Source: http://budget.digital.mass.gov/bb/gaa/fy2018/os_18/houtexp.htm
Timestamp: 2018-02-20 19:22:41
Document Index: 754996820

Matched Legal Cases: ['§671', '§ 205', '§671', '§ 205', '§671', '§ 205']

FY2018 Budget - Outside Sections
Home › Outside Sections
Elder LGBT Commission Reporting
SECTION 4. Section 71 of chapter 3 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (e) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(e) The commission shall submit a report on its activities and findings, including any recommendations, to the governor, the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate and the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on elder affairs and shall file at least 1 report by December 31 in the even-numbered years.
SECTION 5. Section 13 of chapter 6C of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following subsection:-
(d) The department shall regularly review fees and fines assessed on electronic toll collection system account holders. Not less than once each month, the department shall contact accounts with more than $100 in outstanding fees and fines assessed on unpaid tolls to update the account holder on the account status and provide guidance as to what actions the account holder may take to remedy the account balance. Efforts to contact account holders shall include comparing address information on file with the national change of address registry, communicating with the account holder by email and communicating with the account holder by phone.
Transportation Employees on Capital
SECTION 6. Section 15 of said chapter 6C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "expenditures", in line 12, the following words:- , unless used as the state match to federal funding for transportation projects; provided, however, that the department shall report annually, on or before February 1, to the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on transportation, on the following: (i) the amount of capital expenditures used as the state match to federally-eligible capital projects; (ii) the total number of department employee salaries included in capital expenditures, including a breakdown by division of the position titles and accompanying salaries; (iii) the total number of employees of the division of highways assigned to capital projects; (iv) a schedule of transportation capital projects where employee salaries are included in capital expenditures; (v) the status of said projects; (vi) any projected cost savings; and (vii) the impact of including department employee salaries in capital expenditures on the ability of the division of highways to plan, design, construct and complete transportation capital projects.
MassDOT/MBTA Cost Recovery 1
SECTION 7. Section 20 of said chapter 6C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 22, the words "$5,000 or less" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- $50,000 or less; provided, however, that the department shall declare the property available for disposition and shall specify the restrictions, if any, placed on the subsequent use of the property.
BSAS Tech Change 1
SECTION 9. Section 66 of said chapter 10, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 25, the word "abuse" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- addiction.
Higher Ed Interstate Reciprocity Agreements
SECTION 10. Section 9 of chapter 15A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the board of higher education shall have the authority to enter into interstate reciprocity agreements that authorize an accredited, degree-granting institution of higher education located in the commonwealth to voluntarily participate in such an agreement and to provide distance education programs to students in other states in accordance with the agreement. The authority granted by this paragraph shall apply only to distance learning programs and shall not affect other approvals of institutions of higher education or programs required by law exemptions for institutions of higher education or programs. This section shall not prohibit an accredited, degree-granting institution of higher education located in the commonwealth that has been authorized to grant degrees by the board of higher education but that does not participate in such an agreement from offering a postsecondary distance education program in another state if the institution is duly authorized to do so by the other state. For purposes of online distance education programs, an accredited, degree-granting institution of higher education chartered, incorporated or organized in another state that is a party to the interstate reciprocity agreement entered into by the board shall be authorized by the board of higher education to conduct courses that lead to the award of a degree in the commonwealth in accordance with section 31A of chapter 69; provided, however, that the institution of higher education is approved to participate in and meets the requirements of the interstate reciprocity agreement. This section shall not affect the authority of the attorney general to enforce statutes or promulgate and enforce regulations that prohibit consumer fraud and unfair or deceptive business practices including, but not limited, those under chapter 93A, and to enforce section 1042 of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010. Before the board of higher education enters into an interstate reciprocity agreement, the department of higher education and the attorney general shall execute a memorandum of understanding necessary to coordinate the enforcement of relevant requirements, statutes and regulations, including those related to consumer fraud and unfair or deceptive business practices.
BSAS Tech Change 2
SECTION 11. Section 18 of chapter 17 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the word "abuse" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- addiction.
BSAS Tech Change 3
SECTION 12. Section 18A of said chapter 17, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 11 and 16, the word "abuse" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following word:- addiction.
SECTION 13. Chapter 19A of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 4C the following section:-
Section 4D. (a) As used in this section, the following terms shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-
"Employee organization", a labor union or other organization, agency or employee representation committee, association, group or plan in which employees participate and which exists in whole or in part for the purpose of dealing with employers concerning matters incidental to employment relationships.
"Home care worker", a person employed by a home care worker agency to provide personal care, homemaker, companion or chore services under the home care program established in section 4.
"Home care worker agency", an entity employing home care workers to provide services under the home care program established in section 4 that is under contract with an aging services access point established pursuant to section 4B.
A home care worker agency shall report the required home care worker registry information for each home care worker it employs on a paid, unpaid, temporary or permanent basis who is not exempt from the reporting requirement. Any exemptions from reporting shall be established in regulations promulgated by the department.
The department shall collect the following reported information concerning each home care worker: (i) the worker's full name; (ii) their assigned unique identification number; (iii) their gender; (iv) their home address; (v) their mailing address; (vi) the full legal name of any home care worker agency employing the home care worker; (vii) the worker's job title; and (viii) a list of home care trainings or certifications completed by the home care worker.
The department shall only make each home care worker's full name, identification number, name of any home care worker agency employing the home care worker and a list of home care trainings or certifications completed by the home care worker available to the public unless such information is exempt from disclosure by the department. Upon request from an employee organization, home care worker agency or aging services access point, the department shall provide all reported information to such entity.
The department shall promulgate rules and regulations and shall provide such forms and notifications as may be necessary to implement this section; provided, however, that the department shall minimize any duplicate reporting that may be required of home care agencies.
MDFA Borrowing Limit
SECTION 14. Section 29 of chapter 23G of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 8 and 9, the words ", $200,000,000 of which shall be for the exclusive use of the Devens project, so-called".
MassDevelopment Bond Capacity 2
SECTION 15. Said section 29 of said chapter 23G, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-
Annually, not later than July 1, the Agency shall report on the allocation of Agency debt obligations for its corporate purposes for each fiscal year. A copy of the allocation report shall be filed with the clerks of the house of representatives and senate.
Employer Contribution to Health Care 1
SECTION 16. Section 8A of chapter 23H of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "system", in line 2, the following words:- , the contribution established under section 189A of chapter 149.
EMAC etc. 1
SECTION 17. Said section 8A of said chapter 23H is hereby further amended by striking out the words ", the contribution established under section 189A of chapter 149" inserted by section 16.
BSAS Tech Change 5
SECTION 18. Section 68 of chapter 23K of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 63, the word "abuse" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- addiction.
Trial Court Energy Conservation 1
SECTION 19. Section 14 of chapter 25A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 1 and 2, and in line 14, the words "or local governmental body" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance, the following words:- , local governmental body or the judiciary.
Trial Court Energy Conservation 2
SECTION 20. Said section 14 of said chapter 25A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 9, the words "or body" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- , body or the judiciary.
SECTION 21. Section 2JJ of chapter 29 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 8, the word "for" the second time it appears, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- and family child care homes or large family child care homes, as defined in section 1A of chapter 15D, for.
MBTA Retirement Fund Authorization
SECTION 23. Section 1 of chapter 32 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after the word "system", in line 572, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, the following words:- and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Retirement Fund shall be deemed to be a system.
Service Credit Reimbursements 1
SECTION 24. Section 3 of said chapter 32 is hereby amended by inserting after the word "unit", in line 915, the first time it appears, as so appearing, the following words:- ; provided, however, that if the commonwealth is the first governmental unit, any payments received shall be credited to the General Fund.
Service Credit Reimbursements 2
SECTION 25. Section 7 of said chapter 32, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "unit", in line 224, the following words:- ; provided, however, that if the commonwealth is the first governmental unit, any payments received shall be credited to the General Fund.
Service Credit Reimbursements 3
SECTION 26. Section 22 of said chapter 32 is hereby amended by inserting after the word "fund", in line 371, as so appearing, the following words:- or to the General Fund as otherwise provided in those sections.
Pension Transfer Schedule
SECTION 27. Subdivision (1) of section 22C of said chapter 32 is hereby amended by striking out the third paragraph, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, appropriations or transfers made to the Commonwealth's Pension Liability Fund in fiscal years 2018 to 2020, inclusive, shall be made in accordance with the following funding schedule: $2,394,497,926 in fiscal year 2018, $2,608,452,563 in fiscal year 2019 and $2,841,524,605 in fiscal year 2020. Notwithstanding any provision of this subdivision to the contrary, any adjustments to these amounts shall be limited to increases in the schedule amounts for each of the specified years.
