Jay recognizes our area’s enviable position of being the crossroads of southeastern Massachusetts. His civic and community work demonstrate his commitment to ensuring our towns are good places to live, raise families, and work.
As a Massachusetts state representative, my district includes the Towns of Foxborough, Mansfield and Norton.
I confirmed with each of the town managers that there is a secure drop box at the respective town halls where you can deposit your applications for mail-in voting and your sealed ballots when you’ve completed the process.
I want to take this opportunity to address any misconceptions you may have regarding my recent vote in support of House Bill 4912, An Act creating a 2050 roadmap to a clean and thriving Commonwealth.
First, I want to state emphatically that this bill IS NOT a back door attempt to raise the gas tax or implement a new carbon tax, as the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance has falsely claimed. I can assure you that I would have opposed this legislation if that were the case. I am proud of my record of fiscal responsibility and advocacy on behalf of the state’s taxpayers, and will continue to oppose any effort to increase taxes. That would be true at any time, but especially now when so many individuals, families and businesses are reeling from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Second, the bill itself contains absolutely no mention of the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), which Governor Baker has proposed funding through an increase in the gas tax. Furthermore, during the two days of House debate on this legislation, there was no attempt made to insert TCI language into the bill, as none of the 108 amendments filed by members even broached this topic.
What the bill does do is establish a series of incentives and policy changes to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move Massachusetts to a goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions over the next 30 years. The bill does so by, among other things:
I also want to point out that under the 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act, the Governor already has the authority to negotiate and enter into the TCI, which is why he has been in discussions for the better part of a year or more attempting to build a coalition of states to implement this proposal, with decidedly mixed results.
I am currently co-sponsoring legislation that would prevent the Governor from unilaterally implementing the TCI and would ensure the House and Senate have a role to play in the decision-making process. HD4891, An Act relative to multi-state compacts, is modeled after the process used for Article 87 reorganization proposals for state agencies, and would allow for legislative input not only on TCI, but also on all other proposed multi-state compacts.
Under this bill, the Governor would be required to submit to the Legislature any compact that was entered into by the Commonwealth with one or more states on or after July 1, 2019. The compact would then be referred to the appropriate legislative committee, which will have exactly 20 days from the Governor’s filing date to hold a public hearing on the matter.
The bill requires that, within 10 days of the public hearing, the legislative committee must recommend approving or disapproving the proposed compact, after which the Legislature can then vote on it. Although the compact would not be subject to amendments, a majority vote in either legislative branch to disapprove the proposal would be sufficient to prohibit the Governor from further pursuing the compact. If, however, 90 days has elapsed since the initial filing of the compact and the Legislature has taken no action, the Governor would be free to implement the compact without legislative approval.
I hope this has helped to clarify my position on taxes and my vote on House Bill 4912, but please feel free to contact me should you have any additional questions or concerns.
BOSTON – State Representative F. Jay Barrows, R-1st Bristol, is supporting legislation that calls for a seven-year, multi-billion dollar investment in the state’s public schools to help ensure that all Massachusetts students have access to a quality education.
House Bill 4137, An Act relative to educational opportunity for students, seeks to implement the recommendations of the Foundation Budget Review Commission, which determined in its 2015 report that the state is underfunding public education by as much as $1-$2 billion a year. The bill, which was approved by the House of Representatives on a vote of 155-0 on October 23, represents the first major change to the education funding formula since the passage of the 1993 Education Reform Act.
In keeping with the Commission’s recommendations, the Student Opportunity Act revises the state’s funding formula to specifically address the needs of English learners, low-income students, special education programming, and the municipal costs associated with employee and retiree health care benefits. It also raises the annual cap for school building assistance projects to $800 million, with future caps adjusted for inflation, while providing expanded funding for out-of-district special education transportation costs and establishing a timeline for fully funding charter school reimbursements.
Representative Barrows noted that House Bill 4137 also sets strong accountability standards for school districts. The bill authorizes the Commissioner of Education to establish statewide targets and annual benchmarks to address persistent disparities in student achievement, and requires school districts to develop 3-year plans to meet these targets. School districts will also be required to submit annual reports to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to demonstrate that they are making progress in closing existing opportunity gaps among students.
The Student Opportunity Act also:
The proposed reforms included in House Bill 4137 would be phased in over a seven-year period, beginning in Fiscal Year 2021, with the changes fully implemented by 2027.
The Senate previously approved its own version of the education reform bill. A six-member conference committee will now be appointed to work out the differences between the two branches’ proposals, with the goal of producing a final bill that can be sent to Governor Charlie Baker for his signature
There is a new commuter MBTA train stop in Foxboro beginning on October 21st, 2019! This Project began in 2010, when the Foxboro Commuter Rail Feasibility Study took place. Throughout the next nine years, the proper steps took place to ensure consistent train service to the area, a credit to the persistence of community leaders like Representative Barrows. Finally, in August of 2017, the FMCB approved the Pilot Program to begin in October of 2019.
The additional service offers some unique opportunities. The area now has a greater opportunity for reverse commuting which will fill the numerous diverse jobs by providing a convenient commute which is also cost and energy efficient. Not only will this reduce congestion on our roadways, but it will help our environment too! As we will surely see large quantities of workers commute from the district to Boston, we can now see more workers help our local economies by bringing their professional talent from Boston to our area.