January 21, 2011 — There is a deadline at the beginning of each legislative session for bills to be considered during that session. Rep. Jen Benson filed the following bills for the 2011-12 legislative. Please contact our office if you have any questions on this or other pending legislation.

An act providing for the public disclosure of quality indicators for the developmentally disabled
This legislation would require all private agencies, group care facilities and group care residences serving persons with developmental disabilities to file information with DDS which will be made available to the public in an easily accessible format. This will enable persons with disabilities and their families to make informed decisions about the providers and agencies they plan to use.

An Act relative to criminal penalties for resisting arrest
Last year, one of Lunenburg's police officers was severely injured on duty while attempting to arrest a suspect. This legislation would recognize the dangers police officers face very day, and create harsher penalties for causing severe bodily injury to a police officer while resisting arrest. Violators would face up to 5 years in jail or 2 1/2 years in a house of corrections and/or a fine of $5,000.

An Act relative to prevention of hazardous material release
Currently, if the owner of a tank containing hazardous materials will not grant access to public safety officials, town officials and the DEP have no recourse to contain the hazard until the tank begins leaking. This legislation would allow the DEP to contain any hazardous materials with the permission of either the owner or the municipality and to recover costs for such containment from the owner or through the Federal Leaking Underground Storage Tank Program.

An act relative to commuter shuttles and public transportation improvements
This legislation would allow cities and towns to use the funds received from municipally owned or leased parking lots to pay for the costs and maintenance of commuter shuttles between the municipal parking lots and any nearby public transportation, such as commuter rail stations. This encourages towns to increase access to public transportation.

An Act relative to the use tax
Currently, if someone buys a product in a state with no sales tax, or a lower sales tax than Massachusetts', but brings the product to MA within six months, they are required to pay the difference in the sales tax to the state. This bill would limit the state's ability to recapture the sales tax on out of state purchases to items brought into the state within one month of purchase.

An Act addressing LGBT elder inclusion
This is a re-file, H4461, from last session. It would require the Executive Office of Elder Affairs to develop a curriculum for the delivery of accessible and appropriate services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender elders and caregivers.

An Act to improve the personal care attendant program
This is a re-file, H3421, from last session. It would reform the state's pre-admission screening process by creating a new priority for consumer directed programs that ensures the maximum possible consumer control over personal care and homecare services. It would also create a paid PCA surrogate program and would clarify the definition of a PCA to ensure that everyone providing PCA services is able to enjoy the benefits of collective bargaining. It will also allow PCA consumers the option of conducting a criminal record check on potential PCAs.

An Act regarding spouses as caregivers
This is a re-file, H152, from last session. It would allow spouses to be included as caregivers under MassHealth's Caring Homes program. Expanding this program to include spouses as eligible caregivers would allow more income eligible clients to remain in their homes, a considerably less expensive option than nursing homes.

An Act Relative to amending the Junior Operator Law
This bill would amend the Junior Operator Law to require the RMV to send all written warnings or citations issued to junior operators to the operator's parent/guardian. This would keep parents informed of their child's driving status and help them work with their child to understand the consequences of warnings and citations and to prevent the loss of their license.

An Act establishing a public health Lyme disease research institute at the University of Massachusetts Medical School at Worcester
This is a re-file of H4471, from last session. It would establish an institute at the University of Massachusetts Medical School at Worcester to investigate the causes, diagnosis and treatment of Lyme Disease. Currently there is not enough research around identifying and treating Lyme disease, particularly for long lasting and severe cases.

An Act Relative to Creating Affordable Housing
This bill would modify Chapter 40B to require that 40%, instead of 25%, of all units in a 40B project are affordable. This helps towns reach their affordable housing quotas and discourages builders from using 40B to avoid local zoning regulations without building many affordable units.

An act relative to counting manufactured homes as affordable housing
This would modify Chapter 40B to count affordable mobile homes towards a town's count of housing units. Most mobile homes are "reaffordable" under 40B's definition, but cannot be used to meet a town's affordable housing quota.

An Act relative to special education services for low incidence populations
This is a re-file of H3656, from last session. It creates a commission to study the way the Commonwealth currently funds and coordinates services for students with severe special needs. The commission would look at alternative methods of directing funding for the education of this population as well as how to better manage communication and transitions between state agencies serving these students. The current formula is disruptive for both schools and families of special needs students. The Commission will focus on the idea of having funding and the servicing agency follow a child with severe disabilities from diagnosis through adulthood. This would offer cohesive services for the child and his/her family and would remove the funding burden from school districts.

An Act to Promote Cost-Effective, High Quality In-District Programs For Students with Disabilities
This bill, filed in conjunction with the Massachusetts Advocates for Children, would establish a pilot program to encourage schools to create or expand high-quality in-district programs for students with disabilities. The program would provide grants to up to 6 towns to establish in-district special education programs for students previously sent to out of district placements. It would also create an oversight board to assess the new programs and evaluate their success and any potential cost savings.

An Act Relative to Safer Neighborhoods
This bill would create an intensive parole/probation program for level 2 or 3 sex offenders. It would also allow residents to access information about level 2 sex offenders in their area through an online searchable database. These measures will give communities more input in the intensive parole and probation processes for sex offenders in their area as well as provide much needed post-release oversight.

An Act Pertaining to Green Energy Career Development
This bill directs the board of Building Regulations and Standards to create a solar specialty contractor classification, registration or license. The license will be required to receive a building permit for any solar installation. These installations require multiple tradespersons with specialized knowledge. Creating a solar specialty contractor license will ensure that our burgeoning solar projects are installed by appropriately trained and experienced tradespersons with the proper coordination and oversight.

An Act Relative to the Definition of an Employee
In House Counsel's office. Summary in the works.

An Act Relative to Promoting Women's Health
In House Counsel's office. Summary in the works.