• State board struggling to balance coverage, affordability in new plans

  January 19, 2007 -- The authority charged with introducing health insurance plans affordable to about 160,000 uninsured individuals indicated today that plans submitted to date that meet minimum coverage standards are too expensive.

• Massachusetts adds 1,100 jobs in November; unemployment rate at 5.0 percent

  December 27, 2006 -- Massachusetts added 1,100 jobs in November. Total jobs are up 21,100 from one year ago and 56,200 jobs have been added since December 2003. The unemployment rate in Massachusetts increased to 5.0 percent in November from 4.6 percent in October.

• State crawls out of population spiral

  December 27, 2006 -- After two straight years of population loss, Massachusetts gained a sparse 3,826 people this year, ranking as the fifth slowest-growing state in the nation.

• Gas tax hike clashes with transportation, energy goals, Patrick says

  December 20, 2006 -- Raising the gas tax, an idea contemplated by a state commission eyeing ways to address a huge backlog in transportation maintenance problems, runs counter to the push for energy efficiency and independence, according to Gov.-elect Deval Patrick, who nonetheless backed off a campaign pledge against such an increase.

• Auto rates to drop 11.7 percent

  December 18, 2006 -- State Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler announced the rate cut 45 minutes before her deadline Friday. The new rates take effect April 1, 2007 and will result in an average decrease of $120 per vehicle and an average statewide premium of $899.

• Patrick picks MassInc chief for energy and environment post

  December 15, 2006 -- Signaling an Executive Branch reorganization in the making, Governor-elect Deval Patrick on Friday selected a think tank chief and former Clinton administration official as his secretary for energy and environment, and tapped a real estate developer and former Massport official as state housing and economic development chief.
  

• New report offers policy recommendations to assist “very small businesses”

  December 19, 2006 -- Gov. Mitt Romney’s budget cuts are “potentially devastating” to small business lenders and supporters, according to policy recommendations from the Massachusetts Small Business Advisory Council.

• Authority sees red in budget, plans assessments on insurers to generate funds

  December 14, 2006 -- A new state authority will run millions of dollars in the red until fiscal year 2009 as it pushes to expand health insurance access to 500,000 uninsured individuals, according to preliminary projections revealed today at the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority meeting.

• Patrick wants to ‘fix’ governor’s immigrant arrest policy, calls it ‘bad idea’

  December 7, 2006 -- Gov.-elect Deval Patrick said Thursday he is exploring whether he can revoke powers Gov. Mitt Romney is trying to grant the State Police to arrest illegal immigrants during routine law enforcement activities, and quibbled with Romney over the state’s fiscal resources.
  

• At health summit, experts point to need for outreach about new access law

  November 16, 2006 -- Seven months after the passage of a pioneering law that expands health care access to the uninsured and requires individuals to have insurance, experts this week highlighted the importance of educating individuals and small business owners about the law as a way of ensuring its success.
  

• Survey of more than 1,000 measures public attitudes on new health care law

  November 15, 2006 -- Massachusetts residents are cautiously optimistic about the new health care reform law, but divided about a mandate requiring individuals to purchase health insurance or face financial penalties, according to survey results released today.
  

• Voters to ballot questions: no, no and no

  November 8, 2006 -- Massachusetts voters chose Tuesday to reject soundly all three statewide ballot initiatives that would have expanded access to wine in food stores, allowed voters to endorse candidates across parties, and enabled subsidized family child care providers to form unions.

• Auto insurers should reduce rates at least 10 percent, attorney general says

  AUGUST 23, 2006 -- Citing a decline in accident-related injury claims for the second straight year, state officials told Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler Wednesday that Massachusetts drivers deserve a deeper cut than the 3.7 percent rate reduction recommended by auto insurers.

• Health premium plan tries to balance fiscal viability for state, poor

  AUGUST 16, 2006 -- A single adult earning $29,000 would pay $100 per month for health insurance, with annual out-of-pocket pharmacy and surgery expenses capped at $500, under draft regulations for the state’s new health care plan.

• As identity theft reports climb, legislative response is hung up on the Hill

  JULY 27, 2006 -- With formal sessions quickly coming to an end over the next four days, Beacon Hill lawmakers have yet to act on legislation aimed at denting one of the fastest-growing crimes in the country: identity theft.

• State adds jobs in June, but is still a long way from peak employment

  JULY 21, 2006 -- Massachusetts gained 4,400 jobs in June and raised its May estimate by 800, though the unemployment rate remained at 5 percent, steadily .4 percent above the national numbers, according to figures the state released Thursday.
  

• Fiscal ’06 revenues 8.2 percent above last year’s

  JULY 17, 2006 -- The state collected a record $18.487 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 8.2 percent above last year and over $1 billion more than the revenue estimate used in the budget, according to preliminary figures released Monday.

• Report: As breaches make news, Mass. more vulnerable to ID theft

  JULY 19, 2006 -- Security breaches in business and government operations have exposed the personal data of Americans about 90 million times in the past 18 months and Massachusetts residents are more vulnerable than others, according to a report released Monday morning by consumer groups.

