04/29/2008
State economy and budget
As the House of Representatives began debate on the FY 2009 state budget, there was some good news on the job front as the state reported 4,500 new jobs in the first quarter of 2008, with growth reported in the hospitality industry and professional services. The state's unemployment rate remained at 4.4 percent, below the national average of 5.1 percent. In addition, despite warnings of a $1.3 billion budget gap for next year due mostly to runaway healthcare costs, this year's revenues are likely to end the year close to $1 billion above original projections. In fact, revenues are so high that a state income tax cut to 5.25 percent may kick in for this year. House members must not have received the news of an economic slowdown as they have filed amendments to the budget containing $1.5 billion in spending increases. Current state spending also continues to grow as the state payroll reached its highest levels since 2001, up more than 4000 employees since 2004.
The proposed $28 billion FY09 spending plan (4.4 percent above this year's spending) contains $109 million in spending reductions from the previous budget, $220 million new revenues from increased corporate taxes, a $1 per pack cigarette tax, $220 million from the state's rainy day account, and, most ominously for small businesses, $160 million in revenues from "tax enforcement." A proposal to require a larger contribution to health insurance from state workers supported by Gov. Deval Patrick and Speaker Sal DiMasi may not survive House budget debate. Also, controversy about the revenue impact of an amendment to the corporate tax increase bill passed in the House last week (the Senate has not taken up the measure) adds further questions about the revenues lawmakers can expect to have available to spend.
Sick leave
The Senate Committee on Labor and Workplace Development reported Senate Bill No. 1073 favorably to the full Senate for debate. The bill would require all employers to provide at least seven days of sick leave annually to each employee. The employee would be allowed to use the sick leave to care for a sick family member and would be entitled to carry the sick days over to the following year. Call your state senator now to register your opposition to Senate Bill No. 1073. One of the great attractions of working in a small business is benefit flexibility that fits the needs of the employer and the employees. The state's attempt to impose one-size-fits-all solutions discourages business and job expansion in the state.
CORI
The Criminal History Systems Board, in a policy reversal, voted to allow staffing agencies and nursing schools to run criminal background checks on employees, students and faculty that would have contact with vulnerable persons and elderly patients. NFIB continues to oppose legislation to restrict employer access to CORI information on prospective employees.
And in D.C.
The NFIB Small Business Legal Center filed an amicus ("friend of the court") brief on behalf of a Massachusetts small business owner in a case before the Massachusetts Supreme Court. The state's highest court will decide whether an employer with fewer than six employees may be sued for gender discrimination despite a Massachusetts statutory definition of "employer" that excludes employers "with less than six employees".
NFIB is supporting H-2B visa extensions for returning seasonal and temporary legal workers to support small businesses in summer tourist areas. Gov. Patrick has issued a letter requesting support from other governors. NFIB's U.S. House lobby team is looking for H-2B visa stories where Congressional failure to extend the visas has left employers with unfilled job openings.
