The Patrick-Murray Record -- 2007

JOBS, SCHOOLS AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

Over the past year Governor Patrick has changed the focus and face of state government in Massachusetts. The administration has undertaken a broad and far-reaching governing agenda -- focused on jobs, schools and civic engagement -- intended to make lasting and meaningful changes in the lives of people and communities. By year's end, the Patrick-Murray administration has laid the foundation for greater opportunities for Massachusetts families, businesses and communities.

Taking Action

Our administration has been characterized by active engagement, making government more inclusive and responsive, more helpful and more focused on what matters most.

Job Growth and Economic Development:

• Improved Massachusetts national ranking from 49th in job creation in 2006 to 15th in the nation this year.
• Streamlined state permitting to spur economic growth by cutting approval time from two to three years to six months on development projects. Partnering with the Attorney General and business leaders from across the Commonwealth to continue and expand streamlining efforts.
• Strengthened the state's business development team to increase outreach, customer service and spark investment in high growth sectors. Added a permitting ombudsman to assure convenient "one-stop shopping" for companies navigating the state permitting process.
• Won nationally and internationally competitive bids to attract cutting edge clean energy and life science companies, such as Evergreen Solar and Organogenesis.
• Governor Patrick's direct intervention helped secure investment and jobs from Evergreen Solar, Nokona Baseball Bat Factory and Hitting Laboratory, a cutting edge Wind Blade Testing facility, and the Great Point Energy/Dominion Power partnership to build a gasification demonstration facility and R&D center at Brayton Point.
• Reversed constrictive stem cell research regulations put in place by the previous administration, opening the doors to uninhibited, groundbreaking research and ensuring that Massachusetts will be at the forefront of stem cell research and the life sciences.
• Awarded $1.4 million in Small Business Technical Assistance Grants through the Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship and re-energized the State Office of Minority and Women Business Assistance.
• Launched the Springfield Partnership, a revitalization effort to enhance local public safety efforts, expand housing options, improve the local business environment, and to utilize critical state investments to leverage local economic development efforts.
• Revitalized a workforce training system to close skills gaps and expand employment opportunity in every region of the state.
• Undertook first trade mission to China to engage global markets for clean energy and life sciences products developed and produced in Massachusetts.
• Through these and other efforts, Massachusetts has added 26,000 new jobs this year alone.

Heath Care Reform Implementation:

• Implementing landmark health care reform with the goal of promoting better, more affordable health in all communities. More than 300,000 Massachusetts residents will have signed up for health insurance during the past year, exceeding all expectations.
• Governor Patrick personally intervened with insurance industry executives to seek lower rates for "Commonwealth Choice" health plans offered through the Connector. 

Environmental Leadership:

• Joined Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to cut harmful emissions and develop region-wide collaboration in environmental stewardship.
• Approved environmental review for Cape Wind, first offshore wind farm in the country.
• Established ambitious goals for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and emissions reductions for state agencies in the Leading By Example program.
• Strengthened Greenhouse Gas analysis and mitigation in state environmental reviews.
• Successfully brokered a partnership between national energy company Dominion Power and Cambridge-based start-up GreatPoint Energy to build a gasification demonstration facility and research-and-development center that will create 100 new jobs and add to Massachusetts's growing portfolio of clean energy technology companies.
• Worked with legislative partners to develop first-in-the-nation biofuels standards and propose landmark energy legislation promoting conservation, new technologies, and new jobs in one of the fastest growing sectors of our economy.

Public Safety:

• Established the Governor's Anti-Crime Council, a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary panel of key public safety, human services and community leaders as well as members of the legislature to develop comprehensive proposals for preventing and fighting crime and violence.
• Distributed over $50 million in state and federal public safety grants to support law enforcement and criminal justice efforts.
• Nearly doubled funding for new officers on the street, community policing and violence prevention.
• Expanded Shannon Grants, summer jobs and volunteer programs to give at-risk young people productive alternatives to drugs and gangs.
• Overhauled the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and instituted reforms to better assist law enforcement and public health agencies.

Roads, Rails and Bridges:

• Transportation investments in every region of the state to catalyze regional economic growth, including south coast rail, Blue, Green and Fairmount Line extensions, and the extension of commuter rail service north from Hartford to Springfield.
• Filed a $2.9 billion bond bill to fund the largest ever statewide road, rail and bridge improvement program.
• Created the Mass Mobility Compact to break down silos and increase communications between agencies shaping statewide transportation policy.

