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"Public workers are the backbone of our economy and deserve the ability to fight for fair wages, access affordable health care and work in safe conditions." So said Senate President Karen Spilka on June 27, 2019, when she steered a public sector union dues bill through her chamber in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's Janus v. AFSCME ruling that barred unions from charging non-members agency fees. Nearly three years later, Senate staffers are waiting and hoping to see if the Ashland native and one of the most powerful Democrats in Massachusetts will meet their unionization push with the same support she's voiced for public sector unions elsewhere. News of the union push within the State House walls spawned an awkward dynamic, where many Democrats in the House and Senate -- who are often quick to side with workers in labor disputes and see themselves as organized labor allies -- hesitated to take a position until they see what kind of tone legislative leaders set. -- SHNS
FRANKLIN WEEK AHEAD
Monday, April 11
8:15am
7:00pm
7:00pm
Tuesday, April 12
Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Meeting
10:00am
School Committee Workshop Agenda
6:00pm
Design Review Commission Meeting
7:00pm
7:00pm
Wednesday, April 13
School Comm. Special Meeting Agenda
5:00pm
Franklin Historical Commission Agenda
6:30pm
Cultural District Committee Meeting
7:00pm
7:00pm
Thursday, April 14
Conservation Commission Meeting
7:00pm
STATE HOUSE AND BEYOND
The future of Gov. Charlie Baker's $700 million package of tax reductions and incentives becomes clearer Wednesday when the House Ways and Means Committee releases its version of his $48.5 billion fiscal 2023 budget proposal. After Baker in January surprised many on Beacon Hill with his tax relief plans, House Democrats said they had already been looking into the topic, but still have not outlined a counterproposal or even said if they intend to advance tax relief as part of the annual budget bill. The release of the House budget, which will sit over school vacation week and hit the floor for deliberations during the last week in April, marks another step along the road toward the July 31 end of formal sessions for this two-year meeting of the General Court. While representatives next week focus on revenues, line items and spending needs, senators plan on Thursday to tackle a clean energy bill (S 2819) featuring some of the specific proposals senators believe are necessary to ramp up progress in carbon emissions reduction. The bill, unveiled this week, is designed in particular to clean up the transportation and construction sectors, two big sources of emissions where reliance on fossil fuels has become the norm. Also on the agenda in the Senate on Thursday are bills dealing with open space (S 2820) and home heating oil leaks (S 2821). The week kicks off with a noon virtual hearing Monday on Gov. Baker's health care bill, which faces an uncertain fate, followed by a Tuesday hearing on the governor's $9.7 billion plan to take advantage of federal infrastructure aid, a bill that's expected to pass in some form.
Storylines in Progress ... UMass overseers plan to make decisions next week on an issue important to many students and families: tuition and mandatory charge levels for the next academic year ... Fenway Park comes back to life Friday afternoon when the Boston Red Sox hold a lockout-delayed home opener against the Minnesota Twins ... March unemployment and jobs numbers are scheduled to be released Friday by state labor officials ... The Judiciary Committee has a Friday deadline to make a call on legislation Gov. Baker has repeatedly pushed to enable judges to detain more defendants under so-called dangerousness provisions ... The week begins with the resumption of this session's Constitutional Convention although it appears lawmakers will not dive into the ConCon agenda ... The Health Policy Commission is set to decide on both whether to grant Mass General Brigham more time to file its proposed performance improvement plan, and where to set next year's health care cost growth benchmark ... State reps (and their constituents) from Lowell (Tom Golden) and Framingham (Maria Robinson) are in limbo as Golden works out details of his new hometown job and Robinson awaits word on the fate of her nomination to join the Biden administration's electricity team ... Heading into the weekend, Gov. Baker has three bills on his desk including one (S 2616) that would allow adults to adopt their younger siblings, a policy change supporters say would create a wider range of permanent living arrangements for children ... Taxpayers get a bit of extra time to file their state and federal 2021 income tax returns -- the deadline for both has been moved to April 19 this year ...