Continuation of Pension Benefits Election 1
SECTION 28. Section 90G� of said chapter 32 is hereby repealed.
Medal of Liberty Eligibility
SECTION 29. Section 67A of chapter 33 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- If a fallen service member from the commonwealth who qualifies for the medal of liberty has no surviving spouse, children, siblings or parents, such service member's next closest surviving relative including, but not limited to, any nephews or nieces, shall be eligible for the medal of liberty.
Overlay Accounts
SECTION 31. Section 25 of chapter 59 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the second sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The overlay account may be used only for avoiding fractional divisions of the amount to be assessed, for abatements granted on account of property assessed for any fiscal year and for any interest payable on such abatements under section 64 or 69.
Domestic Violence Victims Qualification for EIC
SECTION 32. Section 6 of chapter 62 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (h) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
(h)(1) A taxpayer shall be allowed a credit against the taxes imposed by this chapter if that person qualified for and claimed the earned income credit allowed under section 32 of the Code, as amended and in effect for the taxable year. With respect to a person who is a nonresident for part of the taxable year, the credit shall be limited to 23 per cent of the federal credit multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which shall be the number of days in the taxable year the person resided in the commonwealth and the denominator of which shall be the number of days in the taxable year. A person who is a nonresident for the entire taxable year shall not be allowed the credit. The credit allowed by this subsection shall equal 23 per cent of the federal credit received by the taxpayer for the taxable year. If other credits allowed under this section are utilized by the taxpayer for the taxable year, the credit afforded by this subsection shall be applied last. If the amount of the credit allowed under this subsection exceeds the taxpayer's liability, the commissioner shall treat the excess as an overpayment and shall pay the taxpayer the amount of the excess without interest.
(2) For the purposes of this subsection, a married taxpayer shall satisfy the joint filing requirement under section 32 of the Code if the taxpayer files an income tax return using a filing status of married filing separately and the taxpayer: (i) is living apart from the taxpayer's spouse at the time the taxpayer files the tax return; (ii) is unable to file a joint return because the taxpayer is a victim of domestic abuse; and (iii) indicates on the taxpayer's income tax return that the taxpayer meets the criteria of clauses (i) and (ii).
1099-K Notifications 1
SECTION 34. Section 8 of chapter 62C of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 9 and 10, the words "and state in such report the amount of such income so paid by it" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- ; provided, however, that the commissioner may require additional reporting requirements that differ from those required by the federal government under the Code; and provided further, that the report shall state the amount of income paid by the payor.
Higher Ed Reciprocity 2
SECTION 36. Chapter 69 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 31A, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 31A. An educational institution chartered, located, offering courses or otherwise doing business within the commonwealth shall not award degrees within the commonwealth unless authorized or approved to do so by the commonwealth.
An educational institution chartered, incorporated or organized in another state shall not conduct within the commonwealth courses available to residents of the commonwealth that lead to the award of a degree unless the educational institution has received the authorization of the commonwealth for such courses; provided, however, that authorization may be granted by the board of higher education through the board of higher education's participation in an interstate reciprocity agreement under section 9 of chapter 15A. The board of higher education shall be responsible for the implementation of this section.
SECTION 37. Chapter 75 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 45B the following section:-
Section 45C. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth an Innovation Voucher Program Fund into which shall be credited any appropriations designated by the general court to be credited to the fund and any monies generated for the fund through corporations or nonprofit entities. The fund shall be administered by the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency established in chapter 23G, which shall make expenditures from the fund without further appropriation to provide for an investment through a voucher program to small corporations and startup companies for cost sharing use of core facilities at the University of Massachusetts to be administered by the agency. The agency shall issue regulations to establish guidelines and eligibility criteria for participating companies. Vouchers shall provide the cost of hourly or daily use or per unit rate of the core facilities. The vouchers shall be used to advance the goals of job growth creation, innovation and economic development which may include, but shall not be limited to: the construction of prototypes, testing, and market research. The Agency's regulations shall include eligibility requirements for participating companies; provided, however, that: (i) eligible companies with the full time equivalent of not more than 10 employees may receive a voucher that covers up to 75 per cent of the cost of the rate; (ii) eligible companies with the full time equivalent of 11 to 50 employees may receive a voucher for not more than 50 per cent of the cost of the rate; and (iii) companies with 51 or more employees shall not be eligible for the voucher program. Vouchers shall not exceed more than 75 per cent of the total cost of the hourly or daily use, or per unit rate, of core facilities and shall not exceed $75,000 per year for each individual company. The regulations shall lay out a process by which the University of Massachusetts campuses shall seek quarterly reimbursements from the agency for the vouchers. For the purposes of this section "core facilities" shall be research based hardware and software that are available at a daily or hourly rate or per unit rate for use by partners of the University of Massachusetts.
(b) The Massachusetts Development Finance Agency shall annually file a report with the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on higher education and with the clerks of the house of representatives and senate detailing the vouchers awarded under this section not later than March 1.
SECTION 38. Section 8D of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "chapter", in line 3, the following words:- who has not previously made an anatomical gift through the donor registry under clause (1) of subsection (a) of section 5 of chapter 113A.
SECTION 39. Said section 8D of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the figure "10", in line 20, the following words:- ; provided, that the registrar may include such an option on other forms issued by the registrar, including, but not limited to, forms for electronic monetary transactions, license identification, permit renewals and duplicates, non-commercial registration renewals and duplicate title forms.
Driver School License 1
SECTION 40. Section 32G of said chapter 90 is hereby amended by inserting after the word "person,", in line 1, as so appearing, the following words:- no authority established under chapter 161B.
I am vetoing this section, and related sections 41, 42, and 72, because they unnecessarily open the drivers' education market to quasi-public, government-subsidized entities that would compete with existing small businesses.
Driver School License 2
SECTION 41. Said section 32G of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word "No", in line 171, the following words:- authority established under chapter 161B and no.
I am vetoing this section, and related sections 40, 42, and 72, because they unnecessarily open the drivers' education market to quasi-public, government-subsidized entities that would compete with existing small businesses.
Driver School License 3
SECTION 42. Said section 32G of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further amending by adding the following paragraph:-
An authority established under chapter 161B and licensed pursuant to this section shall be limited to giving instruction for hire in the operation of commercial motor vehicles, as defined in section 1 of chapter 90F.
I am vetoing this section, and related sections 40, 41, and 72, because they unnecessarily open the drivers' education market to quasi-public, government-subsidized entities that would compete with existing small businesses.
SECTION 43. Section 7 of chapter 94C of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following subsection:-
(i) Every person who: (i) is in the business of manufacturing or distributing any controlled substances, and (ii) has a principal place of business located in the commonwealth but at no time takes physical possession of any controlled substances, shall register with the commissioner in accordance with the regulations of the department. The registration shall require the payment of a fee, the amount of which shall be determined annually pursuant to section 3B of chapter 7. The registration shall be effective for 1 year from the date of issuance.
Controlled Substance Pharmacy Practices in Contiguous States
SECTION 44. Subsection (d1/2) of section 18 of said chapter 94C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-
BSAS Tech Change 6
SECTION 45. Section 21 of said chapter 94C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 24, the word "abuse" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- addiction.
BSAS Tech Change 7
SECTION 47. Section 222 of said chapter 111 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 27, the word "abuse" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- addiction.
Public Health Data 1
SECTION 48. Said chapter 111 is hereby further amended by adding the following section:-
Section 237. The commissioner shall collect, record and analyze data, and shall assemble and maintain data systems, necessary to analyze population health trends. The commissioner shall give priority to analyzing fatal and nonfatal opiate overdoses. The commissioner may identify and determine additional priorities for the reduction of morbidity and mortality.
Notwithstanding section 74 of chapter 6, sections 16 to 16Y, inclusive, of chapter 6A, chapter 12C, chapter 19A, chapter 46, chapter 94C, chapters 111 to 111O, inclusive, chapter 112, chapter 118E, chapter 119, chapter 120, chapter 123, and chapter 123B, the center for health information analysis and any office or agency within the executive branch shall provide, upon request from the commissioner, information necessary to conduct the analysis required by this section if the provision of such information is otherwise consistent with federal and state law. The commissioner may request from any office or agency within the judicial branch, and any such office or agency may provide, information necessary to conduct this analysis required by this section if the provision of such information is otherwise consistent with federal and state law.
The commissioner shall develop policies and procedures for the governance of such data and data systems, which shall include provisions for confidentiality and security. Information or data provided or accessed under this section shall be confidential, shall not be used to identify any individual and shall be used solely for the conduct of analysis pursuant to this section. Such information or data shall not be considered a public record, shall be exempt from disclosure under section 10 of chapter 66 and shall not be subject to subpoena or discovery or admissible as evidence in any action of any kind in any court or before any other tribunal, board, agency or person. All resulting reports shall provide data in an aggregate and de-identified format.
