Skip to Content
March 19, 2024 Clouds | 34°F
The 193rd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

AN ACT MAKING CERTAIN APPROPRIATIONS AND TRANSFERS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1998.

Whereas , The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is forthwith to make appropriations and transfers for fiscal year 1998 and to make certain changes in law, each of which is immediately necessary or appropriate to effectuate said appropriations or for other important public purposes, 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 certain unanticipated obligations of the commonwealth, to provide for an alteration of purpose for current appropriations and to meet certain requirements of law, the sums set forth herein are hereby appropriated from the general fund for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified herein and subject to the provisions of law regulating the disbursement of public funds.

SECTION 2.

Board of Higher Education.
7077-1000
For the tomorrow's teachers program established pursuant to section 19D of chapter 15A of the General Laws; provided, that no funds shall be expended from this item until the board of higher education promulgates the guidelines required pursuant to said section 19D of said chapter 15A
................................................................$3,000,000

SECTION 2A. For the purpose of making available in fiscal year 1999 balances of appropriations which otherwise would revert on June 30, 1998, the unexpended balance of the maintenance appropriation listed below, not to exceed the amount specified for the item below, is hereby re-appropriated for the purposes of and subject to the conditions stated for the corresponding item in section 2. The amount in this section is re-appropriated from the fund designated for the corresponding item in said section 2. The sum re-appropriated herein shall be in addition to any amounts available for said purposes.

Board of Higher Education.
7077-1000
..............................................................$3,000,000

SECTION 3. Chapter 10 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1996 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 35R the following section:-

Section 35S. There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund, to be administered by the commissioner of education, which shall be known as the Teacher Quality Endowment Fund. Said fund shall consist of all revenues from public and private sources as appropriations, gifts, grants, donations and from the federal government as reimbursements, grants-in-aid or other receipts to further the purposes of said fund in accordance with the provisions of sections 19B and 19C of chapter 15A. All revenues credited to said fund under this section shall remain in said fund and shall be expended without further appropriation for applications pursuant to said sections 19B and 19C of said chapter 15A. The state treasurer shall deposit and invest monies in said fund in accordance with the provisions of sections 34, 34A and 38 of chapter 29 in such a manner as to secure the highest rate of return available consistent with the safety of the fund. Said fund shall be expended only for the purposes stated in said sections 19B and 19C of said chapter 15A at the direction of the commissioner of education. The state treasurer shall structure expenditures from said fund to ensure that not less than $60,000,000 or the total dollar value of funds appropriated or transferred into said fund by the general court, whichever is greater, remains in said fund at all times. On February 1 of each year, the state treasurer shall notify the commissioner of education of the projected investment earnings available for expenditure from said fund for the upcoming fiscal year. Not more than 50 per cent of the projected investment earnings of said fund shall be expended for the purposes stated in said section 19C of said chapter 15A in each fiscal year.

SECTION 4. Chapter 15A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after section 19A the following three sections:-

Section 19B. There shall be an incoming teacher signing bonus program to be administered by the department of education for the purpose of encouraging the best and brightest candidates to teach in the public schools. The goal of such program shall be to encourage high achieving candidates to enter the profession who would otherwise not consider a career in teaching. Funding for such program shall be subject to the provisions of section 35S of chapter 10.

The board of education shall promulgate regulations, where necessary, for the effective implementation of such program. Such regulations shall include the following provisions:

(1) On an annual basis, the department of education shall select the best and brightest teaching prospects based on objective measures such as test scores, grade point average or class rank and such other criteria as the department may determine. The department shall establish a system for receiving a limited number of recommendations for outstanding candidates for such bonuses from institutions of higher education across the nation. In selecting bonus recipients, the department shall consider such recommendations.

(2) In a given year, the department may target awards to attract teachers for those subject matter areas most needed in the commonwealth; provided, however, that such subject matter areas shall be included in the core subjects as described in section 1D of chapter 69.

(3) In a given year, the department shall award bonuses only to those deserving candidates rather than providing a set number of bonuses.

(4) Recipients shall receive a $20,000 signing bonus over at least three years with at least $8,000 distributed in the first year of the bonus.

(5) Such recipients shall be eligible for each year's bonus payment only if they are certified to teach in the commonwealth and are employed as a teacher by a public school in the commonwealth.