Sunday, April 10, 2022
McANNENY ON 4: Mass. Taxpayers Foundation President Eileen McAnneny talks with Jon Keller about Gov. Baker's proposed tax relief package, the ballot question fight over imposing an income surtax on millionaire households, and challenges facing the state's economy. (Sunday, 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV Ch. 4)
DISCUSSING WAR IN UKRAINE: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Professor Brian Glyn Williams discusses the Russian war in Ukraine during the university's second installment of the "Corsair Chat" series. Williams' expertise on the issue comes from his time spent in Ukraine and Russia, going back to the Soviet period. A Russian speaker who has worked for the CIA's Counter Terrorism Center and U.S. Army, he has written three books on Russian military expansion in Ukraine and Chechnya. (Sunday, 11 a.m., Registration)
DOUGHTY AND BLUTE: Republican candidate for governor Chris Doughty appears on WCRN for an interview with former Congressman Peter Blute. (Sunday, 11 a.m., WCRN 830 AM)
Monday, April 11, 2022
SHARK REPORT: Researchers present the results of a collaborative project examining "the attitudes, perception and experiences of residents, commercial fishermen and tourists towards growing populations of seals and white sharks off Cape Cod." As the population of gray seals has grown on the Outer Cape, so too have sightings of the white sharks that feed on seals. The Division of Marine Fisheries said the Outer Cape is a popular location for white sharks and that the roughly 120 sharks tagged off the Cape since 2009 show that "white sharks move more broadly throughout the North Atlantic than previously thought" and that many return to Cape Cod each year. The report, titled Human Dimensions of Rebounding Populations of Seals and White Sharks on Cape Cod, was produced by researchers from Salem State University, Center for Coastal Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston, Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Alliance and the Center for Animals and Public Policy at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. Contact Geoff Spillane at gspillane@pierce-cote.com or 508-395-4060 to confirm media attendance or to pre-register for virtual attendance. (Monday, 10 a.m., Redfield Auditorium at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 45 Water St., Woods Hole)
LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE: Labor and Workforce Development Committee opens a two-day window for written testimony on two bills: H 4557 a Rep. Belsito proposal addressing paid pregnancy loss leave, and H 4647 a Rep. Peake bill dealing with the prevailing wage in Wellfleet. The testimony window closes at 5 p.m. Tuesday. (Monday, 10 a.m., Details)
SENATE SESSION: Senate holds an informal session. (Monday, 11 a.m., Senate Chamber, Livestream)
HOUSE SESSION: House holds an informal session. (Monday, 11 a.m., House Chamber, Livestream)
HEALTH CARE FINANCING COMMITTEE: Gov. Charlie Baker believes the state needs to make a sharp shift in health care spending priorities in order to meet current needs and his sweeping health care proposal (S 2774) is set to be aired before the Health Care Financing Committee at a virtual hearing. The governor's proposal would require providers and insurers to boost spending on primary and behavioral health care by 30 percent by 2025, penalize drug companies for "excessive" drug price increases, and target funding to primary and behavioral health providers that serve large volumes of patients on Medicaid. In his filing letter, the governor said the current system rewards providers that invest in "premium priced technology and transactional specialty services at the expense of providers that invest in lower priced services such as primary care, geriatrics, addiction services, and behavioral health care." Because providers and payers use the Medicare payment system to price their services and make investment decisions, Baker said, "the care delivery and financing system we have today is not designed to take care of the people and the patients we have become." The House, Senate and Baker are coming at health care policy decisions from different directions this session and whether they can coalesce around a single series of proposals is one of the biggest questions heading into the stretch run of formal sessions. Baker and the Legislature in early 2021 agreed on a law that increased insurance coverage for telehealth services, expanded the scope of practice for nurse practitioners, other specialized nurses, and optometrists, and took steps to protect consumers from surprise medical bills. (Monday, noon, Agenda and Access Info)
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION: Members of the House and Senate resume their Constitutional Convention, although there were no indications that legislators plan to dive back into the agenda and the joint session is likely to gavel in and swiftly gavel out. The ConCon was the forum earlier this session where a favorable vote led to the placement on the November 2022 ballot of an amendment allowing a 4 percent surtax on household income above $1 million per year. (Monday, noon, Livestream)
SENATE AMENDMENT DEADLINE: Amendments are due to the Senate clerk by 4 p.m. on 2819 advancing offshore wind and clean energy, which is scheduled for consideration on the Senate floor on Thursday, April 14.
