don’t allow people you don’t know or trust to order drinks and deliver them to you,” the department said in a statement.

Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta said many people who shared their drink-spiking stories with her have outlined how responsible they were, how they only had one or two drinks, but how quickly their night changed for the worse without a reasonable explanation.

“When they sought support from police or hospitals, they felt like there wasn’t sufficient resources, support or testing mechanisms in place,” Coletta said at the State House.

And Coletta said she also had a close call in college while at a nightclub.

The city councilor said she was hugging a friend with an empty plastic cup in her hand when she felt the weight of what seemed like a quarter drop inside of the cup. She said she looked down to see a “large white pill that would have made me sick had my cup not been empty at that moment.”

“But it was a surreal experience that I never fully recovered from,” she said.

Feeney is also the author of a successful amendment to the Senate’s fiscal 2024 budget that authorizes the bulk purchase of drink spiking test kits, which would be handed out to bars, restaurants, and other nightlife establishments in Massachusetts.

LeBlanc said the person she suspected of spiking her drink in August 2018 was wearing an olive green shirt. The man who raped her in 2019, she said, wore a blue shirt.

“I wonder if the guy wearing an olive green shirt would have been held accountable by the law for his heinous actions had there been testing available for date rape drugs,” she said. “I wonder if the guy wearing a blue shirt who took advantage of my body, left my neck stiff, bruising on my upper arm, my stomach scratched, my vagina sore and a life full of trauma would have been held accountable by the law for his heinous actions had there been testing available.”

Commuter rail network ‘failing’ riders, group says

June 5, 2023 by pkzadmin

A scathing new report from transportation watchdog TransitMatters finds the state’s commuter rail system is in need of full-scale overhaul if Massachusetts hopes to meet self-imposed Net Zero carbon goals by 2050.

The report, titled “Turning Vision into Reality: the Moment for Regional Rail is Now,” indicates the state is at a transit crossroads, faced with the choice of maintaining an outdated and ailing diesel fleet, or investing in the kind of regional transportation that actually works for residents.

“The MBTA’s commuter rail system is failing the people it should serve,” the report reads, in part. “Riders from Gateway Cities like Haverhill and Fitchburg must pay high fares for trains that come hourly or worse.”

“Environmental justice communities like Dorchester and Chelsea are exposed to dangerous black carbon emissions from diesel locomotives and are forced to contend with long bus trips because of commuter rail’s expense, low frequency, and unreliability. White collar workers with flexible schedules drive instead thanks to commuter rail’s infrequent schedules and poor reliability, adding to the region’s traffic congestion while frustrating emissions reductions targets,” the report says.

According to the report, problems with the commuter rail service come following decades of heavy investment and despite increased government backed subsidies when compared with the MBTA’s rapid transit system.

Ridership levels have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, hovering around 30% short of those numbers, “speaking to a need to move beyond Commuter Rail’s peak-oriented model to boost ridership and avoid a negative feedback loop imposed by possible service cuts.”

TransitMatters is proposing the Commuter Rail, under a Regional Rail model, should be entirely electrified, its platforms raised and made accessible, stations standardized to improve construction speed, and service increased by up to 300%, which means trains arriving at stations as far as Haverhill every 30 minutes, all day every day.

“As the last three years have proven, increased remote work has not measurably reduced traffic congestion or vehicle miles traveled. We continue to believe that (former) Governor Baker’s Commission on the Future of Transportation had it right when it declared that Massachusetts needs to move more people in fewer vehicles,” they wrote.

Electrifying the entire system and putting the corresponding electric trains on the tracks could cost upwards of $8 billion, according to Jarred Johnson, executive director of TransitMatters. Still, the cost of not doing so will be higher, according to the report.

“EMUs trains are roughly 10 times as reliable as diesel locomotives, requiring less maintenance; their lifecycle costs, including acquisition and maintenance, are half the cost of diesels,” the report states. “Because operating costs are largely driven by the peak; increases in off-peak service incur little additional cost. High all-day frequency would mean the same number of conductors and engineers working the trains could make more trips per shift, reducing the cost per trip.”

The report also calls for fare adjustments. Under the current model, a rider boarding a train at the furthest commuter rail zone pays as much as $26.80 for a round trip ride to and from Boston; and that’s before paying for parking or a subway transfer, which could push the price closer to $40 for a single day’s commute.

Under the proposed plan there would only be four commuter rail zones, instead of the current 10, and when coupled with a low-income discount, a ride from the furthest zone could cost as little as $7.20 round trip.

“In the short term, a move to cheaper fares represents a commitment to mode shift and transit accessibility for all income levels – a regional and social equity win. In the long term, efficiencies from electrification and higher ridership mean an increase in ticket revenue,” the report reads.

Herald reporter Gayla Cawley contributed.

