BHB: May 2003 Archives

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Beacon Hill Beat By MassNews Staff

May 2003 Editions. Compiled from staff reports, wire services, and the State House News Service.

Superior Court Judge Maria Lopez submitted her resignation rather than pursue a long and potentially embarrassing entanglement following findings of judicial misconduct. Her resignation was announced yesterday while she was away on a junket to Cuba.

Judge E. George Daher had recommended a six-month suspension last month following Judicial Conduct Commission hearings. The retired Housing Court chief justice, who presided over the disciplinary hearings, had also required an apology from the judge.

The disciplinary action stemmed from the case several years ago of one Charles Horton. Horton held a screwdriver an 11-year old boy's throat and was trying to force him to perform homosexual acts when a policeman saw what was happening. The judge sentenced the perpetrator to no jail time sparking a public furor.

The public was outraged by the sentence. When her verbal dressing down of a prosecutor who objected to the lack of jail time was caught on videotape the public furor grew.It was then alledged that Lopez began a whisper campaign to undermine the victim's credibility.

When the disciplinary charges were filed, the judge said she has always chosen to "commit myself as a lawyer to helping the poor, the disenfranchised, and those who are misunderstood and mistreated by our society." The defendant was transgendered.

Judge Lopez said she relied upon "a written psycho-social assessment" report by a "board-certified, licensed independent social worker" when she determined that the man who kidnapped and sexually attacked the young boy with a screwdriver should only be sentenced to house arrest.

Judge Maria Lopez has had over 65 complaints filed against her and it still took years to discipline her.

Massachusetts Ready to Deal with SARS
Some Hospitals Concerned About Cuts in Funding

Officials, from the Massachusetts Department of Health, attended the Legislature's Health Care Committee to review state government's capacity to deal with the threats posed by the SARS virus last Thursday.

Although they contend that the likelihood of a major outbreak is remote, state health commissioners said it is because of the strength of the state's infectious disease systems and did not down play the real threat posed by the disease.

Christine Ferguson, the state health commissioner, said the there have been 21 suspected SARS cases in Massachusetts, with no cases of the virus verified. All of the suspected carriers traveled to or had contact with visitors to Southeast Asia.

Precautions required to contain an outbreak include quick detection, treatment and quarantine of suspected SARS cases, to slow the transmission of the virus through direct contact or sneezing. The medical establishment has been gearing up to handle public medical emergencies since Sept. 11, 1991 after the anthrax scare heightened the nation's awareness of bio-terrorism.

Lawmakers heard how public-agencies, hospitals and heath care workers have made preparations to contain suspected cases of the virus. Hospitals use negative pressure isolation rooms to quarantine patients who contract infectious diseases.

"We have a challenge in front of us - how to balance our emergency needs with our budgetary needs," Ferguson said. "It provides us with an opportunity to examine how to re-deploy our public health resources." Ferguson said there are 705 negative pressure isolation rooms scattered in hospitals across the state, enough for about 833 patients.

Dr. Richard Ellison III, associate director of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, said that staff there has begun SARS training. There are 20 negative pressure isolation rooms at UMass Medical but the hospital is not prepared for a full-scale outbreak, he said.

"If something were to happen in Worcester like in Toronto, where we suddenly had 23 people becoming sick in a single day, that would have a very dramatic impact," he said. "We would immediately exhaust all the negative pressure isolation rooms available potentially in a single day. We would not have the capacity to deal with that."

Hospitals have made great strides to ready themselves for disease outbreaks, but many feel the strains of budget cuts, said Paul Wingle, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Hospital Association. More than 80 percent of hospitals are projecting deficits next year, if Gov. Mitt Romney's budget becomes law.

Budget cuts have provided a challenge to public health authorities tackling an array of infectious diseases that include not only SARS but also West Nile Virus, and Eastern Equine Encephalitis, which is expected to upsurge.

Two days before the Senate Ways and Means Committee releases full details of its budget proposal, Senate President Robert Travaglini announced the Senate intends to preserve $96 million for Massachusetts' first-in-the-nation Prescription Advantage program, eliminated in the governor's budget and partially restored by the House.

Eric Fehrnstrom, Romney's director of communications, said the administration, including Preston, remains committed to obtaining federal funding for the program and does not want to jeopardize any possibility of achieving that goal.

Travaglini said funding details would be made clear Wednesday when the budget is released. Senators are trying to close a projected $3 billion budget gap without cutting core government services, raising taxes or borrowing.

The prescription program currently serves 80,000 enrollees, including senior citizens and low-income disabled people, and has faced surging drug costs and skyrocketing enrollment during its two-year life.

