Bill S.1905 187th (2011 - 2012)

[Text of proposed amendments to the Senate Bill to improve the administration of state government and finance (Senate, No. 1905)]

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Clerk #1

SMALL BUSINESS IMPACT STATEMENTS

Mr. Michael O. Moore moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 1905) by inserting, after Section ____, the following new Section:-

SECTION ___. Chapter 240 of the Acts of 2010 is hereby amended by striking out sections 67 and 68 in their entirety and inserting in place thereof the following two new sections:

Section 67. Section 2 of said chapter 30A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the third paragraph the following 2 paragraphs:- The notice shall also include a small business impact statement considering the impact of the proposed regulation on small business with the state secretary. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6, the state secretary shall include the statement of small business consideration and the full text of said small business impact statement on the electronic website of the state secretary; provided, however, that the full text of the small business impact statement may also be inspected and copied in the office of the state secretary during business hours. That small business impact statement shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) an estimate of the number of small businesses subject to the proposed regulation; (2) projected reporting, recordkeeping and other administrative costs required for compliance with the proposed regulation; (3) the appropriateness of performance standards versus design standards; (4) an identification of regulations of the promulgating agency, or of another agency or department of the commonwealth, which may duplicate or conflict with the proposed regulation; and (5) an analysis of whether the proposed regulation is likely to deter or encourage the formation of new businesses in the commonwealth;

Section 68. Section 3 of said chapter 30A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the third paragraph the following 2 paragraphs:- The notice shall also include a small business impact statement considering the impact of the proposed action on small businesses with the state secretary. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 6, the state secretary shall include the statement of small business consideration and the full text of said small business impact statement on the electronic website of the state secretary; provided, however, that the full text of the small business impact statement may also be inspected and copied in the office of the state secretary during business hours. That small business impact statement shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) an estimate of the number of small businesses subject to the proposed regulation; (2) projected reporting, recordkeeping and other administrative costs required for compliance with the proposed regulation; (3) the appropriateness of performance standards versus design standards; (4) an identification of regulations of the promulgating agency, or of another agency or department of the commonwealth, which may duplicate or conflict with the proposed regulation; and (5) an analysis of whether the proposed regulation is likely to deter or encourage the formation of new businesses in the commonwealth;

Clerk #2

PENSION LIABILITY  – ADDITIONAL FUNDING

Ms. Creem moves to amend S. 1905 by inserting, in Section 97, CHAPTER 29, Section 5G,  after the words:  

"5 per cent of any amount transferred to the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund under this section shall then be transferred from the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund to the State Retiree Benefits Trust Fund established in section 24 of chapter 32A.”

the following language:-

"5 per cent of any amount transferred to the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund under this section shall then be transferred from the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund to the Commonwealth’s Pension Liability Fund established in section 22 of chapter 32.”

Clerk #3

Financial Reporting of Ballot Questions

Mr. Rosenberg moved that the bill be amended by inserting after section 71 the following new section:-

SECTION 71A. Said chapter 9 is further amended by inserting after Section 9A the following 2 sections:-

Section 9B. There shall be in the department of the state secretary, but not under his supervision or control, a Ballot Question Fiscal Impact Statement Commission consisting of the state secretary or his or her designee, who shall serve as it’s chairperson, the chairpersons and ranking minority members of the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means or their designees, the state treasurer or his or her designee, the secretary of administration and finance or his or her designee, and a person designated by the Massachusetts Municipal Association. The Ballot Question Fiscal Impact Statement Commission shall be responsible for drafting a 100 word explanatory statement describing the fiscal consequence for state and local government finances of an affirmative decision on the question described and submitting said statement to the state secretary for use in providing information to voters in preparation for the state election in which the question shall appear. As part of the drafting process, the Commission shall hold public hearings and receive public comment on the drafts submitted to the public for their consideration. If at least five Commission members cannot agree on a final fiscal impact statement the following statement will be delivered for use by the state secretary: "The fiscal impact of this measure, if any, cannot be reasonably determined at this time”

Section 9C. For the administration and support of activities authorized under 9B of this Chapter, the state secretary may employ and assign such assistants and other employees as are required.

Clerk #4

Higher Education Matching Grants Program

Mr. Rosenberg moved that the bill be amended by inserting after section 96 the following new section:

SECTION 96A.Chapter 15A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 42. (a) There shall be established with the department of higher education, a higher education matching grants program to provide funding to public institutions of higher education, as set forth in section 5, to meet the matching contribution requirements as specified by the awarding federal agency, foundation, or other non-state funding entity.

The purpose of the program is to: (1) expand access and availability of federal and corporate research funding for both basic and applied research at public institutions of higher education; (2) enable faculty and staff to successfully compete for external funding and to increase their research capabilities; (3) improve the research capabilities of public institutions of higher education; and (4) provide a vehicle for faculty and staff to meet required matching contribution requirements and be eligible for available competitive grant funds.

