Beacon Hill lawmakers will complete their version of final-exam week Tuesday at midnight as the Legislature races to complete bills before the end of formal meetings for 2017-2018 Beacon Hill session.

The conclusion of formal sessions on July 31 of even-numbered years generally means the end of the line for controversial bills. Lawmakers will meet for the remainder of 2018 in informal sessions, when a single lawmaker may stop any measure with an objection.

The most important issues to employers have already been resolved in advance of this year’s end-of-session rush. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court last month invalidated a potential income-tax surcharge constitutional amendment, while negotiations over three other ballot questions produced agreement on a compromise paid family and medical leave law, as well as a minimum-wage increase.

Three key employer issues remain on the table during the waning hours of debate:

• Health care reform ” The House and Senate passed different versions of health reform and a conference committee is working to hammer out a consensus bill. AIM remains concerned about both bills because they include expensive assessment. Neither bill reforms the MassHealth program for low income residents, where employers are paying a $200 million assessment to close a funding gap.
• Energy ” Measures passed by both the House and Senate could significantly increase the percentage of clean-source electricity used by Massachusetts consumers. AIM believes the bills could have the perverse effect of squeezing out clean hydro power and interrupting the successful roll-out of the 2016 energy law.
• Non-compete agreements ” The Senate, as part of an economic development bill, largely adopted the same modest restrictions on non-competes that AIM and other business groups supported two years ago as part of a compromise with House Speaker Robert DeLeo. But deep-pocketed venture capitalists continue to press for an outright ban and prospects for passage remain uncertain.

Employers also received some good news last week when Governor Charlie Baker signed the budget for the fiscal year that began July 1. The budget authorizes the administration to develop a hardship waiver for employers liable for the MassHealth surtax. Details remain to be developed.

The budget also provided full funding for the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

Please contact me at 617.262.1180, or jregan@aimnet.org if you need more information on any of these issues.