SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1619 FILED ON: 1/18/2019
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1819
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Joanne M. Comerford
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act providing federal and state budget information to residents of the commonwealth.
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PETITION OF:
Name: | District/Address: |
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Joanne M. Comerford | Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester |
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Jack Patrick Lewis | 7th Middlesex | 1/23/2019 |
Jason M. Lewis | Fifth Middlesex | 1/29/2019 |
Mike Connolly | 26th Middlesex | 1/29/2019 |
James B. Eldridge | Middlesex and Worcester | 1/30/2019 |
Mindy Domb | 3rd Hampshire | 1/31/2019 |
Bruce E. Tarr | First Essex and Middlesex | 2/1/2019 |
Kay Khan | 11th Middlesex | 2/1/2019 |
Paul R. Feeney | Bristol and Norfolk | 2/3/2019 |
Rebecca L. Rausch | Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex | 2/3/2019 |
Julian Cyr | Cape and Islands | 3/7/2019 |
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1619 FILED ON: 1/18/2019
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1819
By Ms. Comerford, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1819) of Joanne M. Comerford, Jack Patrick Lewis, Jason M. Lewis, Mike Connolly and other members of the General Court for legislation to provide federal and state budget information to residents of the commonwealth . State Administration and Regulatory Oversight. |
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)
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An Act providing federal and state budget information to residents of the commonwealth.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 7 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following new section:-
Section 63. The treasurer, in coordination with the secretary of the commonwealth, shall provide a short summary each year to be mailed to Massachusetts resident taxpayers by March 15, which reports the total amount of income tax paid by Massachusetts residents to the federal government in the prior year, together with the per cent of those dollars appropriated in the prior year’s Congressional discretionary budget to housing, education, healthcare, public transit, biomedical research, veterans services, food stamps and assistance, environmental protection, and defense spending, including nuclear weapons. The summary shall include this information in the form of a pie chart or bar graph, and using the budget numbers reported by the federal Congressional Budget Office. The summary shall also include information noting that Medicare and Social Security programs are financed as trust funds and are not financed through income taxes.
The summary shall also include a report on the commonwealth’s annual budget for the prior fiscal year. The report shall communicate the per cent of the budget allocated to housing, education, healthcare, public transit, criminal justice, veterans services, food stamps and assistance, environmental protection, and conservation and recreation. The report shall also include the contribution of federal funds being returned to Massachusetts in those categories. The report shall include this information in the form of a pie chart or bar graph.
The information required under this section may be acquired from any nonpartisan, third-party organization that regularly compiles such data; provided further, there may be an agreement with such an organization to produce the report.