Legislators also approved bills that seek to lower the costs of electricity and require utilities to respond more effectively to storms.
BOSTON — State legislators on Tuesday moved to finish formal sessions for the year with a flourish, approving an historic bill to overhaul the delivery and payment of health care and a bill to improve the economy that includes a sales tax holiday for the second weekend of this month.
Legislators also approved bills that seek to lower the costs of electricity and require utilities to respond more effectively to storms.
In another development, Gov. Deval L. Patrick on Tuesday said he would sign a bill to crack down on the most violent offenders, ending a multi-day showdown with legislators over an important criminal-justice bill.
"We've passed significant legislation to benefit the public," said Rep. Angelo J. Puppolo, a Springfield Democrat, outside the House chamber last night. "The bills will have positive impact on public safety, economic development, health care and consumers."
Formal legislative sessions were set to end at midnight Tuesday. Informal legislative sessions, which include no recorded votes, will take place the rest of the year.
The state House of Representatives voted 153-1 and the state Senate, 35-0, to approve a more comprehensive bill that contains the sales tax holiday for Aug. 11 and 12.
The two tax-free shopping days were included as a rider in the 115-page bill intended to create jobs.
In a light-hearted comments during Senate debate, Sen. Michael R. Knapik, a Westfield Republican, said the sales tax holiday was the worst-kept secret in the state.
"Who knew we were going to have a sales tax holiday?" Knapik said. "My lord. This is like Christmas in July."
It would be the state's eighth sales tax holiday in the past nine years. The holiday returned in 2010 after an absence during a state fiscal crisis in 2009.
During those two days, the state's 6.25 percent sales tax is suspended for most items worth $2,500 and less.
The bill also includes Patrick's plan to pay for lost revenues during the sales tax holiday with money from one-time settlements of judgments. Patrick has estimated that the state forgoes about $20 million in revenues during the tax-free weekend.
The two top authors of the overall bill, Sen. Gale D. Candaras, a Wilbraham Democrat, and Rep. Joseph F. Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat, said the legislation should help position the state for further economic growth.
The bill lifts the annual cap to $60 million from $50 million for tax credits for upgrading historic properties, matches private contributions with state dollars to establish paid internships at technology startups, establishes a state ombudsman to help businesses navigate state regulations, provides $1 million to assist startups and other companies with venture capital financing and $25 million in new borrowing authorization for research and development grants for universities and institutions that need a state match to go along with federal and possibly private dollars. Wagner has said half of the $25 million will go to the five-campus University of Massachusetts.
In another major decision, the Senate voted 38-0 and the House of Representatives, 132-20, to approve a sweeping health care bill.
The bill is the first in the nation that seeks to limit the growth in health care costs to about the same rate as the state's gross domestic product, or a little less than 4 percent. The bill sets an ambitious goal of saving $200 billion over the next 15 years.
Patrick said the health-care legislation builds on the state's 2006 law that provides near-universal coverage. He said he looks forward to signing the bill.
"With over 98 percent of our residents insured today, we’ve shown the nation how to extend coverage to everyone," the governor said. "Now we are poised to do the same on controlling costs."
Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said the legislation will put a lot of pressure on hospitals and insurers to lower costs.
"On balance, it's a good bill," Widmer said. "It sets a very demanding target for the growth of health care costs."
Three Republican House members from Western Massachusetts - Reps. Donald F. Humason of Westfield, Todd M. Smola of Palmer and Nicholas A. Boldyga of Southwick -- voted against the health care bill.
Smola said legislators did not have enough time to review the 350-page bill and discuss it with leaders of local hospitals. The bill was released on Monday night and up for a vote on Tuesday afternoon. "You can't do business that way," he said.
The bill seeks to control costs by changing the ways that doctors, hospitals and other providers are paid.
One method, already established in some programs by hospitals and insurers, calls for "global payments," or fixed dollar payments for care for a person in a certain time period. That would replace the current system of fees for each medical service.
The bill calls for "medical homes," for patients, which assure people receive care from a team of professionals that coordinate all details of preventative, acute and other needs.
The bill includes provisions to make health care more transparent for patients. For example, the bill calls for establishing a web site to allow consumers to compare costs and quality among hospitals.
The legislation also includes $135 million in grants to help community hospitals adopt electronic medical records systems.
In a statement on Tuesday, Patrick said he would sign legislation that eliminates parole for many three-time violent offenders, cuts a list of mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders and reduces the size of a school zone for certain drug charges.
Under the bill, a provision called "three strikes" includes about 40 heinous crimes such as murder, rape, kidnapping. An offender would be ineligible for parole if convicted of two crimes from the list and then convicted of a third offense from the list.
The Legislature had approved the bill last week but Patrick sent it back with a proposed amendment to provide some leeway for judges in sentencing the three-time violent felons. Legislators on Monday overwhelmingly rejected the amendment and sent the original bill back to Patrick.
“I asked for a balanced bill and, after many twists and turns, the Legislature has given me one," Patrick said. "Because of the balance between strict sentences for the worst offenders and more common sense approaches for those who pose little threat to public safety, I have said that this is a good bill. I will sign this bill."
Patrick said the bill moves the state away from a costly and ineffective policy of warehousing non-violent drug offenders. Patrick said about 600 non-violent drug offenders would be immediately eligible for parole.
The storm-response bill follows strong criticism about the performance of electric companies during last year's Oct. 29 snowstorm and Tropical Storm Irene.
The bill requires public utility companies to provide three-times-daily estimates to customers about when electricity will be restored following a 24-hour damage assessment period, according to a release from David Falcone, spokesman for Senate President Therese Murray. It also requires companies during major storms to set up a call center which must be located in Massachusetts within 50 miles of a utility’s service territory and have sufficient staffing to handle calls, the release said.
Utilities must also report power outages to the state and designate a community liaison in each community when putting into effect an emergency response plan.
Also, utilities will have to pay an assessment to help the state Department of Public Utilities pay for storm investigations. The cost of this charge cannot be passed onto customers.
A separate bill is intended to lower electric bills partly by reviewing rates on a more regular basis, identifying factors that are driving costs and demanding more competition, according to Falcone.