Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: A new House debate takes shape

Thursday, April 27, 2023

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: A new House debate takes shape

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: NEW GUN SAFETY PUSH — With the House budget debate now done, gun-safety advocates are prodding representatives to get moving on another priority issue: tightening the state’s firearms laws.

House Speaker Ron Mariano has been teeing up an omnibus gun-safety bill for this session ever since lawmakers rushed to retool the state’s gun rules last summer in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that invalidated New York’s concealed-carry law and jeopardized Massachusetts’ laws.

Now the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence is sending a letter , shared first with Playbook, to top lawmakers and the governor laying out 10 ways they can toughen the state’s gun laws and beef up enforcement of existing ones.

Giffords is backing several bills already filed this session, including those that would crack down on the manufacture and sale of ghost guns and strengthen restrictions on carrying firearms in public. Another would help people who feel they’ve been harmed by firearms industry practices seek legal recourse.

Massachusetts has the sixth-strongest gun laws in the nation, according to Giffords’ annual scorecard . Yet "in recent years, it just hasn’t kept up with its peer states” like California and New Jersey “in responding to new challenges,” David Pucino, the group’s deputy chief counsel, told Playbook.

“But the thing that has us particularly optimistic that it’s a really great moment for Massachusetts to tackle this problem is because there’s such a strong advocate in the governor’s office,” Pucino said.

Gov. Maura Healey ramped up enforcement of the state’s assault-weapons ban as attorney general and has called to ban ghost guns as governor.

Now it’s up to the Legislature. House lawmakers are in the early stages of a statewide listening tour on gun issues that’s expected to ramp up in earnest over the next month. Each of the 13-plus stops has a different focus: hunting, street violence, suicide and, yes, ghost guns. But any steps lawmakers take are bound to face blowback from gun-rights groups.

“Everything is being considered right now,” state Rep. Michael Day, the co-chair of the Judiciary Committee and Mariano’s point person on gun legislation, told Playbook. “We’ll whittle it down and come down with a package that’s balanced and will make us safer.”

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Former President Donald Trump returns to New Hampshire today. Are you going? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com .

TODAY — Healey makes an Innovation Career Pathways announcement at 10 a.m. at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center WTTC in Charlestown, stocks trout at Jamaica Pond at 11:30 a.m. and attends the annual Banned in Boston event at 8 p.m. at Roadrunner in Boston. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll speaks at the MassMEDIC Impact Symposium at 9:30 a.m. at the Encore Boston Harbor.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— BUDGET ABCs: Well that was fast, by legislative standards. After three days of deliberations that mostly occurred out of the public eye — secrecy that drew criticism from the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance — the House budget is done one day ahead of schedule. Speaker Ron Mariano called it “as efficient and stress-free as any budget in the past 32 I've done.”

House lawmakers unanimously approved a $56.2 billion budget — $700,000 more than Gov. Maura Healey ’s initial fiscal year 2024 proposal — that included an extra roughly $120 million tacked on in earmarks and other spending, per the State House News Service.

What’s in it? The House whittled the more than 1,500 amendments into seven mega-amendments — assigned letters “A” through “G” — covering everything from education to environment to transportation. Among the amendments that passed: $1 million to reimburse public universities for bulk-purchasing abortion medication and a 25-percent pay raise for members of the Governor’s Council that would bring them up to $45,025.

The budget also includes $20 million for free community college for adults over 25 and makes free lunches permanent at schools across the state.

It would authorize online lottery ticket sales — directing that revenue into a program that would create grants for early education and child care providers — and aims to grow the state’s “rainy day” fund to $9 billion.

What’s out? House Republicans’ attempt to prevent Democrats from exempting revenue from the millionaires tax from triggering Chapter 62F. House Democrats shot that down on Monday.

What's next? The Senate is expected to move ahead with its own budget bill in May, and will likely unveil some form of “progressive” tax relief along with it.

— “New data show who’s making all those online sports bets (and where) in Mass.,” by Michael Silverman, Boston Globe: “In the Top 5 city rankings for transactions in the state, Boston led the field with nearly 11 million, followed by Fall River (2.2 million), Worcester (1.9 million), Springfield (1.8 million), and Lowell (1.6 million).”

