Tuesday March 22  

Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture-Misc Matters-1:00pm-Virtual Hearing-https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/4234

Wednesday March 23  

Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies-Late File Bills-10:00am-Virtual Hearing-https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/4242

Wednesday March 30  

Joint Committee on Financial Services-App-Based Drivers-1:00pm-Virtual Hearing-https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/4231

Green Line Extension a Major Achievement for the T

Commonwealth Magazine – The MBTA on Monday opened the Green Line extension to Somerville, a milestone for the T’s riders but perhaps an even greater achievement for the T itself.

Six years ago, the MBTA was an agency teetering on the edge of irrelevancy in crisis. It was struggling to bounce back from the Snowmageddon of 2015, which brought the transit authority to its knees.

The Green Line extension project to Somerville and Medford brought the T to its knees in a different way. The T had secured $1 billion in federal funding for the project, roughly half the cost. But then the price tag ballooned to more than $3 billion, and state officials had to decide whether to return the federal money and pull the plug yet again on a project that had been promised as part of environmental mitigation for the Big Dig.

It was a gut check for the MBTA and the Baker administration. Both ultimately decided to push ahead, paring the overall cost of the project back to $2.3 billion, enlisting the financial help of Somerville ($50 million) and Cambridge ($25 million) and convincing the federal government and its $1 billion to remain on board.

Even as the financial elements of the project came together, state officials were uncertain whether the T could actually get a project of such size done. Stephanie Pollack, who was the state secretary of transportation at the time, openly questioned the T’s ability to complete such big projects. “For me, the big question is can we manage it,” she said.

Jim McConnell, a consultant hired by the MBTA, said the cost overruns on the Green Line extension materialized because “too much autonomy and authority was ceded to consultants who took full advantage by charging too much and delivering too little.”

McConnell recommended the T hire a team of employees that would focus exclusively on the project and be responsible for it.

The T took his advice and brought in John Dalton, a Chicago-based construction official, and made him the highest-paid employee at the T. Before Dalton arrived, the T had four employees trying to oversee the Green Line extension project; Dalton’s team eventually grew to 43. In an interview late last year, Dalton said his focus was on delivering solid transportation.

Jackson Vows to be an Independent Judge who Knows her ‘Limited Role’

New York Times – Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to serve on the Supreme Court, vowed to make the words inscribed on its edifice — “Equal Justice Under Law” — “a reality and not just an ideal” in her opening statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday.

Judge Jackson, 51, began by first thanking God, and then the people who had brought her to the threshold of history. She started with her parents, recalling her father’s decision shortly after her birth to relocate from Florida to Washington, D.C., to escape racism and “experience new freedom.”

She noted that the spirit of public service they instilled in their children led her into a judicial career and inspired her younger brother to join the Army after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. He served two tours in the Middle East.

“I cannot possibly thank them enough for everything they’ve done for me,” she said. “I love you, Mom and Dad.”

The nominee also reminded those watching the hearing that she, like Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2020, is the mother of school-aged children.

“I know it has not been easy as I’ve tried to navigate the challenges of juggling my career and motherhood,” she told her two daughters.

Tax-Relief Train Idling on Beacon Hill

State House News – Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday joined top Democrats in throwing cold water on the idea of pausing the state’s gas tax, while Beacon Hill appears no closer to agreement on how to deliver tax relief to residents feeling the twin pinch of soaring gas prices and historic inflation.

After the House last week rejected a Republican-led push to suspend the 24-cents-per-gallon gas tax, House Speaker Ronald Mariano doubled down on that decision, cautioning that it would cost the state “a lot more money” while questioning the benefits it would offer to motorists.

“If you look at what it will do to our bond rating and what it will do to the price of us borrowing money to finance the road and bridge projects that this money is committed to, we find ourselves in a very, very precarious situation,” Mariano said, noting state leaders don’t control gas prices.

“In some cases, I saw in California, it was $7 a gallon. Twenty cents off $7 a gallon of gas is really not going to make anyone happy.”

Instead, Mariano said, legislative leaders plan to “look at other ways to ease the inflation burden without taking money away from our potential bond rating.”

Baker, who met privately with Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka Monday afternoon, signaled his support for the speaker’s outlook while continuing to beat the drum for a package of tax relief he proposed in January.

“The speaker’s kind of singing my song,” Baker said when asked to address the same topic. “We proposed about $700 million in tax cuts in our budget specifically to deal with the rising cost of everything. It’s why we focused on renters, why we focused on families, why we focused on low-income individuals, why we focused on homeowners, and we would love to see a significant tax package that gives funds back to the people of Massachusetts for the very reason associated with the increase in the cost of pretty much everything.”