The commissioner shall, not less than biennially, prepare and submit a report on priority public health trends. The report shall be publicly available and shall be filed with clerks of the senate and the house of representatives, the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on mental health, substance use and recovery, the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on public health and the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on health care financing.
The commissioner may promulgate regulations to implement this section.
BSAS Tech Change 8
SECTION 49. Section 12E1/2 of chapter 112 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 2, the word "abuse" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- addiction.
Veterans' Tax Credit 3
SECTION 50. Chapter 115 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 2B the following section:-
Section 2C. The commissioner shall develop a comprehensive program to enhance employment opportunities and outcomes among veterans by assisting businesses to attract, hire, train and retain veterans. The program shall promote strategies for connecting employers to qualified veterans and shall include: (i) a workforce assessment and training program for participating employers; and (ii) a certification and assessment process for participating employers to set measurable goals for hiring, training and retaining veterans. The commissioner shall engage with interested stakeholders and organizations that provide services to veterans in the development of the program.
Gold Star Families 1
SECTION 51. The third paragraph of section 6B of said chapter 115, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following 2 sentences:- Such payments shall be due and payable from the date of the parents' and surviving spouse's application; provided, however, that the first payment shall be retroactive to the applicant's initial date of eligibility if the deceased member or the parent or spouse making application was a resident of the commonwealth at the time of death and the parent or spouse making application is a resident of the commonwealth at the time of application. For the purposes of calculating any retroactive payment of benefits under this section, the initial date of eligibility shall be the later of: (i) the date of death of the member of the armed forces of the United States; or (ii) July 1, 1998, in the case of parents and November 11, 2005, in the case of a spouse.
Hospital Assessment 2
SECTION 52. Section 64 of chapter 118E of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of "Ambulatory surgical center services" the following definition:-
"Assessed charges", gross patient service revenue attributable to all patients less gross patient service revenue attributable to Title XVIII, XIX and XXI programs.
Hospital Assessment 3
SECTION 53. Subsection (b) of section 66 of said chapter 118E, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first 3 sentences and inserting in place thereof the following 3 sentences:- The fund shall consist of: (i) all amounts paid by acute hospitals and surcharge payors under sections 67 and 68; (ii) all appropriations for the purpose of payments to acute hospitals or community health centers for health services provided to uninsured and underinsured residents; (iii) any transfers from the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund established in section 2OOO of chapter 29; (iv) all amounts paid by privately-owned, nonfederal hospitals under subsection (b) of section 67; and (v) all property and securities acquired by and through the use of money belonging to the fund and all interest thereon. The office shall transfer $257,500,000 to the MassHealth Delivery System Reform Trust Fund established in section 2SSSS of said chapter 29 and shall transfer an amount equal to all amounts paid by privately-owned, nonfederal hospitals under said subsection (b) of said section 67 to the Non-Acute Care Hospital Reimbursement Trust Fund established in section 2WWWW of said chapter 29. The office shall expend amounts in the fund, except for amounts transferred to the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund, the MassHealth Delivery System Reform Trust Fund and the Non-Acute Care Hospital Reimbursement Trust Fund, for payments to hospitals and community health centers for reimbursable health services provided to uninsured and underinsured residents, consistent with the requirements of this section, section 69 and the regulations adopted by the office.
Hospital Assessment 4
SECTION 54. Said subsection (b) of said section 66 of said chapter 118E is hereby further amended by striking out the second sentence, as inserted by section 53, and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The office shall transfer an amount equal to all amounts paid by privately-owned, nonfederal hospitals under subsection (b) of section 67 to the Non-Acute Care Hospital Reimbursement Trust Fund established in section 2WWWW of said chapter 29.
Hospital Assessment 5
SECTION 55. Said chapter 118E is hereby further amended by striking out section 67, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
Section 67. (a) An acute hospital's liability to the fund shall equal the product of: (i) the ratio of its assessed charges to all acute hospitals' assessed charges; and (ii) the total acute hospital assessment amount. Annually, before October 1, the office shall establish each acute hospital's liability to the fund using the best data available as determined by the health safety net office and shall update each acute hospital's liability to the fund as updated information becomes available. The office shall specify by regulation an appropriate mechanism for interim determination and payment of an acute hospital's liability to the fund. An acute hospital's liability to the fund shall, in the case of a transfer of ownership, be assumed by the successor in interest to the acute hospital.
(b) There shall be imposed in each fiscal year a uniform assessment upon the assessed charges of all: (i) nonpublic hospitals licensed by the department of public health under section 51 of chapter 111 but not defined as acute care hospitals under section 25B of said chapter 111; and (ii) nonpublic hospitals licensed as inpatient facilities by the department of mental health under section 19 of chapter 19 and regulations promulgated thereunder but not categorized as class VII licensees under the regulations; provided, however, that such uniform assessment shall be set as a percentage of the assessed charges of each such hospital and, for each fiscal year, the percentage shall be equal to the ratio of: (1) the total acute hospital assessment amount as defined in section 64 for the same fiscal year; to (2) the total assessed charges as defined in said section 64 of acute care hospitals in the same fiscal year and as the amount of those charges is determined by the health safety net office under this section . A non-acute hospital's liability to the fund shall, in the case of a transfer of ownership, be assumed by the successor in interest to the non-acute hospital.
(c) The office shall establish by regulation an appropriate mechanism for enforcing each hospital's liability to the fund in the event that a hospital does not make a scheduled payment to the fund.
MASAC Transfer 1
SECTION 56. Section 35 of chapter 123 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "Bridgewater", in line 76, the following words:- or other such facility as designated by the commissioner of correction.
MASAC Transfer 2
SECTION 57. Said section 35 of said chapter 123 is hereby further amended by striking out the fifth paragraph, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following 2 paragraphs:-
Annually, not later than February 1, the commissioner shall report on whether a facility other than the Massachusetts correctional institution at Bridgewater is being used for treatment of males under the previous paragraph and the number of persons so committed to such a facility in the previous year. The report shall be provided to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the chairs of the joint committee on public safety and homeland security and the chairs of the joint committee on the judiciary.
Nothing in this section shall preclude a facility, including the Massachusetts correctional institution at Bridgewater or such other facility as may be designated by the commissioner of correction, from treating persons on a voluntary basis.
Manufacturer Pouring Licenses 1
SECTION 58. Section 19 of chapter 138 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 1, the word "The" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- (a) The.
Manufacturer Pouring Licenses 2
SECTION 59. Said section 19 of said chapter 138, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding the following subsection:-
(b) Notwithstanding section 17, a local licensing authority, subject to the approval of the commission, may grant a license to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on a manufacturer's premises to a manufacturer authorized to manufacture alcoholic beverages pursuant to this section; provided, however, that such a licensee may sell alcoholic beverages produced by the manufacturer for on-premises consumption.
EMAC etc. 2
SECTION 60. Section 189 of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 8, the figure ".34" and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- .51.
EMAC etc. 3
SECTION 61. Said section 189 of said chapter 149 is hereby further amended by striking out the figure ".51", inserted by section 60, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- .34.
EMAC etc. 4
SECTION 62. Said section 189 of said chapter 149, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 50, the figure ".12" and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- .18.
EMAC etc. 5
SECTION 63. Said section 189 of said chapter 149 is hereby further amended by striking out the figure ".18", inserted by section 62, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- .12.
EMAC etc. 6
SECTION 64. Said section 189 of said chapter 149, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 54, the figure ".24" and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- .36.
EMAC etc. 7
SECTION 65. Said section 189 of said chapter 149 is hereby further amended by striking out the figure ".36", inserted by section 64, and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- .24.
EMAC etc. 9
SECTION 67. Section 189A of said chapter 149 is hereby repealed.
Minimum Wage Exemption 1
SECTION 68. Section 2 of chapter 151 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the word "or", in line 31, and inserting in place thereof the following words:- work by seasonal camp counselors and counselor trainees or.
Minimum Wage Exemption 2
SECTION 69. Section 7 of said chapter 151, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 22 to 24, inclusive, the words "learners and apprentices, except for seasonal camp counselors and counselor trainees, and except for ushers" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- learners, apprentices and ushers.
MassDOT/MBTA Cost Recovery 2
SECTION 70. Section 5 of chapter 161A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "estate", in line 15, the following words:- that is determined by the authority to have a fair market value of equal to or greater than $50,000.
MBTA Competitive Bidding 2
SECTION 71. Subsection (b) of said section 5 of said chapter 161A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- If the authority determines that it shall sell or otherwise dispose of real property with a fair market value of less than $50,000, the authority shall declare the property available for disposition and shall specify the restrictions, if any, placed on the subsequent use of the property.
