Tag: state_news

BOSTON — The Healey administration is pumping the brakes on tough new zero-emissions standards for trucks that were set to go into effect next year, citing a lack of technology and enforcement authority.

The state Department of Environmental Protection said it is delaying implementation of the so-called Advanced Clean Truck regulations that would have required auto manufacturers, starting with the 2025 model year, to gradually increase annual sales of new zero-emission trucks in the state. The rules will now go into effect beginning with 2026 models, regulators said.

The state agency is also carving out new exemptions for snow removal vehicles, such as dump trucks, salt and sand spreaders, front–end loaders and street sweepers for models made after 2025, and 2026 for state and municipal vehicles.

“Municipalities have also expressed challenges with identifying electric trucks that serve their needs and concerns about charging infrastructure, particularly for handling potential snow emergencies,” MassDEP said. “These added flexibilities will allow municipalities to procure the equipment they need while still making progress on decarbonizing our transportation sector.”

MassDEP noted that California, the first state to adopt the emission standards, hasn’t received a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to enforce the new regulations. That means that Massachusetts also has no authority to enforce the standards, the agency said.

Environmentalists blasted the move, arguing that it will hinder the state’s efforts to meet benchmarks to cut excessive greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say are contributing to climate change.

“This is another disappointing failure of climate leadership and policy transparency by the Healey Administration, which has postponed a major climate and clean air rule and evaded public scrutiny by cynically declaring an ‘emergency’ based solely on closed-door meetings with local officials hearing unfounded claims from engine vendors,” Brad Campbell, president of the Conservation Law Foundation, said in a statement.

But critics argue that the standards are unreachable with existing electric-vehicle technology and have pointed to a lack of electric vehicle charging stations and power grid capacity to handle the shift to zero emissions trucking.

The conservative pro-business group Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance praised the Healey administration’s decision to delay implementation of the “unrealistic” truck emission rules that the group argues would drive up costs for consumers.

“The Executive branch adopted these arbitrary rules with unrealistic prohibitions despite the objections of so many people, businesses, and organizations who told them how harmful they would be,” MassFiscal spokesman Paul Craney said in a prepared statement.

“As reality begins to set in, it should come as no surprise that they were forced to reverse course from disaster.”

The Massachusetts Trucking Association was among those who had called on the Healey administration to put the brakes on the program, raising concerns about the cost and a lack of new technology to support the tough new restrictions.

In a letter to Healey last week, a coalition of 50 other business groups joined truckers in calling on the governor to postpone the emission rules, echoing similar concerns.

“Massachusetts has not made enough progress on building out a network of public or private charging stations for commercial vehicles,” according to the letter.

“Further, even if many of the companies could afford an electric MHD truck option, the most important fact remains that an electric option does not yet exist for many of the MHD trucks that are needed by almost every industry – whether in construction, forestry, landscaping, grocery, concrete mixing, towing or any other industry.”

The Advanced Clean Trucks regulations, unveiled by then- Republican Gov. Charlie Baker in 2022, will require manufacturers to increase zero-emission truck sales in the state between 30% and 50% by 2030 and 40% and 75% by 2035.

The move would make Massachusetts one of five states — including Washington, Oregon, New York, New Jersey — to adopt California’s stringent rules.

Environmental groups say the move will help the state meet its ambitious climate-change goals, which call for “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050.

Critics say the move will have a cost for consumers, businesses and local governments that use these types of vehicles for delivering freight and goods and providing other services from municipal trash collection to construction.

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

BOSTON (AP) — The Mega Millions jackpot has risen to an estimated $800 million with a cash option of $401.8 million for Tuesday’s drawing after no one matched all the winning numbers for Friday night’s drawing.

The jackpot was last won in Illinois on June 4 with a ticket valued at $552 million.

Only two Mega Millions jackpots have been won so far this year. Before the Illinois winning ticket, a $1.1 billion winning ticket was purchased in New Jersey in March. That prize is still unclaimed. Winners in New Jersey have one year to claim their winnings.

Tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Drawings are conducted at 11 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays in Atlanta, Georgia. Tickets are $2 each. Half of the proceeds from the sale of each Mega Millions ticket remains in the state where the ticket was sold.

The odds of winning the jackpot are one in more than 302 million. The overall odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24.

The top Mega Millions jackpot ticket — $1.6 billion — was sold in Florida in August of last year.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

BOSTON — State lawmakers are moving ahead with a plan aimed at improving the long-term care system, which is struggling amid a lack of federal funding, chronic labor shortages, and lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A proposal up for a vote in the House and Senate this week would set new restrictions on nursing home operators to prevent abuse and neglect, including beefed-up fines for violations. It would also provide incentives to boost the long-term care workforce and improve disease management in nursing facilities, among other changes.

The House and Senate approved the legislation earlier this year, but differences between the two bills needed to be worked out in a six-member conference committee before sending it to Gov. Maura Healey’s desk. It was one of several bills whose passage was uncertain amid the chaos of the Legislature’s July 31 end of formal sessions.

“Our respective teams are completing the work necessary to formalize the agreement,” the bill’s co-architect, state Rep. Thomas Stanley, D-Waltham, said in a statement with other committee members. “We are confident that the conference committee report will be filed soon, ensuring that the House and Senate can act before the close of business this week to send the bill to the Governor’s desk.”

Under the plan, long-term care facilities would face new licensing regulations and additional oversight, including more extensive reviews of their financial status and whether they have a history of litigation or criminal sanctions.

They would be required to develop infection outbreak response plans, which would need to be submitted to state health officials annually for review.

Fines for abuse and neglect of patients would be increased, while the statute of limitations for investigating allegations of abuse would be increased to four years.

The bill also hikes fines for operating a facility without a license and other offenses.

“This comprehensive and historic legislation represents a profound commitment to the well-being of our seniors and the dedicated professionals who care for them, and it will have a lasting impact on the provision of care in Massachusetts,” said Tara Gregorio, president of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, which represents skilled nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.

“We are deeply appreciative of the Legislature’s efforts to safeguard the dignity and quality of life for our most vulnerable citizens,” she added.

Staffing and capacity shortages at post-acute care facilities are among the major factors complicating efforts to find beds for patients. About two dozen nursing facilities in Massachusetts have announced plans to close since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with half of them closing in the last year, according to industry figures.

The legislation will create a fund with money from fines levied on nursing homes that would pay for capital improvements at nursing homes and a range of training programs, along with incentives to boost the workforce.

A number of the bill’s provisions were recommended by a state commission that issued a report in 2020 calling for giving the state Department of Public Health more regulatory authority and incentives to expand the long-term care workforce.

House Speaker Ron Mariano, D-Quincy, has said he views the long-term care sector overhaul as a key agenda item for Democrats in the two-year session that began in January.

But the bill was delayed along with several other major pieces of legislation and was left in the committee when lawmakers recessed July 31 for the end of formal sessions.

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com

BOSTON — Massachusetts has reduced absenteeism among public school students from record highs during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the latest data shows many students are still skipping school.

The statewide absenteeism rate was 19.6% as of March, according to the latest state data. That’s down substantially from the 2021-22 school year when the statewide absenteeism rate was 27.7% statewide. But it’s still higher than the 2018-19 school year, when the state’s rate was 12.9%, the data shows.

State education officials are hoping to build on that progress by expanding support for students, getting more kids engaged in extracurricular activities and by doing what might seem a Herculean task: making school fun.

To that aim, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education unveiled a new campaign to reduce chronic absenteeism and support students getting back into the classroom where they have access to a variety of supports, including universal free school meals and mental health services.

To kick off the ‘Your Presence is Powerful’ campaign, the state agency is asking students, school staff, educators and families in Massachusetts public pre-K-12 schools and adult learning classes to submit a creative piece of artwork, music, photography, videography or writing to “express why they attend school.”

”Absenteeism is really a manifestation of an unmet need,” Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler said in a statement. “Schools offer counseling, extracurricular activities, meals, and the chance to learn with and from students’ peers. If students aren’t there, they can’t benefit from these opportunities and are missing out on so much more than their education.”