Asked directly if he supports a cut in the gas tax, Baker replied, “I’d like to see our package move forward. As I said, it’s a $700 million package and is designed to get to a big part of the commonwealth’s population. We would love to see the Legislature move quickly on something like that.”

Baker had previously indicated some interest in exploring gas tax relief before the House rejected the idea. Asked earlier this month if the gas tax would be a target in any attempts to offer immediate relief, Baker replied, “If we were to do something short term, that would probably be the place we would go.”

Liquor License Ballot Question has Layers of Controversy

Commonwealth Magazine – Nurse-staffing ratios. Right to repair. Zoning reform. Almost every election, there is at least one ballot question that defies easy explanation and generally boils down to a dispute among interest groups. This year, add liquor license reform to the list.

The question heading towards the November 2022 ballot involves a dispute between package stores and food and convenience stores about how many alcohol licenses should be available to different types of stores and what rules should govern them.

The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure held a hearing Monday, which only highlighted how confusing the ballot question is.

Currently, Massachusetts offers one license that lets a retailer sell all types of alcoholic beverages and another license that only allows beer and wine sales. No single entity can hold more than nine licenses, so chain stores are limited in how many of their locations can sell alcohol. The ballot question and a related bill would increase the total number of licenses a single entity can hold from nine to 18 by 2031. But it would lower the number of “all alcoholic beverages” licenses that a single entity can hold from nine to seven.

Groups Mount Bid to Enshrine Online Meeting Access

State House News – The darkness of the pandemic brought a surprise element of transparency to government, and a range of groups, including those representing individuals with disabilities, this week are calling on the Governor’s Council to resume online streaming of meetings where elected officials vet judicial candidates.

“In the case of government entities based in Boston, like the Governor’s Council, live streaming enables people to tune in from every corner of the state; discontinuing remote access is devastating for regional equity,” eight groups wrote in a letter Thursday that was sent to the eight-member council and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, who chairs council meetings where Gov. Charlie Baker’s judicial nominees are considered.

“Remote access is the latest instance of universal design – alongside curb cuts, elevators, closed captioning, audiobooks, and other features – that began as accommodations and expanded to universal popularity. Like these innovations and others emerging during the pandemic, remote access to public meetings should become a permanent feature.”

The groups, including the Disability Law Center and the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, also sent their letter to House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka since the organizations say they “have teamed up” to support legislation amending the Open Meeting Law “to permanently enable members of the public to access public meetings remotely, in addition to the option of attending in person.”

The ACLU of Massachusetts, Boston Center for Independent Living, Common Cause Massachusetts, MassPIRG, the New England First Amendment Coalition, and New England Newspaper and Press Association also signed the letter, delivered as part of “Sunshine Week” efforts to promote open government and access to public information.

The Boston Herald reported earlier this month on the decision to stop streaming Governor’s Council meetings, with officials citing the reopening of the State House to visitors, alleging a lack of resources to handle technology, and Governor’s Councilor Robert Jubinville proclaiming that “the pandemic is over.”

“Eliminating remote participation now shuts the doors on so many who have, for the first time ever, been able to access and engage their government without hindrance or just wanted to learn more about government decisions,” the groups wrote. “Virtual access must be a part of our new normal in a 21st-century democracy. The people deserve to know what their government is doing.”

At St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast, Politicians Mark Return to Normalcy

WGBH – The annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast returned to an in-person event in South Boston Sunday, breaking a pandemic pause with jokes, music and awkwardness from some of Massachusetts’ most prominent political figures.

Returning to normal was a recurring theme for speakers at the breakfast, organized by state Sen. Nick Collins, holder of “the Southie seat” that typically hosts the event.

“It’s great to be back in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center here in South Boston, live and in-person without masks, and some of us, self-respect,” the senator quipped before launching into a rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall,” with lyrics inspired by Gov. Charlie Baker’s pandemic response. (“We don’t need no vaccination cards / Whatever happened to local control?”)

In his final head table appearance as governor, Baker, who is not seeking re-election, poked fun at the idea of nepotism in state government.

“There will be a new governor and lieutenant governor here in Massachusetts, and I’m sure one of the things they’ll do when they take office is start flipping through the payroll,” Baker said, pointing to the 40,000 employees in the executive branch.

“You’re probably going to find a lot of ‘Collinses’ in there. They’re all qualified, they came by it honestly, there’s nothing going on there, so just leave those ones alone,” the governor said to laughter.

The outgoing executive also said he was proud of the people of Massachusetts for their compassionate, community-driven response to the pandemic.