The Senate initiative level-funds the program at fiscal year 2003 numbers. It reinstates $10 million that Romney cut shortly after taking office, using his unilateral, or "9C" budget-cutting powers.

The plan also reforms the program by creating a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) to buy drugs in bulk. The manager would bargain with drug makers to lower prices. Senators say a manager could save $8 million during the first year, and more in future years.

The House voted to fund $59 million of the nearly $100 million Prescription Advantage program during budget negotiations two weeks ago. It did so by raiding dozens of special purpose funds to boost Medicaid rates and leverage federal matching funds.

Romney said the administration is working to develop a prescription program for all seniors, ultimately a larger program, but is holding out hope for 50 percent federal matching funds that are still in negotiation. He does not anticipate being able to fund Prescription Advantage without federal dollars.

"We support Prescription Advantage as an administration and I'd like to see it continue," he said. "We look forward to having the funding necessary to keep that program alive and well."

The Senate reform plan would have the state's PBM purchase all general and brand name drugs for the state's senior citizens, disabled, nursing home residents, state hospitals, drug assistance programs and correctional facilities at a reduced bulk price. The state currently spends more than $1 billion on drug costs annually.

The Senate budget debate begins Wednesday, May 28. The approved House and Senate budgets are sent to conference committee for negotiations and bargaining, before one comprehensive budget is sent to the governor for consideration.

The Senate incorporates the latest tax revenue and economic data when it releases its version of the budget later this week. Senators have had the benefit of seeing the details of, and reaction to, the plans offered by Romney and the House. The Senate's offering is expected to contain no new taxes or expanded gambling and will contain reforms in the court and criminal justice systems. We'll have to see what amendments are submitted later this week to gauge the exact nature of the final submission.

Both the House and the Senate will go behind closed doors in June to hash out the budget in Conference committee. These negotiations have stretched well into the fall in each of the past two non-election years. Legislative leaders have promised to be "on time" this year. They will attempt deliver budgets to conference committee that have as few differences in policy directives and funding levels, as possible.

Once the Senate plan is released Wednesday, senators will have only two days to submit budget amendments. Any amendments must be submitted by Friday to the Senate Clerk's office. Any items that appear exactly the same in both the House and Senate appropriation bills will not be subject to change before the conference committee.

Meanwhile, an analysis of the Governor's and the House's budgets that was released by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (MTF) found that both plans are hundreds of millions of dollars out of balance. But neither plan is expected to survive intact since the House and Senate joint conference committees will be performing a final reconciliation of their submissions. The Senate budget isn't expected to resolve the "structural imbalance" anymore than did the previous versions offered by the Governor or the House.

As for restructuring, the House budget includes many of the restructuring proposals being pushed by Gov. Mitt Romney and the Senate document is expected to follow suit in other areas.

Last week Romney put all of his reorganizations into so-called Article 87 Plans.

The legislative committees have 30 days to hold a public hearing on those plans. Thereafter, they have 10 days to report out whether or not the plans should be approved. Separate reports with minority and majority opinions are to be filed with the House and Senate. The plans become law unless rejected by at least one branch, with a majority vote, within 60 days of the plans' filings.

Neither the House nor the Senate is expected to approve the Governor's Article 87 plans. Romney will likely have to settle for any restructuring that survives the conference committees when the lawmakers send the final budget to the corner office. He can then use the line item veto to address specific areas of concern. But his ability to achieve his panoramic view of reforms will be limited by the final details submitted by the Legislature.

Many of the cuts in healthcare requested by Romney and approved by the House might be offset if a proposal approved by the US Senate Thursday can advance further. Under an omnibus $20 billion state relief fiscal package, the Massachusetts Medicaid program is eligible for $204 million in new federal matching funds in fiscal 2004 and $102 million in fiscal 2005. The proposal also includes $6 billion in general aid to the states and $4 billion for cities and towns.

Beacon Hill lawmakers will be closely monitoring the bill's progress. Former Rep. John McDonough, who chaired the Health Care Committee at the State House, said Friday that "there's a big movement" in the US House to adopt the Senate fiscal relief package, which is part of a large sweeping federal tax cut bill. McDonough now serves as executive director of Health Care For All, a health services advocacy group. The money would not require new state spending and would be available starting in October.

In a statement released Friday to the State House News Service, Sen. Edward Kennedy said, that "this is still a bill that showers tax breaks on the wealthiest Americans. It is the wrong plan for the wrong time."