(6) The department shall select and notify bonus recipients by April 1 of each year. Eligible recipients shall receive their annual bonus payments by the subsequent October 1 of each year.

(7) The name of an individual recipient of such bonus shall remain confidential unless recipient waives such confidentiality in writing.

(8) The department shall aggressively market the existence of the program to encourage the best and brightest candidates in the nation to come to the commonwealth to teach. Such marketing shall focus on candidates who would otherwise not consider a career in teaching.

(9) The program shall set forth an outreach plan to attract underrepresented populations to the teaching profession.

Section 19C. There shall be Massachusetts master teacher corps program for the purpose of building a group of recognized teachers of high achievement in the profession who shall serve to mentor incoming apprentice teachers and further the goals of the education reform act, so-called. The department of education shall administer this program. Funding for said program shall be subject to the provisions of section 35S of chapter 10.

The board of education shall promulgate regulations, where necessary, for the effective implementation of such program. Such regulations shall include the following provisions:

(1) The department may select master teachers who achieve master teacher status through certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, pass a challenging content test, and agree to mentor apprentice teachers. The department may develop and include alternatives to the NBPTS program provided such alternatives maintain equivalent or higher standards of excellence in teaching.

(2) The department may provide master teachers with partial or full reimbursement for the assessment costs of said NBPTS certification. The department shall provide master teachers with ongoing salary bonuses for such master teachers. Such ongoing salary bonuses shall be limited to $5,000 per year. Within said $5,000 limit, the department may authorize a nominal payment to the school district of such master teachers to facilitate time for the master teacher to engage in mentoring activity.

(3) Teachers with master teacher status shall have full parity in certification and compensation with teachers who earn a master's degrees from approved higher education institutions, notwithstanding the provisions of section 38G of chapter 71, or chapter 150E.

(4) The program shall set forth an outreach plan to attract underrepresented populations to the teaching profession.

Section 19D. There shall be a scholarship program to be administered by the board of higher education, which shall be known as the tomorrow's teachers program, for the purpose of encouraging outstanding high school students to teach in the public schools by providing qualified high school students with scholarships for tuition and fees for a four-year bachelor's degree program at a public college or university in the commonwealth. The program shall be subject to appropriation.

The board of higher education shall promulgate guidelines governing the tomorrow's teachers program. The guidelines shall include the following provisions:

(1) Eligibility for the program shall be limited to students who graduated in the top quarter of their high school classes, who agree to complete a four-year bachelor's degree program in a public college or university in the commonwealth and who commit to and actually teach for four years in a public school in the commonwealth upon successful completion of a bachelor's degree from the college or university and the appropriate certification in accordance with said section 38G of said chapter 71.

(2) The program shall set forth an outreach plan to attract underrepresented populations to the teaching profession.

(3) Persons who participate in the program but do not complete their college education within six years of entering college or who fail to complete their four-year teaching commitment within six years following graduation from college shall be obligated to repay the commonwealth the tuition and fees advanced to them, with interest, as determined by the board of higher education.

SECTION 5. The department of education shall develop and submit to the joint committee on education not later than December 31, 1998, the so-called "12-62 Plan for Strengthening Massachusetts Future Teaching Force." Such plan may include such legislative, regulatory, financial and other policy initiatives necessary as to attract, train, retain, mentor and develop out top teachers into masters of their profession; provided, that a schedule of projected costs and funding sources therefor shall accompany each such initiative that said department proposes in such plan.

One goal of the plan shall be to attract the best and brightest individuals in the nation to teach in the commonwealth's public schools. Elements of the plan may include: (1) establishing so-called "Future Teachers of America Clubs" in every middle and high school to excite students of diverse backgrounds about the nobility of the teaching profession; (2) implementing the program of signing bonuses for the best and brightest new teachers established by section 19B of chapter 15A of the General Laws; (3) enhancing the Attracting Excellence to Teaching Program to increase the loan forgiveness packages to the best and brightest college graduates; (4) implementing the program funded in item 7077-1000 of this act which provides scholarships at state colleges and universities to top performing high school students who commit to a career in teaching; and (5) taking such actions as may be necessary to remove costly and time-consuming barriers and create greater flexibility to entry into teaching and to full certification.