“Despite the brutality and the trauma and the disruption and the isolation and all the other stuff that came with this very challenging — and at times, tragic — time, folks were good to each other,” Baker said.

Senate President Karen Spilka landed laughs by presenting Baker with an inflatable duck in honor of his “lame duck” status and laying out a mock schedule for the man seeking to be his successor, Republican Geoff Diehl.

“9 a.m., anti-science rally. 11 a.m. Capitol insurrection,” she said to laughter. “2 p.m. — and don’t worry Geoff, you’ll make this — you’ll make it to your book-burning at 2 p.m,” Spilka said.

In her first turn at the head table, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu landed a few laughs by making light of the consistent protests in front of her Roslindale home over the COVID-19 vaccine measures implemented when she became mayor.

“I am proud to be the first mom elected to this office in Boston. It comes with the good and the bad,” Wu said to applause. “This morning, I woke up, once again to the sound of children throwing a tantrum. Thankfully, [my sons] Blaise and Cass usually sleep right through it, but those protesters do get loud.”

Perhaps the riskiest joke of the afternoon came from At-Large Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty, who attempted a wisecrack about Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley’s absence from the event.

“Someone told me she’s on a vacation with her dear friend Monica Cannon-Grant,” Flaherty said, referencing the prominent local nonprofit leader recently indicted for fraud. “They’re the Boston version of Thelma and Louise,” he said to a collective groan.

Norfolk County Treasurer Michael Bellotti scored the most laughs of the afternoon with a range of jokes, including a bit with intercepted mock letters.

“Dear Mayor Wu, thank you so much for courageously adhering to the strictest COVID restrictions possible for the city of Boston and putting public health before all other selfish interests. Please don’t cave in. Signed by Mayor Tom Koch and the Quincy restaurant association,” Bellotti said.

“Dear Boston Globe, I told you I was a better choice for Bostonian of the Year. Signed by everybody in Boston,” Bellotti said, referring back to Cannon-Grant and her recent indictment.

State senator and gubernatorial candidate Sonia Chang-Díaz played on work-from-home habits in the pandemic, putting a laundry basket and children’s toys around the event podium. “Now we can begin,” she said.

Chang-Díaz also joked about her opponent’s large war chest. Attorney General Maura Healey, who’s currently leading in polls, is sitting on $4.2 million, according to the latest state political finance figures. Chang-Díaz has about 8% of Healey’s total.

“You could use that money to endear yourself to our esteemed elected leaders, you could spring for some sound-proofing for Michelle’s house, you could take on an even bigger challenge and buy Nick Collins some singing lessons…you could do President Spilka and Speaker [Ron] Mariano a favor and fund that training to finally teach members of the state Legislature how to use the mute button on Zoom,” she said.

Notable absences included U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, as well as Congressmen Stephen Lynch, who is leading a bipartisan, seven-member delegation to Poland that has called for more military aid to Ukraine as it defends itself from Russian invasion.

State to Conduct Second Review of Boston Public Schools amid Concerns it Could Pursue Receivership

Boston Globe – The state is about to embark on a review of Boston Public Schools for the second time in less than three years, amid a search for a new superintendent and growing concerns about whether the state will pursue receivership.

The review will begin the week of March 28, and BPS will postpone MCAS testing in grades 3-8 for a week to make way for state education experts and outside consultants to visit the central offices and more than three dozen schools. They will be examining reams of data and documents, interviewing staff, and observing classroom instruction.

In notifying BPS about the review this month, state Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said a two-year-old partnership between the state and the district, which resulted from the initial review and was done in lieu of receivership, has delivered mixed results and warrant another inquiry.

He lauded the district for further diversifying its workforce, upgrading student bathrooms, and aligning high school graduation requirements with state university admission standards, according to a letter to BPS dated March 9.

But Riley also expressed deep concerns in several areas, including chronically late school buses and the system’s failure to overhaul special education, which has resulted in a disproportionate share of Black and Latino students with disabilities being segregated in separate classrooms from their peers.

He further highlighted new problems that require review, such as revelations that a series of city audits have been quietly raising questions about the accuracy of high school graduation rates.

Baker Proposes $9.7 Billion Infrastructure Bond Bill

Commonwealth Magazine – Efforts to replace the MBTA’s entire Green Line trolley fleet, a statewide move toward electric vehicle adoption, and projects to make infrastructure more resilient in the face of climate change impacts would all get a boost under a $9.7 billion bond bill Gov. Charlie Baker outlined on Thursday.

Nearly two months after he first hinted at plans to file a new transportation bond bill, Baker offered an initial glimpse at a proposal the head of the MBTA expects will play a “catalytic role” to maximize money headed to Massachusetts under a new federal infrastructure law.