Driver School License 4
SECTION 72. Section 6 of chapter 161B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following clause:-
(r) to apply for and receive a license to engage in the business of giving instruction for hire in the operation of commercial motor vehicles under section 32G of chapter 90 designed to promote participation from low income, underemployed and unemployed persons.
I am vetoing this section, and related sections 40, 41, and 42, because they unnecessarily open the drivers' education market to quasi-public, government-subsidized entities that would compete with existing small businesses.
Utility-Owned Solar Generation
SECTION 73. Section 1A of chapter 164 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 211, the figure "2017" and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 2019.
MLP Contract Procurement Thresholds 1
SECTION 74. Section 56D of said chapter 164, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 3, the figure "$25,000" and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $50,000.
MLP Contract Procurement Thresholds 2
SECTION 75. Said section 56D of said chapter 164, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 5, the figure "$25,000" and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $50,000.
SECTION 76. Chapter 175 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 113B the following section:-
Section 113B1/2. For an at-fault accident claim, a minor accident shall be an accident for which the claim payment, exclusive of any deductible, exceeds $1,000 but is not more than $5,000 under: (i) property damage liability coverage; (ii) collision coverage; (iii) limited collision coverage; (iv) for accidents occurring on or after January 1, 2006, bodily injury liability coverage if there is neither a surchargeable property damage liability coverage claim nor a surchargeable collision coverage claim; or (v) as a result of an accident with a bodily injury liability coverage claim. For an at-fault accident claim, a major accident shall be an accident for which the claim payment, exclusive of any deductible, exceeds $5,000 under: (A) property damage liability coverage; (B) collision coverage; (C) limited collision coverage; (D) for accidents occurring on or after January 1, 2006, bodily injury liability coverage if there is neither a surchargeable property damage liability coverage claim nor a surchargeable collision coverage claim; or (E) as a result of an accident with a bodily injury liability coverage claim. No motor vehicle liability policy, as defined by section 34A of chapter 90, shall apply an increase in premium as a result of an at-fault accident that does not satisfy the criteria for a minor or major accident. For purposes of this section, "premium" shall mean the cost of a policy, or coverage within a policy, to an individual policyholder based on the particular drivers and motor vehicles insured under the policy.
SECTION 77. Subsection (d) of section 4 of chapter 175E of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- For motor vehicle insurance rates, no increase in premium charges shall be applied due to an at-fault accident that does not satisfy the criteria for a minor or major accident as defined by section 113B1/2 of chapter 175.
Housing Court Expansion 1
SECTION 78. Section 1 of chapter 185C of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The housing court department established pursuant to section 1 of chapter 211B shall include: (i) a western division consisting of the municipalities in Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties; (ii) a central division consisting of the municipalities in Worcester county and the municipalities of Ashland, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson, Marlborough, Natick, Sherborn, Sudbury and Wayland; (iii) a northeastern division consisting of the municipalities in Essex county and the municipalities of Acton, Ashby, Ayer, Bedford, Billerica, Boxborough, Burlington, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Dracut, Dunstable, Everett, Groton, Lexington, Lincoln, Littleton, Lowell, Malden, Maynard, Melrose, North Reading, Pepperell, Reading, Shirley, Stoneham, Stow, Tewksbury, Townsend, Tyngsborough, Wakefield, Waltham, Watertown, Westford, Weston, Wilmington, Winchester and Woburn and the jurisdiction known as Devens established in chapter 498 of the acts of 1993; (iv) a southeastern division consisting of the municipalities in Barnstable, Bristol and Nantucket counties and the county of Dukes County and the municipalities of Carver, Duxbury, Halifax, Hanover, Hanson, Hingham, Hull, Kingston, Lakeville, Marion, Marshfield, Mattapoisett, Middleborough, Norwell, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Rochester, Rockland, Scituate and Wareham; (v) a metro south division consisting of the municipalities in Norfolk county, except Brookline, and the municipalities of Abington, Bridgewater, Brockton, East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater and Whitman; and (vi) an eastern division consisting of the municipalities in Suffolk county and the municipalities of Arlington, Belmont, Brookline, Cambridge, Medford, Newton and Somerville.
Housing Court Expansion 3
SECTION 80. Section 8 of said chapter 185C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- There shall be 2 justices appointed for the western division, 2 justices appointed for the eastern division, 2 justices appointed for the central division, 2 justices appointed for the northeastern division, 2 justices appointed for the southeastern division, 2 justices appointed for the metro south division and 3 circuit justices who shall sit in any of the divisions as determined by the chief justice of the housing court department.
Housing Court Expansion 4
SECTION 81. Section 1 of chapter 211B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 7, the figure "378" and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 383.
Housing Court Expansion 5
SECTION 82. Section 2 of said chapter 211B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 2, the figure "10" and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 15.
BSAS Tech Change 9
SECTION 83. Section 16 of said chapter 211B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 24, the word "abuse" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- addiction.
BSAS Tech Change 10
SECTION 84. Section 4 of chapter 211D of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 12, the word "abuse" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- addiction.
SECTION 87. Item 7066-8000 of section 2 of chapter 258 of the acts of 2008, as amended by section 5 of chapter 237 of the acts of 2014, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 68, the word "at" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- in the city of Framingham for.
Essex Aggie Reverter
SECTION 88. The second sentence of subsection (c) of section 22 of chapter 237 of the acts of 2014, as amended by section 126 of chapter 219 of the acts of 2016, is hereby further amended by adding the following words:- ; provided, however, that any future lease or other agreement shall be subject to chapter 7C of the General Laws.
Taskforce Against Child Sexual Abuse
SECTION 89. The last sentence of the last paragraph of chapter 431 of the acts of 2014, as appearing in section 35 of chapter 119 of the acts of 2015, is hereby further amended by striking out the words "June 30, 2017" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- December 31, 2018.
Hospital Assessment 6
SECTION 90. Sections 8A and 14 of chapter 115 of the acts of 2016 are hereby repealed.
Homeless Student Transportation Commission 1
SECTION 91. Subsection (a) of section 190 of chapter 133 of the acts of 2016 is hereby amended by adding the following sentence: - The commission shall be chaired by the secretary of education or a designee.
Homeless Student Transportation Commission 2
SECTION 92. Subsection (c) of said section 190 of said chapter 133 is hereby amended by striking out the words "July 1, 2017" and inserting in place thereof the following words: - "December 31, 2018".
EMAC etc. 10
SECTION 93. Notwithstanding section 14 of chapter 151A of the General Laws, for calendar year 2018 the experience rate of an employer qualifying under subsection (b) of said section 14 of said chapter 151A shall be the rate which appears in the column designated "D" of paragraph (1) of subsection (i) of said section 14 of said chapter 151A and for calendar year 2019 the experience rate of an employer qualifying under said subsection (b) of said section 14 of said chapter 151A shall be the rate which appears in the column designated "E" of said paragraph (1) of said subsection (i) of said section 14 of said chapter 151A.
Sales Tax Modernization: Timing Change 2
SECTION 95. Notwithstanding section 94, if the commissioner of revenue certifies that the method under said section 94 is not cost-effective to implement before June 1, 2018, the department of revenue shall record as revenue in fiscal year 2018 sales tax revenue collected by vendors and operators required to file a return under section 16 of chapter 62C on account of June 2018 sales but remitted to and received by the department in July 2018, in the amount that otherwise would have been collected in fiscal year 2018 under said section 94. Notwithstanding any general or special law, rule, regulation or accounts receivable policy to the contrary, the comptroller shall record in fiscal year 2018 such revenue in the state accounting system and in the statutory basis financial report required by section 12 of chapter 7A of the General Laws. If the commissioner so certifies, no further action shall be taken to implement the method under section 94. The commissioner shall submit its determination under this section to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on revenue and the chairs of the senate and house committees on ways and means not later than November 1, 2017.
SECTION 96. Notwithstanding clause (xiii) of the third paragraph of section 9A of chapter 211B of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the court administrator may, from the effective date of this act to April 30, 2018, inclusive, transfer funds from any item of appropriation within the trial court of the commonwealth; provided, however, that the court administrator shall not transfer more than 5 per cent of funds from items 0339-1001 and 0339-1003 to any other item of appropriation within the trial court. The transfers shall be made in accordance with schedules submitted to the house and senate committees on ways and means. The schedules shall include: (i) the amount of money transferred from any item of appropriation to any other item of appropriation; (ii) the reason for the necessity of the transfer; and (iii) the date on which the transfer shall be completed. A transfer under this section shall not occur until 10 days after the revised funding schedules have been submitted in writing to the house and senate committees on ways and means.