A further goal of the plan shall be to establish a professional life cycle for teachers. Elements of the plan may include: (1) implementing the Massachusetts master teacher corps program established by section 19C of chapter 15A of the General Laws; (2) establishing a low cost district based certification path for apprentice teachers who are mentored by master teachers; (3) amending the recertification regulations to ensure that all educators retain mastery of their subject matter and are held accountable to the highest standards of professional performance; and (4) making such changes as may be necessary to the statutes, regulations and operations of the teachers' retirement board to encourage school districts to provide teachers who are entering the profession, re-entering the profession, or scaling back their time commitment to the profession with opportunities for part-time and job-sharing arrangements.

SECTION 6. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the state treasurer shall credit and transfer $60,000,000 from the general fund to the Teacher Quality Endowment Fund established pursuant to the provisions of section 35S of chapter 10 of the General Laws as of June 30, 1998; provided, however, that the general court may make supplemental transfers, appropriations or deposits into said Teacher Quality Endowment Fund in future fiscal years; provided, further, that no funds shall be expended from the teacher quality endowment fund until the board of education promulgates regulations pursuant to sections 19B and 19C of chapter 15A.

N.B. — This section has been vetoed by the Lieutenant-Governor, Acting Governor
SECTION 6A. Except for emergency regulations adopted pursuant to section 2 of chapter 30A, any regulation as defined in section 1 of said chapter 30A or any amendment or repeal of any such regulation adopted by the board of education pursuant to this act, shall, after compliance with all applicable provisions of said chapter 30A, except section 5, be submitted to the general court. Said board shall file the proposed regulation, amendment or repeal with the clerk of the house of representatives, together with a statement that the pertinent provisions of said chapter 30A, except section 5, have been complied with. The clerk of the house of representatives, with the approval of the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives, shall refer such regulations to the joint committee on education, arts and humanities. Within 30 days after such referral, said committee may hold a public hearing on the regulations and shall issue a report to said board. Said report shall contain any proposed changes to the regulations voted upon by the committee. The board shall review said report and shall adopt final regulations as deemed appropriate in view of said report and shall file with the chairmen of said education, arts and humanities committee its final regulations. If the final regulations do not contain the changes proposed by the committee, the board shall send a letter to the committee accompanying the final regulations stating the reasons why such proposed changes were not adopted. Not earlier than 45 days after the filing of such letter and final regulations with the said committee, said board shall file the final regulations with the state secretary as provided in section 5 of said chapter 30A and said regulations shall thereupon take effect.

If no such proposed changes to the regulations are made to the board within 60 days of the initial filing of the proposed regulation or any amendment or a repeal of such regulation with the clerk of the house of representatives, the board may file the final regulations with the state secretary as provided in section 5 of said chapter 30A and said regulations shall thereupon take effect.

SECTION 7. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the state treasurer shall credit and transfer $200,000,000 from the general fund to the Tax Reduction Fund established in section 2I of chapter 29 of the General Laws as of June 30, 1998. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the transfer of further fiscal year 1998 revenue from the general fund to said Tax Reduction Fund pursuant to the statutory plan contained in said chapter 29. Notwithstanding the provisions of said section 2I of said chapter 29 or any other general or special law to the contrary, said $200,000,000, plus any interest which has accumulated in said Tax Reduction Fund, is hereby immediately appropriated for the purpose of implementing, and the commissioner of the department of revenue shall implement, a temporary increase in the amounts of the personal exemption allowable on the income tax for the taxable year ending December 31, 1998; provided, however, that such temporary increase shall be structured so that the tax reduction authorized by this section shall not exceed, in the aggregate, the positive remaining balance in said Tax Reduction Fund on December 31, 1998.

SECTION 8. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 2H, 2I, 5, 5B and 5C of chapter 29 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the state treasurer shall credit and transfer not less than $150,000,000 from the general fund to the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund as of June 30, 1998. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the transfer of further fiscal year 1998 revenue from the general fund to the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund pursuant to the statutory plan contained in said sections 2H, 2I, 5, 5B and 5C of said chapter 29.

SECTION 9. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, an additional $62,869,462 in revenues derived from the state lottery shall be distributed to the cities and towns as additional lottery revenues in accordance with the schedule listed below.