Former prosecutor and former legislative aid Joseph Driscoll (D-Braintree) last week won a special election to succeed Rep. Joseph Sullivan, another Braintree Democrat who resigned to become director of the State Lottery. There are still questions about who belongs in another House seat. Rep. Matthew Patrick (D-Falmouth) was elected last November to a second term but the contest was so close that, even though Patrick also won by a few votes in the subsequent recount, a Superior Court judge ordered a new election. He did so because of several snafus that prevented an unknown number of voters from casting ballots in the race. While Patrick continues to vote and represent the district, Gov. Romney has declined to officially swear him in until the matter is finally adjudicated. Secretary of State William Galvin, the state's top election official has appealed the lower court's ruling and it will be another month before the case is again argued in court.

Senate leaders presented a reorganization plan for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS). The reform package creates five categories within the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. It is intended to streamline service delivery as well as improve management efficiency. The change is estimated to save $12 million to $15 million in the first year.

It includes many of the recommendations advocated by a report earlier this year by the Pioneer Institute entitled, Rationalizing Health care in Massachusetts that has also influenced the Article 87 Plan submitted by Governor Mitt Romney.

Sen. Susan Tucker (D-Andover) said "The question is: are we spending the human service dollar the right way? In this budget climate we have to evaluate everything we're doing to find savings."

Though many of these reforms are included in Romney's proposals it is likely that the Governor's offering will be rejected.

"If this becomes a legislative reality, I don't think the administration is going to be overly disappointed," Travaglini said. "As a matter of fact I think they're going to share in our victory."

Health care advocates are pleased to see the Legislature embrace the need for reform, but in a refrain similar to what legislators were saying about the Governor's proposals in this area complained about a lack of details.

Stephen Collins, executive director of Massachusetts Human Services Coalition wondered, "There is no clear roadmap or blueprint right now on how we get from point A to point B," said "That's most concerning to us."

Common Cause Massachusetts released a report with the Center for Public
Integrity in Washington that indicates that Lobbyists spent nearly $53.8 million influencing lawmaking in Massachusetts in 2002, more than any other state save New York and California.

Pamela Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, said, "The U.S. is founded on the principle that everyone has a voice. But the reality isn't always that way - money talks."

Most lawmakers say they listen to lobbyists and rely on their advice, but still vote their conscience.

The report says there are 650 lobbyists representing 1,000 groups lobbying for corporate interests, unions and advocacy groups in Massachusetts. The report did not breakdown the spending by category. Lobbyists spent more per resident than in any other state.

Nationally, the amount of money spent lobbying in state capitals rose 3.6 percent, to $715,930,207 in 2002, up from $689,574,646 in 2001.

Charles Rasmussen, a spokesman for House Speaker Thomas Finneran said, "Being a large, industrialized Commonwealth with a long history of complicated and progressive laws.many individuals and groups feel the need to hire lobbyists to help them with their interests"

James Wallace, lobbyist for the Gun Owners' Action League of Massachusetts, said that with so many bills in the Legislature, "the biggest part of my job is education.

"There's no way any legislator could possibly follow the ins and outs of 5,000 bills," he said. "Not because they're stupid; no one could do it."

The study also ranked the strength of states' lobbying laws and found
Massachusetts ranked 22nd out of the 50 states, enough to earn a barely
passing grade of 60.

That television, computer monitor and cell phone is going to cost more to dispose of or it will cost more to buy. Legislation filed by Rep. Mark Carron will require manufacturers to take responsibility for disposing of certain electronic products for the consumer. Currently, local public works department are responsible for disposing of CRT waste, either from collection points at the town landfill or at designated local drop off centers. The local resident pays a fee for the "service".

Carron's bill is intended to keep landfills free from the waste and to relieve municipalities of the cost burden associated with the growing amounts of so-called e-waste. He is asking the state Department of Environmental Protection to invoke a policy making manufacturers responsible for the collection and recycling of products with Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT).

Industry officials say the current system is working. They maintain that rather than shifting the entire burden to the manufacturer, the recycling process should be a shared responsibility with shared costs between the industry and the government.

"There is really more to be lost than to be gained with the passage of this law," said Kathleen White, public affairs director for Retailers Association of Massachusetts. White said manufacturers would most likely raise prices to cover the costs associated with the new requirements. Opponents were also concerned the extensive policy, reaching thousands of retailers and manufacturers across the Commonwealth, would be impossible to regulate by the DEP.

"We need consumers to better understand the relationship between purchasing and disposing in an appropriate manner," said Rep. Cory Atkins (D-Concord).

The obvious fact eluding the lawmakers is that the consumers purchasing the item or the taxpayers disposing of the item are the same people. The question to ask is whether retailer and manufacturers or government can do a better job.