(b) There shall be established and placed within the department a fund to be known as the Higher Education Matching Grants Fund, hereinafter in this section referred to as the fund, to be held by the department separate and apart from its other funds.  The fund shall be credited any appropriations, bond proceeds, or other monies authorized by the general court and specifically designed to be credited thereto. All available moneys in the fund that are unexpended at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund and shall be available for expenditure in the subsequent fiscal year.

(c) The department shall develop and approve rules for the program prior to the distribution of any grants from the fund. Said rules shall establish the terms and conditions for all grant awards and shall establish the terms, procedures, standards, evaluation criteria and conditions which the department shall employ to identify qualified applications, process applications, and make grant determinations. Copies of the approved rules, and any modifications thereto, shall be submitted to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate and shall forward the same to the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on higher education.

All requests for funding from the program shall be accompanied by a copy of the application for federal, foundation or other non-state funding and shall include a copy of the matching fund requirements as specified by the funding entity. Applications may be reviewed on a rolling basis.

(d) Projects eligible for funding shall meet the following criteria: (1) the project involves either basic research or applied research activities; (2) the research project is awarded grant funds through an open and competitive process of merit review; and (3) matching funds are required by the sponsor or the award is conditioned on a match as a determination of institutional commitment.

Research projects for which the commonwealth has provided a specific grant or appropriation are ineligible for funds under the program.

(e) Funding under the program may be used to pay the base salaries of faculty, staff, and to fund affiliated graduate or undergraduate student fellowships directly related to the stated research project. Funds may also be used to purchase basic infrastructure including, but not limited to, essential equipment supplies and materials directly related to the research project.

Workforce training or development, curricular development, clinical trials, building construction or renovation or any other activities seen as incidental to the basic research or applied research being proposed shall not be funded under the program

Clerk #5

Local Aid Stabilization Fund

Mr. Rosenberg moved that the bill be amended in section 97 by inserting after the words "substance abuse treatment and prevention services” the following:-

Section 2OOO. There shall be established and be set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Local Aid Stabilization Fund, into which $200,000,000 per year will be deposited from end-of-the-year surplus funds annually until the fund is fully vested. No amounts shall be withdrawn from this fund until there is reported negative revenue growth as certified by the commissioner of revenue in detailed reports to the secretary of administration and finance, and the house and senate committees on ways and means that would directly affect the General Fund and its ability to fund local aid. This fund shall be used exclusively to maintain pre-existing local aid appropriations in times of fiscal crisis. Specifically this fund shall support state school aid under chapter 70, lottery aid, additional assistance, payments in lieu of taxes for state-owned lands under section 17 of chapter 58, and regional school transportation in times of negative revenue growth.

The state treasurer shall be the custodian of this fund and shall receive, deposit, and invest all moneys transmitted to the fund under this section and shall credit the fund with all interest and earnings on the fund. Said fund shall be considered "fully vested” when the treasurer certifies to the comptroller, the fiscal affairs division, and the house and senate committees on ways and means that the fund has accrued $2,000,000,000 of principal.

Clerk #6

PILOT Assessment

Mr. Rosenberg moved that the bill be amended by inserting after section 97 the following new section:-

SECTION 97A. Chapter 58 of the General Laws, as so appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 17C the following seven sections:-

Section 17D. For the purposes of this section and sections 17E through 17I of this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings:

"State facilities", all structures owned and operated by the commonwealth for the purpose of carrying out state functions, except the structures of state authorities.

"Tax exempt housing facilities", all tax-exempt housing owned or operated by local housing authorities as defined in section 3 of chapter 121B, community development corporations and public colleges and universities.

"State authorities", any public instrumentality of the commonwealth which is not subject to the supervision and control of the legislative, executive or judicial departments of state or local government as further defined in section 1 of chapter 29 with the exception of tax exempt housing facilities.

"Cost of essential municipal services", the total cost of the following services: public safety services, including, but not limited to: police, fire and ambulatory services; educational services, including kindergarten through grade twelve public education; waste collection; street cleaning; street lighting; snow and ice removal and transportation services, as most recently reported to the commissioner under the annual reporting requirements pursuant to the provisions of section 43 of chapter 44.

"Property tax levy,” as most recently reported to the commissioner under section 21D of chapter 59.

"State aid,” the amount due each city and town as most recently reported by the commissioner under the provisions of section 25A of chapter 58.

"Total value of taxable property," the fair cash value of structures subject to taxation, as most recently certified by the commissioner under the provisions of section 2A of chapter 59.

"Structures," shall include buildings, improvements or other things erected thereon or affixed to land, but shall not include land.

Section 17E. Each year, not later than June 1, the board of assessors of each city and town shall notify the commissioner of the fair cash value, as of January 1, as hereinafter provided of state facilities located within its city or town.

