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Above, a triumphant Maura Healey at the Democratic Convention in Worcester on Saturday.
FRANKLIN WEEK AHEAD
Monday, June 6
Tri-County School Committee Appointment Meeting
8:15am
Gatra Executive Compensation Committee Agenda
2:00pm
7:00pm
Tuesday, June 7
6:00pm
Community Preservation Committee Meeting
7:00pm
7:30pm
Wednesday, June 8
8:00am
5:30pm
School Committee Policy Subcommittee agenda
6:00pm
Cultural District Committee Meeting
7:00pm
7:00pm
Thursday, June 9
Conservation Commission Meeting
7:00pm
STATE HOUSE AND BEYOND
Lawmakers are set Wednesday to begin the final votes necessary to enact a new law granting illegal
immigrants the ability to obtain a standard driver's license. The votes are there in the House and Senate to override Gov. Charlie Baker's veto of the bill. The House is ready to start the override process on Wednesday and the Senate intends to override next week, and plans to hold a formal session on Thursday. Lawmakers now have just eight weeks left to wrap up scores of important loose ends, all of which remain tied up in either House-Senate conference committees or further back in the queue before joint or standing committees. The week ahead will also feature the slow-build of election season, with Democrats and Republicans positioning themselves coming out of their political conventions and entering the three-month sprint toward the Sept. 6 primary elections. While candidates will try to cash in on their standing with party insiders, they are about to wade into an electorate that is mostly unaligned with either party and is about to render its first decisions on statewide races since the COVID-19 pandemic changed how people think about work, transportation, housing, and public leadership, including managing the state through crises.
Storylines in Progress
... Drivers are about to encounter detours that may remind them of the Big Dig, as state transportation officials embark on a lengthy rehabilitation of the Sumner Tunnel ... State budget negotiators hold their first meeting on Wednesday, June 8 to begin melding spending plans for the fiscal year that starts on Friday, July 1 ... The latest opioid overdose data is on the agenda of the Public Health Council next week, as well as a presentation on tick-borne disease surveillance in Massachusetts ... First Lady Jill Biden hosts a White House event to unveil a new U.S. Postal Service stamp honoring former First Lady Nancy Reagan ... Attorney General Maura Healey addresses members of the Boston business community Tuesday as they weigh her candidacy for governor ... Real estate transfer taxes are back on the radar, with officials from the City of Boston making their pitch for new levies on higher-priced transactions to produce revenue to put towards affordable housing ...
Sunday, June 5, 2022
BICKFORD ON 4: Mass. Democratic Party Chairman Gus Bickford talks with Jon Keller about the 15 percent rule for ballot access, the party's branding on business issues, and what the party platform says about where Democrats stand. (Sunday, 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV Ch. 4)
AMORE ON 5: Anthony Amore is on "On The Record" talking about his campaign for auditor with Janet Wu and guest host Ben Simmoneau. Analysts Mary Anne Marsh and Rob Gray are on the roundtable discussion. (Sunday, 11 a.m., WCVB-TV Ch. 5)
Monday, June 6, 2022
HOUSE AND SENATE: Both branches meet in livestreamed informal sessions in their respective chambers on the third floor of the State House. (Monday, 11 a.m., House and Senate chambers | House Broadcast | Senate Broadcast)
LIQUOR LICENSE RULES: With the summer party season upon us, Rep. Carlos Gonzalez (D-Springfield) plans a workshop and information session for liquor-license holders featuring Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission Chairman Ralph Sacramone. Gonzalez notes more than 200 establishments hold liquor licenses in Springfield, and compliance with laws on outdoor service, delivery, underage service, responsibilities around inebriated patrons and a host of other booze regulations is a never-ending concern. (Monday, 11 a.m., Economic Development Council, 1441 Main St., Springfield)
BAKER, SPILKA, MARIANO HUDDLE: Speaker Mariano hosts Gov. Baker, Lt. Gov. Polito, President Spilka, and other legislative leaders for a meeting in his office. Press availability follows in Room 350. These huddles, which have sometimes been referred to as "weekly" leadership meetings in State House parlance, have been happening with less frequency in recent months. The governor-speaker-president triumvirate seems to have last gathered on May 2, and prior to that on March 28. (Monday, 2 p.m., Speaker's Office)
