Beacon Hill News

Sen. Finegold Among Those Holding Nation’s First Legislative Hearing on State Role in Youth Sports

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State Sen. Barry R. Finegold convenes Thursday the first legislative hearing in the nation to determine what, if any, role the state should play in regulating youth sports. Finegold, co-chair of the legislature’s Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, said legislators will weigh a comprehensive range of benefits and issues associated with youth sports. “This Thursday’s hearing looks to holistically examine the youth sports industry in Massachusetts. The overarching goal of the hearing is to understand, through the breadth of knowledge and experience from impacted stakeholders, whether or not the state has a role in the youth sports regulatory framework and what that role would be,” he said, adding “Testimony will be provided by various experts with topics ranging from the dangers of early sport specialization and overtraining to the financing landscape at both an individual and institutional level.”

The Joint Committee on Economic Development, co-chaired by Rep. Jerry A. Parisella of Beverly, is coordinating with the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, co-chaired by Sen. Cindy F. Friedman of Arlington and Rep. John J. Lawn of Watertown. Testimony will be provided by medical professionals, academics and directors and managers of youth sports programs.

The hearing takes place Thursday, Oct.

Beacon Hill News

Local State Representatives Among Those Voting 148-8 to Force Some Employers to Disclose Salary Range

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Reps. Adrianne Ramos of North Andover and Ryan M. Hamilton were among the 148 state representatives last week voting in favor of a bill requiring companies with 25 or more employees to disclose a salary range when posting a position and protects an employee’s right to ask for salary ranges in the workplace. The Frances Perkins Workplace Equity Act passed with eight Republicans opposed and moves to the state Senate. “As a woman who has worked in a male dominated field, I’ve watched female colleagues pay the unspoken ‘mommy’ tax and take home lower pay, often contributing to the exodus of talented women from the workforce,” Ramos said. She added she co-sponsored the original bill because “this will help place women and people of color on equal footing as their counterparts and eliminate the stigma surrounding discusses of pay in the workforce.”

Ramos represents Groveland, West Newbury, parts of Amesbury, parts of Boxford and North Andover, while Hamilton represents parts of Haverhill and Methuen.

Beacon Hill News

Gov. Healey Brings her Tax Cut Tour to Haverhill; Residents Speak of Needed Savings

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(Additional photograph below.)

Massachusetts Gov. Maura T. Healey used the backdrop of a Haverhill YMCA child care program to highlight her $1 billion tax cut, including, as the administration describes, “the nation’s most generous Child and Family Tax Credit.”

Healey came to the Y in downtown Haverhill yesterday to call attention to her signing this week of a tax cut law to provide savings for seniors, renters, businesses and others. “We are really proud that we were able to work together and give the people of Massachusetts this much-needed tax relief. It’s real money. It’s going to help real people and it will help make our state more affordable, more competitive and more equitable.”

The governor, who was joined by Lt. Gov. Kimberley Driscoll, called on two residents to discuss how they will benefit. Nineteen-year-old Sadé Pimental is a graduate of Haverhill’s Gateway Academy and a mother who works two jobs.

Beacon Hill News

State Seeks Federal Transportation Grants—One Would Improve Local Train Service

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Gov. Maura Healey’s administration this week submitted $2 billion in federal grant applications for a variety of statewide transportation projects, including one familiar with local commuter rail passengers. The MBTA is seeking $672 million in grants from the National Infrastructure Project Assistance and Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highways Projects programs for the construction phase of the North Station Renovation and Draw 1 Bridge Replacement Project that would improve service. “The project to replace the North Station drawbridge is crucial to ensuring that we can safely and reliably provide train service in and out of North Station. It will allow us to operate trains more efficiently as we expand the number of tracks across a new bridge,” said MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng. Draw 1 is a called a “critical connection” that carries all MBTA Commuter Rail traffic on the north side of Boston across the Haverhill, Fitchburg, Lowell and Gloucester/Newburyport lines.

Beacon Hill News

North Andover Tallies Flood Damage at $30 Million

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North Andover sustained nearly $30 million in flood damage to public buildings, businesses and private homes after torrential rain swept through the Merrimack Valley earlier this month, which prompted local officials to declare a state of emergency. Damage to public facilities, including to town and school buildings, is estimated to cost nearly $3.4 million, Town Manager Melissa Murphy-Rodrigues said in a letter Monday to Dawn Brantley, director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. “We also recognize that the railroad sustained damages, but have been unable to learn the value of those damages,” Murphy-Rodrigues wrote in the letter. “Amongst those damage estimates are the costs for roads that have been completely washed away, damages to our school buildings and town buildings and cemetery damage where historic gravestones have sunk.” Murphy-Rodrigues said 56 businesses reported about $21.6 million in damages, with many unable to reopen for now. Meanwhile, flood damage to 309 homes is estimated to cost almost $5 million.

Beacon Hill News

Legislators Earmark $755,000 for Haverhill, Incl. Grants for Accessory Units, $250K for Downtown Plan

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Haverhill groups and projects stand to benefit from $755,000 included in the recently passed late state budget, including grants for those creating accessory housing units. Haverhill’s legislative delegation of two representatives and two senators worked together to include various projects, sponsored by each, in the new state budget for the year that started last month. “This budget represents historic investments in Haverhill and statewide. With $755,000 coming into local projects and organizations, increased funding for Haverhill Public Schools and permanent free school meals, I’m proud to have partnered with our Haverhill delegation to secure the funding that our city and constituents deserve,” Rep. Andy X. Vargas said in a statement. Vargas served as the lead sponsor in securing $50,000 for an “Accessory Dwelling Unit Incentive Program.” He said the money, to be issued in the form of grants, will help boost the supply of low-cost housing.

Beacon Hill News

Finegold Takes Lead in Adding Ability to Change Gender on Marriage Certificates in Senate Bill

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State Sen. Barry R. Finegold played the leading role late last week in allowing residents to change their gender on marriage certificates in a larger Senate bill that would likewise permit all gender options on other state forms and documents. The “Gender X” bill, a priority of Senate President Karen E. Spilka, aims to allow nonbinary, gender-diverse and transgender people the option of selecting a gender other than the “male” or “female” choices long offered on government documents. “We as a commonwealth pride ourselves on inclusivity and efforts to show everyone they belong here, regardless of gender identity. This is a process we’re very proud about and steps we have taken. In Massachusetts today you can update name and gender on your driver’s license, social security card and even your birth certificate, but not your marriage certificate,” Finegold said on the Senate floor.

Beacon Hill News

Mom Files Ballot Petition in Hopes Voters Will End MCAS Test Graduation Requirement

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Sam Drysdale, State House News Service

A mom has officially filed a petition to put on the statewide ballot the question of whether students should be required to pass a standardized test in order to graduate, but it wasn’t the state’s large teacher’s union, which has been publicly considering whether to bring the question to voters. Shelly Scruggs, a Lexington resident and mother to a 15-year-old boy, told State House News Service Thursday she filed the petition on behalf of her son. He’s a rising senior at Minuteman Vocational High School and wants to be a plumber, but Scruggs said he has ADHD and “isn’t a great test taker.”

“But he works hard,” Scruggs said. “And he can do all this hard work, can get really good grades in class, go to school every day and be set up to do a great job at what he wants to do—and still not get a diploma. I just thought that’s criminal.”

The Massachusetts Teachers Association has long opposed the state law that ties a student’s graduation to whether they pass the 10th grade Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam, and earlier this month polled residents on removing the requirement.