Legislation

Representative Michael J. Rodrigues 2009-2010 Issues & Legislation

An Act Relative to Regulatory Impact Statements and Administrative Rule

Summary: Redefines the terms “regulatory impact statement” under state administrative procedure relative to the promulgation or changes in regulations.

An Act Relative to Enrollment Preferences for Children of Employees of Charter Schools

Summary: Allows the Board of Trustees of a Commonwealth charter school to offer preference to children of teachers and staff employed at least half-time, provided that first preference is given to siblings of currently enrolled students.

An Act Relative to Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices in the Insurance Industry

Summary: Defines an unfair and deceptive act or practices as any premium quotes by insurance companies, whether in writing, verbally or electronically, which do not provide an accurate premium for the risk being quoted.

An Act banning the use of certain socio-economic factors for insurance underwriting and rating of motor vehicle liability insurance

Summary: This bill bans the use of credit-based scoring by insurance companies in the underwriting, rating and tiering of auto insurance. Prohibits the use of socio-economic factors such as credit score, education, or occupation.

An Act eliminating the workforce training fund

Summary: Repeal Section 2RR of Chapter 29 of the M.G.L. and any funds remaining in the Workforce Training Fund will be transferred to the Unemployment Trust Fund.

An Act relative to pigeons in motion pictures

Summary: Regulates that all pigeons that are used in motion pictures here in Massachusetts must be licensed and banded within the Commonwealth.

An Act relative to standing to file certain appeals in the superior or land court

Summary: This legislation is intended to curtail frivolous appeals brought by abutters who suffer no actual harm from a proposed development of land.

An Act providing training for certain local boards and commissions

Summary: Requires that members of local conservation commission, boards of health, planning boards and zoning boards of appeals to attend training programs to be offered by the Dept of Housing and Community Development, the Dept of Public Health or the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs.

An Act relative to the sale of wine at auction

Bill Summary: The local licensing authority in a city or town may grant temporary licenses for the sale of wines and spirits at auction to applicants which have been licensed as auctioneers under the laws of Massachusetts.

An Act relative to multi-jurisdictional lottery games

Bill Summary: Authorizes the Lottery commission to enter into agreements with one or more states or other jurisdictions for the purpose of creating and maintaining multi-jurisdictional lottery games.

An Act to limit losses of subcontractors in private construction

Summary: This legislation voids any agreements or contracts that require a subcontractor to continue for work where the subcontractor has not received payment for furnished labor, goods or services.

An Act relative to the state lottery

Summary: Allows for losing scratch tickets to be redeemed for five cents per ticket, which is only to be used for the purchase of a state lottery ticket

An Act relative to assault and battery on health care providers

Summary: Requires that a person shall be punished by imprisonment in the house of correction for not less than ninety days or more than two and one half years, or by a fine of not less than five hundred nor more than five thousand dollars, or both for committing an assault and battery on a health care provider.

An Act relative to uninsurance employment fraud

Summary: This legislation would provide the Director of Workforce Development with a series of tools and procedures necessary to collect back payment from an individual and to prevent further fraud.

An Act relative to consumer protection

Summary: This legislation would exempt small businesses from item pricing.

An Act allowing retail stores and shops to open on Thanksgiving Day

Summary: Allows retails and shops to sell goods at retail on Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day and Thanksgiving Day and the performance of labor, business and work directly connected retail sales shall also be allowed.

An Act relative to professional liability insurance

Summary: This legislation would extend liability insurance and workers compensation to employees of leasing companies under Chapter 152 of the General Laws.

An Act relative to the leasing of the lifesaving station in the Town of Westport to the Westport Fisherman's Association

Summary: The Division of Capital and Asset Management is authorized and directed to lease a certain piece of land and building in the Town of Westport known as the lifesaving station to the Westport Fisherman’s Association for a period of 25 years.

An Act to modernize the board of registration of social workers

Summary: This legislation would modernize the social wok licensing board by increasing the number of clinically trained social workers and expanding the Board’s membership so it has the capacity to break down into committees, allowing cases to move more quickly.

An Act relating to establishing a trail maintenance program within the Department of Conservation and Recreation

Summary: This legislation would establish a trail maintenance program within DCR in order to get needed resources to the existing trails, as well as establish a revenue stream for new trails and enforcement. This bill also increases fines for illegal riding and to require all riders under the age of 21 to pass a specifically designed safety riding program.

An Act to protect the eastern seabox turtle

Summary: Establishes a commission to study the development, implementation and financing of a conservation management plan for the protection of the eastern box turtle in Massachusetts.

An Act to establish an annual caterer license

Summary: Allows the ABCC to issue an annual caterer’s license to an operator of a catering business for the sale and service of all alcoholic beverages to be served and drunk on the premise where the operator is catering a private event that is not open to the public, provide the city or town is granted to authorize the selling of alcoholic beverages.

An Act relative to prescription assistance programs

Summary: This legislation exempts valid pharmaceutical assistance programs that offer uninsured and under-insured individuals free, low-cost prescription drugs from penalty under section 41 of Chapter 118E of the General Laws.

An Act to advance the redevelopment of brownfields

Summary: This legislation would insert a new definition for “permanent solution” in Chapter 21E of the General Laws and would eliminate a 90-day requirement that the Department of Environmental Protection promulgate regulations revising this definition.

An Act to clarify the meeting requirements for municipal boards

Summary: This legislation eliminates the requirement of local adoption, and requires that, for hearings which extend over multiple sessions, a member could miss up to ¼ of the sessions as long as he/or she reads the transcripts, views the tapes, etc., This law helps streamline the process dealing with larger scale projects that can have many months of hearings.