SECTION 97. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the unexpended balances in items 0699-0015 and 0699-9100 shall be deposited into the State Retiree Benefits Trust Fund established pursuant to section 24 of chapter 32A of the General Laws before the certification of the fiscal year 2018 consolidated net surplus pursuant to section 5C of chapter 29 of the General Laws. The amount deposited shall be an amount equal to 10 per cent of all payments received by the commonwealth in fiscal year 2018 under the master settlement agreement in Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Philip Morris, Inc. et al., Middlesex Superior Court, No. 95-7378; provided, however, that if in fiscal year 2018 the unexpended balances of said items 0699-0015 and 0699-9100 are less than 10 per cent of all payments received by the commonwealth in fiscal year 2018 under the master settlement agreement payments, an amount equal to the difference shall be transferred to the State Retiree Benefits Trust Fund from payments received by the commonwealth under the master settlement agreement.
(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the payment percentage set forth in section 152 of chapter 68 of the acts of 2011 shall not apply in fiscal year 2018.
Health Safety Net Administration
SECTION 99. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, payments from the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of chapter 118E of the General Laws may be made either as safety net care payments under the commonwealth's waiver pursuant to section 1115 of the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C 1315, or as an adjustment to service rate payments pursuant to Title XIX of the Social Security Act or a combination of both. Other federally permissible funding mechanisms available for certain public service hospitals, as defined by regulations of the executive office of health and human services, may be used to reimburse up to $20,000,000 of uncompensated care pursuant to sections 66 and 69 of said chapter 118E using sources distinct from the funding made available to the Health Safety Net Trust Fund.
SECTION 100. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the nursing home assessment established in subsection (b) of section 63 of chapter 118E of the General Laws shall be sufficient in the aggregate to generate in fiscal year 2018 the lesser of $240,000,000 or an amount equal to 6 per cent of the revenues received by the taxpayer as defined in 42 C.F.R. 433.68(f)(3)(i)(A).
SECTION 101. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, nursing facility and resident care facility rates effective October 1, 2017, pursuant to section 13D of chapter 118E of the General Laws, may be developed using the costs of calendar year 2007 or any subsequent year as determined by the secretary of health and human services.
SECTION 102. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for fiscal year 2018, the executive office of health and human services may determine, subject to all required federal approvals, the extent to which to include within its covered services for adults the federally-optional dental services that were included in its state plan or demonstration program in effect on January 1, 2002; provided, however, that dental services for adults enrolled in MassHealth shall be covered at least to the extent they were covered as of January 1, 2017; and provided further, that notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, at least 45 days before restructuring any MassHealth dental benefits, the executive office of health and human services shall file a report with the executive office for administration and finance and the house and senate committees on ways and means detailing the proposed changes and the anticipated fiscal impact of the changes.
SECTION 103. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, in hospital fiscal year 2018, the office of inspector general may expend a total of $1,000,000 from the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of chapter 118E of the General Laws for costs associated with maintaining a health safety net audit unit within the office. The unit shall continue to oversee and examine the practices in hospitals including, but not limited to, the care of the uninsured and the resulting free charges. The unit shall also study and review the Medicaid program under said chapter 118E including, but not limited to, a review of the program's eligibility requirements, utilization, claims administration and compliance with federal mandates. The inspector general shall submit a report to the chairs of the senate and house committees on ways and means on the results of the audits and any other completed analyses not later than March 1, 2018.
Community Hospital Reinvestment Expenditures
SECTION 104. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, up to $17,000,000 may be expended from the Community Hospital Reinvestment Trust Fund established in section 2TTTT of chapter 29 of the General Laws to enhance the ability of eligible hospitals to improve or continue health care services that benefit the uninsured, underinsured, or MassHealth populations; provided however, that the executive office of health and human services shall maximize federal reimbursements for state expenditures made to these providers; provided further, that such expenditures may include up to $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2017.
SECTION 105. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the executive office of administration and finance may transfer up to $15,000,000 from the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund established in section 2OOO of chapter 29 of the General Laws to the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of chapter 118E of the General Laws.
SECTION 106. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the comptroller shall transfer up to $185,000,000 from the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund established in section 2OOO of chapter 29 of the General Laws to the General Fund if the secretary of administration and finance requests such transfer in writing.
FY 2017 Consolidated Net Surplus
SECTION 107. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, before transferring the consolidated net surplus in the budgetary funds to the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund pursuant to section 5C of chapter 29 of the General Laws, the comptroller shall dispose of the consolidated net surplus in the budgetary funds for fiscal year 2017 as follows: (i) transfer 1/2 of the surplus, not to exceed $10,000,000, to the Massachusetts Community Preservation Trust Fund established in section 9 of chapter 44B of the General Laws; and (ii) transfer 1/2 of the surplus, not to exceed $10,000,000, to the Massachusetts Life Sciences Investment Fund established in section 6 of chapter 23I of the General Laws.
Unexpended Trust Fund expenditures
SECTION 108. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, upon receiving a written request from the secretary of administration and finance, the comptroller shall transfer $20,000,000 to the General Fund from the unexpended balances of a fund, trust fund or other separate account, in existence on April 1, 2018, whether established administratively or by law, including a separate account established under section 6 of chapter 6A of the General Laws. The request shall certify that the secretary, in consultation with the comptroller, has determined this balance not to be necessary for the purposes for which it was made available. The secretary and comptroller shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means 45 days prior to any such transfer; provided, however, that the comptroller may submit to the house and senate committees on ways and means not later than October 1, 2017, an alternative plan to further maximize revenue generation from additional trust fund balance transfers to the General Fund.
Fiscal Year 2018 Capital Gains
SECTION 109. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the threshold above which the comptroller shall make any transfers attributable to capital gains tax collections pursuant to section 5G of chapter 29 of the General Laws shall be $1,219,790,736 during fiscal year 2018.
EMAC etc. 11
SECTION 110. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the comptroller shall count as revenue in fiscal year 2018 any increased contributions collected pursuant to sections 60, 62, 64, and 66 that are received by the commonwealth not later than August 31, 2018.
EMAC etc. 12
SECTION 111. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the comptroller shall count as revenue in fiscal year 2019 any increased contributions collected pursuant to sections 60, 62, 64, and 66, that are received by the commonwealth between September 1, 2018 and August 31, 2019.
Contaminated Shellfish Transplant
SECTION 112. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the division of marine fisheries shall determine a fee per bag for contaminated shellfish to be paid to a city or town whose coastal waters contain shellfish, as defined in section 1 of chapter 130 of the General Laws, that have been: (i) removed or taken from areas declared be contaminated by the division pursuant to section 74 of said chapter 130; and (ii) transplanted to a receiving city or town for cleaning and purification in clean water. The fee, as determined by the division, shall be assessed on a city or town receiving transplanted contaminated shellfish for cleaning and purification on a per bag basis. The city or town receiving transplanted contaminated shellfish shall pay the fee, as assessed and determined by the division under this section, to a city or town whose coastal waters contained the contaminated shellfish that were removed and transplanted to a receiving city or town.
RGGI Auction Trust Expenditures
SECTION 114. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the department of energy resources shall expend not more than $3,000,000 from the RGGI Auction Trust Fund established in section 35II of chapter 10 of the General Laws for reimbursements to municipalities in which the property tax receipts from an electric generating station, including payments in lieu of taxes and other compensation specified in an agreement between a municipality and an affected property owner, are reduced due to a reduction in capacity factor, occurring after July 1, 2012 at a dual coal and oil-fired facility, of not less than 50 per cent from the average capacity factor of the previous 10 years; provided, however, that such action shall also reduce the commonwealth's greenhouse gas emissions from the electric generator sector under the goals established pursuant to chapter 21N of the General Laws; provided further, that the reimbursement amount shall be determined by calculating the difference between: (i) the amount of the tax receipts, including payments in lieu of taxes or other compensation, paid by the electric generating station in the current tax year; and (ii) the amount of the tax receipts, including payments in lieu of taxes or other compensation, paid by the electric generating station in the tax year prior to the full or partial decommissioning or other change in operating status of the facility; provided further, that a reimbursement shall not be made if, in a tax year, the aggregate amount paid to a municipality by the owner of an electric generating station including, but not limited to, payments in lieu of taxes and other compensation exceeds the aggregate amount paid to that municipality by that owner in the year prior to the full or partial decommissioning or other change in operating status of the electric generating station; provided further, that not later than December 31, 2017, a municipality in which the property tax receipts from an electric generating station are reduced due to a reduction in capacity factor shall submit a report to the senate and house committees on ways and means and the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on telecommunications, utilities and energy detailing: (i) the need for these reimbursements and the impact on the municipality of receiving them; and (ii) a plan demonstrating how the municipality may reasonably address the fiscal impact of not receiving reimbursements in the future; and provided further, that a payment shall not be made to a municipality that has failed to comply, by the date specified, with clauses (i) and (ii). Payments from the RGGI Auction Trust Fund shall be prioritized so that the first payments from the fund shall be made to municipalities under this section.
