October 8, 2006

Dear Editor,
 I am pleased to announce that with the Legislature’s passage of an FY06 supplemental budget on Thursday, September 28th, $4.4 million in funding has been allocated for reimbursements to the state's public higher education campuses for waiving tuition and fees for active National Guard members, as required by the Legislature’s earlier passage of the “Welcome Home” bill.  The Welcome Home bill, which was signed into law on November 11, 2005, also provides a one-time $500 or $1000 tax-free payment to service members activated since September 11, 2001.
 More recently, the Massachusetts Legislature passed “An Act to Establish the Massachusetts Military Enhanced Relief Individual Tax (MERIT) Plan.” The bill’s highlights include a new 100 % property tax exemption for surviving spouses of veterans killed in combat, increasing veterans’ property tax exemptions up to $1,500, extending sales and vehicle excise tax exemptions to disabled veterans, and allowing cities and towns to suspend property tax payments of National Guard members and Reservists on active duty.  These abatements and exemptions were last revised in 1997. 
 Tragically, some of our soldiers fighting overseas are returning home disabled, and state government needs to make sure that disabled veterans have the best health care available to them for their recovery.  This past June, the House of Representatives unanimously approved H 4758, a bill aimed at improving the quality of life of seniors and people with disabilities by establishing a consumer directory of qualified personal care assistants (PCAs), who provide comprehensive homecare services to many disabled people in Massachusetts.  Currently PCAs have a 40-60 % turnover annually, in part because of their low pay.  H 4758 would help PCAs organize more easily for improved wages, reducing the annual turnover and paving the way to improved personal care for the state’s disabled, including veterans.
 If any resident has a question about any of these laws or benefits, please contact my State House office at 617-722-2060. 
        

Sincerely,
        James Eldridge
        State Representative
        37th Middlesex District