The determination of value made under this section shall be in such detail as to lots, subdivisions or acreage as the commissioner may deem necessary.  To assist in making such determination the assessors may require oral or written information from any officer or agent of the commonwealth or of any county or town therein and from any other inhabitant thereof, and may require such information to be an oath. Such officers, agents and persons, so far as able, shall furnish the assessors with the required information in such form as the assessor may indicate, within 15 days after being so requested by the assessor.

Section 17F. The commissioner, not later than August 1, shall on the basis of said notification by the board of assessors certify the full fair value of said state facilities and provide written notice to the assessors of such certified valuation. The commissioner may, on the basis of any contrary information, adjust the full fair cash valuation.

Section 17G. A board of assessors aggrieved by the commissioner's determination of value of any state facilities as valued under section 17F may make a written application for a correction thereof to the appellate tax board within 30 days of said notice, setting forth the grounds for such application for correction. Not later than September 30 following, said board shall, upon the basis of such application or after giving such assessors a hearing, as the board may determine, make a finding whether the commissioner acted in accordance with section 17F. If the board finds that the commissioner failed to so act, it shall make a determination of value and notify said board of assessors and the commissioner of its determination, and its decision shall be final.

Section 17H. Each year, not later than November 20, the treasurer shall make a payment to cities and towns for the municipal services provided to state facilities. The amount of said payment, as determined by the commissioner, shall be determined by multiplying the "cost of essential municipal services from tax revenues” in such city or town by the "percentage of state facilities" in such city or town.

The "cost of essential municipal services from tax revenues" shall be determined by adding the cost of municipal services and dividing said sum by the sum of the property tax levy and state aid and multiplying the result of said quotient by the property tax levy.

The "percentage of state facilities" shall be determined by dividing the total value of state facilities by the total value of taxable property.

Section 17I. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the commonwealth shall be liable to municipalities for late penalty interest on any unpaid portion of said municipality's payment in lieu of taxes or payment for municipal services reimbursement pursuant to this chapter.

If the appropriation is not fully funded pursuant to section 17 of chapter 58, the commonwealth shall pay interest on the amount by which the reimbursement falls short. Said interest shall accrue 45 days after the November 20 reimbursement date in accordance with the following provisions:-

(a) that the late penalty interest provided for under this section shall be computed at a rate to be set semi-annually by the commissioner of administration on January 1 and July 1 of each year; provided, however, that said rate shall be equal to the discount rate charged on said dates by the federal reserve bank of Boston.

(b) that the provisions of this section shall not apply to the delivery of any property of services made at the beginning of any fiscal year unless a general appropriations act is in effect for said fiscal year. Upon the passage of a general appropriations act, a required payment date may be set or the 45-day period as provided in paragraph (a) may be commenced.

The commissioner of administration shall, not more than 60 days after the conclusion of each fiscal year, file with the house and senate committees on ways and means a summary report on any interest penalties made under this section during the preceding fiscal year.  Such report shall include the number, amounts and frequency of interest penalty payments and reasons such interest payments were made.

Clerk #7

Registry of Deeds

Mr. Rosenberg moved that the bill be amended by inserting after section 97 the following 2 sections:-

SECTION 97A. Chapter 36 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out sections 1 and 2, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following 2 sections:-

Section 1. There shall be 1 registry of deeds for each of the following counties: Barnstable, Berkshire, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk and Worcester.

The counties of Barnstable, Dukes, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, and Suffolk shall have an office for the registry of deeds in a shire town thereof.

The counties of Berkshire, Bristol, Essex, Middlesex and Worcester shall maintain regional district offices. The regional district offices shall be under the authority of the registry of deeds of the county. The offices shall be located as follows:

(i) in Berkshire, the middle district, with its office in Pittsfield, comprising Pittsfield, Becket, Dalton, Hinsdale, Lee, Lenox, Otis, Peru, Richmond, Stockbridge, Tyringham and Washington; the northern district, with its office in Adams, that portion of the county lying north of the middle district; and the southern district, with its office in Great Barrington, that portion of the county lying south of the middle district;

(ii) in Bristol, the southern district, with its office in New Bedford, comprising, New Bedford, Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven and Westport; the Fall River district, with its office in Fall River, comprising Fall River, Freetown, Somerset and Swansea; and the northern district, with its office in Taunton, the remainder of that county;

(iii) in Essex, the northern district, with its office in Lawrence, comprising Lawrence, Andover, Methuen and North Andover; the southern district, with its office in Salem, the remainder of that county;

(iv) in Middlesex, the northern district, with its office in Lowell, comprising Lowell, Billerica, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, Westford and Wilmington; the southern district, with its office in Cambridge, the remainder of that county; and

(v) in Worcester, the northern district, with its office in Fitchburg, comprising Fitchburg, Ashburnham, Leominster, Lunenburg and Westminster; the Worcester district, with its office in Worcester, the remainder of that county.

