FROM: Bill Vernon, State Director
RE: Weekly Update
DATE: August 5, 2009
Beacon Hill Report
August Recess and Looking Ahead
The legislature has left on its traditional August recess from formal sessions but the legitimate concerns of small business owners about state government affecting their businesses remain. Here is a list of concerns:
Privacy and data security regulations currently scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2010 and Senate Bill No. 173 designed to ease the economic impact on small businesses.
25% increase in the sales tax that took effect on August 1; expansion of the higher sales tax on alcoholic beverages; and potential local sales taxes on meals and hotel rooms effective October 1. To our retail members: To help me respond to press inquiries, your comments to me about sales results in August are welcome.
Storm water regulations that will adversely affect employers with large impervious surfaces will be promulgated this fall.
Legislation to restrict employer access to criminal records of prospective employees will be considered this fall (see below).
And the big one: health insurance premium increases and cost containment proposals. Another mandate in the FY2010 state budget effectively shifts the $52 million cost of childhood vaccines onto small and medium sized employers and allows self-insured companies (large employers) to skate free. Cost containment and cost relief?
Taxes and State Budget
Long-time State House observers were impressed by legislative creativity as the House and Senate decided not to attempt to override the Governor’s vetoes of $147 million in spending in the FY10 budget, which would require a two-thirds vote of each house. Instead the legislature passed a new spending bill that restored $80 million in spending that the Governor had vetoed. The opposition pointed out that the state did not have the money to spend as year-end revenue figures revealed a $180 million deficit.
CORI Changes
The Judiciary Committee held a hearing last week on several legislative proposals to change the state’s Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) system. The proposals would in short modernize the system, improve the accuracy of the information, and make the information available for a shorter period of time. Employer groups agree that changes need to be made to the system, but that information that a prospective employee committed a felony or a misdemeanor should continue to be available for ten or seven years. Transparency is the best policy for the free enterprise system and for public safety.
Item Pricing
The Committee on Community Development and Small Business heard testimony on legislation to change the state’s price labeling rules, but ran into opposition from labor unions and consumer advocates. The bill would lift the requirement that individual food items be separately labeled, consistent with the current rule for non-food items. The bill would eliminate confusion in stores with both kinds of products, improve accuracy, and save jobs. Opponents argue it would cost jobs and increase errors. Massachusetts and Michigan are the only two states that require any form of pricing each individual item.
This is our way of keeping you informed and ready to react when politicians address issues that affect your bottom line. We hope you find it useful and informative. Visit www.nfib.com/MA for more state news, views and tools for Massachusetts small businesses.
Sincerely,
Bill Vernon
NFIB/Massachusetts State Director | 