Abington 155,465
Acton 108,053
Acushnet 115,405
Adams 141,464
Agawam 290,871
Alford 993
Amesbury 170,904
Amherst 642,130
Andover 170,544
Arlington 338,633
Ashburnham 69,384
Ashby 36,934
Ashfield 13,969
Ashland 98,170
Athol 200,171
Attleboro 474,773
Auburn 141,232
Avon 26,327
Ayer 48,971
Barnstable 200,569
Barre 64,682
Becket 6,679
Bedford 67,223
Belchertown 125,887
Bellingham 129,427
Belmont 133,169
Berkley 55,211
Berlin 15,932
Bernardston 20,802
Beverly 338,939
Billerica 365,039
Blackstone 112,571
Blandford 9,333
Bolton 18,307
Boston 5,155,465
Bourne 102,889
Boxborough 23,381
Boxford 35,629
Boylston 25,438
Braintree 249,067
Brewster 40,375
Bridgewater 284,241
Brimfield 32,413
Brockton 1,451,221
Brookfield 42,031
Brookline 293,838
Buckland 23,969
Burlington 140,098
Cambridge 701,105
Canton 128,314
Carlisle 19,766
Carver 136,152
Charlemont 13,283
Charlton 136,008
Chatham 12,863
Chelmsford 283,370
Chelsea 434,807
Cheshire 43,733
Chester 15,288
Chesterfield 9,309
Chicopee 804,389
Chilmark 383
Clarksburg 26,146
Clinton 172,406
Cohasset 35,086
Colrain 18,749
Concord 72,521
Conway 13,734
Cummington 6,010
Dalton 83,950
Danvers 153,120
Dartmouth 202,508
Dedham 175,732
Deerfield 41,627
Dennis 48,641
Dighton 56,540
Douglas 68,956
Dover 17,303
Dracut 330,048
Dudley 124,967
Dunstable 17,568
Duxbury 80,264
East Bridgewater 123,773
East Brookfield 19,893
East Longmeadow 111,018
Eastham 13,325
Easthampton 196,267
Easton 187,204
Edgartown 4,782
Egremont 4,581
Erving 6,503
Essex 21,122
Everett 296,526
Fairhaven 162,968
Fall River 1,517,530
Falmouth 123,743
Fitchburg 610,991
Florida 5,536
Foxborough 118,841
Framingham 541,719
Franklin 202,179
Freetown 79,976
Gardner 365,333
Gay Head 133
Georgetown 59,112
Gill 19,872
Gloucester 216,173
Goshen 6,257
Gosnold 52
Grafton 139,625
Granby 66,206
Granville 13,360
Great Barrington 58,865
Greenfield 228,076
Groton 66,972
Groveland 51,435
Hadley 27,300
Halifax 77,015
Hamilton 49,262
Hampden 43,643
Hancock 2,815
Hanover 82,962
Hanson 100,580
Hardwick 26,675
Harvard 128,092
Harwich 40,258
Hatfield 20,303
Haverhill 706,329
Hawley 1,788
Heath 6,055
Hingham 106,113
Hinsdale 19,457
Holbrook 129,349
Holden 146,292
Holland 17,138
Holliston 103,506
Holyoke 775,497
Hopedale 64,255
Hopkinton 59,024
Hubbardston 33,562
Hudson 164,654
Hull 99,502
Huntington 25,510
Ipswich 83,039
Kingston 80,665
Lakeville 68,586
Lancaster 71,246
Lanesborough 20,297
Lawrence 1,891,805
Lee 46,345
Leicester 137,703
Lenox 30,813
Leominster 457,028
Leverett 15,386
Lexington 122,681
Leyden 7,573
Lincoln 43,370
Littleton 48,152
Longmeadow 108,407
Lowell 1,862,415
Ludlow 221,803
Lunenburg 96,321
Lynn 1,335,639
Lynnfield 62,351
Malden 717,001
Manchester 18,614
Mansfield 142,143
Marblehead 102,153
Marion 20,940
Marlborough 274,254
Marshfield 172,846
Mashpee 37,435
Mattapoisett 29,563
Maynard 97,534
Medfield 67,538
Medford 580,640
Medway 92,566
Melrose 250,195
Mendon 36,838
Merrimac 66,031
Methuen 465,770