Section 2. In each county, a register of deeds, who shall be a resident of the county, shall be elected, as provided in section 157 of chapter 54, for a term of 6 years, beginning with the first Wednesday of January following the register’s election, or until the register’s successor is otherwise qualified.

SECTION 97B. Chapter 54 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 157, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 157. At the biennial state election in 2012 and in every sixth year thereafter, a register of deeds of each county shall be chosen by the voters of the county.; and

by inserting at the end thereof the following new section:-

SECTION ___. Sections 97A and 97B of this act shall take effect on January 1, 2012, and shall apply to the biennial state election in 2012; provided, however, that nothing in this act shall affect the incumbent in office on the effective date of this act; and provided further, that a person holding the position of register of deeds on the effective date of this act shall continue in office until the first Wednesday in January following the biennial state election in 2012 or until a successor is otherwise qualified

Clerk #8

School and Municipal Budget Cooperation

Mr. Rosenberg moved that the bill be amended by inserting after section 100 the following new section:-

SECTION 100A. Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after Section 37M the following section:-

Section 37M 1/2. (a) For any city or town accepting the provisions of this section, not earlier than December first of each alternating year beginning in 2011, and not later than January thirty-first of every other year, the superintendent of schools for each school district serving such municipality shall meet with the mayor, town manager, or chief municipal officer or his designee for that municipality to review the fiscal status of the school district budget and to identify opportunities for cost savings and efficiencies and any potential methodologies, including, but not limited to, joint procurement or consolidation of redundant functions. The results of each meeting shall be transmitted to the local legislative body and the local school committee not later than 30 days after the meeting."

Clerk #9

Veterans’ Services Districts

Mr. Rosenberg moves to amend the bill by inserting at the end thereof the following new sections:-

SECTION ____. Section 2 of chapter 32A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "Center” in line 13, the following words:- "a department of veterans’ services district,”

SECTION ____. Section 3 of chapter 115 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out, in line 7, the word "contiguous”  

SECTION ____.  Section 10 of chapter 115 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 16, the words "Two or more adjoining towns, or two or more adjoining municipalities only one of which is a city,” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- "Two or more municipalities”  

Clerk #10

Public Records Access Officers

Mr. Eldridge moves to amend the bill, S1905, by inserting at the end thereof the following new section:-

"SECTION X. Chapter 66 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after Section 6 the following new section:--

Section 6A. Every state agency, as defined in chapter 66A, shall designate one or more employees as records access officers, who shall have the custody of all its public records other than those records for which a clerk is the statutory custodian. Each agency shall publicize by posting in a conspicuous location at its offices and in a conspicuous location on its website, if any, the name, title, business address and business telephone number of the designated records access officers. The designation of one or more records access officers shall not be construed to prohibit employees who have in the past been authorized to make records or information available to the public from continuing to do so.

Records access officers shall be responsible for coordinating such agency’s response to requests for access to records under the provisions of this chapter, shall facilitate the informal resolution of requests by timely and thorough production of records, and shall ensure that the agency:

(a) Assist requesters seeking records to identify the records sought;

(b)   In responding to a request, indicate whether the records are available in electronic form and the manner in which the records are stored, filed, retrieved or generated, to assist requesters in describing the records sought;

(c) Contact requesters when the response to a request would be voluminous so the agency may, at the option of the requester, assist the requester in focusing the request in order to facilitate the timely and thorough production of the records sought;

(d)   Maintain a reasonably detailed document classification scheme outlining categories of records maintained by the agency, whether or not open for public inspection. The document classification scheme shall be updated annually, conspicuously marked with the date of the most recent update, and posted on the agency’s website, if any.”

Clerk #11

Public Records Request Attorney Fees

Mr. Eldridge moves to amend the bill, S1905, by inserting at the end there of the follow new section:-

"SECTION X. Section 10 of said Chapter 66 is hereby further amended by inserting after the final sentence of subsection (b) , the following:-

In any such proceeding, the court may award reasonable attorney’s fees to the party seeking public records if that party has substantially prevailed. "

Clerk #12

Zero-Based Budgeting and Budget Transparency

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 1905 as amended) by inserting after Section__ the following new Section:

"SECTION__. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following new section after Section 5F: -

Section 5G: Development and Adoption of Zero-Based Budget Estimates

1. The Secretary of Administration and Finance, with the approval of the Governor, shall on a quadrennial basis develop and submit to the Clerks of the Senate and House of Representatives a zero-based budget, so-called, for each agency and department of state government.

