COVID-19 Massachusetts State House Update 4-1-2020
- As expected Governor Baker extended his Executive Order closing all non-essential businesses until May 4th. The original order had been until April 7th.
- The Governor also issued a new guidance document making changes to the essential business list that is based on the Federal DHS/CISA guidance.
- He also issued new guidance on hotels and other lodging establishments in the Commonwealth.
- The updated executive order closing all non-essential businesses does not exempt shops selling recreational marijuana, and he doesn’t plan to lift restrictions on those businesses early.
- Licensed medical dispensaries can remain open in Massachusetts, but Governor Baker said that the push to add adult-use marijuana dispensaries to the list of essential businesses is a non-starter based on his belief that it would lead to an influx of out of state customers coming into Massachusetts.
- The orders are all attached. If after reviewing you have questions on potential impacts to your business you should contact me directly.
- Massachusetts has been granted major disaster declaration status which will provide additional federal reimbursement for COVID-19 expenses including the expansion of unemployment insurance payments.
- The state will be turning the DCU Center in Worcester into a 250-bed medical facility to treat patients with lower acuity of symptoms. The Governor said it is one of three field medical stations for which the state has requested approval from the federal government through the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. Three tractor trailers with the supplies necessary to set up the DCU Center beds will arrive in Worcester tomorrow, and UMass Medical Center will oversee the day-to-day operations of the field hospital.
- The number of veterans who have recently died at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home has climbed to 13, six of whom tested positive for COVID-19, Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday afternoon as he pledged to “figure out what happened” at the home.
- Meeting via video conference call on Tuesday, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved an emergency regulation giving Commissioner Riley the authority to “to suspend, extend, or waive any timeline or due date in the Board’s regulations to the extent permitted by state and federal law.”
- House Speaker Robert DeLeo told representatives Tuesday that the chamber would soon take up a bill temporarily banning evictions and foreclosures during the coronavirus emergency, and he said talks are ongoing about whether and how the House can conduct formal sessions remotely or after its a July 31 deadline.
- During a conference call with about 120 lawmakers from both parties, the speaker outlined short-term plans for action as well as medium- and long-term considerations about how the House can operate in uncertain times,
- House Ways & Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz has previously said it is was highly unlikely the House will complete work on its version of the spending bill in April as is standard.
- No firm timeline for debate on the state’s fiscal year 2021 budget emerged during Tuesday’s call.
- House Speaker DeLeo and Rep. Kate Hogan, told lawmakers they are investigating two possibilities: meeting in formal sessions later in the year than July 31, which would require a suspension of joint House-Senate rules, and holding formal sessions virtually with remote voting.
- Remote sessions, however, are believed to pose greater challenges with leaders unsure if such a plan is allowed under the state constitution.
- Representative Hogan is leading the effort to understand the constitutional implications with help from legislative counsel.
- Legislative and Baker administration officials will convene a virtual hearing next week to revisit revenue assumptions and work to develop new projections for state budgeting amid what one top lawmaker called a “dire and unprecedented” financial climate due to the coronavirus outbreak.
- Ways and Means Committee chairs in both branches and the Executive Office of Administration and Finance announced the April 7 event on Tuesday.
- House Ways & Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz, Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Michael Rodrigues, and Administration and Finance Secretary Michael Heffernan will host the event in the State House’s Room 428. Experts will be invited to testify in person or via audio or video conference, and those who do attend will practice social distancing, organizers said. The hearing will be livestreamed.
- The House and Senate did not meet on Tuesday.
- The Senate will meet again on Wednesday at 11am and the House will meet on Thursday at 11am.
- Sessions continue to be live streamed.
- The Senate on Monday amended the latest COVID-19 response bill, a municipal governance bill that includes an extension of the state personal income tax filing deadline to July 15 and permission for restaurants to sell take-out beer and wine, but the bill did not return from the House by the time the Senate adjourned late in the afternoon.
- The Senate’s changes would also allow corporate and nonprofit boards to meet remotely, and allow use of video conferencing for legal actions that require notarization.
- The House on Monday further amended a Senate version of the bill that had passed that chamber earlier in the day and sent the legislation back to the upper branch, which is scheduled to meet next on Wednesday morning.
- Senate leaders are hoping on Wednesday to finish the bill, which includes a personal income tax filing extension and permission for restaurants to sell take-out beer and wine.
- On Wednesday the Senate is also preparing to advance a bill that would expand unemployment insurance benefits for workers beginning next year, and shield employers from being penalized for their workers taking advantage of the unemployment insurance system as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
- The Senate Ways and Means Committee late Tuesday approved emergency legislation providing temporary protections for renters and homeowners during the COVID-19 emergency, measures intended to ensure housing security while people are being advised to stay home to achieve collective public health goals. Bill text is attached.
- The House is also working on its own version of similar legislation.
- Under the bill:
- Courts would be prohibited from entering a default judgement for a plaintiff for possession of a residential dwelling in a non-essential eviction action, or from scheduling a court event in such an action.
- The bill prohibits a landlord from imposing a late fee for non-payment of rent, or furnishing rental payment data to a consumer reporting agency related to the non-payment of rent, if the tenant provides documentation to the landlord not more than 30 days after the missed rent payment that the non-payment was due to a financial impact from COVID-19.
- Restrictions would remain in place for 90 days following the bill’s passage, or until the COVID-19 emergency is terminated, whichever is sooner.
- The legislation, S2621, under the same time limitations, prohibits a mortgagee, for the purpose of foreclosure of a residential property, from causing notice of a foreclosure sale to be published; exercising a power of sale, exercising a right of entry, initiating a judicial or non-judicial foreclosure process, or filing a complaint to determine the military status of a mortgagor.
- The bill also includes language to assist people applying for a reverse mortgage, enabling them to receive counseling via real-time video conference rather than in person, an apparent effort to facilitate the social distancing measures that public officials say are critical to slowing the virus’ spread.
- The coronavirus pandemic has taken a significant bite out of Massachusetts Lottery sales as restaurants and bars are closed and fewer people make regular trips to their local convenience store, shrinking the market for the cash-only products. Some Lottery retailers like grocery stores and convenience stores remain open, but far fewer people are making regular trips out and Lottery products cannot be purchased online, a restriction that the Legislature has kept in place despite calls over the years for it to be lifted.
- The Center for State Policy Analysis, a research group affiliated with Tufts University, is warning of a dramatic collapse in state revenue, estimating the tax revenue shortfall of between $1.8 billion to $3 billion over the next 15 months. In a report being released today they attribute the revenue gap to immediate declines in tax revenue combined with emergency spending increases on health and economic supports associated with the COVID-19 outbreak.
- As of Tuesday night, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts has climbed to 6,620 with 562 being hospitalized and 89 deaths attributed to the virus.
