The Senate recently approved legislation that will set new standards for the homeowners' insurance market and reduce the burden of soaring costs for coastal residents.

Because recent changes in how insurance companies use storm models to predict damages have contributed to increasing premiums, the homeowners insurance bill establishes a standing commission of scientists to define accurate criteria that storm models must satisfy.

This bill represents the first major effort to enact real change in the homeowners insurance market. This legislation takes a bold stance against the failure of the marketplace and offers long overdue relief to low-and middle-income residents who are being hit the hardest, especially those on Cape Cod and other coastal areas that have witnessed a collapse of the voluntary market.

Effectively strengthening recommendations released last November by a special legislative task force, the legislation also addresses "wind deductibles" which have become an additional burden on homeowners because of their inconsistent application over the years. The new bill establishes a hurricane-only deductible that cannot exceed 3 percent of the insured value of a home and requires mitigation measures for the benefit of policyholders.

The legislation makes critical changes to the FAIR Plan, the state-created insurer of last resort, which put through a 25 percent rate increase in 2006 for Cape Cod and other coastal residents. The plan based its increase on older numbers instead of current ones that would have resulted in a better rate for homeowners. 

Under the new legislation, the Commissioner of Insurance will be authorized to consider assessment factors and adjust FAIR Plan rates to offer new discounts for primary homeowners, senior citizens, and homes with lower-insured values or ones farther from the coast.  

The bill also prevents a further collapse in the voluntary insurance market for homeowners.  Numerous companies have stopped writing insurance on houses on Cape Cod and other coastal areas, making the FAIR Plan the dominant insurer in those areas.  The bill revises the FAIR Plan's system of debits and credits to provide an incentive for companies to continue writing voluntary insurance in territories where the FAIR Plan has a large share of the market, such as Cape Cod.

The bill also includes the following provisions:

·           Directs the Commissioner of Insurance to set standards for the availability of consumer-friendly information about homeowners insurance policies.

·           Establishes a Hurricane Research Center at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell to develop current and accurate storm-model criteria for use by insurers in rate-setting practices.

·           Allows for stand-alone liability-only coverage as a homeowner's basic property insurance, but requires the homeowner to sign a form explaining the risks involved with such coverage.

·           Requires one-third of FAIR Plan premiums, less the cost of reinsurance in the third year of no hurricane-related losses, to be returned to FAIR Plan policyholders who live in coastal areas, as a dividend.

The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for further action.

Putting the health and well being of the Commonwealth's children first, the Senate approved legislation to improve child protection services in the Commonwealth through comprehensive changes within the state's child welfare agencies, including foster care screening and placement standards.

The newly-installed Office of the Child Advocate is responsible for monitoring and reviewing the services available to children under the Commonwealth's protection and will report directly to the Governor. The Child Advocate will also be charged with developing a long-term plan to further coordinate and modernize the child welfare system.

The foster care system will also see improvements under this legislation by extending services for individuals between the ages of 18 and 22 who would have ordinarily "aged out" of the system. Foster care children will also be eligible to receive expanded tuition payments that include fees at all state colleges and community colleges.

Other provisions of the legislation include:

·           A foster care registry to track the success of foster parents in the state system. The system can search for relatives or other adult individuals who have positively influenced a child's life.

·           Changing the name of the Department of Social Services to the Department of Children and Families, and targeting issues of racial inequality within the department.

·           A commission to study the status of grandparents raising their grandchildren.

·           Mandates a review by the Department of Children and Families after three abuse and neglect reports on a family in three months or in one year, and requires review results to be submitted to the local district attorney, local law enforcement and the child advocate.

·           Establishes an interagency child welfare taskforce that the Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services will chair to coordinate and streamline services to children and families who are receiving services.

·           Requires social workers who are employed by the Department of Children and Families to have a bachelor's degree, and supervisors to have a master's degree.

The bill will now go to the Governor for his signature.

The Senate took final action on legislation that will apply predictability and fairness to the Commonwealth's corporate tax structure and generate nearly $300 million in new revenue for fiscal year 2009 alone.

The legislation will modernize and simplify corporate taxes and establish an automatic rate reduction plan for businesses, from 9.5 percent to 8 percent, over a three-year period beginning in 2010.

The bill adopts the "check-the-box" reform to prevent corporations from claiming one status for Massachusetts taxes and another for federal and other-state taxes. It also includes "combined reporting" to reduce tax avoidance opportunities for multi-state businesses.

These two reforms alone will contribute an estimated $291 million in new revenue for fiscal year 2009, and a total of $482 million for the entire tax year 2009, while bringing the Commonwealth in line with its competitor states, making Massachusetts the last in the nation to adopt "check-the-box" and the 23rd state to implement combined reporting.

