While much of the Commonwealth is shuttered due to the effects of COVID-19, the Massachusetts State Legislature has not stopped conducting its work, albeit with limitations. And local State Senator Michael Rodrigues is one of a handful of legislators keeping the General Court’s business moving forward.
Senator Rodrigues says the best part about being one of the only legislators in Boston is his commute, which, on normal days, could take up to two hours from his home, and now takes about an hour. He says the Statehouse is, essentially, a ghost town.
As chair of the powerful Senate Ways and Means Committee, Senator Rodrigues is one of the few legislators on Beacon Hill just about every day. His role is to introduce legislation as part of informal senate sessions, where bills are approved without the need for lawmakers to be in the senate chamber.
Even though work is getting done, Senator Rodrigues says it is unlikely that the legislature will be able to vote on all bills on its docket before it adjourns on July 31. Coming up tomorrow the senate will be conducting its first formal roll call vote since March on a bill that will allow the Governor to borrow up to $3 billion dollars to help cover state tax revenue lost since the pandemic began.
Senator Rodrigues says senators will be allowed to vote three ways; in-person during a roll call adhering to social distancing protocols, through allowing for special circumstances that permit senators to vote from their office through a legislative officer, or by emailing the senate clerk from their homes.
As the session continues, Senator Rodrigues says the biggest bill still to be debated is the fiscal 2021 state budget. He says early indications are the budget will have at least $5 billion less in revenue than proposed by Governor Charlie Baker in January. Regardless of whether the state receives any assistance from the federal government, Senator Rodrigues believes because of the health emergency, the state is navigating through unchartered fiscal waters.
Senator Rodrigues also says the senate passed a bill recently that will allow flexibility for cities and towns to delay the release of their fiscal 2021 budgets until June 30. In Fall River, the charter mandates the mayor to present a budget to the city council by May 15. That has now been delayed.
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