House Minority Leader’s Statement on Release of House FY’12 Budget

BOSTON—House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. issued the following statement today in response to the release of the House Fiscal Year 2012 budget.

I appreciate the work done by the House Committee on Ways and Means in the release of the FY’12 budget. The budget, as released, contains some positive aspects, particularly that it does not contain any new taxes. In these tough fiscal times, I am pleased that as proposed, local aid has not been cut as deeply as we were led to believe might be the case. To be sure, most communities will still see a cut in aid, and we need to try and mitigate this going forward. The Republican Caucus is looking forward to the opportunity, albeit brief, to look over the proposed budget in the coming days. In these tough economic times it is only right that we deliver a fiscally sound budget to the taxpayers of the Commonwealth.

You Can’t Have Your Sal, and Eat It Too

In case you missed it, this week marks the five year anniversary of Governor Romney signing the state’s health insurance and access reform into law.

However, local and national Democrats see this “anniversary” as a chance to mock former Governor Romney and hopefully derail his potential presidential bid. Parties and gatherings have been planned in the Northeast with a handful of “parties” planned in Massachusetts. One of the guests at these “parties” will be none other than Governor Deval Patrick. It is worth mentioning that none of these gatherings will interfere with the promotion of his book.

In reflecting on these “parties”, one must wonder if former Speaker of the House and now indicted Sal DiMasi will be in attendance. After all, in a 2006 article in Governing Magazine, the former speaker is lauded for his hard work in getting such legislation passed.

“Under DiMasi’s vision, which ultimately prevailed, everybody had to pay something.” The article went on to say, “DiMasi, 61, deserves the most credit for coming up with that piece. ‘You gotta make it taste good for everyone,’ he says. ‘Everyone has to see the benefit at the end, or they don’t buy into it, right?’ ”

Organizers of these events, which are being held over the next two days, were sure to have invited Governor Romney because of his instrumental role in the passage of healthcare legislation in Massachusetts. We are just hopeful that Governor Patrick and the Democratic Party were sure to extend the invitation to Speaker DiMasi.

House Minority Leader’s Statement on Attorney General’s Ban of Illegal Gaming at ‘Cyber Cafes’

BOSTON—House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. issued the following statement today in support of the Attorney General's move to ban illegal gaming at “cyber cafes”.

I am pleased to hear of the Attorney General’s swift action in shutting down illegal gaming operations at so-called ‘cyber cafes’. This preventative measure will ensure that illegal gaming has no place in Massachusetts. These establishments were enabling illegal activity in the Commonwealth and hurting the lottery, which in turn hurts our cities and towns.


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Not So Secure Communities…

In case you missed it, Red Mass Group recently released video of Secretary of Public Safety Mary Elizabeth Heffernan, addressing a crowd of citizens at a public hearing regarding the Secure Communities program.

During her presentation, Secretary Heffernan revealed that she had not spoken to Bay State sheriffs or police chiefs regarding the Secure Communities program. If adopted, Secure Communities would automatically check the immigration status of everyone arrested. Such a program has garnered support from law officials and community leaders and activists around the state, and is currently being implemented in Rhode Island.

The revelation by the highest ranking public safety official in the state goes to show that the Patrick Administration is clearly not on board with this program. In their lack of communication with public safety officials, it is apparent that they are merely attempting to go along half-heartedly with a potential federal requirement. This is the latest illustration of just how out of touch the Patrick-Murray administration is with the residents of the Commonwealth.

House Minority Leader’s Statement on Plan to Change Date of Massachusetts Presidential Primary

BOSTON—House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. issued the following statement today in opposition of the proposed plan to change the date of the presidential primary in Massachusetts.


I am disappointed to learn that the national Democratic Party is attempting to pressure local Democratic officials to move the date of the presidential primary in Massachusetts. The last time a similar attempt was made to change the rules to an election law was in 2009 and that set the stage for Scott Brown’s victory. Any call to change the rules in the middle of the game for political advantage is not the right course of action. If the Democratic Party is interested in pursuing this rule change, the proper time to address this is in anticipation of the 2016 election cycle.

Starting To Sound Like A Broken Record

In case you missed it, the Boston Herald reported that Fidelity Investments was not the only firm to take their jobs north of the border to New Hampshire. In fact Crosby Advisors, money managers for Fidelity CEO Ned Johnson and his family, has also packed up and moved north.