As part of the effort, the state will be providing support to school districts to support local efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism, or students who are absent more than 10% of the school year.

That support will include family engagement resources, guidance on attendance policies and best practices for schools, and information on initiatives “to promote welcoming and supportive school environments for all students.”

Nationwide, roughly one in four students in the 2022-23 school year remained chronically absent, meaning they missed at least 10% of the school year, according to data compiled by the Associated Press and Stanford University economist Thomas Dee.

Before the pandemic, only 15% of students missed that much school, compared to 25% now, the data shows.

Experts say chronically absent students are at higher risk of illiteracy and eventually dropping out. They also miss the meals, counseling and socialization provided at school.

Recent studies suggest many of the reasons kids missed school early in the pandemic are still hampering attendance: financial hardship, transportation problems, mild illness and mental health struggles, according to experts.

Preteen girls, who have among the highest rates of absenteeism, are disproportionately impacted, according to the AP data.

That represents about 12 million children in the 42 states and Washington, D.C., where data is available, according to the AP’s report.

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com

BOSTON — Homeless advocates are blasting Gov. Maura Healey’s move to set new stay limits in the state’s emergency shelter system, claiming it will force families to sleep on the street.

Healey signed an executive order last week she said is aimed at preserving space in the shelter system amid a surge of asylum seekers. Under the changes, which go into effect on Aug. 1, veterans and certain families facing “no-fault” eviction will be given priority for beds, and homeless families will be limited to five days in so-called “overflow” sites.

“This is a dramatic departure from Massachusetts policies,” Kelly Turley, associate director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, told people at a gathering outside the Statehouse on Monday. “Anyone who lives in Massachusetts knows it will be impossible for families who have already been deemed eligible for shelter to find someplace safe to stay.”

Massachusetts is wrestling with a record influx of thousands of migrants over the past year amid a historic surge of immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border, which has pushed the shelter system to the brink of collapse.

Under the “right-to-shelter” law, the state is required to provide emergency housing to homeless families, but critics say the law was never designed to provide for a large migrant population.

Healey declared a state of emergency last August and deployed the National Guard to help deal with the influx. Her administration also set a 7,500-family cap on the number of people eligible for emergency housing last October and required migrants to document that they are searching for work and permanent housing or risk being denied shelter.

As of Thursday, the emergency shelter system had 7,381 families enrolled, according to the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. Roughly half of those families are staying in hotels and motels, the agency said. Hundreds are on wait lists to get into shelter.

Under the new shelter rules, the Healey administration will prioritize families who are homeless because of a no-fault eviction or because of “sudden or unusual circumstances beyond their control,” like a fire, flood, or other natural disaster.

Families that have at least one veteran, medical needs, or those with newborn children or at risk of domestic violence will also be prioritized, according to the administration.

Meanwhile, the state’s overflow sites in Chelsea, Lexington, Cambridge, and Norfolk will be “transitioned” into “temporary respite” shelters. Families that don’t meet the criteria for prioritized beds will only be able to stay at the respite shelters for five days.

Families that stay at the respite shelters will have to wait at least six months or more for placement into the emergency shelter system proper.

Republicans and conservative groups argue that the state’s hodgepodge of “sanctuary” policies are encouraging migrants to relocate to the state. They want the state to end the right-to-shelter law, among other proposals.

Healey has blamed Congress for not taking action on immigration reform, and says the state has no choice but to tighten the rules. She has declined to suspend the right-to-shelter law.

“Massachusetts is out of shelter space, and we simply cannot afford the current size of this system,” Healey said in a statement.

But homeless advocates say the new limits will force women and children to sleep on the streets and are calling on Healey to rescind the policy changes or for lawmakers to override her decision.

“The emergency shelter system is housing of last resort — that means people have nowhere else to go,” Craig Andrade, associate dean of practice and director of the Activist Lab at Boston University’s School of Public Health, said at Monday’s event. “This policy is not only immoral. This policy is inhumane.”

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com

BOSTON — Advocates are criticizing state lawmakers for a lack of funding in the state budget for a new program offering free phone calls to prison inmates.

