Keeping abreast of developments at the State House, Rep. Ken Gordon checked in about PACs and campaign finance, and Sen. Mike Barrett sent word about increases to the minimum wage.
From State Representative Ken Gordon
Representative Ken Gordon (D-Bedford) joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in passing legislation that drastically strengthens campaign finance regulations and requires super PACs to disclose their funding sources.
To ensure the public has timely and relevant information before voting, the bill updates reporting timeframes and mandates that entities disclose expenditures in state, county and local elections within seven days. Additionally, PACs that run television advertisements would have to list the top five contributors on the commercial. If passed, Massachusetts will be one of two states with this type of provision.
Read Rep. Gordon’s full press release about Super PACs
From State Senator Michael Barrett
The Massachusetts Legislature has voted to boost the state’s minimum wage to $11 per hour by 2017, increasing it by $1 dollar per year starting in 2015.
“At the current level of $8 an hour, full-time employees only make $16,640 a year,” said state Sen. Mike Barrett, D-Lexington, Vice Chair of the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. “The minimum wage shouldn’t enable you to get rich, but if you’re putting in forty or fifty hours a week it should enable you to avoid being poor.”
Read Sen. Barrett’s full press release about the Minimum wage