Recent Posts from Will Brownsberger's Forum Site

The Senate passed its health care cost control bill tonight and I was pleased to support it.

The conversation about Citizens United continues.

The Patrick administration, in collaboration with the legislature, has been doing a good job focusing on long-term financial issues. Click here for the state’s long-term financial model. In a nutshell, the model says that if we can get health costs under control and the economy continues to recover, we will be able to sustain our [...]

Below, please find the local aid numbers released in today’s Senate Ways and Means FY13 budget proposal.  The Senate will debate the budget next week. Anne Johnson, Committee Counsel and Policy Advisor Office of State Senator William N. Brownsberger

The Senate Ways and Means budget is out. Get the SWM press release and links to budget details here.

The single payer amendment came to a vote this afternoon during the first day of debate on the Senate health care bill. After a vigorous debate, the Senate voted it down in a roll call with 15 voting yes (including me) and 22 voting no. This was a much stronger showing than had previously been [...]

A very positive element in the Senate health care cost control legislation is the creation of a Prevention and Wellness Trust Fund. I strongly support the creation of this fund because it will support cost-effective community-based prevention.

During the health care debate, there will be an important conversation on Single Payer health care reform. I do broadly support Single Payer health care and I am cautiously optimistic that the legislation before the Senate will move us in the right direction.

After over a year of hearings and discussions, the House and Senate have both released global health care cost control bills. The highest level institutions in Boston – government, business, major hospitals and insurers – are all deeply engaged in the conversation about the options.

The Senate President’s Office released S. 2660, the Health Care Reform Bill.

Last week, the House passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2013 budget. The Senate will deliberate the budget in the last full week of May. The House based its predicted revenue numbers on one-time budget fixes in the amount of $140 million, rather than the Governor’s proposed long-term revenue increases through new taxes.  The [...]

The conversation about Citizens United continues.

Senator Brownsberger is pleased to announce that Bill S.2241, An Act relative to veterans’ access, livelihood, opportunity, and resources – referred to as The Valor Act, was passed unanimously by the Senate on Thursday, May 3. The Senate’s official press release appears below. State Senate Approves “The Valor Act”  Improving Benefits and Services for Veterans, [...]

On Thursday, May 3, at 4 pm, Congressman Barney Frank, Mary L. Bonauto, Director of the Civil Rights Project at GLAD (Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders), and Maura Healey, Chief  of the Public Protection & Advocacy Bureau in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, will speak at the Boston Bar Association on the topic of [...]

Follow the link here to sign up for electronic notification of license renewals from the Registry of Motor Vehicles. They no longer send hard copies.

Did your office find whether the Kaiser Foundation report on Massachusetts funding of Mental Health was accurate?  In that report, Massachusetts was reported as paying significantly less per capita than any New England state, save Rhode Island, for Mental Health Services. The difference was startling. http://statehealthfacts.org/ A recent SAMSHA report stated that 1 in 5  (19.9%) of American adults [...]

I’m glad the local aid is being increased, but I’m very concerned about the cuts being made to other services that need to be funded at a state level, like gang violence prevention.  Mental health, the area in which I work, is still being badly hurt by previous cuts which have not yet been restored, [...]

On Thursday, the Senate passed legislation to provide funding to continue current transportation-related projects through Fiscal Year 2013. The Chapter 90 funds appropriated by this bill for local projects, including roadway and bridge  repairs, will support the infrastructure of the Commonwealth’s cities and towns.  This appropriation of $200 million represents the highest level of Chapter [...]

MassDOT is looking for input on transportation investment priorities.

The recently released House Ways and Means Budget draft relies on the consensus revenue forecast developed earlier this year. The concensus forecast is developed each year in January, following December hearings. The Department of Revenue prepares a briefing book summarizing economic forecasts. If you look at page 3 of the FY13 briefing book, you will [...]