Commuter rail passengers make their way to trains at South Station. Staff file photo by Matt West

Stephen DiNatale seeks fifth term as Fitchburg mayor

June 4, 2023 by pkzadmin

FITCHBURG — Mayor Stephen DiNatale has served four terms in his current capacity and his re-election bid shows he isn’t ready to quit anytime soon.

In a recent interview, DiNatale spoke about keeping his focus on the bigger picture and keeping a laser-focus on economic development. With traffic going two-ways on Main Street for the first time since the early 1960s, he wants to continue seizing the opportunity to reinvigorate downtown.

“We have challenges in Fitchburg that other communities don’t have, but these issues aren’t exclusive to Fitchburg.” he added in reference to housing issues.

Familiar with issues unique to the city DiNatale stated that he is aware of the forward most concerns in everyone’s minds.

“Everyone thinks about the conditions of the roads,” DiNatale said. “Maybe, I want to stress maybe, this is something that we put to the voters.”

DiNatale stressed how much time he has spent “fighting the state for more money” to help solve problems such as these.

“Rising tides raises all boats,” he said.

For DiNatale, the mayor’s office is also about public service.

“Our goal is providing the best service we can for the people of Fitchburg,” DiNatale said. With Fitchburg being a “small urban center with formidable challenges.”

Looking back on his career in Fitchburg, DiNatale referenced several projects that his administration has launched and completed. Dinatale mentioned the renovation of the library, building and restoring City Hall and building a new Crocker school as all clear signs that “Fitchburg is an alive and vibrant community.”

Throughout the city, there has been whispers that DiNatale’s fifth term would be his last. But for now, that’s just rumor.

“I have not decided on that yet, I am just focusing on running again.”

State officials find Baker administration mistakenly used $2.5B in federal pandemic-era relief funds

June 2, 2023 by pkzadmin

Heads are spinning Friday after a yearly audit found officials mistakenly used $2.5 billion in federal pandemic-era relief funds to pay off unemployment benefits, a costly figure that was supposed to be covered by Massachusetts, not the feds.

It is unclear when the federal government will be paid back or how the error was made. The state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said the discrepancy stems back to 2020, when former Gov. Charlie Baker was in office, and was “only recently identified” by the Healey administration this year.

Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Lauren Jones said the Healey administration is “determined to provide a solution with the goal of minimizing impact to the commonwealth.”

“The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development has since taken steps to implement and enhance internal controls. We are also working closely with [the U.S. Department of Labor], outside auditors, and other necessary partners to resolve this issue,” Jones said in a statement.

The audit showed that in 2020 and through the pandemic, the state labor department withdrew $2.5 billion in federal relief funds for unemployment claims that should have been covered by the state’s Unemployment Trust Fund, which Massachusetts employers pay into, labor officials said.

Multiple audits over the past several years by two independent groups did not catch the error, the state said. And an outside accounting firm hired to review the state’s unemployment trust fund also missed the error, officials said.

The Boston Globe first reported the error Thursday night.

But some are questioning whether “error” is the best way to describe the mistaken use of $2.5 billion.

“It’s not millions, it’s billions,” said Eileen McAnneny, a senior fellow in economic opportunity at the Pioneer Institute. “The magnitude of this oversight is astounding.”

Business groups are calling on the state to keep the responsibility of cleaning up the mess out of the hands of employers or taxpayers. That comes as the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development made clear no claimants were impacted.

The $2.5 billion error was made by the state, and it is “reliant upon the state of Massachusetts to rectify this major oversight,” said Christopher Carlozzi, Massachusetts state director for the National Federation of Independent Business.

“However, in no way should employers be held liable for a $2.5 billion mistake that was not their doing. If Massachusetts must repay the federal government, they should use remaining federal funds or excess tax revenue and not rely on business owners to shoulder the burden,” Carlozzi said in a statement.

Carlozzi said the state should not raise the unemployment insurance taxes employers pay nor deplete the existing unemployment insurance fund balances “as small business owners are currently paying a hefty COVID-19 assessment on their UI bills to cover the cost of layoffs resulting from state-mandated shutdowns.”

And as the dust settled Friday morning, many in the Beacon Hill orbit were trying to wrap their heads around the situation and potential impacts the multi-billion dollar error could have on the state’s finances.

A spokesperson for House Speaker Ronald Mariano said the Quincy Democrat’s office is “in communication” with the administration and “will continue to monitor the situation as it develops.”

Senate President Karen Spilka’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation President Doug Howgate said it might be worth taking a breath before any major decisions are made.

“I think we’re all kind of processing a lot of information and I think it’s worth us taking the time to figure out what the situation is before we jump to conclusions,” he told the Herald.

A U.S. Department of Labor spokesperson said they have been in discussion with state officials “about their error and is working with the state on options to rectify the situation.”

Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance spokesman Paul Craney said “under no circumstances” should local businesses be expected to pay for any portion of the $2.5 billion mistake.

“They’ve already paid more than enough. Any public comments even suggesting this will only continue to drive the narrative that Massachusetts is uncompetitive and does not support its small businesses,” he said in a statement.

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