State Senator Keenan Highlights Priority Bills For ’17 – ‘18

From the Office of State Senator John Keenan: The State Legislature’s 2017 – 2018 session has commenced, bringing a new round of legislative proposals contained within the more than 5,700 bills that were filed before the January 20th filing deadline.

State Senator John Keenan (D – Quincy) filed a total of 48 bills, covering a broad range of issues and reflecting his work on some longstanding priorities while also tackling some new legislative goals. Some of the priorities include:

Supporting Local Engagement and Community ---

Senator Keenan filed two bills promoting community-building and civic engagement. One would require major cable companies, such as Comcast, to permit local government access channels, to broadcast in HD. “This is a simple matter of keeping up with advancing technology,” said Keenan, “so that QATV and other public service channels can continue to help citizens stay connected with their local government and community.”

Another bill requires more transparent accounting of regional tourism funding, collected in part through a local hotel room occupancy tax, so that Quincy can continue organizing holiday and cultural events, and promoting tourism. “These funds are generated locally,” Keenan said, “but allocated on a regional basis, so we need to ensure that the way the Commonwealth spends these funds is fair and inclusive across the region.”

The Opioid Addiction Crisis ---

Senator Keenan has been a leading author on various laws which address the opioid addiction crisis. Many of the reforms have only recently taken effect, or have effective dates that are soon approaching. Keenan stated, “While we remain closely engaged with implementing the provisions of previous bills, I’ve also filed several new bills that are targeted to very specific challenges we have yet to address.”

Keenan’s top priority bill is one which would guarantee up to 30 days of insurance coverage for addiction treatment programs. While private health insurers today cover only emergency, detoxification, and crisis programs, this bill would require them to provide coverage for a transition into long-term recovery. “The bill passed the Senate last session,” said Keenan, “and we are committed to overcoming the opposition of health insurance companies and moving it through the House of Representatives to the Governor’s desk.” The bill has already garnered 87 cosponsors.

Other bills would clarify Narcan dispensing procedures so that consumers are not made to pay out-of-pocket for this overdose reversal product; establish penalties for trafficking in fentanyl, a high potency synthetic opioid, that would match the heroin trafficking law (current penalties for fentanyl trafficking are less severe than for trafficking in heroin, despite fentanyl being a significantly more lethal substance); and establish non-opioid and non-pharmaceutical pain management services as a requirement for insurance carriers to receive state accreditation for their products.

Human Services in the Community ---

Keenan pointed out that with the closure of Quincy Medical Center at the end of 2014, Quincy has seen a realignment of health care resources, with more of a focus on community health centers and other community-based human services – organizations that provide essential care sometimes more effectively and at a lower cost than major hospitals.

Keenan has filed several bills to support and increase community based health and human service. One bill would help alleviate one of the most burdensome costs on community healthproviders – the costs of providing health insurance to their own employees. The bill proposes tobring state-contracted human service providers into the Group Insurance Commission, the insurance carrier that currently serves state employees. Joining a larger risk pool, and accessing greater purchasing power, would help community providers secure better rates, leaving a greater portion of their budgets for employee training, retention, and direct patient services.

Another bill would create a nurse practitioner residency program for community health centers,giving these centers a better ability to attract and retain high-quality primary care providers.

Residency programs of this kind – already in place through a small pilot program in some locations – would also provide new pathways for training recently licensed practitioners, shifting away from a reliance on high-cost teaching hospitals for this purpose.

Transportation Quality ---

As the recovery and repair of aging public transit infrastructure continues, Senator Keenan isworking closely with colleagues and with the Baker-Polito administration on Red Line projectsand transportation quality across the state. Keenan stresses that while much of this work will be

done through existing commissions and the capital budget planning process, there is a need to ensure that this results in improved quality, not just in cost-cutting.

In collaboration with MBTA employees, Keenan filed a bill that would establish an expert panel to review whether the MBTA retirement fund should be combined with the larger Massachusetts public employee retirement fund.

“This change could bring stronger returns, predictability, and stability to both retirement funds,” said Keenan, “but a change of this size should not occur without expert input from all stakeholders.” He also co-sponsored bills that would require greater reporting and accounting of maintenance backlogs throughout the MBTA system, and that would strengthen reporting requirements about any services that are privatized. “Both are important to understanding our long term budget and capital needs,” Keenan said, “and to ensuring that we do not sacrifice long-term quality for short-term cost cutting measures.”

Another bill Keenan filed would bring equity to commuter tax benefits. Federal and state laws grant tax credits to individuals based on the costs of commuting to work, but the benefits offered to those who use public transportation such as commuter rail, the Red Line and buses lag behind the credits available to those who drive and park their cars. “The bill would update the state tax code so that we are encouraging ridership and investment in public transit.”

“With regularly scheduled office hours in the community, through social media, our website, local newspapers and through local cable access, we will continue to keep constituents updated regarding the progress of these bills, and the legislative session in general,” said Keenan. “I encourage anybody who has any questions about them or state government in general, to call the office at (617) 722-1494.”

Senator Keenan can also be contacted through---

• Email: John.Keenan@MASenate.gov
• Website: www.SenatorJohnKeenan.com
• Twitter: @SenJohnFKeenan
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/senjohnfkeena...

Image: File Photo