With this budget the House strengthens the state’s commitment to cities and towns by increasing local education funding by $5.3 million.  Over $1 billion will remain in the state’s Rainy Day Fund.

 As Chair of the Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development, Atkins is proud that the House increased funding for the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) by $1.5 million.  MCC contributes to the economic vitality of the Commonwealth by promoting excellence in the arts through grants and services for cultural organizations.  The House also demonstrated its commitment to tourism by increasing funding for Regional Tourism Councils by $1.5 million and for the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (MOTT) by $840,000.  MOTT strengthens our economy by reminding travelers worldwide that Massachusetts remains a symbol of vitality and an important source of history for our country.

 Increasing funding for tourism is especially important in light of the recent tragedy at the Boston Marathon.  In addition to increasing tourism funding, the House provided targeted investments to support our public safety officials, specifically through increased funding to the Shannon Grants program.  The budget also authorizes $100,000 in killed-in-the-line-of-duty benefits to the family of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier.

 “I am proud to have voted for this budget,” said Atkins.  “It funds higher education and local aid as well as tourism and the arts while maintaining the highest bond rating in the state’s history.”

 The budget demonstrates the House’s continued commitment to higher education.  It allocates over $29 million for community colleges.  The House increases funding to state universities and invests in the UMass system to enable them to meet their goal of a 50/50 split, facilitating a freeze in tuition and fees.  It also funds a competitive grant program for Adult College Transition Services to help low-income workers succeed in college programs. Through all this, the House budget fosters affordability and makes a significant commitment to ensure that the Commonwealth’s residents are better equipped to attain a college degree and enter the competitive job market.

 The House budget takes a firm stand on reforming the agencies tasked with fostering safe educational environments for our youngest citizens.  A Special Commission will examine the need for more affordable quality early education and care services and will determine methods for addressing the high cost of such services.  The House budget also addresses the concerns raised by the Auditor’s recent inquiry into the lack of compliance oversight essential to ensuring the health and safety of children in private care.  A compliance manager is placed in the Department of Early Education and Care to review oversight procedures and to create efficiencies that ensure vendors are compliant with new and existing regulations.

 Continuing its focus on reform, the House proposes additional oversight within the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to bolster the waste and abuse prevention reforms we enacted last year.  The budget establishes the Bureau of Program Integrity, which will provide continuous oversight of public assistance programs while maintaining eligibility verification and ensuring we focus our state resources on those residents most in need of assistance.

 The House budget reflects a commitment to protect and assist the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable residents.  The budget includes increased funding to important services within the Department of Developmental Services, such as Family Support Services and the Turning 22 program.  It ensures that homeless shelters receive sufficient funding to enter into 12 month contracts, providing increased predictability and certainty over previous years.  To protect families in need of shelter, this budget requires that clients be granted presumptive eligibility so that no family in an emergency situation will be turned away from shelter.  The budget also provides additional funding for Emergency Food Assistance.

 To combat the growing problem of addiction and substance abuse, particularly for individuals 17 to 25 years old, the House focuses support on substance abuse programs, increasing funding for recovery and family intervention services to help those most in need of these vital programs.

 Ms. Novick is a tireless volunteer in Acton.  As chair of the Acton Democratic Town Committee, she has led the organization in undertaking many community service projects such as cleaning the senior center, collecting and donating trucks full of groceries to the food pantry, and collaborating with the Acton Conservation Trust on the annual Acton Cleanup Day.  She has also worked with the town Recreation Department and 50 volunteers to pull weeds from the Ice House Pond.

 Unsung Heroines are women who don’t make the news, but make the difference.  They are the women who use their time, talent and enthusiasm to enrich the lives of others and make a difference in their neighborhoods, cities and towns.  They are mentors, volunteers and innovators who do what needs to be done without expectations of recognition or gratitude.  These women are the glue that keeps a community together, and every community is better because of their contribution.

 The ceremony will include a program hosted by NewsCenter 5’s Liz Brunner acknowledging each of the 2013 Unsung Heroines followed by a group photograph on the Grand Staircase and a Just Desserts reception.

 A complete list of this year’s honorees is available by contacting the Commission.  To request this list or for additional information please contact the MCSW at 617-626-6520 or mcsw@state.ma.us.

 This event is made possible with the support of the following community sponsors: Cape Air, Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership at Babson College, Casner & Edwards, LLP, Continental Resources Inc., Day Pitney LLP, and the members of MetroWest ATHENA Women.  The Commission’s annual Unsung Heroine initiative is underwritten by these private sponsors and the MCSW Trust Fund and no tax dollars are used to fund this event.