Consumer Protection:

• Introduced managed competition in auto insurance leading to greater choice and lower rates for good drivers no matter where they live.
• To protect and assist homeowners facing foreclosure, unveiled a five-point foreclosure prevention plan consisting of targeted neighborhood stabilization pilot programs in six Bay State cities, transition resources from mortgage lenders and servicers, consumer outreach and education, lending best practices and coordination to increase utilization of loan refinancing program. The administration also sought and received delays from mortgage lenders on a case-by-case basis for over 500 homeowners facing foreclosure.
• Signed into law comprehensive identity theft prevention legislation requiring businesses and governments to notify consumers when their data is lost or stolen and sets standards for the disposal of records containing personal information.

Education Reform:

• Passed FY2008 budget with strongest investment in education in the history of the Commonwealth.
• Launched the Commonwealth Readiness Project, a broad, diverse group of education, business, community and government leaders to develop a plan to implement a comprehensive strategy for the next phase of education reform over the next 10 years. The Project supports the Governor's vision of a public education system that starts with universal, high-quality early education, continues through all-day kindergarten, smaller class sizes and extended learning time, required math and science throughout high school, and extends to free access to community college and work force development, with strong teachers throughout. 
• Filed a $2 billion dollar bond bill to address the long-standing and neglected capital needs of the public colleges and universities in Massachusetts. Bill authorizes new building or renovation projects at every one of the Commonwealth's community and state colleges and at each of the University of Massachusetts's campuses.

Fiscal Management:

• Fiscal year 2008 General Appropriations Act holds overall spending to the smallest rate of growth in three years. As noted by the Boston Globe, "The dire predictions that one-party government would lead to a spending spree have not come to pass." (Boston Globe, 7/13/07). The budget submitted by Governor Patrick included almost $700 million in budget efficiencies.
• Developed the first ever 5-year capital spending plan, based on a financial analysis of the level of debt the Commonwealth can afford, an initiative favorably received by the bond rating agencies.  All bond bills have been and will be consistent with this plan.
• Used innovative tools to manage state finances and achieve budgetary savings, including working with the state Treasurer to issue bonds to pay for the fiscal year 2008 capital program before the funds are needed (expected to result in $50-60 million in new investment revenue for state) and refinancing key projects in "immediate needs" bond bill (achieving $27.5 million of present value debt service savings).

Moving a Legislative Agenda

In the first half of the two-year legislative session, the Governor has set an ambitious legislative agenda and focused discussion on the issues that matter most to the Commonwealth's families, businesses and communities.

Property Tax Relief:

• Proposed income tax credit programs that would provide immediate property tax relief for 1,000,000 Massachusetts households.
• Filed the Municipal Partnership Act, which would permit cities and towns to cut costs by joining the state health insurance and pension plans, and to raise revenue from other sources such as a modest increase in the meals tax or the elimination of an out-of-date tax break for the phone company.

Life Saving Medicines and New Jobs:

Filed legislation to make Massachusetts the global leader in life sciences. Plan includes a 10-year, $1 billion investment package that will strengthen and secure the state's international leadership in the fields of medicine and biotechnology and create 250,000 new jobs.

Anti-Crime Efforts:

Filed package of legislation to get tough and smart on crime. Getting tough through reducing the number of guns on our streets by limiting firearms purchases to one gun per month, keeping high-threat individuals off the streets with pre-trial detention for gun offenses, and strengthening penalties for using a firearm in a crime of violence. Getting smart with mandatory post-release supervision, re-entry support and information sharing to better assist at-risk youth.

Energy Efficiency and Reform:

Worked closely with legislative leadership on ambitious legislation to make Massachusetts a national leader in energy conservation and clean and renewable energy promotion and promote a rapidly growing industry.

Affordable Housing:

To foster long-term economic growth and make home ownership more accessible for all residents, filed a $1.1 billion bond bill to support the creation and preservation of affordable housing and community development projects across the Commonwealth over the next five years.

