Governor Baker signed Rep. Stanley's legislation (formerly House Bill 1114) that licenses Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs) into law. The new law (Chapter 43 of the Acts of 2019) is supported by the MBREA (the Association for Valuation Professionals), appraisal management companies, mortgage industry professionals, and real estate appraisers.

In 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act was signed into law. Under the provisions of Dodd-Frank, states are required to enact licensing of AMCs. Without passage of Rep. Stanley's bill, AMCs would have been prohibited from operating in the state, seriously impacting everyone looking to buy a home or refinancing a mortgage.

Requiring the licensing of appraisal management companies is driven by consumer concerns. Appraiser independence requirements were established in Dodd-Frank to halt the inordinate pressure from lenders that was placed upon appraisers to reach a pre-determined value that would make a home loan work. This pressure came mostly in the form of threats to withhold payment for appraisal services and/or blackballing the appraiser from future work. As a result, lenders were compelled to establish a firewall between staff (compensated based on a loan closing) and appraisers. The firewall most typically employed was made by engaging third-party appraisal management companies to act as an intermediary between the lender and the appraiser.

Education funding highlights from the FY20 Budget Conference Committee Report

 

The FY20 budget demonstrates the Legislature's strong commitment to education. For the third fiscal year in a row, the legislature has increased funding for Chapter 70 school aid to reflect the recommendations of the 2015 Foundation Budget Review Commission. In this budget, the legislature provides a record high appropriation to continue the implementation of the employee healthcare and English learner recommendations and begins funding for the increases in special education and low-income student increment. Some highlights include:

Governor Baker Signs Fiscal Year 2020 Budget

 

Governor Baker signed the Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) budget into law, a $43.321 billion plan that includes the highest-ever level of state funding for public schools in Massachusetts. The $5.2 billion for Chapter 70 aid to education ensures sufficient resources to fund the FY20 costs of an anticipated multi-year overhaul of the school finance formula, while enabling full implementation of the recommendations of the Foundation Budget Review Commission.

 

The budget builds on the Administration's previous investments to implement the Foundation Budget Review Commission's recommendations, and includes significant new funding for school districts to meet the cost of educating low-income students, English language learners, and students with special needs, as well as to address the rising cost of health care.

 

The budget includes a landmark new drug pricing measure that authorizes the Executive Office of Health and Human Services to directly and more effectively negotiate with drug manufacturers and, if necessary, engage in a public process to identify a proposed value for certain high-cost drugs if negotiations are unsuccessful. This reform is consistent with the Administration's continuing efforts to manage the growth of MassHealth spending. MassHealth pharmacy spending has nearly doubled since 2012, even while the program has successfully implemented policies to rein in spending growth from historical double-digits to single digits and to ensure MassHealth sustainability. Despite this work, growth in pharmacy spending continued to outpace all other MassHealth spending.

Rep. Stanley supports  100% renewable energy legislation

 

Jacob Stern , Clean Energy Organizer for Sierra Club Massachusetts Chapter, recently thanked Rep. Stanley for supporting 100 percent renewable energy legislation at a Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee hearing. State House hearing on this important issue. There is a growing momentum for 100 percent renewables at the grassroots level, in the legislature, and across the country. Stern thanked Rep. Stanley for his leadership and vision. Click here to read Rep. Stanley's written testimony on the 100 Percent Energy Act.

 

Baker Administration Advances Production and Preservation of 1,500 Housing Units across MA

 

Governor Baker announced the 2019 Affordable Rental Housing Awards which will support the preservation and production of 1,581 rental units, including 1,349 affordable units. This includes 273 units that will be reserved for extremely low-income households. The awards will advance three transit-oriented projects, five projects for seniors, and two projects that will significantly rehabilitate public housing. Affordable rental housing awards have led to the production, renovation and preservation of more than 7,800 housing units, representing nearly half of all the housing units supported by the Baker-Polito Administration since 2015 though funding mechanisms like the MassWorks Infrastructure Awards Program, the Housing Development Incentive Program and more.

The Department of Housing and Community Development is awarding nearly $80 million in direct subsidies from seven state bond accounts and federal HOME funds, and allocating $38 million in state and federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to 28 projects. The tax credit allocations will generate more than $260 million in equity to support these projects. Massachusetts is one of just 17 states to offer a state tax-credit program to complement the federal LIHTC program to support the development and rehabilitation of affordable housing.

 

Massachusetts sees a rise in foodborne illness caused by Cyclospora

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is urging residents to practice safe food handling practices following an increase in reported infections of Cyclospora, a foodborne illness that causes gastrointestinal symptoms, mainly diarrhea, that can sometimes be severe. Since May 1, 2019, there have been more than 100 reports of Cyclospora infection cases in the state, when, over the past three years, DPH has received between 18 and 33 reported cases. Most cases this year have occurred in greater Boston, but infections have been reported in residents across the Commonwealth. Other states have also reported increases in the number of cyclosporiasis cases; the cause of the outbreak is not yet known. Click  here to learn more.