The legislation includes financial institutions in the combined reporting regimen and similarly reduces their proportional excise rate from 10.5 percent to 9.0 percent over three years, beginning in 2010.

For smaller corporations, which make up the majority of businesses in the Commonwealth, the legislation also reduces excise rates over three years, beginning January 1, 2010. The rate for "S-corporations" with gross sales between $6 million and $9 million moves from 3 percent to 1.8 percent, and the rate for S-corporations with gross sales above $9 million moves from 4.5 percent to 2.7 percent.

Other provisions of the bill include:

·           Clarifies that recipients of the personal earned income tax credit (EITC) must live or work in Massachusetts.

·           Estimated revenue impact of EITC is $2 million annually.

·           Does not include tax provisions related to internet sales of hotel/motel rooms.

·           Establishes special municipal relief commission to investigate and study the feasibility of innovative local revenue-generating measures in an effort to provide revenue relief to municipalities.

·           Requires the department of revenue to prepare a feasibility study, together with a draft of legislation, and such other changes in the General Laws as may be necessary to bring the Commonwealth into full compliance with the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement.

·           Requires the Department of Housing and Economic Development, after consultation with the Department of Revenue and the Department of Business and Technology, to report by March 15, 2012, and every 3 years thereafter, on the impacts of this act on employment in the Commonwealth.

·           Establishes a special legislative commission to further review the corporate tax laws of the Commonwealth.

·           Requires the Department of Revenue to post changes in revised revenue estimates within 14 days.

The bill will now go to the Governor's desk.

In the first part of June, the Senate passed legislation that will help municipalities and developers fund necessary public infrastructure projects, including work on streets, sidewalks, water and sewer lines, and street lights, which are all essential to successful economic development.

Both the Senate and the House agreed to final terms of the Infrastructure Investment Incentive legislation, or "I-Cubed" bill, which makes significant changes to the original law passed in 2006, including increased community funding and revenue safeguards. I-Cubed is expected to create thousands of jobs for the Commonwealth.

The legislation includes built-in safeguards to protect the Commonwealth from any loss of revenue, and ensures that laws relating to the classification of employees, health insurance, workers compensation and unemployment insurance are adhered to by developers.

The bill allows Massachusetts to invest in infrastructure projects by issuing up to $250 million in bonds - $50 million more than the original law. This change makes I-Cubed funding more widely available to eligible economically-distressed areas.

The legislation was signed into law by Governor Patrick on June 12^th.

With the cost of energy skyrocketing, it is critical that the Commonwealth's energy policies prioritize energy efficiency while encouraging the development of alternative fuels, other emerging technologies and alternative methods of energy service.

In order to achieve that goal, the Senate approved a sweeping energy reform package that focuses on promoting and developing energy efficiency and renewable energy across the Commonwealth.

The Green Communities Act emphasizes "Efficiency First Energy Procurement" and requires distribution companies to consider all available energy resources when purchasing power. The bill also mandates that the state's electric companies purchase the most cost-effective and stable resources, with the goal of procuring all cost-effective energy efficiency and conservation before turning to a more expensive supply from traditional sources.

Specifically for cities and towns, the legislation directs the Department of Energy Resources' new Division of Green Communities to establish a green communities program. This will give cities and towns the opportunity to take advantage of loans and grants provided by the state to finance the cost of energy efficiency improvements and renewable and alternative energy projects.

The bill also revamps the existing Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust Fund, housed within the Massachusetts Technology Park Collaborative. The Fund, still under the direction of the Collaborative, will now be directly overseen and administered by a governing board, chaired by the Commissioner of the Department of Energy Resources. The new board will be required to ensure that funds will be used to generate the maximum economic and environmental benefits from renewable energy to the ratepayers of the Commonwealth. This will be achieved through initiatives which utilize the advantages of renewable energy in a more competitive energy marketplace.

The bill was signed into law on July 2, 2008.

The Senate recently voted to phase in long overdue rate adjustments for human service providers who contract with the state to deliver health and social services to the Commonwealth's most vulnerable citizens.

The bill, which passed unanimously, requires the Division of Health Care and Policy to establish a predictable and adequate rate-setting schedule that will help providers mitigate operating costs and retain employees.

Massachusetts has a network of 1,100 community-based provider agencies, employing approximately 185,000 workers who deliver a wide-range of services to more than one million residents. State funding for the system has remained relatively stagnant during the last 20 years despite rapidly increasing operating costs and a growing population of people who need services.

The bill phases in the rate adjustment process over three years, with 10 percent of the state contracts affected in the first year, 50 percent the second year, and full implementation in the third year. The bill adjusts multi-year contracts for annual inflation and allows contract amendments for services or program requirements added by the state.

