Governor Charlie Baker joined Boston Public Radio today for Ask the Governor, taking listener calls on issues ranging from the potential for an expanded rail line across the state, to undocumented immigrants receiving driver's licenses, to care for special needs young adults and more. Here are some highlights.
Staff recruitment is a “critical problem” in special needs care, Baker says
Robert in Canton called in about his 21-year-old autistic son, who must leave his current care facility at the National Center for Children when he turns 22 in six weeks. Under the state’s “Turning 22” law, people with disabilities transition from school to adult services at 22.
“It seems that there is no place to put him, not only him, but apparently a number of other people as well,” Robert said.
Baker acknowledged that staffing recruitment and retention has been a big challenge for the state, and voiced support for financial resources directed towards care. “We have been putting very significant resources into that community,” he said. “This is a huge issue and a huge problem, and it runs all the way across the healthcare and the human service base.”
Baker voices opposition to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s home rule petition on housing
Samuel in Dorchester asked the governor for his response to Wu’s home rule petition that would add a 2% fee on real estate sales above $2 million and expand senior property tax relief.
“I don't support these sorts of things,” Baker said. “And I especially wonder why we're doing this at a point in time when we have billions of dollars available to us to spend on housing, and the city of Boston has hundreds of millions of dollars available to them to spend on housing.”
Baker pointed to the billions of dollars that remain unspent from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) as to why he does not support the petition.
The city council passed the measure on Mar. 2, after which Baker and the Legislature must approve it before it takes effect.
Baker “disappointed” about driver's license bill for undocumented immigrants
The governor responded to the Massachusetts House advancing a bill to the Senate last month that would allow some undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses.
Baker said he was “disappointed” about Minority Leader Brad Jones’ failed amendment, which would have given the town clerk the ability to verify the identity of someone using a state license to vote. “That bothered me a lot,” Baker said.
The Governor said he worries about how this potential new law would work alongside previous legislation that automatically registers people with driver's licenses to vote. “We've got to create a process that somehow separates people who are citizens from people who aren't who are applying for this driver's license,” he said.
The House Ways and Means Committee released a version of the bill in February that clarified that a license applicant who does not give proof of lawful residence would not automatically be registered.
The bill, which is currently in the Senate, was passed in the House with a veto-proof margin in February.
State in “animated discussions” about East-West rail line
Bob in Charlestown called in asking about the state of a possible East-West rail line to promote job growth and state connection through to Western Massachusetts.
“We are currently in, I would argue, pretty animated discussions and negotiations with CSX and Amtrak,” Baker said. CSX Transportation is a freight railroad company.
“There is service, it's just not what it should be,” Baker continued, calling the line a “multi-step process.”
“We should start by trying to make the service that does exist already better and faster and more frequent, using the existing players who are already there," he added.