• DeLeo predicts sales tax holiday bill’s passage

  JULY 17, 2006 -- The state will sanction a weekend of tax-free retail shopping next month, two powerful Beacon Hill lawmakers predicted Monday.

• Legislature gives Romney the job of tunnel inspections, reopening decision

  JULY 13, 2006 -- Saying they need to address a crisis that appears to be escalating, the Legislature on Thursday quickly approved Gov. Mitt Romney’s emergency proposal to take over control over Big Dig tunnel inspections and spend $20 million on a broad safety audit of the entire $14.6 billion project.

• Bourne Financial Development Corporation announces $250,000 in Senate’s budget for Economic Studies for Main Street Buzzards Bay

  June 15, 2006 -- The Bourne Financial Development Corporation (BFDC) announced today that its efforts to revitalize Main Street Buzzards Bay are poised to clear a major funding hurdle. As part of the Senate’s version of the fiscal year 2007 budget, Senator Therese Murray (D-Plymouth), Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, included $250,000 to fund the majority of the market and density analyses, and wastewater and other infrastructure studies that are necessary for the revitalization project to move forward.

• Hearing set for small business owners to comment about excessive federal regulatory enforcement

  JUNE 14, 2006 -- Small business owners, community leaders and representatives of trade associations concerned about excessive enforcement of federal rules can voice their complaints at a U.S. Small Business Administration Regulatory Fairness Board Hearing in Boston on July 14, 2006, from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
  

• New patient reporting requirements touted, hospitals want more time

  JUNE 13, 2006 -- New regulations the state expects to adopt this summer would increase the volume of race, ethnicity, and home address information hospitals would need to collect from patients. Health care experts praised the proposals at a Division of Health Care Finance and Policy
  hearing Tuesday morning, saying more precise information about patient demographics would
  allow for better, more targeted health care.

• SHNS Policy Points:

  JUNE 12, 2006 -- The cost of obtaining a college degree, seen by many as replacing the high school diploma as the ticket to the middle class, is rising at a far greater rate than the ability of students and families to pay for it, experts said Friday morning.

• Cost of paid leave plan more than triple estimates, business lobby says

  JUNE 7, 2006 – The Senate's plan to expand paid leave options and tax deductions for workers with families would cost those workers more than triple what its designers predicted, the state's largest employers group said Wednesday. Instead of the average of less than $2 per week contribution laid out by sponsor and Senate President Robert Travaglini, workers would have to pony up between $6 and $12 per week, say critics who are hopeful the dwindling time left in this legislative session will help prevent the bill's passage.

• State health chief briefs business leaders on new insurance law

  MAY 25, 2006 -- Is the new health care reform law opening the door for companies to drop employees, increasing the number of the state’s uninsured? What happens to a company with fewer than ten employees? What if a company has 12 employees, but most of them are in other states? And how does a company deal with employees choosing state-sponsored health care over the company’s plan? The state’s top health and human services chief answered those questions and more today at the last of five regional meetings held by business groups as the state moves to swiftly implement the sweeping health care reform bill signed into law in April.

• Beacon Hill Scorecard -- May 19, 2006

  In this installment, learn about commercial permitting changes, state economic confidence, rail funding plans, fishing restrictions, water transportation funding, reduction in toxics manufacturing, and school aid changes.

• Beacon Hill Scorecard -- May 12, 2006

  In this installment, learn about the status of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, state school aid, land conservation action, the state's universal health-care plan, the federal health-care bill, proposed gas tax cuts, home insurance tax hikes and more.

• Think tank chief: Inflation cutting into bang for state's capital buck

  May 11, 2006 – The state's capital spending power has been eaten away by inflation over the past six years, declining 23 percent and limiting the state's ability to maintain and expand aging roads, public buildings and infrastructure, the head of a think tank said Thursday.

• State hopeful, though no towns approved yet for smart growth plan

  May 8, 2006 -- State officials are frustrated with the stark unpopularity of a highly touted program designed to increase housing stock within "smart growth" guidelines, but anticipate a domino effect once it begins to take hold, they said Monday.

• Beacon Hill Scorecard

  To stay abreast of Beacon Hill news, you can receive Cape Business Trends, a weekly newsletter from Cape Business. Please fill out the form to the right to register.

• Beacon Hill Report

  The National Federation of Independent Business provides state news, views and tools for Massachusetts small businesses. In this report, learn more about legislative issues surrounding paid family leave, health care, the fiscal year 2007 budget, and fishing regulations.
  

• Beacon Hill Scorecard -- April 26, 2006

  In May, the Beacon Hill Scorecard moves from Cape Business magazine to capebusiness.net so we may provide you with more news on a daily and weekly basis. To register for our Cape Business Trends newsletter, featuring the Beacon Hill Scorecard and other up-to-the-minute business news, please fill out the form to the right.

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