Budget Amendment ID: FY2014-S3-43

OTH 43

Poverty Commission Establishment

Mr. Wolf moved that the proposed new text be amended by inserting, after section ____, the following new section:-

SECTION____. There shall be a standing commission to investigate and study how poverty in the commonwealth can be reduced by 10 per cent in the next 5 years and 20 per cent in the next 10 years by engaging the public, private, and non-profit sectors drawn from all regions of the commonwealth and representing rural, urban and suburban populations. The investigation and study shall include, but not be limited to: (1) appropriate measures of poverty; (2) the root causes of poverty; (3) analysis of income inequality in Massachusetts, in particular examining the number of people and families in the commonwealth living below 200 per cent of the federal poverty level and the socio-economic challenges they face, while also calculating the number of people and families living at multiples above the federal poverty level; (4) violence in urban areas, particularly gun violence, and its effect on youth, commercial activity, and job opportunities in the community; (5) the number and types of existing jobs and the economically competitive strengths of the commonwealth; (6) obstacles to job opportunities for the poor; (7) recent examples and categories of successful paths out of poverty for youth, families, and neighborhoods; and (8) successful approaches and innovative system change efforts to reducing poverty and violence from within the commonwealth and throughout North America. The commission shall also produce data, estimates, and conduct analysis on the potential long-term municipal and state government savings that would result from effective poverty reduction efforts throughout the commonwealth as the number of people in need of government safety net spending is reduced. The commission shall establish and methodology for calculating annually relevant and appropriate metrics of poverty in the commonwealth.

The commission shall consist of the following 25  members: the secretary of administration and finance, or a designee; the secretary of housing and economic development, or a designee; the secretary of health and human services, or a designee; the secretary of transportation, or a designee; the secretary of labor and workforce development, or a designee; the secretary of education, or a designee; the secretary of public safety and security, or a designee; 2 appointees to be chosen by the speaker of the house of representatives; 2 appointees to be chosen by the president of the senate; 1appointee to be chosen by the minority leader of the house of representatives; 1 appointee to be chosen by the minority leader of the senate; 1 appointee to be chosen by the Massachusetts Mayors Association; 1 appointee to be chosen by the Massachusetts Non-Profit Network; 1 appointee to be chosen by the MassInc.; 1 appointee to be chosen by a Massachusetts based philanthropic foundation; 1 appointee to be chosen by FSG or similar social impact consultant; 1 appointee to be chosen by the Institute for a Competitive Inner-City; 1 appointee to be chosen by the Massachusetts AFL-CIO; 1 appointee to be chosen by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center; 1 appointee to be chosen by a chamber of commerce in the commonwealth; 1 appointee to be chosen by the Massachusetts Council of Churches; 1 appointee to be chosen by the Massachusetts Association for Community Action; and 1 appointee to be chosen by an organization providing legal services to low-income people.

The commission shall report its findings to the general court, along with any legislation necessary to carry its recommendations into effect, by filing the same with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate on or before November 30, 2013.