Tuesday, June 7, 2022
MHAP-MTF BUDGET TALK: Massachusetts Association of Health Plans hosts a budget-outlook session with Doug Howgate, executive vice president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Howgate will hold forth on the fiscal 2023 budget picture, with emphasis on health care programs, and talk about proposals for tax cuts, a topic expected to emerge for debate before lawmakers complete formal sessions at the end of July. (Tuesday, 10 a.m., Registration)
HIGHER ED BOARD - ACADEMIC AFFAIRS: Board of Higher Education's Academic Affairs and Student Success Advisory Council meets over Zoom. Agenda includes presentations on SAT-optional pilot and admission standards and MassTeach, a statewide strategy to increase STEM teacher representation. (Tuesday, 10 a.m., Agenda and Access Info)
HORIZONS FOR HOMELESS CHILDREN: Rep. Carlos Gonzalez presents Kate Barrand, the president of Horizons for Homeless Children, with $250,0000 in funding from the fiscal 2022 budget to support the organization's outdoor play space at the Open Pantry teen parenting program. (Tuesday, 11 a.m., 95 Jefferson Ave., Springfield)
EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE: AAA holds a virtual town hall on expanding electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and what federal and state funding towards that goal means for cities and towns. Speakers include Sen. Pacheco, Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella, Katherine Fichter of the Department of Transportation and Erin Bostwick of the Department of Environmental Protection. AAA Northeast's Mary Maguire moderates. (Tuesday, 11:30 a.m., Registration)
HIGHER ED STRATEGIC PLANNING: Board of Higher Education's Strategic Planning Advisory Council meets over Zoom, with a plan to vote on revised campus strategic planning guidelines recommendations. (Tuesday, 12 p.m., Agenda and Access Info)
CHILDREN & FAMILIES COMMITTEE HEARING: Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities convenes a virtual hearing to consider a child welfare bill (H 4787) filed by its co-chair, Rep. Michael Finn. "The tragedies of David Almond and Harmony Montgomery highlight the need for additional accountability measures within the child welfare system to better protect children, families, and foster parents," Finn's office wrote in a summary of the bill. Features of the legislation include a new requirement for the Office of the Child Advocate to create and oversee mandated reporter training, additional data collection requirements and mandatory reports for the Department of Children and Families, and creation of new education coordinator positions in DCF area offices. The bill also includes language aimed at protecting foster parents from discrimination and helping them access training and information about their foster children. (Tuesday, 1:30 p.m., Agenda and Access Info)
MBTA BUS REDESIGN MEETING: MBTA staff host an in-person meeting at Quincy Center Station to receive public feedback on a proposed new bus network map that would increase service by 25 percent across the board over a multi-year rollout. (Tuesday, 4 p.m., Quincy Center Station, 175 Thomas E. Burgin Pike Way, Quincy)
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
GOVERNOR'S COUNCIL - DISTRICT COURT: Governor's Council interviews attorney William Galvin of Norwood, who was nominated by Gov. Baker May 25 to a circuit judgeship in the District Court. Galvin was an investigator in Suffolk County DA Ralph Martin's Senior Trial Unit from 1996 to 2001, and after earning his juris doctor from New England School of Law in 2001, he spent the following six years as an ADA prosecuting cases in Boston Municipal Court and Suffolk Superior Court, according to his resume. He is currently a partner at Eisenstadt, Krippendorf & Galvin, LLP in Westwood, which handles criminal and civil cases. Councilor Jubinville presides. (Wednesday, 9 a.m., Council Chamber | Livestream)
MASSDOT FINANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEE: Department of Transportation Board of Directors Finance and Audit Committee convenes its monthly meeting virtually. (Wednesday, 9:30 a.m., Agenda and Access Info)
PIONEER VOC-TECH BOOK TALK: Pioneer Institute hosts the first part of a two-part webinar to discuss the think tank's new book about vocational-technical schools in Massachusetts and what other states and the federal government can learn from the Bay State's example. Speakers include book co-editors David Ferreira and Chris Sinacola, Northeastern University political economy professor emeritus Barry Bluestone, and Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Tim Murray. (Wednesday, 2 p.m., Zoom)
