Thursday, July 27, 2017

House Minority Leader Brad Jones Hails Today's Signing of MA Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) hailed today’s signing of House Bill 3680, An Act Establishing the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, saying it “will provide many important protections for working mothers in the Commonwealth.”

Representative Jones was one of the original co-sponsors of this legislation, which was filed in January as House Bill 1038.  A redrafted version of the bill was reported out favorably by the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development on May 1, and it later received unanimous approval in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers to offer reasonable accommodations to workers who are pregnant or nursing, including modified work schedules, temporary assignment to a less strenuous position, and more frequent bathroom breaks.  It also prohibits employers from discriminating against pregnant workers when hiring or promoting, or retaliating against an employee for requesting an accommodation.

“The new law sends a clear message that Massachusetts will not tolerate discrimination in the workplace,” said Representative Jones.  “I’m proud to stand in support of pregnant workers in the Commonwealth.”

The new law takes effect on April 1, 2018.

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Salem News Endorses Rep. Jones' Call for 'Wait and See' Approach to Budget Veto Overrides

The Salem News has endorsed House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr.’s efforts to convince House leadership to adopt a “wait and see” approach to taking up Governor Baker’s FY18 budget veto overrides.  The newspaper is backing Representative Jones’ call for delaying any veto overrides until after this summer’s revenue figures are in, agreeing that legislators “should refrain from overriding vetoes until there is a better idea of the state’s financial health.”

You can read the Salem News’ editorial here.

Thursday, July 20, 2017

House Minority Leader Jones Calls For ‘Wait and See’ Approach to Budget Veto Overrides in Letter to House Speaker

House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) is calling on House leadership to adopt a “wait and see” approach to taking up overrides of Governor Charlie Baker’s FY18 budget vetoes.

In a letter delivered to House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo yesterday, Representative Jones urged DeLeo to “proceed with caution when considering the scheduling of any potential overrides in the House,” suggesting that the Legislature wait until after the summer’s tax revenues numbers are in before making a decision.

“Given the current fiscal realities, the best course of action for the Legislature to pursue at this time would be to allow Governor Baker’s vetoes to stand and not move forward with any overrides until we have a chance to review the revenue numbers for June, July and August,” Jones wrote.

In his letter, Jones cited a series of reductions in anticipated revenues that have left the Commonwealth facing a $439 million revenue shortfall through the end of May, with June’s final revenue numbers still pending.  He also noted that the Legislature’s decision to override most of the Governor’s vetoes last year “essentially left the state with an unbalanced budget.”

“While the House could still take up a limited number of targeted overrides to address emergency situations as they arise, it would be a mistake to again attempt a wholesale reversal of virtually all of the Governor’s vetoes without first having a better idea of where state revenues are heading,” Jones wrote, adding that “Our focus in the coming months should be on working with the Baker-Polito Administration to identify savings and efficiencies throughout state government, rather than exacerbating an already precarious financial situation by taking up multiple ill-advised veto overrides before the summer recess.”

A copy of Representative Jones’ letter to Speaker DeLeo is attached below.

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Representative Muradian Appointed to Madeline Amy Sweeney Award Committee

Representative David K. Muradian Jr. (R-Grafton) is pleased to announce his appointment to the Madeline Amy Sweeney Award Committee with the responsibility of choosing a recipient to be awarded for Civilian Bravery. He was appointed to the committee by House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones Jr. (R-North Reading).

The Grafton Republican will join fellow legislators, public officials and representatives from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security on the committee. Together, they will sort through hundreds of nominations to present one award to a citizen of the commonwealth who has displayed extraordinary courage and heroism without regard for personal safety, in an effort to save the life of another.

“The Madeline Amy Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery recognizes individuals who have gone above and beyond to help save others from harm, even when it means putting their own personal safety at risk,” said Representative Jones.  “I am confident Representative Muradian will do a tremendous job helping the award committee to review this year’s nominees and identify a recipient who is truly worthy of being honored with this distinctive award named after one of the many heroes of 9/11.”

The Madeline Amy Sweeney Award was created in 2002 in recognition of Sweeney, a resident of Acton and flight attendant on the Sept. 11 American Airline Flight 11. Sweeney was credited with discretely contacting authorities in Boston to convey important information about the hijackers and their actions on the plane. It is because of Amy Sweeney’s heroism, and the heroism of so many victims of Sept. 11, 2001, that this award was created.

“I am honored to have been appointed to this special committee by Representative Jones,” Muradian said. “The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is home to many selfless and brave individuals. I look forward to working with the committee on choosing a sole recipient deserving of this honorary award.”

The 2017 Madeline Amy Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery will be presented at a ceremony at the State House on Monday, Sept. 11.

Friday, July 7, 2017

House Minority Leader Brad Jones’ Statement on Passage of the Fiscal Year 2018 State Budget

House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) issued the following statement today after the House voted to accept the final conference committee report on the Fiscal Year 2018 state budget:

“I commend the conference committee members for their hard work in producing a budget that provides local aid increases for our cities and towns while also rejecting any broad-based tax increases.  The conference committee was faced with the difficult task of putting together a budget at a time of rising costs and declining revenues, but rose to the challenge by working to preserve critical programs and attempting to limit spending reductions to areas that will have minimal impact on the state’s residents.

I’m pleased to see the budget also acknowledges the Baker-Polito Administration’s efforts to rein in MassHealth costs and to provide unemployment insurance relief to the state’s employers, particularly the small businesses that help create jobs and fuel the Massachusetts economy.  However, this work is far from done, and it’s important that we continue to pursue other MassHealth reforms put forward by the administration that were not addressed in this budget.

Moving forward, we must be cognizant of the fact that we still face a significant revenue shortfall, and will need to do everything we can to protect the interests of the state’s taxpayers by making sure the state spends within its means. While I continue to have concerns about certain accounts that have traditionally been left underfunded, I know we have a Governor in the corner office who is committed to fiscal responsibility and will do the right thing to ensure we have a balanced and sustainable budget. What we should not do is rush into taking up overrides once the Governor has issued his vetoes, but instead should allow some time to pass so we can get a better sense of where revenues are trending in the new fiscal year.”