 The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women is an independent state agency that was legislatively created in 1998 to advance women of the Commonwealth to full equality in all areas of life and to promote their rights and opportunities.  The MCSW provides a permanent, effective voice for the women of Massachusetts.

 The MDI Technical Assistance Site Visit Program provides consultant services to communities targeting specific issues related to downtown revitalization efforts. The goal of this technical assistance is to address and overcome obstacles to a community’s downtown revitalization efforts. The Technical Assistance Site Visit Program is limited to non-entitlement Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) communities.

 “I am happy that Concord was awarded this grant,” Atkins said. “Investing in the revitalization of our main streets makes our community a better place to live, work, and do business.”

 The MDI Technical Assistance Site Visit Program is part of the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative from the state Department of Housing and Community Development.  The program offers a range of services and assistance to communities seeking help on how to revitalize their downtowns.  The primary mission of MDI is to make downtown revitalization an integral part of community development in cities and towns across the Commonwealth.

 Celebrate Concord in May is a month-long springtime celebration consisting of special events and programs.  There are currently over 40 events throughout the month, with more events being added to the list.  Events include theater performances, concerts, lectures, exhibits, gallery showings, an ArtWalk, a gala, artist receptions, a garden tour, a Community Arts weekend, and the annual Tastes of Concord Food and Wine Event.

 One of the first events, Tastes of Concord Food and Wine Event, will be held on May 2, 2013 from 6:30pm to 9:00pm at the Concord Café located at 300 Baker Avenue.  Tickets for the evening are sponsored by West Concord Wine and Liquors and Normandy Real Estate Partners, and tickets will go on sale April 1, 2013.  Dates and details for many of the other events have not yet been released.

 Every year, the Massachusetts Cultural Council recognizes Massachusetts artists for their artistic quality and creative ability as evidenced by original work they submit through a highly competitive application process.  If chosen, awardees receive either a $7,500 grant or a $500 award.  These awards serve as unrestricted support so the artists can continue creating art that enriches their communities. 

 At the event, Jonathan Weinert of West Concord was recognized as a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Fellow.  Jonathan received a Fellowship in recognition of his poetry. 

 “This event was a tremendous success,” Atkins said.  “The arts are a strong revenue producing industry, and these grants allow local artists to continue their craft.  The work these artists do is critical to the vitality and culture of our state.”

The formula funding (FF) program is an annual allocation of money given to local housing authorities (LHAs) based on a detailed and thorough Capital Investment Plan (CIP).  The FF program is devoted to awarding state aid in an equitable, transparent, and predictable manner.  Funds are given to CIPs which make preservation, stabilization, and modernization of existing state-aided public housing a priority, as well as CIPs that address core capital components, important health and safety needs, technical innovations, and projects that generate water and energy savings.

“I am proud of the Concord Housing Authority for winning this grant,” Atkins said.  “Affordable housing strengthens our community by creating a viable option for those who would otherwise have to move away.”

In the past year and a half every LHA in the Commonwealth submitted a CIP, and 96% of these plans have been approved by DHCD.  These plans contain thousands of public housing improvement projects, 1,400 of which are currently being implemented, with another 500 expected to start within the year.

Any Massachusetts school (public, charter, parochial, or independent) serving grades K-12 is eligible to apply.  There is a rolling deadline, and applications are reviewed in the order in which they are received as long as the funds last.  Each school is eligible for one residency grant per school per school year.  Guidelines and application are available at www.massculturalcouncil.org/creativeminds.asp.

“Massachusetts Cultural Council’s STAR Residencies program is an incredible resource to the Commonwealth,” Atkins said.  “These funds enrich the lives of over 10,000 students annually by bringing the arts and culture into classrooms around the state.”

STARs Residencies are a part of the MCC’s Creative Minds Initiative. Creative Minds believes that creativity is essential to student achievement and success.  MCC seeks to ensure that all children in our state’s schools have access to a high-quality, creative learning experience.  MCC pursues this goal through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy.

“The vote the legislature might take on the governor’s proposal could be one of the most important votes of the decade,” said Atkins.  “The plan outlines how much money the state will spend on transportation and education as well as how to pay for it.  I am delighted that so many of my constituents came out to express their views.”

In January Patrick filed a plan that calls for an additional $1.9 billion for transportation and education.  To pay for these increases, the governor proposes to raise the income tax to 6.25%, reduce the sales tax to 4.5%, and eliminate a series of tax deductions. 