RACING OPENING DAY: Horse racing season kicks off in Massachusetts with the start of a 110-day racing meet at Plainridge Park Racecourse in Plainville, the only venue that has hosted any type of live horse racing since Suffolk Downs ran its last race in June 2019. After two years as the only track to apply for live racing authorization, Plainridge briefly had some company last fall. A group hoping to bring live racing to a yet-to-be-approved venue in Sturbridge filed a racing application for 2022 with plans to hold thoroughbred races at a temporary location. Before the Gaming Commission reviewed the requests, that application was withdrawn when a special town meeting in Sturbridge rejected zoning changes that were necessary for the proposed $25 million equine and racing facility to move forward. (Monday, 4 p.m., Plainridge Park Racecourse, 301 Washington St., Plainville)
PLYMOUTH CAMPAIGN KICKOFFS: District Attorney Tim Cruz and Sheriff Joe McDonald kick off their respective reelection campaigns. Republican candidate for governor Chris Doughty
attends. (Monday, 5 p.m., Hotel 1620, 180 Water St., Plymouth)
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
SEAL & MOTTO COMMISSION SUBCOMMITTEE: Public Consultation Subcommittee of the State Seal and Motto Commission, a special panel tasked with recommending revisions to the state's emblems, meets virtually. Subcommittee was set up to report on "how best to communicate the work and intentions of the Commission with the public, state & local government, and members of the press." Agenda includes reviewing public feedback and "ways to incorporate public consultation into the Commission's final report." (Tuesday, 9 a.m., Zoom)
WORK ZONE SAFETY: State Police Col. Chris Mason, Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver, Registrar of Motor Vehicles Colleen Ogilvie, Arlington Traffic Safety Officer Corey Rateau, and Nancy Devlin, widow of Trooper Thomas Devlin, participate in a AAA Northeast forum to highlight the importance of work zone safety. Trooper Devlin had stopped a car on Route 3 in Billerica when he was struck by a driver in 2018. Devlin died of his injuries in 2020 and the driver was sentenced this week to 18 months in prison. As roadway construction resumes in the spring, AAA said that April 11 through April 15 is Work Zone Safety Awareness Week. (Tuesday, 9:30 a.m., Register)
CHILDREN'S VISION BRIEFING: Rep. Christine Barber and Sen. Micheal Moore host a virtual briefing on the "status of children's vision statewide." Ophthalmologist Dr. Jean Ramsey and optometrist Dr. Bruce Moore will discuss the pandemic's impact on child eye health and development, and present the findings of the 2021 Special Commission Report on Children's Vision. Barber and Moore will also discuss their children's vision legislation (H 2231/S 136), which was given a favorable report by the Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities Committee and referred to the Committee on Health Care Financing. (Tuesday, 10 a.m., Register)
STATE OF ALZHEIMER'S: Alzheimer's Association hosts a virtual "State of Alzheimer's" briefing to provide an update on Alzheimer's in Massachusetts, public policy initiatives to help people affected by the disease, and to hear from a panel of advocates living with Alzheimer's or other dementia. The organization said Massachusetts will see an increase of more than 15 percent in the number of people with Alzheimer's disease in well under a decade, with an estimated 150,000 people having Alzheimer's by 2025. (Tuesday, 11 a.m., Register)
SMALL BUSINESS DAY: Massachusetts Small Business Association, Retailers Association of Mass., and the Mass. Restaurant Association hold virtual "Small Business Day 2022" featuring remarks from Executive Office of Health and Human Services Undersecretary Lauren Peters, Sandra Wolitzky of the Office of the Attorney General's Health Care Division, and Sen. Friedman. A legislative briefing will cover unemployment insurance taxes, labor mandates, and energy expenses. Media can RSVP to Elizabeth.Park@nfib.org. (Tuesday, 12 p.m., Registration)
BAKER TRANSPO BOND BILL HEARING: Transportation Committee holds virtual hearing on Gov. Charlie Baker's $9.7 billion transportation bond bill (H 4561) that invests in things like new Green Line trolleys, electric vehicle adoption, and infrastructure upgrades in the face of climate change. The governor rolled out the borrowing bill last month, saying in a filing letter that the legislation will take advantage of funds from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted in November 2021 "to increase investments in our roads, bridges, and other transportation infrastructure, with a focus on climate change mitigation, resiliency, equity, and safety for all users." The bill allocates $5.4 billion for highway funding, $2.2 billion for the MBTA, $591 million for regional transit authorities, and $1.4 billion to improve environmental infrastructure. Sen. Crighton and Rep. Straus co-chair the committee. (Tuesday, 1 p.m., Agenda and Access Info)