Connector Premium Sharing Feasibility Study
SECTION 115. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the commonwealth health insurance connector authority, in consultation with the office of Medicaid, shall provide a report on the feasibility of establishing a small employer premium sharing plan for the coverage of nondisabled, nonelderly adult individuals with an income of not more than 138 percent of the federal poverty level, and their dependents, if any, eligible for participation in the MassHealth program. The commonwealth health insurance connector authority shall investigate: (i) a method for establishing a shared premium plan for small employers to assist in the costs of coverage for employees covered through the MassHealth program; (ii) any required federal approval and process, if applicable; (iii) employer interest in offering or participating in a premium sharing plan; (iv) opportunities to expand the plan to individuals eligible for coverage through the commonwealth health insurance connector authority; and (v) opportunities to expand the plan to other employers. The commonwealth health insurance connector authority shall file its report with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on health care financing and the chairs of the house and senate committees on ways and means not later than October 1, 2018.
Gaming Beverage License
SECTION 116. Notwithstanding any general or special law or regulation to the contrary, in issuing a gaming beverage license pursuant to section 26 of chapter 23K of the General Laws, the Massachusetts gaming commission shall describe the scope of the particular license and any restrictions and limitations, provided, however, that a gaming beverage license may permit the sale or distribution of alcoholic beverages beyond the hour of 2 a.m. only to patrons who are actively engaged in gambling as defined in section 2 of said chapter 23K; and provided, further, that a gaming beverage license shall not permit the sale or distribution of alcoholic beverages between the hours of 4 a.m. and 8 a.m.
SECTION 117. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the amounts transferred pursuant to subdivision (1) of section 22C of chapter 32 of the General Laws shall be made available for the Commonwealth's Pension Liability Fund established in section 22 of said chapter 32. The amounts transferred pursuant to said subdivision (1) of said section 22C of said chapter 32 shall meet the commonwealth's obligations pursuant to said section 22C of said chapter 32, including retirement benefits payable by the state employees' retirement system and the state teachers' retirement system, for the costs associated with a 3 per cent cost-of-living adjustment pursuant to section 102 of said chapter 32, for the reimbursement of local retirement systems for previously authorized cost-of-living adjustments pursuant to said section 102 of said chapter 32 and for the costs of increased survivor benefits pursuant to chapter 389 of the acts of 1984. The state board of retirement and each city, town, county and district shall verify these costs, subject to rules that shall be adopted by the state treasurer. The state treasurer may make payments upon a transfer of funds to reimburse certain cities and towns for pensions of retired teachers, including any other obligation that the commonwealth has assumed on behalf of a retirement system other than the state employees' retirement system or state teachers' retirement system, including the commonwealth's share of the amounts to be transferred pursuant to section 22B of said chapter 32. The payments under this section shall be made only pursuant to distribution of money from the Commonwealth's Pension Liability Fund and any distribution, and the payments for which distributions are required, shall be detailed in a written report filed quarterly by the secretary of administration and finance with the chairs of the senate and house committees on ways and means and the chairs of the joint committee on public service in advance of the distribution. Distributions shall not be made in advance of the date on which a payment is actually to be made. If the amount transferred pursuant to said subdivision (1) of said section 22C of said chapter 32 exceeds the amount necessary to adequately fund the annual pension obligations, the excess amount shall be credited to the Pension Reserves Investment Trust Fund established in subdivision (8) of said section 22 of said chapter 32 to reduce the unfunded pension liability of the commonwealth.
EEC Surplus and Rates
SECTION 118. Unexpended funds appropriated for item 3000-4060 in fiscal year 2017 shall not revert but shall be transferred to items 3000-1042 , 3000-3060 and 3000-4060 in fiscal year 2018 to: (i) institute 12-month eligibility authorization, (ii) increase infant and toddler rates in family child care and center-based programs to not less than 50 per cent of the statewide average for such programs, (iii) provide a rate increase of not less than 6 per cent for center-based subsidized early education and care providers, and (iv) maintain income eligible voucher access; provided, that if the fiscal year 2017 surplus is insufficient to fully implement clauses (i) through (iv), inclusive, of this section, the department of early education and care shall prorate available funds to implement said clauses; provided however, that the commissioner of early education and care shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means on the transfer and use of such unexpended funds; provided further, that the department of early education and care shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means, not later than February 1, 2018, on any anticipated surpluses in said items 3000-3060 and 3000-4060.
Special Needs Programs Out-of-District Tuition
SECTION 119. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the bureau of purchased services in the operational services division shall determine prices for programs under chapter 71B of the General Laws in fiscal year 2018 by increasing the final fiscal year 2017 price by the rate of inflation as determined by the division. The division shall adjust prices for extraordinary relief pursuant to 808 CMR 1.06(4). The division shall accept applications for program reconstruction and special circumstances in fiscal year 2018. The division shall authorize the annual price for out-of-state purchasers requested by a program, not to exceed a maximum price determined by the bureau, by identifying the most recent price calculated for the program and applying the estimated rate of inflation for each year, as determined by the bureau under section 22N of chapter 7 of the General Laws, in which the rate of inflation is frozen beginning with fiscal year 2004, in a compounded manner for each fiscal year.
Gold Star Families 2
SECTION 120. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, parents who became eligible for an annuity under section 6B of chapter 115 of the General Laws on or after July 1, 1998 and surviving spouses who became eligible for an annuity under said section 6B of said chapter 115 on or after November 11, 2005 and who currently receive payments under said section 6B of said chapter 115 shall be eligible for a retroactive benefit payment if the initial application filed under said section 6B of said chapter 115 was filed more than 1 year after the date of death of the member of the armed forces of the United States. The retroactive payment shall equal $2,000 for each year between the date of the initial application filed under said section 6B of said chapter 115 and the later of either: (i) the date of death of the member of the armed forces of the United States; or (ii) July 1, 1998 in the case of parents and November 11, 2005 in the case of a spouse. In order to be eligible for the retroactive payment of benefits under this section, the member of the armed forces of the United States or the parent or spouse seeking retroactive payment shall have been a resident of the commonwealth at the time of death of the member and the parent or spouse seeking retroactive payment shall be a resident of the commonwealth at the time of application for retroactive payment.
SECTION 121. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the comptroller, without further appropriation and not later than October 1, 2017, shall transfer from the General Fund to the Health Safety Net Trust Fund established in section 66 of chapter 118E of the General Laws the greater of $45,000,000 or 1/12 of the total expenditures to hospitals and community health centers required pursuant to this act to make initial gross payments to qualifying acute care hospitals for the hospital fiscal year beginning October 1, 2017. The payments shall be made to hospitals before, and in anticipation of, the payment by hospitals of their gross liability to the Health Safety Net Trust Fund. The comptroller shall transfer from the Health Safety Net Trust Fund to the General Fund, not later than June 30, 2018, the amount of the transfer authorized by this section and any allocation of that amount as certified by the director of the health safety net office.
EMAC etc. 13
SECTION 122. Notwithstanding the repeal of section 189A of chapter 149 of the General Laws, the director of unemployment assistance may collect any outstanding contributions established pursuant to said section 189A of said chapter 149 obligations arising prior to January 1, 2020 and any such collection shall be conducted in accordance with the regulations promulgated by the department of unemployment assistance pursuant to said section 189A of said chapter 149. The director of unemployment assistance may share information with the commissioner of revenue to enforce and collect outstanding contributions. The commissioner of revenue may enforce and collect a debt certified by the director as owed under this section in the manner of a tax due and unpaid under chapter 62C of the General Laws; provided, however, that the remedies authorized by the regulations of the department of unemployment assistance shall be the sole remedies for an employer to dispute a debt so certified, and remedies otherwise available under said chapter 62C to dispute a tax assessment shall not be available. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, for the purposes of enforcement of this section the commissioner of revenue may disclose to the department of unemployment assistance any information referred to in chapter 62E of the General Laws or any information relating to the commissioner's collection activities under said chapter 62C with regard to debts certified by the director.
MDFA Reporting
SECTION 123. The Massachusetts Development Finance Agency established in chapter 23G of the General Laws shall file the allocation of Agency debt obligations for its corporate purposes required pursuant to section 29 of said chapter 23G of the General Laws for fiscal year 2018 with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives not later than September 15, 2017 and annually thereafter, not later than July 1, pursuant to said section 29 of said chapter 23G of the General Laws.
Innovation Voucher Program Reporting
SECTION 124. The Massachusetts Development Finance Agency established by chapter 23G of the General Laws shall promulgate regulations for the voucher program for core facilities established pursuant to section 45C of chapter 75 of the General Laws on or before October 1, 2017.