Said zero-based budget shall reflect the amount of funding deemed necessary to achieve the most cost-effective performance of each agency or department pursuant to an accompanying narrative delineating the tasks to be performed by that agency or department, together with goals and objectives for each agency or department for a period not to exceed four years. Said budget shall have a zero dollar amount as its basis, and shall not reflect any prior appropriation amount, adjusted or otherwise.

2. Said zero-based budget shall be referred by the Senate and House of Representatives to the committees of subject matter jurisdiction relevant to each component of said budget. Such committees shall evaluate each such component, taking into account all available information, including that provided by public testimony in oral and written form. The evaluations of the committee shall then be reported to the Senate and House Committees on Ways and Means.

3. The Ways and Means Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives shall, jointly or individually, conduct at least one public hearing on the zero-based budget and shall also receive written and electronic testimony for a period of not less than 30 days on said budget.

Said ways and means committees shall jointly develop and submit to the Clerks of the Senate and House of Representatives a zero-based budget estimate not later than 60 days following the receipt of the zero-based budget estimate filed by the Secretary pursuant to Section 1 above.

Said zero-based budget estimate shall be included in a joint resolution and placed before the members of the General Court for their consideration. Such joint resolution, if adopted, shall be employed in evaluating each annual budget considered by the General Court for the four years following its adoption.

4. Zero-based budgeting shall mean, for the purposes of this section, a means of developing appropriations based on the cost-effective achievement of the tasks and goals of a particular agency or department without regard to prior appropriations, adjusted for inflation or otherwise. Any appropriation so developed shall to the extent possible, be accompanied by a brief description of said tasks and goals together with the performance measure of the achievement of those tasks and goals.”

Clerk #13

Increased Efficiencies in State Government

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 1905 as amended) by inserting after Section__ the following new Section:

"SECTION__. Chapter 10 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting, after Section 74, the following new Section:-

Section 75. The state treasurer shall furnish by electronic means a check stub or pay slip to every person who receives compensation from the Commonwealth and whose compensation is provided to them by direct deposit, unless such person does not have an electronic mail address provided by and maintained by the Commonwealth. The treasurer shall continue to provide paper checks stubs and pay slips to all such persons who receive a paper check from the Commonwealth and to those who do not have an electronic mail address provided by and maintained by the Commonwealth. Any person who does not wish to receive their check stub or pay slip electronically may request to continue to receive a paper copy of their check stub or pay slip so long as they provide written notice to the treasurer.”

Clerk #14

RESPONSIBLE COMPENSATION FOR STATE AUTHORITIES

Mr. Montigny, move to amend the bill, S. 1905, by inserting at the end thereof the following new Sections:-

SECTION_____. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, no at-will employees of a state authority as defined in section 1 of chapter 29 of the General Laws shall receive an increase in salaries, wages, or other compensation, including, but not limited to, base salary, bonuses, severance, retirement or deferred compensation packages and policies relative to the accrual and payment of sick and vacation time, including payouts for unused sick and vacation time for the period beginning July 1, 2011 and ending June 30, 2012.

SECTION_____. Notwithstanding any general of special law to the contrary all state authorities as defined by section 1 of chapter 29 of the general laws shall compile a report on the salaries and compensation of its executive director, officers, board members and senior management, and other highly-compensated employees, exclusive of the executive director, officers, board members and senior management, including, but not limited to, base salary, bonuses, severance, retirement or deferred compensation packages and policies relative to the accrual and payment of sick and vacation time, including payouts for unused sick and vacation time.  The state authorities shall file said report with and the clerks of the Senate and House of Representatives, the Senate and House Committees on Ways and Means and the Senate and House committees on Post Audit and Oversight no later September 30, 2011

Clerk #15

Human Contact with State Agencies

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 1905 as amended) by inserting after Section __ the following new Section:

"SECTION__. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, any electronic answering service in use by a department, board, commission, authority or agency of the commonwealth for the purpose of receiving telephone calls shall present all callers with the option of speaking with a live operator.”

Clerk #16

COMMONWEALTH COMPETITION COUNCIL

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 1905 as amended) by inserting, after Section ___, the following new Sections:-

"SECTION __. Chapter 7 of the General Laws is herby amended by striking Sections 52 to 55, inclusive in their entirety and inserting in place thereof the following sections:-

Section 52. Definitions

As used in sections fifty-two to fifty-five, inclusive, the following words shall have the following meanings:--

"Council", the Commonwealth Competition Council.

"Privatization" means a variety of techniques and activities which promote more involvement of the private sector in providing services that have traditionally been provided by government. It also includes methods of providing a portion or all of select government-provided or government-produced programs and services through the private sector.

"Agency'', an executive office, department, division, board, commission or other office or officer in the executive branch of the government of the commonwealth, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, the Massachusetts Port Authority and the Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority.

