| | |  | BY LISA KASHINSKY | TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK — Democrats on Beacon Hill are playing nice, for now. Democratic legislative leaders rebuffed GOP Gov. Charlie Baker’s late-stage plea for more migrant aid, saying the $130 million spending plan he filed in November lacked sufficient data to back up the dollar amount. They dismissed his administration’s late-December warning that the state’s emergency shelter system would hit capacity by March, calling it an artificial deadline. But top Democrats are changing their tune now that the request is coming from one of their own. Gov. Maura Healey’s new bill differs from Baker’s in a few ways. She wants $65 million to add 1,100 shelter units, versus the $73 million Baker proposed for 1,300 units. And she's asking for $22 million to help schools seeing an influx of homeless students, versus the $37 million Baker requested. Healey “presented us with realistic options,” House Speaker Ron Mariano said as he stood next to the governor after Monday’s leadership meeting. “We’re more amenable to the real numbers. Yeah, absolutely.” The governor is also proposing $65 million to fund universal free school meals through the end of the school year — a move quickly lauded by Senate President Karen Spilka — and $130 million to extend enhanced SNAP benefits. All that adds up to $282 million — far more than Baker’s bill. But top Democrats and their aides have a way to spin that, too: the $85 million Healey wants in direct aid for migrants is cheaper than Baker's plan and reflects the current need. Don’t get lost in all these numbers, though. The real difference in this equation is that it's all Democrats doing the math. GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. More than 400 New Hampshire Republicans carried out their party chair election Saturday with virtually no drama. Don’t expect the same from the 80, 73, 74 (???) MassGOP state committee members who will gather tonight in Marlborough to pick their next leader. The state party is on the brink of electoral extinction, with no statewide officers and dwindling ranks in the Legislature. Republicans now have a chance for a much-needed reset , between Baker’s exit and tonight’s leadership election. Yet the run-up to the vote has been rife with the same infighting that's plagued the party for years. Pat Crowley, the party treasurer who Lyons is suing, has unearthed a trove of Lyons’ unpaid bills that could almost bankrupt the party . Lyons has in turn accused his main competition, Amy Carnevale, Crowley and other members of the state committee of conspiring to sabotage his leadership and is threatening another lawsuit over it. Here's how it could get even more chaotic: It’s not clear how many people will be voting tonight. At least six of the committee’s 80 seats appear to be vacant. Lyons’ attempt to remove another member, Lindsay Valanzola, failed in court . And it’s likely, given all the contention and other candidates, that it could take multiple rounds of voting to produce a winner. Carnevale told Playbook that while “the choice is clear” she’s not taking anything for granted. Lyons, as usual, didn’t respond. TODAY — Legalized sports betting begins. Healey attends Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch ’s State of the City address at 10:30 a.m. and is on GBH’s “Boston Public Radio” at noon. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll virtually attends a Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association meeting at noon. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is on GBH at 1:30 p.m., helps open a new police station in East Boston at 3 p.m. and speaks about affordable housing at the Barnes School Apartments at 4 p.m. Tips? Scoops? Thoughts on who'll win the GOP chair election? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com .
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| | JOIN POLITICO ON 2/9 TO HEAR FROM AMERICA’S GOVERNORS: In a divided Congress, more legislative and policy enforcement will shift to the states, meaning governors will take a leading role in setting the agenda for the nation. Join POLITICO on Thursday, Feb. 9 at World Wide Technology's D.C. Innovation Center for The Fifty: America's Governors, where we will examine where innovations are taking shape and new regulatory red lines, the future of reproductive health, and how climate change is being addressed across a series of one-on-one interviews. REGISTER HERE . | | | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
| — MORE ON MIGRANT AID: Gov. Maura Healey ’s spending bill would also help extend operations at the temporary intake center former Gov. Charlie Baker set up in Devens. But Healey wouldn't say for how long , MassLive’s Alison Kuznitz reports. The Boston Globe’s Mike Damiano and Samantha J. Gross take a deep dive into the state’s emergency shelter system , which Healey said is at capacity. — “Four things to know as sports betting launches in Massachusetts,” by Katie Lannan, GBH News: “After years of debate and weeks of regulatory wrangling, legal sports betting officially arrives in Massachusetts at 10 a.m. Tuesday — at least in part. The state’s three casinos — Encore Boston Harbor in Everett, Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville and MGM Springfield — will open their sportsbooks and begin taking bets, while the state Gaming Commission continues to work toward an anticipated March launch date for mobile-only sports betting.” — “Millionaire’s tax will raise revenue by $1 billion in FY24, lawmakers guess,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “Lawmakers responsible for telling the governor how much money she can expect to have are banking on $40.41 billion in general state tax revenue for the next fiscal year — and $1 billion from the millionaire’s tax.” — “MassBenchmarks at UMass reports state economy ended year strong but start of 2023 could be flat,” by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: “In a report issued Monday, economists writing for MassBenchmarks said both the state and national economies exhibited signs of a healthy and expanding economy including a strong labor market, low unemployment, and a declining but still elevated rate of inflation in the latter half of 2022.” — “Tarr refiles bill to update state's bail laws,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “A proposal filed by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, calls for amending criminal justice laws to expand the list of offenses under which suspects can be kept in jail because they pose a ‘danger’ to include sex offenses against children, arson, assault and battery, and other crimes. The plan is nearly identical to those filed several years in a row by former Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican who stepped down earlier this month after two terms in office. Baker’s plans were repeatedly rejected by Democratic legislative leaders, who argued the changes went beyond updating bail laws.” — “Foresters, conservationists oppose Healey logging moratorium,” by Chris Larabee, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “While campaigning, one of Gov. Maura Healey’s climate priorities was to place a moratorium on commercial logging on state-owned forest land, a move that foresters and environmental advocates say would be detrimental to forest health, the state’s climate goals and the economy.” — ABORTION LEGAL HOTLINE GOES LIVE: Top Democrats unveiled the phone number that providers and patients seeking abortions in Massachusetts can call for free and confidential legal advice: 833-309-6301. GBH’s Alexi Cohan has more . | | FROM THE HUB |
| — “Mayor Wu officially moves to restructure Boston development,” by Saraya Wintersmith, GBH News: “In a long-awaited move to break up Boston’s independent planning and economic development arm, Mayor Michelle Wu filed an order Monday asking the City Council to formally begin deconstructing the agency. … The order — a home-rule petition that would need City Council, state legislative and gubernatorial approval — would bring a new Boston Planning and Development Agency under city oversight. It would also strengthen public participation requirements and embed principles of affordability, climate resiliency and equity into development processes, Wu said in a letter sent along with the order. … The BPDA employs about 200 workers. A city spokesman says no part of Wu’s order calls for downsizing agency staff.”
