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2021–2022 Massachusetts Legislature
The 192nd Massachusetts General Court was a meeting of the legislative branch of the state government of Massachusetts. It consisted of elected members of the Senate and House of Representatives. It first convened in Boston at the Massachusetts State House on January 6, 2021, during the governorship of Charlie Baker. The 192nd term ended in early 2023. Will Brownsberger, Michael Moran, and Dan Hunt oversaw decennial redistricting based on the 2020 census. Also in 2021, legislators debated whether or not to increase public access to information about their own proceedings. Other notable discussion topics include progressive taxation, the gig economy, climate change, spending of federal aid, driver's licenses, animal welfare, and civil asset forfeiture. Leadership Senate House Members Senators **Originally elected in a special election Representatives The following is a complete list of Members of the House of Representatives in the 192nd General Court, by distri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massachusetts State House
The Massachusetts State House, also known as the Massachusetts Statehouse or the New State House, is the List of state capitols in the United States, state capitol and seat of government for the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, located in the Beacon Hill, Boston, Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston. The building houses the Massachusetts General Court (State legislature (United States), state legislature) and the offices of the Governor of Massachusetts. The building, designed by architect Charles Bulfinch, was completed in January 1798 at a cost of $133,333 (more than five times the budget), and has repeatedly been enlarged since. It is one of the oldest state capitols in current use. It is considered a masterpiece of Federal architecture and among Bulfinch's finest works, and was designated a National Historic Landmark for its architectural significance. Building and grounds Today the building officially functions and is maintained under the auspices of the Super ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode Island to its south, New Hampshire and Vermont to its north, and New York (state), New York to its west. Massachusetts is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, sixth-smallest state by land area. With a 2024 U.S. Census Bureau-estimated population of 7,136,171, its highest estimated count ever, Massachusetts is the most populous state in New England, the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 16th-most-populous in the United States, and the List of states and territories of the United States by population density, third-most densely populated U.S. state, after New Jersey and Rhode Island. Massachusetts was a site of early British colonization of the Americas, English colonization. The Plymouth Colony was founded in 16 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Driver's Licenses In The United States
In the United States, driver's licenses are issued by each individual U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, territory, and the Washington, D.C., District of Columbia (a practical aspect of federalism). Drivers are normally required to obtain a license from their state of residence. All states of the United States and provinces and territories of Canada recognize each other's licenses for non-resident age requirements. There are also licenses for motorcycle use. Generally, a minimum age of 15 is required to apply for a non-commercial driver license, and 18 for Commercial driver's license, commercial licenses which drivers must have to operate vehicles that are too heavy for a non-commercial licensed driver (such as bus, buses, trucks, and semi-trailer truck, tractor-trailers) or vehicles with at least 16 passengers (including the driver) or containing dangerous goods, hazardous materials that require placards. A state may also suspend an individual's driving privile ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Rescue Plan Act Of 2021
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package or American Rescue Plan, is a economic stimulus bill passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, to speed up the country's recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and recession. First proposed on January 14, 2021, the package builds upon many of the measures in the CARES Act from March 2020 and in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, from December. On February 8, 2021, the Financial Services and Education and Labor committees released a draft of $1.9 trillion stimulus legislation. A portion of the relief package was approved by the House Ways and Means on February 11, setting it up for a vote in the House. The legislation was also approved by the Transportation and Infrastructure, Small Business, and House Veterans Affairs committees. On February 22, the House Budget Committee voted 19–16 to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climate Change Mitigation
Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include energy conservation, conserving energy and Fossil fuel phase-out, replacing fossil fuels with sustainable energy, clean energy sources. Secondary mitigation strategies include changes to land use and carbon sequestration, removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. Current climate change mitigation policies are insufficient as they would still result in global warming of about 2.7 °C by 2100, significantly above the 2015 Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global warming to below 2 °C. Solar energy and wind power can replace fossil fuels at the lowest cost compared to other renewable energy options.IPCC (2022Summary for policy makersiClimate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gig Worker
Gig workers are independent contractors, online platform workers, contract firm workers, on-demand workers, and temporary workers. Gig workers enter into formal agreements with on-demand companies to provide services to the company's clients. In many countries, the legal classification of gig workers is still being debated, with companies classifying their workers as "independent contractors", while organized labor advocates have been lobbying for them to be classified as "employees", which would legally require companies to provide the full suite of employee benefits like time-and-a-half for overtime, paid sick time, employer-provided health care, bargaining rights, and unemployment insurance, among others. In 2020, the voters in California approved 2020 California Proposition 22, which created a third worker classification whereby gig-worker-drivers are classified as contractors but get some benefits, such as minimum wage, mileage reimbursement, and others. Etymology of ''g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Progressive Taxation
A progressive tax is a tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases. The term ''progressive'' refers to the way the tax rate progresses from low to high, with the result that a taxpayer's average tax rate is less than the person's marginal tax rate. The term can be applied to individual taxes or to a tax system as a whole. Progressive taxes are imposed in an attempt to reduce the tax incidence of people with a lower ability to pay, as such taxes shift the incidence increasingly to those with a higher ability-to-pay. The opposite of a progressive tax is a regressive tax, such as a sales tax, where the poor pay a larger proportion of their income compared to the rich (for example, spending on groceries and food staples varies little against income, so poor pay similar to rich even while latter has much higher income). The term is frequently applied in reference to personal income taxes, in which people with lower income pay a lower percentage of that inco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massachusetts Public Records Law
__NOTOC__ Massachusetts Public Records Law is a law in Massachusetts detailing what kinds of documents are actually public records. It is a state law that is similar to the federal Freedom of Information Act, which was signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. According to the ''Boston Globe'' newspaper in 2016, "Massachusetts is currently the one state in the country where the Legislature, judiciary, and governor’s office all claim to be completely exempt from the ublic recordslaw." Many voters would welcome more government transparency. For example, in 2020, a "ballot question in 16 house districts found overwhelming support for increasing transparency." Interest groups focusing on the issue include Act on Mass and the New England First Amendment Coalition. Requirements The government and other agencies are required under the Public Records Act to disclose records and documents upon request. There are exemptions to Public Records Act that the government can use to keep c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Open Government
Open government is the governing doctrine which maintains that citizens have the right to access the documents and proceedings of the government to allow for effective public oversight. In its broadest construction, it opposes reason of state and other considerations which have tended to legitimize extensive state secrecy. The origins of open-government arguments can be dated to the time of the European Age of Enlightenment, when philosophers debated the proper construction of a then nascent democratic society. It is also increasingly being associated with the concept of democratic reform. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 for example advocates for public access to information as a criterion for ensuring accountable and inclusive institutions. Components The concept of open government is broad in scope but is most often connected to ideas of government transparency, participation and accountability. Transparency is defined as the visibility and inferability ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Redistricting In The United States
Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each United States census, ten-year census. The Article One of the United States Constitution#Section 2, Clause 3, U.S. Constitution in Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 provides for proportional representation in the House of Representatives. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 required that the number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives be kept at a constant 435, and a 1941 act made the reapportionment among the states by population automatic after every decennial census. Reapportionment occurs at the federal level followed by redistricting at the state level. According to , Article One of the United States Constitution#Section 4: Congressional elections, Article I, Section 4 left to the legislature of each state the authority to establish congressional districts; however, such decisio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
