July 23, 2024
MCAD Publishes Newest Version of Its Guidelines on Harassment in the Workplace
The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) recently published its 2024 Guidelines on Harassment in the Workplace. The 48-page…
Read More(Editor’s note – AIM last week released the Blueprint for the Next Century, a long-term plan for economic growth and prosperity in Massachusetts. The AIM blog will this week publish one summary each day of the four recommendations contained in the Blueprint. We invite your responses in the Comments section.)
Moderate the substantial burden that health care and energy place on business growth.
Where We Stand | Health Insurance
Massachusetts has enjoyed unique success extending health insurance coverage since the passage of health care reform in 2006 – an impressive 97 percent of residents now have health insurance, by far the largest percentage of any state. But that success is threatened by relentless acceleration of health care costs and the resulting run-up in the cost to employers of providing health insurance to workers.
Where We Can Improve
Where We Stand | Energy
Average electric rates in Massachusetts are the third highest in the nation for industrial ratepayers at 12.63 cents per kilowatt hour, according to the United States Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration. Electricity costs have reached crisis stage as a persistent shortage of natural gas for generating plants is driving power prices to record levels for the winter of 2014-2015.
Where We Can Improve
Remove DPU from under Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, where it has become a political agency, and restore its status as an independent agency under the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.
Increase the number of DPU commissioners from three to five, one of whom must be experienced in commercial and industrial ratepayer issues and one of whom must be experienced in residential ratepayer issues.
Make sure that any “green” programs are competitively bid and cover the lowest-cost requirements first. These bids should be technology neutral with no specific carve-outs for “favored” technology.
Reduce/eliminate cross subsidization of “green” programs by eliminating net metering and other programs.
Allow municipal electric light companies access to Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative funds to institute energy-efficiency programs.
Allow companies to keep a larger share of their energy efficiency money, provided they use it for energy efficiency purposes.