| | WARREN REPORT |
| — ON SECOND THOUGHT: Sen. Elizabeth Warren is ”fully” on board with Biden-Harris round two after initially hedging on whether Vice President Kamala Harris should stay on the ticket if President Joe Biden runs again. But her walkback came too late to stop her comments on GBH from getting dissected as part of the larger discussion on Harris' standing among Democrats . — “Lawmakers press J&J over medicine shortages,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “In a new letter to J&J chairman Joaquin Duato, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Reps. Katherine Clark, Lori Trahan, and Ayanna Pressley, called on the drug maker to provide more information about the ‘scope and scale’ of the shortages and when communities will see more products on store shelves.”
| | MOULTON MATTERS |
| — “Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton violated the STOCK Act with 'embarrassing' late disclosures,” by Dave Levinthal, Raw Story: “Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), who briefly ran for president during Election 2020, has violated a federal conflicts-of-interest and transparency law by improperly disclosing two of his wife's stock trades, a Raw Story analysis of congressional financial disclosures indicates.”
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| — “Biden to end Covid health emergency declarations in May,” by Adam Cancryn, POLITICO: “The Biden administration will end the Covid-19 national and public health emergencies on May 11, the White House said Monday in a major step meant to signal that the crisis era of the pandemic is over. The move would restructure the federal government’s coronavirus response and unwind a sprawling set of flexibilities put in place nearly three years ago that paved the way for free Covid treatments and tests.”
| | FROM THE 413 |
| — ”Holyoke mayor ousts Historical Commission chairwoman,” by Scott Merzbach, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia sees Paola Ferrario’s behavior toward him at a Historical Commission meeting earlier in January and complaints from city employees last summer as sufficient reasons to remove her from continued service as chairwoman of the panel. … Ferrario said she and her attorney, Brody Hale of Lee, are exploring legal options, and she is considering starting a legal fund.”
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE |
| — "Woburn schools to remain closed Tuesday amid teachers strike," by Adria Watson, Boston Globe: "Woburn schools will remain closed for a second day Tuesday as a teachers strike continues, despite a court injunction and a cease-and-desist order from the Commonwealth Employment Relations Board, the Woburn School Committee and Mayor Scott Galvin said late Monday. ... Members of the Woburn Teachers Association said they are fighting for pay increases for paraprofessionals, or teacher aides; smaller class sizes; and twice-a-week physical education classes for elementary school students."
| | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH |
| SPOTTED — at the UMass Club Monday to celebrate Janet Wu ’s retirement from WCVB: hosts Rob Gray, Dot Joyce, Mary Anne Marsh and Matt Wilder ; former Govs. Bill Weld and Deval Patrick ; Secretary of State Bill Galvin , Boston Mayor Michelle Wu , former House Speaker Bob DeLeo , Treasurer Deb Goldberg , Auditor Suzanne Bump , Senate President Karen Spilka , Chris Dempsey , UMass President Marty Meehan , Callie Crossley , Carl Stevens , former U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz , Globe columnists Joan Vennochi, Shirley Leung and Scot Lehigh ; Globe editorial page editor Jim Dao , former Globe reporter Frank Phillips , OTR producer Mike Cole , Seth Gitell, Corey Welford, Lizzy Guyton, Jesse Mermell, Shelly Cohen, former state Sen. Warren Tolman , Steve Kerrigan , state Rep. Aaron Michlewitz , former Rep. Joe Kennedy III , Lynda Tocci , UMass' Jim Julian , Jessicah Pierre and Ricardo Patron of Wu’s office; and Antoinette Antonio . TRANSITIONS — Delaney Corcoran is now comms director for Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Steven Boozang, Orit Gadiesh, Eli Nachmany, Robert Norris and Andrew Smith. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com . | |
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