COVID-19 Massachusetts State House Update 4-28-20
- As of Monday night, DPH reported a total of 56,462 cases.
- The state has now confirmed a total of 3,003 deaths from the virus.
- Next Monday, May 4th is the expiration of Governor Baker’s order closing non-essential businesses.
- The governor has not said yet if he plans to extend that forced shutdown order.
- He has said over the last few days that his administration is preparing rules of the road for when the state reopens.
- He has indicated a company’s ability to abide by those rules would determine whether it can open or not.
- Governor Baker said Monday his administration would be making $130 million in additional funding available by the end of the week for nursing homes to pay for additional staff, cleaning and personal protective equipment.
- The governor also said the state was assembling a team of 120 nurses to deploy to facilities in emergency situations, and would be auditing long-term care facilities for compliance with a new set of care criteria including mandatory testing of staff and residents, a 28-point infectious disease check-list and adherence to protective equipment requirements.
- The state’s courthouses will remain closed to the public until at least June 1, according to an order by the Supreme Judicial Court issued Monday
- The House and Senate both met on Monday.
- The Senate took a break from COVID-19 legislating on Monday, adopting deadline extensions for the Labor and Workforce Development Committee and sending two local bills to the governor’s desk.
- Bills passed by the House last week (H 4667 and H 4672) to require the Department of Public Health to report more detailed COVID-19 data remained in the Senate Ways and Means Committee and did not surface at Monday’s session.
- Two COVID-19 bills the Senate acted on last Thursday, dealing with unemployment insurance and transitional assistance benefits, are still in the House.
- The upper branch meets next on Thursday morning
- While Monday’s House session consisted of routine lawmaking, extension orders, new petitions, and local bills, most eyes were looking ahead to Wednesday when lawmakers plan to consider temporary rules allowing for remote formal sessions.
- This week could also see a full formal session on Thursday, the first since Gov. Baker declared a state of emergency on March 10.
- The House plans to take up a bill that would allow the state to borrow money this fiscal year and not pay it back until June 31, 2021 as a means of bridging gaps in the state’s cash flow and tax collections.
- Under the proposed rules, House members would be able to participate in a formal session remotely, including voting, introducing amendments, and speaking during debate.
- A small number of lawmakers would be in the chamber including the speaker, minority leader, the committee chairs who are responsible for the bill, and monitors who are tasked with gathering votes and requests from individual members.
- Only essential staff will be allowed in, and participants will be required to remain six feet apart from each other to comply with public health guidelines for physical distancing. Participants will be wearing masks.
- The chamber session will be broadcast via Microsoft TEAMS, and members will be able to call in via conference call lines. To cast actual votes, members will call floor leaders, who in turn will pass along the results to the House clerk.
- The House plans to meet next on Wednesday at 11 a.m. in an informal session.
- The Senate President also stated that it remains her intention to have the Senate take up legislation dealing with climate change, prescription drugs, mental health along with the FY 21 budget and the transportation bond bill by the end of the legislative session.
- The multi-year $18 billion bond bill and an associated revenue package, intended to raise funds for transportation infrastructure by increasing taxes or fees on gasoline, corporations, ride-hailing services and vehicle purchases by rental car companies, were the last major bills to clear the House before Governor Baker declared a state of emergency around COVID-19.
- The tax package faces a murkier future in the Senate. Asked about that bill, Spilka said, “I’m not certain that now is the time to be talking about taxes.”
- A new state law addressing governance challenges in cities and towns during the COVID-19 pandemic is credit positive for local governments in Massachusetts, Moody’s Investors Service said this week.
- The law permits the extension of budget deadlines, allows greater flexibility to postpone town meetings to approve local budgets, and enables cities and towns to use available reserves beginning next fiscal year prior to receiving normal certification.
- Boston officials are working on a “recovery framework” that will lay out short, medium and long-term steps to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic and the pause it has put on economic activity, Mayor Marty Walsh said Monday.
- Mayor Walsh said the state’s largest city “will not reopen on May 4th”.