On Friday, the state Legislature signed off on the final version of the $58 billion state budget that included $10 million for the state Department of Correction and county sheriffs to provide phone calls to prisoners at no cost. The spending package is awaiting action by Gov. Maura Healey.

That’s less than one-third of the $35 million Healey requested for the “no-cost calls” program in her preliminary budget filed in January, according to the group Keep Families Connected/No Cost Calls Coalition, which criticized the lack of funding.

“Phone calls are a lifeline for families separated by incarceration,” the group stated. “Maintaining communication with loved ones is essential for the well-being of people who are incarcerated and their families alike. Regular communication facilitates individuals’ successful return to the community, benefiting us all.”

The coalition called on the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to seek bids for a new contract that will lower the cost of communication services in state prisons and jails. The group noted that the state is paying an average of 10 cents per minute, which is higher than many other states.

“The Department of Correction and virtually all sheriffs’ departments are still overpaying for these services,” the group said.

Massachusetts is one of five states to offer free prison calls after Healey and lawmakers approved the program with no cap on the number of minutes or calls, videos or emails.

Healey had proposed a limit of up to 1,000 minutes a month, but lawmakers opted to make the calls “unlimited.”

Lawmakers approved $20 million in funding for the program in a previous budget cycle, which was used to implement the new program in December.

County sheriffs have expressed concern that the money allocated by the state won’t be enough to cover the costs of providing free calls, with about 12,000 prisoners in the system statewide. Some have raised concerns about public safety and access to a limited number of phones.

In 2018, Massachusetts families spent an estimated $25 million on phone calls to incarcerated relatives, according to the advocacy group Worth Rises, which estimates that correctional facilities received about $7 million in commissions.

A group of former inmates filed a lawsuit several years ago over fees charged to inmates for phone calls that plaintiffs called an “illegal kickback scheme,” driving up costs for inmates and their families, and restricting their ability to communicate with lawyers and loved ones.

Plaintiffs argued that a 2009 law bringing county sheriffs under the state’s regulatory umbrella does not allow them to charge exorbitant fees or collect commissions from prisoners’ phone calls. But the state’s Supreme Judicial Court issued a ruling in 2022 that allows county sheriffs to continue charging inmates.

Most of the state’s prisons and correctional facilities contract with a private vendor to facilitate the calls. While the state Department of Correction has charged 12 to 14 cents per minute for calls, some sheriffs have charged up to 40 cents per minute, advocates say.

In 2021, sheriffs announced an agreement to provide inmates with 10 minutes of free phone calls per week and to charge no more than 14 cents per minute afterward.

It’s not clear exactly how much the free phone calls are costing the state, as the Healey administration hasn’t released any data on use of the money that has already been allocated.

“While the coalition has obtained some information about current costs, neither the coalition nor the public knows what the total cost is since free calls took effect, because there has been no reporting to the Legislature,” the group said. “Indeed, the statutorily required reporting is months overdue.”

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Senate approved a bill Tuesday aimed at expanding the adoption of renewable energy in a bid to help Massachusetts meet its climate goals, including reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Supporters say the proposal will help lower utility bills by directing providers to offer discounted rates to consumers with low and middle incomes and give the state more flexibility to negotiate contracts with providers.

The bill would also ban “competitive electric suppliers,” which cost Massachusetts consumers more than $577 million over the past eight years, according to a report from the state attorney general’s office. The companies have argued that they can help consumers save money and purchase renewable energy.

If passed into law, the bill would also expand electric vehicle infrastructure by making it easier for local and state entities to purchase EV charging equipment, permit EV charging installation for condo owners, and extend an EV tax incentive program for vehicles purchased through 2027, giving residents $3,500 to $6,000 for the purchase of new or used electric vehicles.

Senate President Karen Spilka said Massachusetts has felt the toll of climate change with heat emergencies in cities and farms underwater from torrential rains.

“We are in a climate crisis. The Senate has heard loud and clear from residents, advocates, and clean energy leaders that we need systemic infrastructure changes to deliver on our net zero by 2050 emissions goals,” she said following the 38-2 vote,

State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, questioned whether the bill imposed too many restrictions on consumers during the state’s transition to renewable energy sources.