An Act to expedite the transfer of cases to the permit session of land court

Summary: This legislation amends section 3A of Chapter 185 of the General laws by allowing cases to be transferred to the Permit Session by filing a notice of compliance with the jurisdictional requirement of this session.

An Act to expedite transportation projects in the Commonwealth

Summary: This legislation provides MassHighway with the authority to hire outside consultants as peer reviewers to meet expedited review deadlines of access or signal permits. This act would also create a financial vehicle for MassHighway to hold private funds and use said funds to pay private peer reviewers.

An Act to make a technical consistency change to Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act

Summary: This legislation makes a technical language to MEPA that amends any environmental impact report to be a final and single environmental report.

An Act to revitalize the Commonwealth's waterfronts

Summary: This legislation amends Section 2 of Chapter 91 by making changes to historic sites under MEPA jurisdiction, as long the project serves a proper public purpose.

An Act to revitalize urban centers

Summary: This legislation codifies the definition of background under the Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act.

An Act to safeguard municipal permitting

Summary: This legislation would safeguard the zoning decisions of municipal boards and offer great protection, while decreasing unwarranted appeals. This change would not affect certain projects that have begun construction under a specific timeframe.

Permit Extension Act of 2009

Summary: This would extend project permits in effect or existence from January 1, 2008 to January 1, 2010 for two years. In effect, allows projects that have received approvals, but may be experiencing temporary financial difficulties to retain approvals.

An Act relative to independent contractors

Summary: This legislation would amend section 148B of Chapter 149 of the MGL by remove the word “AND” at the end of clause 2 and replace it with “OR”. Section 148B regulates who are considered employees under Chapter 149 and Chapter 151.

An Act relative to reforming the state's product liability system

Summary: This legislation would make it so that a product supplier shall not be liable for failure to provide adequate warning or instructions unless a plaintiff proves by a preponderance of the evidence that at the time the product left the control of the supplier, and in light of the technical, medical and scientific knowledge available at the time the product left the control of the supplier, the supplier knew or should have know of the danger that caused the plaintiff’s harm and failed to provide adequate warning or instruction concerning the danger. This legislation also redefines “product liability action”.

An Act to equalize the quarterly payment of excise taxes

Summary: This legislation amends the law governing frontloading of estimated tax payments of corporations and allows corporations to pay a quarterly amount equal to 25% of the required annual payment.

An Act relative to non discrimination training in the workplace

Summary: This legislation would require employers and labor organizations to provide an education and training program regarding illegal workplace discrimination, harassment and retaliation for all employees, including those in supervisory and managerial positions.

An Act to provide incentives for productive workers compensation orders

Summary: This legislation would provide incentives to insurance companies that conducting productive audits in order to clarify any discrepancies between actual premiums and estimated premiums of issued policies to encourage proper disclosure.

An Act relative to substantial equivalency and oversight

Summary: This legislation would allow a certified public accountant whose principal place of business is outside the Commonwealth be considered to have qualifications substantially equivalent to the state’s requirements for the practice of pubic accountancy and shall have all the privileges of a certified public accountant of the commonwealth without the need to obtain a certificate or license under this section or to notify or register with the board or pay any fee if the individual.

An Act capping payment of pensioners for services after retirement

Summary: This legislation would amend Section 32 of Chapter 91B in order to provide a small increase to retirees whose maximum allowable income has seen any cost of living increase.

An Act to extend the net operating loss carry forward provision

Summary: This legislation would extend the net operating loss provision so that losses sustained in any taxable year may be carried forward for not more than twenty years and may not be carried back.

An Act relative to mobile spas

Summary: This legislation would amend law to allow the granting of a one day temporary license to operate a mobile spa business, as long as the licensee requests the Board of Cosmetology in writing.

An Act promoting consumer choice and competition for cable service

Summary: This legislation would reform and streamline the cable service process and give consumers more choices here in the Commonwealth. Also, this bill will further deploy advanced communications infrastructure that will enhance economic opportunities across the Commonwealth.

An Act relative to the alcohol beverages control commission

Summary: This legislation would increases the number of liquor licenses an individual can obtain from three to twenty.

An Act relative to consumer pricing

Summary: This legislation would amend the current individual price marking requirements of Chapter 184, so that they would apply only to grocery items in food stores and food departments.

An Act relative to check cashing fees

Summary: This legislation prohibits any banking institution doing business in the Commonwealth from charging any fee to a consumer for the purposes of cashing or processing a check that has been drawn on said bank.

An Act to limit losses of subcontractors in private construction

Summary: This legislation voids any contract or agreement that a sub-contractor has entered, which requires the subcontractor to continue work even if no payment has been received for more than forty-five days.

An Act to credit card transaction fees on the tax portion of a transaction

Summary: This legislation would eliminate the interchange fee for merchants on the tax portion of a credit card transaction.

An Act requiring schools to adopt a certain health program
Summary: This legislation would require each school district to develop a health program to identify and serve pupils with light-based reading difficulties, best defined as of Dec. 1, 2002 by screening practices and methodologies used to address Irlen Syndrome and/or scotopic sensitivity.

An Act to provide incentives for productive workers compensation orders

Summary: This legislation would punish any employer who knowingly falsifies an application for workers’ compensation coverage for the purpose of reducing an insurance premium and it would require the employer to sign a sworn statement attesting to the accuracy of the information.

An Act authorizing the conversion of banks to another charter

Summary: This legislation would amend Chapter 168, Section 34H of the General Laws to allow a savings bank or a cooperative bank to convert into a credit union.

An Act relative to clear and conspicuous price disclosure

Summary: This legislation would require the retail price of an item offered by a retailer to be disclosed to consumers in a clear and conspicuous manner. This would also allow the retailer to disclose the price using an individual item pricing system or a consumer scanner pricing system.