House Votes to Raise Minimum Wage to $8 an Hour

The Massachusetts House of Representatives moved this week to make the state’s minimum wage one of the highest in the country, increasing it from $6.75 to $8 an hour, State Representative Barbara L’Italien (D-Andover) announced. This initiative represents just one in a series of actions the House has taken to help the Commonwealth’s working families.

“I am extremely proud of the House’s record in support of working families across the state,” said L’Italien. “From making health insurance affordable to funding workforce training programs, we have not wavered in our commitment to giving people the tools they need to enhance their lives. An increase in the minimum wage will assist close to half a million workers who have been struggling to make ends meet for too long.”

A minimum wage hike was last approved in 2001. The House bill proposes increasing the rate to $7.25 an hour in October 2006, to $7.75 in October 2007, and to $8.00 in October 2008. At that level, it would be one of the three most generous rates in the country, with only Washington state and Oregon being slightly higher.

“Massachusetts was the first state in the nation to create a minimum wage 94 years ago,” said L’Italien. “The House’s legislation is in keeping with a proud tradition of ensuring that our workers are duly compensated for a hard day’s work.”

Local Schools Get Big Boost in State Aid

Published: July 01, 2006 12:00 am

Local schools get big boost in state aid

Eagle-Tribune

BOSTON – Lawmakers have approved a plan to increase aid to schools statewide by $216 million, including big increases for local districts struggling with tight budgets.

The House and Senate yesterday sent the governor a $25.7 billion budget that calls for the education funding increase.

Locally, Andover’s aid jumps 17 percent, while North Andover’s is up 13 percent compared with fiscal 2006 – both outpacing the statewide average of 7 percent.

This budget, lawmakers said, brings local communities only part of the way back from cuts in state money in past years.

“It was a step in the right direction,” said Rep. Harriett Stanley, D-West Newbury. “We didn’t move as far or as fast as I wanted but we did move – $216 million (more) is a very good chunk in this fiscal environment.”

Gov. Mitt Romney can approve or veto the school aid increase. If he vetoes it, the Legislature’s overwhelming support of the aid means it has the votes to override the veto.

Rep. Barbara L’Italien, D-Andover, said her town, which was basing its budget on the governor’s earlier smaller proposed increase, can now avoid a Proposition 21/2 override.

The governor had proposed increasing aid to schools across the state by $164 million.

Still, the Legislature’s budget did not return all school districts to where they were before the deep cuts. North Andover, L’Italien said, is still shy of the $4.7 million it got in fiscal 2002.

Andover and North Andover saw their education assistance fall by 20 percent in fiscal 2002 as the recession forced dramatic state spending cuts.

The Legislature’s plan calls for Massachusetts to spend $3.5 billion on Chapter 70 aid to communities for kindergarten through grade 12. Under the plan, all Massachusetts school districts received an increase in state money for fiscal year 2007, which begins today.

Rep. Anthony Verga, D-Gloucester, said his city’s 4 percent increase should curb talks of school layoffs.

But like many of his colleagues, he pointed out that to cities and towns that absorbed deep cuts for years, one year’s increase won’t solve all the local school district’s problems.

“There’s never enough money,” Verga said.

Under a new funding formula, the Legislature voted to weigh property values and income equally when determining aid, a move aimed at helping communities where home prices outstripped pay.

The budget plan also calls for the state to pay an increasingly larger share of education expenses over the next five years.

Although the formula changes were meant to ease funding differences between cities and suburbs, North of Boston communities still saw gains.

The budget ensured that urban communities like Lawrence, with its school district and a regional school, saw substantial boosts in aid under the new formula. Lawrence received a $6 million increase in aid, while Greater Lawrence Technical School aid increased by more than $3 million.

Haverhill’s aid increased slightly more than $1 million.

Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, said the Legislature needs to continue to adjust the formula so that aid will return to the fiscal 2002 high-water level.

Over the long term, the question to many lawmakers is whether this year’s increase will be a one-year bump or a sustained rise.

“Can we sustain the funding if the economy slows and we don’t get continued revenue growth?” said Rep. Michael Costello, D-Newburyport.

Sen. Steven Baddour, D-Methuen, was confident the economy would remain strong enough to meet obligations he said were not outrageous.

“It’s not like we’ve gone hog wild,” Baddour said.

CHART IS IN MILLION OF DOLLARS

City/Town %FY07FY06

Amesbury%$8.53%$8.46

Andover%$6.11%$5.24

Beverly%$6.61%$6.49

Boxford%$1.54%$1.49

Danvers%$3.96%$3.75

Georgetown%$4.07%$3.43

Gloucester%$5.68%5.45

Haverhill%$33.06%$31.98

Ipswich%$2.23%$2.07

Lawrence%$123.09%$117.30

Marblehead%$3.99%$3.63

Methuen%$33.23%$30.47

Middleton%$1.33%$1.07

Newburyport%$3.09%$2.91

North Andover%$4.65%$4.13

North Reading%$4.92%$3.78

Peabody%$19.29%$18.73

Rockport%$1.244%$1.19

Salem%$11.65%$10.53

Swampscott%$2.25%$2.05

Topsfield%$.947%$.663

Regional Schools

Essex Agricultural%$3.88%3.69

Greater Lawrence%$20.45%$17.351

Hamilton-Wenham%$3.27%$3.16

Manchester Essex%$1.51%$1.38

Masconomet%$4.77%$4.41

North Shore Regional Tech.%$1.58%$1.44

Pentucket%$13.10%$12.36

Triton%$8.30%$7.79

Whittier%$5.03%$4.83