The legislation is now awaiting action in the House of Representatives.

In an effort to ensure the safety of our residents and the environment, the Senate voted to expand regulations for operators of all-terrain vehicles in Massachusetts. This bill will require all ATVs and snow vehicles to be registered by September 1, 2008 and enforce strict age requirements in the use of these vehicles.

In 2007, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation created an Off-Highway Vehicle Working Group to identify strategies and solutions to address the growing concerns regarding the illegal and unsafe use of snowmobiles and recreation vehicles. Much of this bill, which also creates a new state off-highway vehicle advisory committee to address ongoing concerns, stems from their work.

Regarding age regulations, this legislation requires that owners of ATVs who allow individuals under the age of 18 to use their vehicles be held accountable for any damage or injuries.

Further provisions of the bill include:

·           Bans the use of ATVs by anyone under the age of 14 and limits the engine size of ATVs for children between the ages of 14 and 16.

·           Owners of ATVs under the age of 18 must successfully complete a recreation vehicle safety and responsibility course before operating their vehicle.

·           Creates new categories of violations and strengthens the penalties for existing ones. 

·           Requires the use of a helmet for all operators of an ATV.

The illegal use of recreation vehicles extends beyond public safety and health concerns. Each year, millions of dollars in damage is done to the environment as a result of illegal ATV use. This legislation will prohibit specific uses of ATV vehicles that harm public or private property, wildlife, deer or crops. It also increases fines for trespassing, a frequent problem in rural settings. The bill will also eliminate the operation of these vehicles in reforested or planted areas.  

This bill will now go to the House of Representatives.

In order to fulfill the Memorandum of Agreement that was signed by Massachusetts, the United States Coast Guard and the National Guard, the Senate has passed legislation that would establish a state fire district on the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR).

The legislation stemmed from the action taken by the Commonwealth, U.S. Coast Guard and National Guard to ensure continued operations on MMR after the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) realigned the base and moved the Massachusetts Air National Guard's 102d fighter wing to Barnes Air National Guard Base.

The establishment of the MMR state fire district was an important next step in continuing current operations and preparing for MMR's future missions.

As part of the Memorandum of Agreement, which was signed in December of 2006, the United States Coast Guard will maintain the air strip, the Massachusetts Air National Guard will be responsible for utilities, and the Commonwealth will operate the fire department.

The bill is before the House of Representatives for consideration.

Congratulations to the Sisters of Divine Providence who have received a rebate of $39,900 for investments the order made in solar energy at Sacred Heart High School in Kingston.

The funding was provided through the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's (MTC) Commonwealth Solar Plan.  In total MTC will award over $279,000 in rebates to 16 projects across the state. The rebate to Sacred Heart is the second highest of the round of awards, and is the only school in this round of awards.

The funding for the rebates comes from the Renewable Energy Trust Fund and the Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources' collection of Alternative Compliance Fund Payments.  Before awarding the rebates, the projects are examined to make sure they are working properly.

Bourne Middle School's Energy Savers have done a tremendous job in increasing awareness about conservation and renewable energy for their peers and the entire Bourne community.

I was proud to recognize the 10 middle school students from Bourne for the honor of being named Massachusetts Middle School of the Year by the National Energy Education Development Project's Youth Awards Program.   The students, who are members of the Energy Savers Club, received two standing ovations from the members of the Massachusetts Senate for their work in educating their peers on renewable energy and conservation.

The Energy Savers Club created games for students and held an Energy Expo which highlighted different kinds of energy such as wind, bio-fuel and hydrogen fuel cells, and provided information on climate change and energy efficiency.  The students also had the opportunity to go to Washington, DC at the invitation of the National Energy Education Project to receive recognition for their work. 

I want to congratulate all of these incredible students and the founder of the club, teacher Peggy McEvoy, on this tremendous honor and for all of their hard work.

I was pleased to join Governor Deval Patrick, British Consul General Dr. Phil Budden, Reverend Peter Gomes, as well as the rest of the Plymouth delegation and town officials to officially kick-off the Commonwealth's involvement in planning for the 400th anniversary. 

At a ceremony in Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, the Governor signed an executive order to create the Plymouth 400th Celebration Commission. With only twelve years before the anniversary, this commission is the first step toward planning a world-class celebration in honor of the pilgrims landing and the establishment of the first permanent settlement in the United States.

It is anticipated that the celebration will draw visitors from across the country and around the world.

"On behalf of all of us at Life Care Center we would like to thank Senator Therese Murray for her continuous support of the long term care industry and her championing health care resources on behalf of the frail elderly of the Commonwealth. Her support enables us to give the quality care that our residents deserve and we are proud to provide it."

-Mary Schroeder Executive Director of Life Care Center of Plymouth.