HOUSE  .   .   .   .   .   .   .  No. 3701

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, April 14, 2021.                         

The committee on Ways and Means, to whom was referred the Bill financing the reconstruction of the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke (House, No. 96), reports recommending that the same ought to pass with an amendment substituting therefor the accompanying bill (House, No. 3701) [Bond Issue: $400,000,000.00].

For the committee,

AARON MICHLEWITZ.

        FILED ON: 4/14/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3701

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act financing the reconstruction of the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke.

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to provide forthwith for the immediate capital improvement needs of the commonwealth, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
 

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. To provide for a program to protect, repair and improve the capital facilities of the commonwealth and for a program of capital asset acquisitions, dispositions and other improvements for general government operations, the sum set forth in section 2 for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified in this act is hereby made available, subject to the laws regulating the disbursement of public funds. The sum made available in this act shall be in addition to any other amounts previously appropriated for these purposes.

SECTION 2.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance

4000-2026    For costs associated with planning and studies, dispositions, acquisition of land and buildings and interests therein by purchase, prepayment of lease for a term that exceeds the useful life of the facility, gift or other transfer or by eminent domain pursuant to chapter 79 of the General Laws, for the preparation of plans and specifications, repairs, renovations, improvements, modernization, construction, reconstruction, furnishing, equipping, acquiring, remodeling, refurbishing, asset management, accessibility improvements, demolition, disposition and remediation of facilities and grounds operated by the various departments within the executive office of health and human services, all as the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the secretary of health and human services and the appropriate commissioners of the departments within the executive office, shall consider appropriate; provided, that $400,000,000 shall be expended for the design and construction of a new facility for the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke to replace the existing Soldiers’ Home facility; provided further, that costs payable from this item shall include, but not be limited to, the costs of leases of temporary relocation space or equipment as required for completion of the project; provided further, that costs payable from this item may include facilities for additional Adult Day Health programming on the site; and provided further, that any federal reimbursement received by a state agency including, but not limited to, the project related to providing health care, human services and veterans’ services in connection with projects funded from this item may be retained by the executive office for administration and finance and expended for the purposes of the project, without further appropriation, in addition to the amounts appropriated in this item………………………………………………………………………………$400,000,000

SECTION 3. To carry out the purposes of this act, the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance may, notwithstanding sections 32 to 37, inclusive, of chapter 7C of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, acquire, by purchase, lease or leaseback for a term, including any extensions, not to exceed 50 years, gift or other transfer, or by eminent domain under chapter 79 of the General Laws, any interests in land and buildings considered necessary by the commissioner to carry out the purposes of this act including, but not limited to, easements for drainage, access, utilities and environmental mitigation, and may grant and retain such easements and interests as considered necessary by the commissioner to carry out the purposes of this act.

SECTION 4. The funds authorized by item 4000-2026 of section 2 for the construction of a new facility for the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke to replace the existing Soldiers’ Home facility that is sufficiently extensive in size, complexity and duration shall be expended pursuant to a project labor agreement and in accordance with the following conditions: (a) the provisions of sections 26 to 27F, inclusive, and section 29 of chapter 149 of the General Laws shall apply to all contracts for said project; and (b) all construction employees employed in the construction of said project shall be paid not less than the wage rate established for the work pursuant to a project labor agreement with the appropriate labor organization or labor organizations, which shall include: (i) a uniform grievance and arbitration procedure for the resolution of work-related disputes on job sites; (ii) mutually agreeable uniform work rules and schedules for the project; (iii) an obligation for any labor organization and its constituent members not to strike with respect to work on the project; and (iv) the participation goals of minority and women workers to be employed on each such contract and the processes and procedures to ensure compliance with those workforce participation goals, including the reporting and enforcement requirements of paragraph (G) of section 44A of said chapter 149. There shall be no precondition to the award of a contract that a bidder has previously entered into a collective bargaining agreement with a labor organization; provided, that the bidder shall be willing to execute and comply with the project labor agreement for the project if it is awarded a contract for the designated project.

SECTION 5. To meet the expenditures necessary in carrying out section 2, the state treasurer shall, upon request of the governor, issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth in an amount to be specified by the governor, from time to time, but not exceeding, in the aggregate, $400,000,000. All such bonds issued by the commonwealth shall be designated on their face, Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Capital Improvement Act of 2021, and shall be issued for a maximum term of years, not exceeding 30 years, as recommended by the governor to the general court pursuant to section 3 of Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution. The bonds shall be payable not later than June 30, 2056. All interest and payments on account of principal on these obligations shall be payable from the General Fund. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act to the contrary, bonds issued under this section and interest thereon shall be general obligations of the commonwealth.