Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Statement on Gov. Patrick's Unemployment Insurance Rate Freeze Proposal
Today I released the following statement on
behalf of the Senate Republican Caucus regarding the announcement by
Governor Deval Patrick that he will be filing legislation to freeze the
unemployment insurance rates paid by Massachusetts’ businesses for 2013:
“We’re glad to hear the Governor is
joining us in seeking to combat unacceptable unemployment insurance rates and
hope he will also join us as we seek to implement long-term reforms in the
state’s unemployment insurance system to provide more stability, predictability
and fairness to the employers and employees of the Commonwealth and eliminate
the need for what has become an annual rate freeze exercise that leaves
employers with the perennial uncertainty of whether or not they will face
additional substantial increases. The
coming legislative session will offer us the opportunity to move beyond these
necessary but one-time fixes to comprehensive solutions that promote economic
growth.
We’re also glad to hear the
Governor is responding to what has long been a priority of the caucus by
including in his proposal a provision that will eliminate the Fair Share
contribution for businesses. Republicans
in the House and Senate led a successful effort to increase the threshold for
businesses impacted by the Fair Share assessment during the previous
legislative session, and now we are on the verge of eliminating a cumbersome
government mandate that has not promoted employment growth.”