“That clean energy future can’t come at the expense of economic disruption and destabilizing household budgets and eroding consumer choice,” Tarr said during the debate.

In 2022, then-Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill into law encouraging the development of offshore wind and solar energy and helping to limit the use of fossil fuels in building projects as a way to help bring the state get closer to its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

To help reduce building emissions, the Senate bill would let gas companies pursue geothermal projects, mandate consideration of greenhouse gas emissions when expanding or replacing gas pipelines and require the state to evaluate the greenhouse gas emissions of each state-owned property.

The bill is also intended to help speed up for solar, wind, storage, and other clean energy infrastructure projects by setting 15-month permitting deadlines for larger projects, and 12-month deadlines for smaller projects.

It would also make future renewable energy projects more competitive while allowing Massachusetts to partner with other New England states to help drive down costs and promote innovation in technologies to mitigate climate change.

During the debate, senators also approved an update of the state’s bottle bill, adding noncarbonated beverages, wine and spirits to the list of containers eligible for a bottle deposit, and increasing the deposit amount from 5 cents to 10 cents. Small alcohol bottles, known as “nips,” would be included in the deposit program.

Debate on the climate legislation followed approval last week by the Senate of a companion bill aimed at curtailing the use of plastics in Massachusetts, including barring the purchase of single-use plastic bottles by state agencies.

The bill, approved Thursday, also bans carry-out plastic bags at retailers statewide and require stores to charge 10 cents for recycled paper bags. It requires straws and plasticware to be available only by request and creates a program to recycle large items like car seats.

The move comes as a growing number of states are address concerns about plastics that harm wildlife, pollute waterways and clog landfills.

The bills still need the approval of the Massachusetts House before heading to Gov. Maura Healey’s desk.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

BOSTON — Service providers who work with children diagnosed with autism “overbilled” the state’s Medicaid program by nearly $17.3 million in the previous fiscal year, according to a new report by the Inspector General’s office.

The investigation by Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro uncovered $16.7 million of improper payments through MassHealth’s Applied Behavior Analysis program — dating from Jan. 1, 2022, to Oct. 30, 2023 — for supervised care of patients.

The program, which provides treatment to low-income children with autism spectrum disorder, requires that for every 10 hours of services provided by behavioral technicians and interns, there must be at least one hour of supervision by a licensed applied behavior analyst. The IG’s report said some providers billed MassHealth for supervisory services that exceeded that ratio.

Shapiro’s review also found that MassHealth made nearly $440,000 in payments to providers that included “impossible billing” for 24 hours of continuous service.

MassHealth paid at least 561 service claims from more than 300 members for work on holidays, including Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and July 4, during the period covered by the investigation, totaling nearly $163,000, the IG’s report noted.

In a statement, Shapiro said the state agency’s failure to ensure that autism services are properly supervised “undermines the reliance that families place in MassHealth to deliver the highest quality of services for their children.”

“It is equally concerning that ABA service providers billed for services that did not meet MassHealth’s supervision standard, resulting in a lower level of service for children with ASD who are on MassHealth,” he said. “That is unacceptable.”

Shapiro also reviewed MassHealth’s oversight and internal controls to identify, prevent and recover improper payments. He said the review found that MassHealth contracts contain financial incentives for service providers to set robust controls to mitigate and identify fraud waste and abuse.

He said the review was “critical because it is estimated that millions of dollars are lost yearly to fraud, waste and abuse in the MassHealth program.”

“Such loss of public funds diverts necessary dollars from essential healthcare services,” he said.

Shapiro said his review also found a lack of qualified behavior analysts to supervise the services provided to children with autism. He said the labor shortage is part of a broader problem affecting most sectors of the state’s healthcare system — one that MassHealth can’t solve on its own.

The report recommends the state expand taxpayer-funded loan forgiveness programs to help attract and retain more people to work in health care.

“Still, in spite of the shortage, failure to follow supervisory standards is unacceptable,” he said.

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com