Section 53. Creation of Council and Duties

A. There is hereby created in the executive branch the Commonwealth Competition Council.

B. The council shall examine and promote methods of providing a portion or all of select government-provided or government-produced programs and services through the private sector by a competitive contracting program, and advise the governor, the legislature, and executive branch agencies of the council's findings and recommendations.

C. The council shall develop an institutional framework for a statewide competitive program to encourage innovation and competition within state government.

D. The council shall establish a system to encourage the use of feasibility studies and innovation to determine where competition could reduce government costs without adversely impacting the public.

E. The council shall monitor the products and services of state agencies to bring an element of competition and to ensure a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship.

F. The council shall advocate, develop and accelerate implementation of a competitive program for state entities to ensure competition for the provision or production of government services, or both, from both public and private sector entities.

G. The council shall determine the privatization potential of a program or activity; perform cost/benefit analyses; and conduct public and private performance analyses. The secretary for administration and finance shall independently certify the results of the comparison.

H. The council shall devise, in consultation with the secretary for administration and finance, evaluation criteria to be used in conducting performance reviews of any program or activity which is subject to a privatization recommendation.

I. The council shall, to the extent practicable and to the extent that resources are available, make its services available for a fair compensation to any political subdivision of the Commonwealth.

Section 54. Appointment

A. The council shall consist of eleven members; 2 members of the senate, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader; 2 members of the house of representatives, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader; two employees of executive branch agencies to be appointed by the governor; one member appointed by the inspector general; one member of the private sector to be appointed by the governor; one member of the private sector to be appointed by the speaker of the house; one member of the private sector to be appointed by the president of the senate; and one member of an organized labor group appointed by the governor.

B. The council shall convene on a quarterly basis. Six members of the council shall constitute a quorum. No action shall be taken by the council without the concurrence of at least six members.

C. The council shall present a quarterly analysis report to the general court; the governor; and the house and senate committee on ways and means. The report shall be published on the official website of the commonwealth.

Section 55. Cooperation of other state agencies.

All agencies of the Commonwealth shall cooperate with the council and, upon request, assist the council in the performance of its duties and responsibilities. The council shall not impose unreasonable burdens or costs in connection with requests of agencies.

The provisions of this act, unless otherwise extended, terminated or modified, shall expire on June 30, 2016.”

Clerk #17

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Mr. Richard T. Moore moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 1905) by inserting, in Section 12, in proposed new section 4A of chapter 6A, at the end thereof, the following:-

Any results of performance measurement supplied pursuant to this section shall be in a format that allows for the completion of a cost-benefit analysis in order to determine the necessity or appropriateness for the investment or allocation of public funds.

Clerk #18

Consolidated Net Surplus

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 1905 as amended) , in Section 97, by striking sub-section 2H in its entirety.

Clerk #19

Minority Committee Representation

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate No. 1905 as amended) in Section 97, sub-section 60B, sub-clause 2C, by inserting, after the second sentence, the following sentence:-

The ranking minority members of the committees on bonding, capital expenditures and state assets and the committees on ways and means shall also be nonvoting members of the committee.

Clerk #20

Personnel Costs

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 1905 as amended) by inserting after Section__ the following new Section:-

"SECTION__. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Governor shall develop, on a biennial basis, a plan to maximize the personnel efficiencies of the commonwealth, to control the commonwealth’s personnel costs, and which details the number of state employees and the costs thereof. Said plan shall be first filed not later than nine months following the passage of this act, and on a biennial schedule thereafter, with the house and senate committees on ways and means.”

Clerk #21

Amendment Relative to Consultant Accountability

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate No. 1905, as amended)  by striking section 62 in its entirety and replacing it with the following new section:

Section 62. Section 6 of said chapter 7A is hereby repealed, and replaced with the following language:

Any state agency purchasing the services of one or more consultants, resulting in a total expenditure of $100,000 or more, shall produce a report detailing the use of such consultants and the reasons necessitating the use thereof, and file said report on an annual basis not later than June 1 of each year with the clerks of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Clerk #22

Creating Equitable Job Access

Ms. Chang-Diaz moved that the bill (Senate No. 1905) be amended by inserting, after Section _____, the following new Sections:-

"SECTION ___. Section 1 of Chapter 7 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the last paragraph the following paragraphs:-

"Low income community”, a municipality where the median household income is 65 percent or less than the statewide household median income. In the case of a municipality with 50,000 residents or more, low income community shall mean a geographically contiguous, historically recognized neighborhood of 10,000-50,000 residents.

"Minority business enterprise”, as used in this chapter shall be defined as it is in Section 40 of Chapter 23A.

"Women business enterprise” as used in this chapter shall be defined as it is in Section 40 of Chapter 23A.

SECTION ___. Chapter 7 of the Generals Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after Section 23B the following section:-

Section 23B ½ Contracting diversity goals

 For the purposes of this chapter, it shall be the official goal of the Commonwealth to achieve minority business enterprise and women business enterprise contracting goals within state procurement that are reflective of the diverse racial, ethnic, and gender make-up of the Commonwealth’s population.