ORAL HEALTH CAUCUS MEETING: The Legislative Oral Health Caucus, chaired by Sen. Harriette Chandler and Rep. Angelo Puppolo, holds a virtual meeting for legislators and staff only. According to organizers, there are plans to discuss opportunities to advance oral health equity, the full restoration of MassHealth dental benefits, the impact of the pandemic on oral health care, and legislation to establish an Oral Health Commission and Needs Assessment (H 2320/S 1378). Meeting is closed to press. (Tuesday, 2 p.m., Registration)
BASEBALL CAMPAIGNING: Republican candidates for governor and lieutenant governor Chris Doughty and Kate Campanale attend the home opener for the Worcester Red Sox. (Tuesday, 2 p.m., Polar Park, 100 Madison St., Worcester)
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Joint Committee on the Judiciary holds a hearing on two bills: Sen. Lovely's S 2810 relative to the partition of nominee trusts and Sen. Moran's S 2791 relative to preventing the discharge of radioactive materials. The Moran bill is related to the decommissioned Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, where owner Holtec recently finalized a treatment and disposal plan for millions of gallons of radioactive water in the system, drawing scrutiny from lawmakers concerned about discharge into Cape Cod Bay. Moran's bill is substantially similar to another bill (H 4444) that would define any such move as a release under the Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention and Response Act and strengthen both state and private rights of action in response to any damages caused. The League of Women Voters Plymouth Area, which has been active in the opposition to Holtec's plans and supports both bills, said Moran's bill is the same as H 4444 except that it "proposes stiffer fines for dumping." Both bills are in the Judiciary Committee and the panel has been given an extension until April 15 to decide how to act on the House version. (Tuesday, 3 p.m., Agenda and Access Info)
WORCESTER DELEGATES: Republican candidates for governor and lieutenant governor Chris Doughty and Kate Campanale attend a Worcester "delegates bash" at Chuck's Steak House. (Tuesday, 5 p.m, 10 Prospect St., Auburn)
MBTA CAPITAL INVESTMENTS: MBTA holds a virtual meeting to discuss the proposed five-year capital investment plan that funds the planning, construction, and maintenance of projects across the system like buying new Orange and Red Line cars, bus electrification, extending the Green Line, and bringing commuter rail service to the South Coast. The plan also allocates $420 million to help the MBTA overhaul how it collects fares through a proposed policy that would see the end of using the same Charlie Card or Charlie Ticket to allow multiple riders through one gate and a $3 fee for most new fare media. (Tuesday, 7 p.m., Registration)
SPILKA ON BLOOMBERG RADIO: Senate President Spilka sits for an interview with Bloomberg Baystate Business. (Tuesday, Time TBD)
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
MUNICIPAL FINANCE OVERSIGHT: Municipal Finance Oversight Board meets, with Auditor Bump as chair. The board will hear requests from Erving, which is seeking $1.57 million in state qualified bonds to finance a replacement wastewater forced main line in Erving Center; Brockton, which is seeking more than $23 million for water main projects, fire apparatus and energy conservation in city buildings; and Methuen, which is requesting more than $23 million for refunding and an array of projects and purchases. (Wednesday, 11 a.m., Agenda and Access Info)
GOVERNOR'S COUNCIL - PROBATE COURT: Governor's Council interviews domestic relations attorney Nan Sauer for a seat on the Probate and Family Court. A co-founder of Roberts & Sauer LLP, she worked at that firm until 2021 when she opened her own Burlington-based practice, focused on "a wide range of family law matters, including divorce, child custody, prenuptials, postnuptials, adoptions, removal cases, and unmarried partners." Sauer has served on Gov. Baker's Task Force on Hate Crimes, is a past co-chair of the Mass. LGBTQ Bar Association, and volunteers with the Middlesex Bar Association Conciliation Program, according to the governor's office. A 2004 New England School of Law graduate, she was a judicial law clerk in the Probate and Family Court from 2004-2006. Earlier in her career, she was a principal consultant at Headstrong Inc. Councilor Iannella presides. (Wednesday, 11:15 a.m., Council Chamber)
SENATE DEMS CAUCUS: Senate Democrats meet privately in a virtual caucus one day ahead of a scheduled formal session to consider a wide-ranging climate policy bill. (Wednesday, 12 p.m.)