1099-K Notifications 2
SECTION 125. The commissioner of revenue shall issue a report on the use of its authority to add reporting requirements pursuant to section 8 of chapter 62C of the General Laws. The report shall detail and provide an explanation for any changes made to the reporting requirements that differ from those required by the federal government and shall state the financial impact to the commonwealth of such additional reporting requirements. The report shall be filed with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the chairs of the joint committee on revenue and the chairs of the senate and house committees on ways and means not later than March 15, 2018.
Minimum Education Hours Study
SECTION 126. The executive office of education established by section 2 of chapter 6A of the General Laws shall study the feasibility of allowing school committees to maintain a minimum number of instructional hours substituted for the minimum number of days as required by the board of education. As part of the study, the executive office of education shall determine cost savings associated with an instructional hours based system including, but not limited to, energy costs, administrative costs and transportation costs. A report of the study, together with recommendations for legislation, shall be filed with the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives on or before June 1, 2018.
SECTION 127. The department of elementary and secondary education shall conduct a feasibility study relative to establishing a formula for aid to be distributed to rural school districts. The formula shall include, but not be limited to, such criteria as total student enrollment, density of student enrollment per square mile, per capita income and other factors pertaining to rural school district funding. The department shall report the results of the study to the chairs of the joint committee on education, the house and senate chairs of the committees on ways and means and the rural policy advisory commission, established in section 66 of chapter 23A of the General Laws, on or before January 1, 2018.
Child Welfare Reporting Task Force
SECTION 128. There shall be a task force on child welfare data reporting. The task force shall develop basic data measures, progress measures and key outcome measures to inform the legislature and the public about the status and demographics of the caseload of the department of children and families, the department's progress in achieving child welfare goals, including safety, permanency and well-being, the status of proceedings in the juvenile court department that involve children in the department's caseload and the status of children who are or have been involved in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
The task force shall develop criteria for measuring outcomes for children and families in the key child welfare domains of safety, permanency and well-being for children including, but not limited to, the outcomes of: (i) protecting children from abuse and neglect; (ii) safely maintaining children in their own homes whenever possible and appropriate; (iii) achieving stability and permanency for children in their living situations; (iv) preserving the continuity of family relationships; (v) enhancing the capacity of families to provide for the needs of children; (vi) ensuring that children receive appropriate services to meet their educational needs; (vii) ensuring that children receive the services necessary to meet their physical and mental health needs; (viii) achieving permanency and opportunity for young adults; (ix) complying with timeframes and deadlines for court hearings; and (x) minimizing the incidence of juvenile justice system involvement for children involved with the department of children and families.
The task force shall also make recommendations to: (i) ensure that department of children and families' annual, biannual and quarterly reports include appropriate data measures that are clearly defined, placed in the context of historical or other comparative data when necessary to convey the meaning of the reported data and include the department's current understanding as to why certain trends may be appearing in the data; (ii) eliminate reports that are no longer necessary; and (iii) ensure that reports are submitted on time and posted on the department's website. The task force shall also make recommendations about periodic reports from the courts on cases involving children involved with the department of children and families.
Not later than 45 days after the end of each quarter, the department of children and families shall publish on its website caseload profile reports that provide statewide, regional and area office summaries that include data covering the number of maltreatment reports received during the year; screen in and support decisions; number of children in placement; adoptions and guardianships legalized; consumer demographics including race and primary language; information relating to children that are in placement, including most recent intake, placement type, race, age group, continuous time in placement, gender, and service plan goal; and information relating to children that are not in placement, including most recent intake and age group.
The task force shall be comprised of the following persons or their designees: the child advocate who shall serve as co-chair; the commissioner of children and families who shall serve as co-chair; the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities; the chief justice of the juvenile court department; the executive director of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, Inc.; the chief counsel of the committee for public counsel services; the executive director of Children's League of Massachusetts, Inc.; 1 person with expertise in child welfare data and outcome measurement to be chosen by the child advocate; and 1 person with expertise in the department of children and families' information technology, data collection and reporting systems to be chosen by the commissioner of children and families. The task force shall consult with other individuals who have relevant expertise as needed.
The task force shall meet not less than quarterly and, in the first 6 months of its first year, the full task force or its working groups shall meet at least monthly. Annually, on or before January 31, the task force shall file its recommendations, together with drafts of legislation necessary to implement those recommendations, with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and the clerks shall forward the report to the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on children, families and persons with disabilities.
I am vetoing this section and related sections 129 and 152 because they would require the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) to establish a task force on child welfare data to develop a broad range of basic data measures. The reporting proposed by these sections is duplicative of numerous existing reporting requirements for key outcome and benchmark data pursuant to line item 4800-0015 of this budget, Chapters 18B and 119 of the General Laws, and 42 USC §671(a)(8) (Title IV-E of the Social Security Act and 45 CFR § 205.50 (Federal regulation of Title IV-E). Key benchmark data for DCF is publicly available on the Administration for Children and Families' Children's Bureau website, and DCF will continue to work with OCA to provide the public and the Legislature with accurate, actionable data concerning child welfare in the Commonwealth.
Sunset of Child Welfare Data Reporting Task Force
SECTION 129. Section 128 is hereby repealed.
I am vetoing this section and related sections 128 and 152 because they would require the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) to establish a task force on child welfare data to develop a broad range of basic data measures. The reporting proposed by these sections is duplicative of numerous existing reporting requirements for key outcome and benchmark data pursuant to line item 4800-0015 of this budget, Chapters 18B and 119 of the General Laws, and 42 USC §671(a)(8) (Title IV-E of the Social Security Act and 45 CFR § 205.50 (Federal regulation of Title IV-E). Key benchmark data for DCF is publicly available on the Administration for Children and Families' Children's Bureau website, and DCF will continue to work with OCA to provide the public and the Legislature with accurate, actionable data concerning child welfare in the Commonwealth.
HPC Study of Rx Dispensing Practices
SECTION 130. The health policy commission, in consultation with the department of public health and the division of insurance, shall study and analyze health insurance payer practices that require certain categories of drugs, including those that are administered by injection or infusion, to be dispensed by a third-party specialty pharmacy directly to a patient or to a health care provider with the designation that such drugs shall be used for a specific patient and not for the general use of the provider. The commission shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry those recommendations into effect, by filing the same with the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on health care financing and the joint committee on public health not later than July 1, 2018.
SECTION 131. The Massachusetts clean energy technology center established in section 2 of chapter 23J of the General Laws shall conduct a feasibility study of an energy efficiency project to assist an aviation manufacturing facility whose company headquarters are located within the commonwealth and in which the property tax receipts to a gateway city from said facility may be reduced due to a potential closure of said facility; provided, however, that the study shall include impacts on carbon dioxide and nitrogen emissions; provided, further, that the project will satisfy economic and environmental criteria, including, but not limited to: (i) enhanced electricity reliability; (ii) contribute to reducing winter electricity price spikes; (iii) where possible, mitigate any environmental impacts; and (iv) where feasible, create and foster employment and economic development in the commonwealth; and provided further, that the study shall include an analysis of potential funding sources and economic and environmental effects and shall be filed with the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on telecommunications, utilities, and energy and the clerks of the house of representatives and senate on or before December 31, 2017.
Pediatric Home Care Patients Study
SECTION 132. The center for health information and analysis shall provide a report related to costs associated with the hospitalization of medically complex pediatric home care patients. The report shall include: (i) the number of medically complex pediatric home care patients, including those who have aged into adulthood, who are hospitalized annually and the length of their stay; (ii) the estimated cost to MassHealth of the annual hospitalization of medically complex pediatric home care patients; (iii) the estimated cost to private payers of the annual hospitalization of medically complex pediatric home care patients; and (iv) a cost analysis comparing continuous skilled nursing service costs to the cost of likely avoidable hospitalizations.
The center shall consult with the Massachusetts Pediatric Home Nursing Campaign and the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts, Inc. and may consult with providers of continuous skilled nursing for children with complex medical needs. The report shall be made publicly available on the center's website and shall be filed with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the chairs of the joint committee on health care financing and the senate and house committees on ways and means on or before December 1, 2017.
Department of Conservation and Recreation Parks Pass
SECTION 133. The registry of motor vehicles, in cooperation with the department of conservation and recreation, shall offer for purchase a senior MassParks pass to cover fees and parking for 1 calendar year at state-owned facilities where parking fees are charged to applicants for the issuance or renewal of a motor vehicle registration or license to operate a motor vehicle. Fees collected by the registry pursuant to this section shall be transmitted to the department of conservation and recreation and shall not be subject to the cap set forth in item 2810-2042 of section 2. All funds maintained by the department pursuant to this section shall be expended for expenses, upkeep and improvements to the parks and recreation system. The department shall investigate alternative methods to expand the sales of annual MassParks and annual senior MassParks passes including, but not limited to, offering multi-year or automatically-renewing annual passes and shall submit the results of its investigation to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on environment, natural resources and agriculture and the chairs of the house and senate committees on ways and means on or before December 31, 2017.