SECTION ___. Section 14C of Chapter 7 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the last paragraph the following paragraphs:-

 Within 150 calendar days of the effective date of this section, any entity awarded a contract under the provisions of Chapter 7, shall provide written verification with every invoice submitted to the awarding authority detailing the portion of the payment that will be allocated to minority business enterprises and women business enterprises, and reporting the racial, ethnic and gender make-up of the awardees’ workforce in Massachusetts. The awardee shall take necessary steps to prevent the disclosure of individually-identifying information about employees on this report.

The executive office of administration and finance shall, within 90 calendar days of the effective date of this section, promulgate a template reporting form, for optional use by the awarding authority, to assist contractors in meeting the requirements of this section.

The awarding authority shall submit the report to the Massachusetts Management and Reporting System (MMARS) within 30 calendar days of receiving it. The Comptroller of the Commonwealth shall, within 120 of the effective date of this section, develop appropriate fields within the MMARS for receiving this data. 

The Comptroller shall, within 180 days of the effective date of this section, develop a public reporting website, or area within an existing website administered by the Office of the Comptroller, for the purposes of timely public disclosure of the data collected under this section. Such website shall provide the data collected under this section in machine-readable format and be searchable by the public to the project and vendor level. The Comptroller may use, but not be limited to, the website of the Massachusetts Recovery and Reinvestment Office as a guide in creating a user interface that is searchable to the project and vendor level. The Comptroller shall transfer data received from awarding authorities through the MMARS into the public website on at least a quarterly basis.

SECTION ___. Section 38F of Chapter 7 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word "project”, in line 9, the following text:-

, including evidence of the applicant’s ability to advance the Commonwealth’s contracting and workforce inclusion goals as stated in Section 23B ½ of Chapter 7.

SECTION ___. Section 1 of Chapter 149 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the last paragraph, the following paragraphs:-

"Low income community”, a municipality where the median household income is 65 percent or less than the statewide household median income. In the case of a municipality with 50,000 residents or more, low income community shall mean a geographically contiguous, historically recognized neighborhood of 10,000-50,000 residents.

"Minority business enterprise”, as used in this chapter shall be defined as it is in Section 40 of Chapter 23A.

"Women business enterprise” as used in this chapter shall be defined as it is in Section 40 of Chapter 23A.

SECTION ___. Section 44A of Chapter 149 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out lines 12-16, and inserting in its place thereof the following text:-

"Responsible” means demonstrably possessing the skill, ability and the integrity necessary to faithfully perform the work called for by a particular contract, based upon a determination of competent workmanship and financial soundness in accordance with the provisions of section forty-four D of this chapter. In deliberating upon the responsibility of a bidder, all contracting agencies shall give strong consideration to the bidder, contractor, or proposed contractor’s ability to advance the Commonwealth’s contracting and workforce inclusion goals as stated in Section 44A ½ of Chapter 149, and to any credible evidence or reliable information about the bidder, contractor, or proposed contractor’s past or current work performance, including, but not limited to, the failure of a bidder, contractor, or proposed subcontractor to comply with the commitments made in their bidding or contract documents regarding the employment of minority business enterprises and women business enterprises and regarding workforce inclusion goals.

SECTION ___. Section 44A ½ in Chapter 149 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the last paragraph the following paragraphs:-

(d) It shall be the goal of the Commonwealth to achieve minority business enterprise and women business enterprise contracting goals and workforce participation goals on state-funded design and construction contracts that are reflective of the diverse racial, ethnic, and gender make-up of the Commonwealth’s population.

(e) It shall be the goal of the Commonwealth that job creation on state-funded construction contracts be targeted to members of the community in which a project is physically located and that the workforce on that project reflect the demographic diversity of the host community, when construction projects are located in low income communities.

SECTION ___. Section 44D.5 of chapter 149 of the Generals Laws as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after line 92, the following text:-

(viii) Joint Ventures, documentation demonstrating that the interested general contractors have formed an association of two or more businesses in which one of the businesses is a minority business enterprise or a women business enterprise as defined section 40 of chapter 23A of the General Laws.

SECTION ___. Section 44D.5 of chapter 149 of the Generals Laws as appearing in the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after line 110, the following text:-

(iii) Evidence of the bidder, contractor, or proposed contractor’s ability to advance the Commonwealth’s contracting and workforce inclusion goals as stated in Section 44A ½ of Chapter 149.