HEALTH POLICY COMMISSION: Health Policy Commission meets, with a plan to vote on the health care cost growth benchmark for 2023 and to take action on Mass General Brigham's extension request for submitting its performance improvement plan. The HPC is requiring MGB to put in place a performance improvement plan aimed at controlling costs, and the hospital system in April requested a 60-day extension to submit its proposal. While the HPC's executive director, David Seltz, is authorized to grant an extension of up to 45 days a request for any longer than that must be determined by vote of the HPC board. The cost growth benchmark, set annually, is the target against which health care spending growth is measured, and unless the HPC decides to modify it, it will be set at 3.6 percent to match the anticipated growth in the Massachusetts economy determined by state budget-writers. This will be the first time the HPC is able to set the benchmark at any level it chooses, subject to legislative approval. HPC members and lawmakers face the challenge of weighing what market impacts are shorter-term consequences of the pandemic and what are more permanent trends. The commission also is set to review recent changes in the health care market, new data on emergency department utilization trends, and the accountable care organizations certified in the 2022-2023 cycle. (Wednesday, 12 p.m., YouTube)
GOVERNOR'S COUNCIL - DISTRICT COURT: At its third hearing of the day, Governor's Council interviews Teresa Lamarre, who has worked as a prosecutor in three different counties and is now nominated for a District Court circuit judgeship. Lamarre was hired in 2021 as an assistant clerk magistrate in the Wareham District Court. From 2017-2021 she was a prosecutor in Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz' office, where she supervised ADAs in the Wareham courthouse. Lamarre was also an ADA in Bristol County from 1997-2006, where she was a supervisor in Fall River District Court, and Hampden County from 1991-1997 where she was chief prosecutor in Springfield District Court. Her resume also includes three years as an assistant attorney general in the Fair Labor Division under Attorney General Coakley, one year as a student services advocate in New Bedford Public Schools, and two years as a sole practitioner in New Bedford specializing in adult and juvenile criminal defense and child welfare law, according to her council questionnaire. She is a 1991 Western New England School of Law alumna. Councilor Ferreira presides. (Wednesday, 1 p.m., Council Chamber)
Thursday, April 14, 2022
MBTA PLANNING COMMITTEE: MBTA Board of Directors Planning, Workforce, Development and Compensation Subcommittee meets. (Thursday, 10 a.m., Livestream)
GAMING COMMISSION: Mass. Gaming Commission is expected to hold a regular business meeting and could review a report on impacts of COVID-19 and discuss Community Mitigation Fund applications. (Thursday, 10 a.m., More Info TBA)
SENATE FORMAL: Senate meets in a formal session to consider items on its calendar, including three bills that emerged this week: S 2819 clean energy bill, S 2820 open space and S 2821 home heating oil releases. The climate bill targets the transportation, energy and the construction fields for action to hasten emissions reduction efforts. The open space bill, which the House passed last summer without discussion, would codify existing policy and practices around changes to public lands, according to the Friends of the Blue Hills. "As you may know, our public land, including the Blue Hills, is vulnerable to 'land exchanges.' With a two-thirds vote of each branch of the legislature, our parkland -- covered by Article 97 of the Commonwealth Constitution -- can be taken away or changed in use. Existing policies and procedures help protect our public land, but they can be changed on the whim of the administration on Beacon Hill. They are not law," the group said. The home heating oil bill would mandate homeowners' insurance coverage for damage arising from a release of heating oil from residential fuel tanks. At an October hearing, an 87-year-old Hopkinton man told lawmakers he spent the majority of his retirement savings toward what was so far a $507,000 tab for cleanup work from a heating oil spill. (Thursday, 11 a.m., Senate Chamber)
MBTA SAFETY, HEALTH COMMITTEE: MBTA Board of Directors Safety, Health and Environment Subcommittee meets. (Thursday, 11 a.m., Livestream)
SCHOOL MEALS FORUM: Rep. Andy Vargas moderates a discussion with Dr. Janet Poppendieck, author of "Free for All: Fixing School Food In America," Center for Health Inclusion, Research and Practice at Merrimack College Director Dr. Juliana Cohen, and Project Bread President Erin McAleer. Organizers said Congress has not acted to renew or extend the pandemic-era policy that provided free school meals for all children, and the current waiver is due to expire at the end of June. (Thursday, 1 p.m., Zoom)
ENDANGERED SPECIES COMMITTEE: MassWildlife's Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Advisory Committee meets. (Thursday, 1:30 p.m., Zoom)
WESTERN MASS. DELEGATES: Republican candidates for governor and lieutenant governor Chris Doughty and Kate Campanale attend a Western Mass. "delegates bash" at Pic's Pizzeria. (Thursday, 5:30 p.m., 910 Hampden St., Holyoke)
Friday, April 15, 2022
TAX FILING BREATHING ROOM: Taxpayers who have not yet filed their federal and state 2021 income tax returns can breathe a little easy: though the feds and the state have returned to the traditional April filing period for the first time since 2019, the filing deadline this year is not April 15. According to the Department of Revenue, Emancipation Day is celebrated in Washington, D.C. on Friday, April 15 so the IRS announced a shift of the filing deadline to Monday, April 18. But Massachusetts celebrates Patriots' Day then, so the deadline for Massachusetts taxpayers to file both state and federal 2021 income tax returns moves to the next business day -- Tuesday, April 19. (Friday)