The governor believes that Massachusetts must improve its transportation and education systems in order to attract businesses and the jobs they bring.  Business leaders have demanded that the commonwealth improve its roads and rails so employees can get to work and goods can get to market.  Companies locate here because of our education system, and we must continuously improve it in order to compete with other states and other countries.

Constituents who came to Atkins’ forums offered mixed views on the plan.  Some supported it wholeheartedly, saying that Massachusetts needs to fix its ailing infrastructure and provide a top-quality education for all children regardless of their family income.  Others strongly opposed the plan, arguing that raising taxes in a fragile economy would stifle economic growth and that the state mismanages the funds it already has.  Still others held more neutral views, valuing spending on transportation and education but wondering whether there might be better ways to pay for it.

In education, Patrick proposes to fund a variety of initiatives.  First, he wants to increase funding for early childhood education.  Studies have shown that investing in the first years of life has an enormous impact on a child’s independence and achievement later.  Second, the governor wants to increase local aid for school districts, reducing pressure on property taxes to fund local schools.  Third, he wants to improve career preparedness programs at community colleges, and he wants to make college tuition more affordable by increasing funding for Mass Grant scholarships for the University of Massachusetts.

In transportation, the governor first proposes to increase funding for local road and bridge improvements, making it easier for towns to keep their roads in a state of good repair.  Second, he wants to remove employee salaries from the capital budget.  Currently, the Department of Transportation pays some of its employee salaries through borrowing, nearly doubling their cost.  Putting salaries back on the operating budget would save millions of dollars.  Third, the governor aims to fund long-term transportation improvement programs that would replace aging infrastructure and give people more transportation options.  In addition to improving highway interchanges and resurfacing roads, the governor proposes to build rail trails, replace rusting subway cars, and expand commuter rail service.

At each of Atkins’ evening forums a member of the Patrick administration helped explain the governor’s budget proposal.  The first forum took place at the Chelmsford Police Station on March 7 and featured David Sullivan, General Counsel for the Office of Administration and Finance.   Secretary of Education Matt Malone spoke at the second forum at the Concord Town House on March 12.  The third forum at the Acton Police Station on March 14 featured David Mohler, Director of Planning at the Department of Transportation.

Atkins encourages anyone who was not able to attend the forums to share their views with her by contacting her office at 617-722-2015 or Cory.Atkins@mahouse.gov.

The committee will hear 42 bills on a variety of topics, including H. 2491, the local option income tax bill for the Town of Concord, and H. 2492, the statewide local option income tax bill.

Anyone may come to the hearing to speak for or against a bill, but the committee has requested that people speak for no more than 3 minutes each.  The committee also accepts written testimony.

For more information please contact Rep. Cory Atkins’ office at 617-722-2015 or Cory.Atkins@mahouse.gov.

The Early Educator Earned Income Tax Credit will allow early educators to receive a credit equivalent to 30 percent of their federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) amount.  Early educators are teachers who work in preschool programs, child care centers, Head Start programs, and home-based care.  Early educators also teach social and cognitive skills to children during their first five years of life.  The industry generates over $1.5 billion annually and includes 60,000 early educators who serve 241,000 children every year. 

This tax credit is based on the existing structure of the EITC and therefore requires little administrative oversight.  This program would cost the Commonwealth $7.5 million annually.   

By allowing early educators to take home an additional average of $570 annually, Massachusetts would see a number of benefits.  These include increased retention of the early educator workforce, which improves the continuity and quality of care for young children; improved financial stability of low-income early educators who channel funds back into the state economy; and decreased state spending in the future as a result of a stronger early childhood education system. 

“I am proud to support a bill that will have many positive effects in the Commonwealth,” said Atkins.  “I believe that if we are able to invest in a person’s life at only one time, we should invest in early education.  Education as a whole is a priority of mine, and I support this bill specifically because early education is critical to the social and cognitive development of our children.  The educators who teach our children at the beginning of life are invaluable, and we should support them in their efforts.”

Currently, the average wage of an early educator is $26,000 per year.  In comparison, the Self-Sufficiency Standard, which measures economic independence in Massachusetts, shows that an early educator’s yearly average wage is $23,000 less than $49,000, what a typical single parent with one child in preschool needs to survive.  The Fourteenth Middlesex District also comes up short in this comparison.  Early educators in Acton make an average of $21,100.  In Carlisle and Chelmsford they make an average of $20,300, and in Concord they make an average of $29,100.