Once filed, the legislation will kick off debate over years of investments in the state’s pothole-dotted roads and bridges, aging public transit, and infrastructure ill-equipped to withstand the brunt of climate change.

It’s also a proposal likely to earn approval from lawmakers in the next few months, although House and Senate Democrats are likely to tailor priorities to their preferences and could drive up the bill’s bottom line.

“This is a piece of legislation that talks about infrastructure, but it’s clearly about climate, it’s about mobility, it’s about our communities, it’s about our economy. It ties everything together,” said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, who joined Baker and top deputies to unveil a broad-strokes outline of the bill in Worcester. “We have an opportunity now with these funds to really put them to work in an accelerated fashion.”

Baker’s office published a summary breaking down some of the highlights in the bill — $2.8 billion of which stems from the increased formula funding in the new federal infrastructure law — but did not make a copy of the legislation available in the hours following Baker’s press conference.

Senate Priorities Align with House in $1.6 Billion Budget

State House News – The Massachusetts Senate plans next Thursday to consider a roughly $1.6 billion supplemental spending bill that largely mirrors the version that the House unanimously passed last week.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee released its redrafted version (S 2776) of the mid-year spending plan Thursday, proposing $1.64 billion in spending at a net cost of $850.1 million to the state. The Senate put the bill on its agenda for Thursday, March 24 and adopted an order giving senators until 3 p.m. Monday to file amendments.

Though the Senate version’s bottom line appears slightly larger than what representatives adopted on March 9 (H 4578), the two bills are largely aligned.

Like the House bill, the Senate’s supplemental budget includes the $700 million requested by Gov. Charlie Baker for COVID-19 pandemic-related expenses — including $433 million for COVID testing, $72 million for treatments, $45.5 million for expanded vaccination access and more.

Both bills also call for $100 million to repair local roads damaged this winter, $100 million in rental assistance, $55 million for rate increases for human service providers, $10 million to support the resettlement of Ukrainian refugees and $140 million to support staffing and program needs at private special education schools.

And like the House, Senate Democrats did not include two key proposals that Baker made when he filed a $2.4 billion supplemental budget in February — a request for $450 million to extend stabilization grants for child care providers through next fiscal year and a proposal to put $50 million into the recruitment, training and salaries of guardians ad litem within the court system.

Powell Says Fed Could Raise Rates More Quickly to Tame Inflation

New York Times – Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, said on Monday that the central bank was prepared to more quickly withdraw support from the economy if doing so proved necessary to bring rapid inflation under control.

Mr. Powell signaled that the Fed could make big interest rate increases and push rates to relatively high levels in its quest to cool off demand and temper inflation, which is running at its fastest pace in 40 years. His comments were the clearest statement yet that the central bank was ready to forcefully attack rapid price increases to make sure that they do not become a permanent feature of the American economy.

“There is an obvious need to move expeditiously to return the stance of monetary policy to a more neutral level, and then to move to more restrictive levels if that is what is required to restore price stability,” Mr. Powell said during remarks to a conference of business economists.

Policymakers raised interest rates by a quarter point last week and forecast six more similarly sized increases this year. On Monday, Mr. Powell foreshadowed a potentially more aggressive path. A restrictive rate setting would squeeze the economy, slowing consumer spending and the labor market — a move akin to the Fed’s hitting the brakes rather than just taking its foot off the accelerator.

GOP Pursuing Three-Pronged Commuter Relief Package

State House News – After Democrats rebuffed an earlier attempt and Gov. Charlie Baker signaled his disinterest in suspending the state’s gas tax, Massachusetts Republicans are preparing to make another pass at legislative action to address soaring prices at the pump.

House and Senate Republicans announced Tuesday they filed a trio of bills seeking to relieve pressure on drivers by suspending the state’s gas tax for the next six months, offering tax credits to commuters, and creating new electric vehicle rebates.

Republican leaders filed three new bills alongside their announcement. One would halt collection of the 24-cents-per-gallon gas tax in Massachusetts until Labor Day, which falls on Sept. 5 (SD 3052). A spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr said the bill would use state General Fund revenues to backfill foregone revenue to address concerns Democrats have raised about possible impacts on the state’s bond rating.

Another proposal (SD 3053) would create a new refundable tax credit of 58.5 cents per mile driven, capped at $5,000 per filing, for motor vehicle trips for employment, education, medical appointments or qualified charitable service. The credit would last for the remainder of 2022.

The third bill (SD 3054) calls for offering rebates of up to $3,000 to Bay Staters who purchase or lease plug-in electric vehicles as well as $500 rebates to consumers who install electric vehicle charging stations. Its provisions would expire three years after passage.