Destination Resort Casinos:

Filed legislation authorizing the construction and operation of three destination resort casinos, designed to generate an estimated $2 billion a year in new economic activity, create 20,000 good jobs with benefits, create another 30,000 construction jobs, and produce hundreds of millions in new revenue for state transportation projects and property tax reduction.

The Broadband Initiative:

Filed legislation to create the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, which will invest $25 million in infrastructure improvements through targeted public/private partnerships to extend high-speed internet access to all un-served and underserved communities in Massachusetts by 2010.

Working with our Legislative Partners

Governor Patrick has worked successfully with his partners in the legislature on a number of important initiatives, including:

Marriage Equality

Working closely with legislative leadership, helped defeat a proposed ban on gay marriage protecting the marriage equality of 8,500 gay and lesbian couples who have married in Massachusetts since 2004 and those in the future.

Education

Major expansion in education opportunities from pre-school through higher education with the highest level of funding for pre-K through high school, and the most aggressive higher education capital program in the history of the Commonwealth.

Municipal Partnership Act

Portions of the Governors Municipal Act which have already passed the legislature begin to give cities and towns the relief they need from skyrocketing health care costs and underperforming pension systems.

FY08 State Budget

Collaborative effort with legislature increased state aid for local communities, laid the foundation for the next phase of education reform, restored public health programs and made state government more efficient and effective while holding state spending to the smallest rate of growth in three years.

Crime Prevention Funding

Secured swift action on a $15 million anti-crime plan to put more police on the street and to combat youth violence across Massachusetts.

Repairing Roads and Bridges

Legislature unanimously passed Governor's $1.47 billion Immediate Needs capital bond to address urgent capital needs, including road and bridge repairs in cities and towns, and to improve government efficiency.

Film Tax Credit

Law passed to expand the film tax credit, making Massachusetts a more attractive location to independent and big-budget film makers and boosting the Commonwealth's creative economy.

Identity Theft Prevention

Signed into law comprehensive identity theft prevention legislation requiring businesses and governments to notify consumers when their data is lost or stolen and sets standards for the disposal of records containing personal information.

Commonwealth Corps

The newly created Commonwealth Corps is dedicated to encouraging citizens across Massachusetts to commit to community service and volunteerism.

Mortgage Foreclosure

Law passed to increase protections for consumers in the mortgage process and to increase oversight over companies that provide mortgages to Massachusetts residents.

Energy Bill

Developed first-in-the-nation biofuels standards and propose landmark energy legislation promoting conservation, new technologies, and new jobs in one of the fastest growing sectors of our economy.

Buffer Zone Bill

Law passed that increased and established a fixed buffer zone around reproductive health facilities in order to protect individuals' safety and access to reproductive health care.

Union Authorization Cards

Signed legislation that enables public workers to unionize by signing majority authorization cards, leveling the playing field between labor and management, and affirming support for fair wages, decent health care and on the job protections.

Changing the Face of Government

A More Efficient Government

Reorganized the Cabinet and several of the agencies they oversee to create a more efficient and unified Executive Branch. The measure passed both the House and Senate unanimously.

Governing the Entire State

Announced the creation of the western Massachusetts office of the Governor in Springfield. In addition to this effort to expand access to state government, the Governor has and will continue to convene Cabinet, Development Cabinet, Anti-Crime Council and Readiness Project meetings in different parts of the Commonwealth.

A Commitment to Diversity

Carrying through on the commitment to diversity in government by expanding employment opportunities to women, minorities and residents with disabilities. 27% of hires in the Governor's office been people of color and 52% have been women. 19% of all management hires in the Administration have been people of color; more than double the results in the same period during the prior administration.

Promoting Civic Engagement

The Office of Civic Engagement has opened new lines of communication between the people and Governor Patrick and provided opportunities for community groups and individual citizens to take action in shaping their government.  The Governor has promoted further service by public employees through the expansion of the SERV program.

Ensuring a Representative Judiciary

After appointing twenty-one distinguished citizens from a cross-section of the Commonwealth to the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC), Governor Patrick has made several outstanding nominations and appointments, including an associate justice to the Supreme Judicial Court and three nominations to the Court of Appeals.  The JNC, with the Office of the Governor's Chief Legal Counsel, has also participated in several outreach events to demystify the application process and encourage applicants from all sectors of the legal community.