Battery Testing Facility Study
SECTION 134. There shall be established a special legislative commission to study the feasibility, administration, and economic impact of a battery testing facility, located in one of the four western counties of the commonwealth. The commission shall consist of: the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies, or their designees, who shall serve as chairs of the commission; the commissioner of the department of energy resources, or a designee; the chief executive officer of Massachusetts clean energy technology center, or a designee; and the chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, or a designee. The commission shall seek input and involvement from various public and private entities in the state with expertise or capacity related to battery technologies, clean energy, manufacturing, or engineering. The commission shall submit any recommendations to the clerks of the house of representatives and senate on or before February 1, 2018.
Childhood Vision and Eye Health Commission
SECTION 135. There shall be established a special commission to study and report on childhood vision and eye health in the commonwealth. The commission shall study children's vision care and quality, including (i) vision screening, (ii) eye examinations and appropriate preventative measures and (iii) develop recommendations for ensuring screenings for all children. The commission shall review the commonwealth's success at preventative measures, including screening, and treating all of its children for vision impairments and eye disease and identify populations that do not receive screening, eye examinations or necessary related treatments.
The commission shall consist of the commissioner of the department of public health, or a designee, who shall serve as chair; the commissioner of the department of elementary and secondary education, or a designee; the commissioner of early education and care, or a designee; the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on public health, or their designees; 2 members of the Children's Vision Massachusetts Coalition; 1 member of the Massachusetts school nurse organization, Inc.; a member of the Massachusetts Society of Optometrists, Inc.; 1 member of the Massachusetts Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons, Inc.; and 1 member of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The commission shall submit a report, along with any recommendations for legislation, to the clerks of the house of representatives and senate, the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on health care financing, and the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on public health on or before February 1, 2018.
I am vetoing this section because a nine-member commission is not needed to identify improvements in an existing program. The Department of Public Health administers a childhood vision screening program, after consultation with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, under Chapter 71, Section 57 of the General Laws, as amended in Chapter 181 of the Acts of 2004. My Administration released updated protocols for schools on September 30, 2016. Regular review and updating of these protocols, if needed, is the best way to improve childhood vision and eye care in Massachusetts.
Rail Service to Berkshires Study
SECTION 137. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation shall convene a working group, not later than October 1, 2017, to identify and evaluate the economic and cultural benefits and political, legal or logistical challenges to the Berkshire and western Massachusetts regions of the commonwealth and the commonwealth as a whole of establishing direct seasonal weekend passenger rail service between the city of New York, New York and the city of Pittsfield between Memorial Day and Columbus Day weekends modeled on the CapeFLYER passenger rail. The working group shall contact state, local and county officials of the state of New York to identify opportunities for collaboration and mutually-beneficial improvements and expansions in passenger rail infrastructure and service. The working group shall include, but not be limited to, a designee from the secretary of housing and economic development, elected officials from the state and federal legislative delegations, the duly elected mayor of city of Pittsfield, the Berkshire County Regional Planning Commission and existing rail service stakeholders. The secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation shall designate a qualified individual to chair the working group. The working group shall submit its findings to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on transportation, the chairs of the senate and house committees on ways and means and the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on tourism, arts and cultural development on or before March 1, 2018.
Data Interoperability Study
SECTION 138. There shall be a commission to investigate ways to increase access and interoperability of data collected by the department of public health, including the trauma registry established pursuant to section 11 of chapter 111C of the General Laws.
The commission shall evaluate ways to encourage the utilization of data collected from the trauma registry to study the patterns and impact of healthcare inequality and develop support programs and resources necessary to meet the unmet needs of residents of the commonwealth affected by healthcare inequality and their families. The commission may consider methods to encourage partnerships with academic medical centers and schools of public health to analyze and interpret existing data collected by the commonwealth, including data collected through the trauma registry, to ascertain geographical differences in healthcare access and quality. The commission may request information from state, county or municipal departments, boards, bureaus, commissions or agencies to further the goals of the commission.
The commission shall be comprised of: the commissioner of public health or a designee, who shall serve as chair; the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on public health; 1 member of the senate who shall be appointed by the minority leader; 1 member of the house who shall be appointed by the minority leader; and 4 persons who shall be appointed by the commissioner in consultation with the Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, Inc. and the chair of the American College of Surgeons, committee on trauma, 2 of whom shall be a research scientists with an expertise in healthcare quality and disparity with experience in medicine and public health and 2 of whom shall be members of the public with expertise in injury prevention or trauma surgery. The commission may hold public hearings; provided, however, that the hearings shall be held in a manner to ensure diverse geographic representation.
The department shall hold its first meeting on or before November 1, 2017. The commission shall file a report of its recommendations, if any, together with any recommendations for legislation, with the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives on or before December 31, 2018.
Lee/Westfield Turnpike Interchange Study
SECTION 139. (a) The Massachusetts Department of Transportation shall conduct a feasibility study relative to the establishment of an interchange on interstate highway route 90 between the existing interchanges located in the city of Westfield and the town of Lee. The study shall examine and evaluate the costs and economic opportunities related to establishing the interchange including, but not limited to: (i) the projected capital costs; (ii) the projected operating costs; (iii) the projected use levels; (iv) the environmental and community impact estimates; (v) the availability of federal, state, local and private sector funding sources; and (vi) the resulting economic, social and cultural benefits to the surrounding region and the commonwealth.
(b) The department shall file a report of the results of its study with the clerks of the senate and house of representatives, the chairs of the senate and house committees on ways and means and the senate and house chairs of the joint committee on transportation on or before July 1, 2018.
Home Care Worker Registry Launch
SECTION 140. A home care worker agency subject to section 4D of chapter 19A of the General Laws shall report the required home care worker registry information for each home care worker pursuant to said section 4D of said chapter 19A not later than 1 year after the effective date of this act.
Continuation of Pension Benefits Election 2
SECTION 141. A member who made an election under section 90G� of chapter 32 of the General Laws prior to the effective date of this act shall have the election maintained after the repeal of the section and no further action by the member or retirement board shall be necessary.
Sales Tax Modernization: Timing Change Effective Date
SECTION 142. The commissioner of revenue shall promulgate any regulations necessary to implement section 94 not later than January 1, 2018.
Veteran's Tax Credit Effective Date
SECTION 143. The credit authorized in sections 33 and 35 shall be available for veterans who are hired after July 1, 2017 and shall be available for the tax year beginning on January 1, 2017 and for subsequent tax years.
Hospital Assessment - Effective Date 1
SECTION 144. The non-acute hospital payments established under section 2WWWW of chapter 29 of the General Laws shall be determined and payable in each fiscal year beginning in fiscal year 2018.
Hospital Assessment - Effective Date 2
SECTION 145. Sections 2WWWW of chapter 29 of the General Laws and sections 52, 53, 55 and 90 shall take effect on October 1, 2017.
Employer Contribution to Healthcare Sunset 1
SECTION 146. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 189A of chapter 149 of the General Laws shall take effect on January 1, 2018.
Employer Contribution to Healthcare Sunset 2
SECTION 147. Sections 17, 61, 63, 65 and 67 shall take effect on December 31, 2019.
DV Victims Qualification for EIC Effective Date
SECTION 148. Section 32 shall take effect on January 1, 2017.
Home Health Agency Licensure Effective Date
SECTION 149. Section 46 shall take effect December 31, 2017.
Hospital Assessment - Effective Date 3
SECTION 150. Section 54 shall take effect on September 30, 2022.
Employer Contribution to Healthcare Sunset 3
SECTION 151. Section 122 shall take effect on January 1, 2020.
Sunset of Child Welfare Data Reporting Task Force Eff. Date
SECTION 152. Section 129 shall take effect on February 1, 2022.
I am vetoing this section and related sections 128 and 129 because they would require the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) to establish a task force on child welfare data to develop a broad range of basic data measures. The reporting proposed by these sections is duplicative of numerous existing reporting requirements for key outcome and benchmark data pursuant to line item 4800-0015 of this budget, Chapters 18B and 119 of the General Laws, and 42 USC §671(a)(8) (Title IV-E of the Social Security Act and 45 CFR § 205.50 (Federal regulation of Title IV-E). Key benchmark data for DCF is publicly available on the Administration for Children and Families' Children's Bureau website, and DCF will continue to work with OCA to provide the public and the Legislature with accurate, actionable data concerning child welfare in the Commonwealth.
SECTION 153. Except as otherwise specified, this act shall take effect as of July 1, 2017.