SECTION ___. Chapter 149 of the Generals Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 44M the following section:-

Section 44N. Data collection and disclosure

Within 150 calendar days of the effective date of this section, any entity awarded a contract for construction by a state agency shall provide written verification with every progress payment request (PPR) submitted to the awarding authority detailing the portion of the payment that will be allocated to minority business enterprises and women business enterprises respectively, as defined in Section 40 of Chapter 23A, and detailing the total number of hours worked by all employees on that contract during the period covered by the PPR; and including a breakdown of hours worked by workers’ ZIP codes of residence, as well as a breakdown of the number of hours worked by women and workers of color, respectively. The reporting entity shall take necessary steps to prevent the disclosure of individually-identifying information about employees on this report.

The executive office of administration and finance shall, within 90 calendar days of the effective date of this section, promulgate a template reporting form, for optional use by the awarding authority, to assist contractors in meeting the requirements of this section.

The awarding authority shall submit the report to the Massachusetts Management and Reporting System (MMARS) within 30 calendar days of receiving it. The Comptroller of the Commonwealth shall, within 120 of the effective date of this section, develop appropriate fields within the MMARS for receiving this data. 

The Comptroller shall, within 180 days of the effective date of this section, develop a public reporting website, or area within an existing website administered by the Office of the Comptroller, for the purposes of timely public disclosure of the data collected under this section. Such website shall provide the data collected under this section in machine-readable format and be searchable by the public to the project and vendor level. The Comptroller may use, but not be limited to, the website of the Massachusetts Recovery and Reinvestment Office as a guide in creating a user interface that is searchable to the project and vendor level. The Comptroller shall transfer data received from awarding authorities through the MMARS into the public website on at least a quarterly basis.”

Clerk #23

Dynamic Analysis for Tax Expenditures

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 1905 as amended) in Section 5B, by inserting at the end thereof the following language:-

"Provided, that in the preparation of such budget and any analysis relating thereto, the Department of Revenue shall develop and utilize one or more dynamic models for analyzing the economic impacts of tax expenditures, and shall consider the information produced by such model or models in developing such budget.”

Redraft Clerk #24

Debt Report Website

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate No. 1905 as amended) in Section 97, Sub-Section 60B, Sub-clause 2(E) (1) , after the first sentence, by inserting the following sentence :-

"The report shall be made available electronically and prominently displayed on the website of the Commonwealth.”

Clerk #25

Finance Accountability and Transparency

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 1905 as amended) by inserting after Section__ the following new Section:

"SECTION__. Definitions – For the purposes of this section, the terms below shall be defined as follows:

Entity – whether for-profit or not for profit,

a corporation

an association

a partnership

a limited liability corporation

a limited liability partnership

a sole proprietorship

any other legal business entity

a political subdivision of the Commonwealth

provided that an employee of the Commonwealth or an individual recipient of assistance shall not be considered an entity.

State expenditure – an expenditure of state funds including grants, subgrants, loans, awards, cooperative agreements, financial assistance, contracts, subcontracts, purchase order, task orders and delivery orders, and excluding transactions below $25,000.

Searchable website – a website which allows the public to:

Search and aggregate state expenditures by any item identified in the definition of website contained herein

Ascertain through a single search the total amount of state funding awarded to an entity by fiscal year, and

Download information, including the results of searches.

Website – a searchable website which includes for each state expenditure:

The name of the receiving entity

The amount of the expenditure

Information describing the expenditure such as transaction type, funding agency or program, and title descriptive of the purpose of the expenditure

The location of the entity receiving the expenditure and the primary location of performance pursuant to the expenditure, including the city, state, country and legislative district

A unique identifier of the entity receiving the award and of any parent entity of the recipient

Any other relevant information specified by the Operational Services Division.

SECTION 2. The Secretary of Administration and Finance, the Comptroller, the Treasurer and the Operational Services Division are hereby authorized and directed to develop a single searchable website, accessible by the public without cost, to enable the public to research and examine state expenditures as defined herein. Said website shall be designed so as to maximize utility, minimize cost and promote accessibility of information, and shall build upon resources currently existing, including, but not limited to, the "EASI” website, so-called, administered by the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, and the Comm-Pass system, so-called, administered by the Operational Services Division of the Executive Office of Administration and Finance.

In developing said website, the Secretary shall seek to obtain the use of coding and other information management infrastructure developed by the federal government pursuant to the "Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006”.

Said website shall seek to provide information for Fiscal Year 2011 and subsequent years.

A plan for the development and implementation of said website, together with any estimates for funding required and other legislative recommendations, shall be filed with the clerks of the House and Senate not later than November 30, 2011.”

Clerk #26

Corrective Amendment

Mr. Brewer moves to amend the bill, in section 68, in section 31 of proposed chapter 7C of the General Laws, in the third paragraph, by striking out the second sentence; and by inserting after section 102 the following section:-

SECTION 102A. Buildings which have been scheduled for comprehensive energy conservation improvements before the effective date of chapter 7C of the General Laws may, upon approval of the commissioner of energy resources, be exempted from section 31 of said chapter 7C.