Middleborough 201,291
Middlefield 3,310
Middleton 27,934
Milford 248,918
Millbury 139,528
Millis 71,311
Millville 31,075
Milton 195,991
Monroe 203
Monson 96,320
Montague 96,299
Monterey 2,195
Montgomery 7,361
Mount Washington 445
Nahant 23,782
Nantucket 7,028
Natick 191,006
Needham 134,432
New Ashford 871
New Bedford 1,619,492
New Braintree 10,974
New Marlborough 3,988
New Salem 6,283
Newbury 43,389
Newburyport 127,826
Newton 436,379
Norfolk 93,197
North Adams 286,607
North Andover 167,990
North Attleborough 262,686
North Brookfield 64,480
North Reading 84,472
Northampton 302,685
Northborough 90,049
Northbridge 172,861
Northfield 31,584
Norton 174,106
Norwell 51,902
Norwood 202,009
Oak Bluffs 6,838
Oakham 16,132
Orange 126,955
Orleans 15,491
Otis 2,760
Oxford 178,373
Palmer 145,053
Paxton 39,544
Peabody 369,265
Pelham 11,725
Pembroke 142,178
Pepperell 117,709
Peru 10,720
Petersham 9,343
Phillipston 19,301
Pittsfield 580,006
Plainfield 4,071
Plainville 71,541
Plymouth 389,556
Plympton 22,484
Princeton 26,696
Provincetown 11,683
Quincy 837,727
Randolph 329,920
Raynham 82,314
Reading 166,457
Rehoboth 71,647
Revere 551,244
Richmond 8,863
Rochester 35,254
Rockland 188,204
Rockport 42,637
Rowe 558
Rowley 42,453
Royalston 12,584
Russell 19,117
Rutland 63,691
Salem 360,314
Salisbury 50,329
Sandisfield 2,512
Sandwich 113,234
Saugus 190,560
Savoy 8,276
Scituate 105,718
Seekonk 90,946
Sharon 113,984
Sheffield 18,533
Shelburne 16,665
Sherborn 15,171
Shirley 109,536
Shrewsbury 197,924
Shutesbury 14,013
Somerset 115,860
Somerville 904,097
South Hadley 194,028
Southampton 45,213
Southborough 33,767
Southbridge 264,629
Southwick 82,278
Spencer 150,964
Springfield 2,898,555
Sterling 61,518
Stockbridge 7,626
Stoneham 184,083
Stoughton 268,021
Stow 34,779
Sturbridge 72,225
Sudbury 66,926
Sunderland 41,786
Sutton 64,609
Swampscott 89,880
Swansea 142,444
Taunton 632,435
Templeton 89,333
Tewksbury 244,244
Tisbury 8,350
Tolland 512
Topsfield 34,359
Townsend 105,967
Truro 2,486
Tyngsborough 94,581
Tyringham 938
Upton 37,718
Uxbridge 128,758
Wakefield 197,582
Wales 21,869
Walpole 160,433
Waltham 427,660
Ware 131,642
Wareham 173,383
Warren 60,351
Warwick 5,553
Washington 5,265
Watertown 241,075
Wayland 56,192
Webster 199,765
Wellesley 99,618
Wellfleet 5,463
Wendell 10,425
Wenham 28,668
West Boylston 57,327
West Bridgewater 45,085
West Brookfield 39,020
West Newbury 24,661
West Springfield 272,733
West Stockbridge 9,114
West Tisbury 3,360
Westborough 86,734
Westfield 464,544
Westford 118,966
Westhampton 11,174
Westminster 58,655
Weston 28,268
Westport 90,953
Westwood 62,103
Weymouth 578,737
Whately 8,078
Whitman 175,439
Wilbraham 98,301
Williamsburg 24,278
Williamstown 67,327
Wilmington 116,498
Winchendon 141,916
Winchester 100,813
Windsor 6,618
Winthrop 214,874
Woburn 262,764
Worcester 2,699,139
Worthington 9,713
Wrentham 84,207
Yarmouth 116,648

SECTION 10. This act shall take effect as of June 30, 1998.

Approved August 10, 1998.