With their relocation to New Hampshire, Crosby Advisors took more than 100 workers, not to mention potential tax revenue. Crosby has cited one reason for the move was due to the Granite states generous trust and tax laws. One expert said, “The principal reason that families move their trusts to New Hampshire is that the state has the most progressive trust laws in the country.”

The Boston Herald article went on to say “New Hampshire doesn’t tax trust income for out-of-state beneficiaries. Family office moves are mainly aimed at gaining flexibility and improving privacy for assets in a business-friendly haven.”

Now that Crosby Advisors has left the Commonwealth, the Governor is left to answer calls from residents and critics alike regarding why the Bay State can’t seem to keep corporations and their tax dollars in state. The phrase in the article that the Patrick-Murray administration clearly hasn’t provided in Massachusetts is “a business-friendly haven.” Until this happens, we are going to continue to see jobs and revenue cross over state lines.

Click here to read the Boston Herald story in its entirety.

Food For Thought

In case you missed it, recent numbers released by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show that our New England neighbors have considerably lower unemployment rates than the Bay State.

In an article posted by the State House News Service (SHNS), Massachusetts with its highly touted unemployment rate of 8.2% in fact trails Maine (7.5%), Vermont (5.6%), and New Hampshire (5.4%). In fairness to full disclosure, Massachusetts’ unemployment rate is better than the national average (8.9%).

These numbers are sobering considering the fact that Governor Patrick never mentions Massachusetts jobless rates in comparison to those of our neighbors. Maybe these recent figures will help the Patrick-Murray administration shed some light as to why so many corporations and jobs are leaving the Commonwealth for other New England states.

Internet Sweepstakes Parlors Don’t Make Cent$

In case you missed it, two local television stations aired stories earlier this week about the growing trend of internet sweepstakes establishments throughout the Commonwealth.

These sweepstakes are flying under the radar predominantly because the establishments are hiding behind the notion that they are merely selling internet time, and not engaging in illegal gambling activities. Some sweepstakes establishments are going as far as handing out sodas and finger food to patrons.

As a result of these stories, we are urging the Attorney General, as well as necessary members of the Patrick Administration to look into these practices. Not only are these sweepstakes parlors potentially engaging in illegal gaming, they are skipping out on potential taxes that the state could rightfully collect.

Click here to view the Channel 4 (WBZ-TV) story in its entirety.

Click here to view the Channel 5 (WCVB) story in its entirety.

Now You Want To Talk…

In case you missed it, the Boston Herald reported that Governor Patrick wants to sit down “face-to-face” with Fidelity Investments executives to discuss the closing of their Marlborough offices.

In an interview with reporters at the State House, the Governor said “I want them to say it to my face, and I want to see whether there is something we can do.” This in reaction to him feeling “disappointed and frustrated” that Fidelity Investments chose to ship 1,100 jobs out of the Commonwealth.

While we are on the topic of jobs leaving Massachusetts, we can’t help but recall the closing of Evergreen Solar back in January. This announcement of the loss of 800 jobs, and millions in taxpayer dollars came with little notification to the Patrick Administration as well.

When the Governor found out about Evergreen Solar leaving the Commonwealth he gave what now seems to be his well rehearsed speech regarding companies leaving Massachusetts, but never asked to sit down with Evergreen executives and have them “say it to his face.”

It’s ironic that now that Fidelity is leaving, he wants to sit down and talk to them face-to-face. Yet when Evergreen Solar, a company that was highly touted by the Governor, and received $56.8 million in grants, loans, land, and tax incentives, decides to leave all the Governor does is give a press conference.

Let’s try and keep the jobs in Massachusetts so it doesn’t have to come down to a face-to-face meeting after the fact.

Sweeping It Under the Rug

In case you missed it, at a press conference in the State House today, Governor Patrick felt that his vacation in Israel and the United Kingdom for the past 10 days was “successful and demanding.”

Choosing to focus on the so-called positive news and events of the past ten days, Gov. Patrick told reporters that “he and his team had ‘built relationships’ that will net future growth in the weeks and months to come.”

Excuse us if we don’t buy into the line that the Governor is feeding us this time. Saying that announcements regarding his trip abroad would be forthcoming seems to be the way that the Patrick Administration sweeps something under the rug until news that they “can run with” comes to light.

Instead of giving the residents of the Commonwealth a false sense of hope, the Governor needs to work on addressing the fact that yet again jobs are leaving the Commonwealth, as well as the fact that he was apparently the last to know about a major public safety issue. Cut to the chase Governor, it’s the least you could do.