The Finish Line: Four Bills Signed at the Deadline

The last days of the 2021-2022 legislative session saw dozens of bills pushed to former Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s desk in hopes of last minute signing. As these were the last days of Governor Baker’s administration, it was necessary that these either be signed or pocket vetoed. There were several reasons for the delay of these bills.

For bills HB5120 (South Boston Community Development Foundation) and HB4768 (Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant), the problems came with the adoption of amendments. Governor Baker proposed amendments for HB5120 in late July 2022. These amendments were not adopted and no progress was made on this bill until early 2023, when amendments were finally adopted, once other final changes were made, it was then sent to Governor Baker for approval. HB4768 also saw difficulty in the adoption of amendments as well as being subject to many debates. Both of these challenges combined delayed its ability to be adopted until late 2022. Bills such as SB2731 (Maternal Postpartum Care) needed the federal government to approve proposed changes to Medicare. Once these changes were approved in July 2022, the bill was able to be signed into law, though it still had to wait until early January 2023 for Governor Baker to sign it. 

Some other bills were subject to debate and committee approval, as was the case for SB2980 (Foster Parents’ Bill of Rights), which spent the majority of the time awaiting approval by the House Committee on Ways and Means. Following is a synopsis of these important bills that made it through at the last minute. 

Foster Parents' Bill of Rights SB2980

SB2980, An Act establishing a Foster Parent’s Bill of Rights, was signed by former Governor Charlie Baker on January 5th, 2023 the last day of his term. SB2980 requires the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families to establish a clear bill of rights for foster parents and outlining the Department’s relationship to them. This act includes the right to receive relevant information, in line with any existing state and federal laws, about the foster child. This comprises, but is not limited to: the child’s foster history, health, trauma history, high-risk behavior, and educational needs. The bill further outlined the right for foster parents to receive explicit information surrounding financial support options, the right to be notified and heard in court matters, as well as guaranteeing access to social workers. Additionally, the act included protection against all forms of discrimination, allowing for the ideal placement of foster children. The goal of such was to ensure that foster parents are able to access the information and resources necessary to be good parents. This Act was especially vital considering the difficulties in the foster care system presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department was further tasked with the formation of a standardized pre-service training to be provided to foster parents to best reinforce the reasonable and prudent parent standard. This standard considers age, maturity, and developmental level to best guide foster parents' decisions about the children in their care. 

Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant HB4768

Another act signed by Governor Baker was HB4768, an act providing for a certain payment in lieu of tax agreement in the Town of Plymouth. This act would allow for payments instead of a tax agreement on lands owned by Holtec International, an energy industry company operating the now-decommissioned Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in the Town of Plymouth. The lands in question include spent fuel pools and dry cask storage systems which store nuclear fuel until further disposed. The storage was initially planned to be removed from the town, as outlined by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but instead will now remain on-site for an indeterminate amount of time. The payments, supporters argued, would ensure that, though the power station is no longer operating, the town would have sufficient resources to protect the site and region while storing nuclear fuel, an evidently precarious circumstance.

Maternal Postpartum Care SB2731 

SB2731 was signed by Charlie Baker during the end of his term. This bill deals with access to maternal postpartum care. Under current federal legislation, pregnant individuals eligible for Medicaid will only receive coverage for the period in which they are pregnant, as well as 60 days after giving birth. Many advocates of this bill, such as Healthcare For All and Children’s Health Access Coalition, have argued that this is not sufficient. This bill directs MassHealth, also known as Massachusetts Medicaid, to seek permission from the federal government to extend the time period for postpartum care from 60 days to 12 months. 

Much of this bill’s support stems from the increase in the maternal mortality rate. As of 2014, the latest public data shows that Massachusetts has a maternal mortality rate of 40.4 deaths per 100,000 live births. This has cause for concern as this number increased from 2012, when it was 30.4 deaths per 100,000 live births. Overall, the United States as a whole has seen an increase in the maternal mortality rate in recent years. Historically however, Massachusetts has had one of the lowest maternal mortality rates in the United States. Regardless of these typically low mortality rates, many supporters of this bill believe it is necessary to improve maternal and postpartum outcomes and see MassHealth as playing an important role in that goal. They argue that timely postpartum care and doctors visits will provide an opportunity for addressing chronic health issues, mental health issues, and other medical concerns with the hope of establishing more equitable and helpful care for pregnant individuals. The ultimate goal of this extension of the postpartum care period is to have a longer period of opportunity to identify and treat medical issues with the aim of continuing to improve maternal care for pregnant individuals both during and after pregnancy.

South Boston Community Development Foundation HB5120

HB5120 deals with the South Boston Community Development Foundation, specifically membership on the foundation’s committee. Prior to the signing of this bill, the committee was made up of nine members. Three of these members were business owners from South Boston, appointed by the governor, and three other members were representatives of the local social services agencies that were appointed by Mayor Wu. Senator Nick Collins (D) from the First Suffolk District, as well as Representative David Biele (D) from the Fourth Suffolk District, were non-voting members of the committee. With the final member of the committee being the Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn from District Two.

The signing of this bill changes the designated committee membership number from nine to eleven, keeping all prior members and requirements, but establishing two more membership positions on the committee. This bill created the addition of either a veteran or active duty service member,  who will be appointed by Senator Collins.  Also, a member from the local hospitality workforce will be appointed by Representative Biele. The other notable change is that this bill grants the First Suffolk Senator and the Fourth District representative, or their designees, voting privileges. 

This is only a portion of the dozens of bills that Governor Baker signed into law. There are many other noteworthy bills as well, and many more to come with the upcoming 2023-2024 legislative cycle. Discovering all of these bills can be challenging, but with the help of InstaTrac, a daunting task becomes much more manageable! Our tracking services allow you to stay on top of the legislative process, with bill action alerts, bill summaries, and bill comparisons. For more information or to see a demo of our services, please reach out to info@instatrac.com.

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