PUBLIC HEALTH COUNCIL: State Public Health Council meets remotely, with Public Health Commissioner Margret Cooke set to review the latest overdose data from the biannual opioid report. The council will also vote on promulgating amendments to hospital licensure regulations and hear overviews of proposed amendments to regulations on radiation control and substance-use treatment program licensure. The meeting will wrap up with an informational presentation on tick-borne disease surveillance in Massachusetts. (Wednesday, 9 a.m., Agenda and Access Info)
MASSDOT CAPITAL PROGRAMS COMMITTEE: Department of Transportation Board of Directors Capital Programs Committee convenes its monthly meeting virtually. (Wednesday, 10:30 a.m., Agenda and Access Info)
HOUSE FORMAL SESSION: House plans to meet in a formal session. A Speaker Mariano spokeswoman said last month that the House plans to vote June 8 on whether to override Gov. Baker's veto of a bill making driver's licenses accessible to immigrants without legal status here. Roll calls start at 1 p.m. (Wednesday, 11 a.m., House Chamber)
GOVERNOR'S COUNCIL - SUPERIOR COURT: Governor's Council holds a formal session and could vote on Gov. Baker's two latest nominations to the Superior Court bench -- criminal defense lawyer Christopher Belezos and Middlesex County prosecutor Elizabeth Dunigan. (Wednesday, 12 p.m., Council Chamber | Livestream)
HEALTH POLICY COMMISSION: Health Policy Commission meets to review select findings from its upcoming 2022 Health Care Cost Trends report, including trends in spending, prices, hospital and post-acute care use, and provider organization performance variation. Meeting will also feature a status update on Mass General Brigham's performance improvement plan process and report from executive director David Seltz on recent market changes. Staff will share findings on the Opioid Use Disorder Pathway Initiatives from a recent external evaluation of the HPC's SHIFT-Care Challenge Investment Program. (Wednesday, 12 p.m., YouTube)
MBTA ACCESSIBILITY HEARING: Retired Superior Court Judge Patrick King hosts a semi-annual public hearing virtually to discuss how the MBTA has progressed toward implementing accessibility improvements as part of the transit authority's 2006 settlement in a class-action lawsuit. The meeting will focus on bus, subway and Commuter Rail accessibility but not the RIDE paratransit service. (Wednesday, 1 p.m., More Information)
BUMP IN GEORGIA: Auditor Bump is in Atlanta through Friday for the National State Auditors Association annual conference, an event her office describes as closed to press.
(Wednesday)
Thursday, June 9, 2022
BAKER AT NEW ENGLAND COUNCIL: Gov. Baker is the featured guest at an in-person breakfast hosted by the New England Council. The event is open only to Council members. Press should RSVP to Emily Heisig at eheisig@newenglandcouncil.com. (Thursday, 8 a.m., Putnam Investments, 100 Federal St., Boston)
MBTA BOARD MEETS: MBTA Board of Directors convenes the first of two June meetings virtually. (Thursday, 8:30 a.m., Agenda and Access Info)
SENATE: Senate plans to meet in a formal session. The branch's 37 Democrats also plan to hold a closed-door caucus in President Spilka's office at the same time the session is scheduled to convene. (Thursday, 11 a.m., Senate Chamber)
HOUSE: House plans to meet in an informal session. (Thursday, 11 a.m., House Chamber)
OUTDOOR ADVERTISING: Department of Transportation's Office of Outdoor Advertising meets. The office oversees regulation, erection, and maintenance of off-premise billboards, signs, and other advertising devices. (Thursday, 11 a.m., Zoom)
Friday, June 10, 2022
SUMNER TUNNEL WEEKEND SHUTDOWNS BEGIN: A new era of commuting patterns, and headaches, begins with the first of 36 weekend closures to the Sumner Tunnel, which carries thousands of motorists westbound from East Boston and Logan International Airport to downtown Boston and Interstate 93. MassDOT will close the 87-year-old tunnel to traffic from 11 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Monday for three dozen weekends, excluding holidays, in the first phase of a $160 million project to perform major maintenance and rehabilitation work. Travelers will be urged to use public transit instead of driving or to use several roadway detours. (Friday, 11 p.m.)