— “With dueling reports, battle lines form over MCAS,” by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: “Supporters of the system are taking a decidedly new tack. Rather than holding the line against any criticism of the testing regime, they are trying to get out in front on the issue and embrace changes that have formed some of the basis of criticism.”

— "Healey set to reauthorize life sciences spending bill," by Rowan Walrath, Boston Business Journal: "Gov. Maura Healey is set to reauthorize the state's Life Sciences Initiative, paving the way for a third iteration of a multimillion-dollar spending bill to incentivize the growth of the state's biopharmaceutical industry."

— “Healey’s pick of gubernatorial portrait is ... no portrait at all,” by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: “Usually, governors select a predecessor they have a connection to when choosing a portrait to hang in their ceremonial office. … But Healey asked Massachusetts students to help her choose, in the form of an essay contest. She said she was particularly touched by an essay submitted by high school students Julian Hynes of Amherst-Pelham Regional High School, and Ja’liyah Santiago and Adniley Velez of Holyoke Community Charter School, who proposed hanging an empty frame … [to] represent people whose voices ‘are not always represented or heard or reflected in the halls of power,’ Healey said at the unveiling event.”

A portrait of Jane Swift, the former lieutenant governor and first woman to serve as governor of Massachusetts, will hang in Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll’ s office.

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll (right) and former lieutenant and Acting Gov. Jane Swift (left) unveil Swift's portrait, which will hang in Driscoll's office at the State House. | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO

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FROM THE HUB

— “‘The rats are going to hate this’: Boston councilors back rodent-killing office,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “‘Boston’s operation would be modeled after the pest-control operation in New York City, which appointed its first rat czar earlier this month, [Council President Ed] Flynn said.”

— “BPS shares detail on mergers as they plan for future closures,” by Christopher Huffaker, Boston Globe: “Facing dwindling enrollment, Boston Public Schools reaffirmed its plans for two elementary school mergers and laid out the need for further consolidation Wednesday evening. District leaders reiterated to the School Committee the plan to merge Dorchester and Mattapan’s Shaw and Taylor schools in September 2024 and Roslindale’s Sumner and Philbrick schools in September 2025.”

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Outgoing Boston City Councilor Kenzie Bok is endorsing Sharon Durkan as her successor in District 8. Durkan previously succeeded Bok as Boston Ward 5 Democrats chair. Bok resigns tomorrow to take over as Boston Housing Authority administrator.

— ENDORSEMENT CORNER: Our Revolution Massachusetts endorsed Robert Orthman for 10th Suffolk state representative.

— 1199 SEIU, UNITE HERE Local 26 and the National Association of Social Workers — Massachusetts Chapter PACE have endorsed John Moran for 9th Suffolk state representative.

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— “One out-of-state MBTA manager fired, four others warned: Maura Healey says to expect more changes,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Gov. Maura Healey said more leadership changes will happen at the MBTA after a manager found to be working out of state was fired and four others who live hundreds of miles away were told to be in Boston more often.”

— “Man dies after collision between car and train in Abington,” by Adam Sennott, Boston Globe.

DAY IN COURT

— “Nearly eight years of breath test results cannot be used in drunk-driving prosecutions, SJC rules,” Ivy Scott and Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: “The state’s highest court ruled Wednesday that alcohol tests given in Massachusetts between June 2011 and April 2019 with a type of breath test machine that periodically malfunctioned cannot be used in drunk-driving prosecutions, throwing roughly 27,000 OUI convictions into question.”

— “Following ACLU lawsuit threat, North Brookfield says no permission required for Pride drag show,” by Kiernan Dunlop, MassLive: “The North Brookfield Select Board still has not approved permitting for a drag show during a planned pride event in the town common this summer, but said at a meeting Tuesday its permission is not actually required. The letter from the ACLU stated that not allowing the drag show ‘is a plainly unconstitutional content-based and indeed viewpoint-based restriction on free expression,’ a form of censorship and unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex.”

— "Airman Accused of Leak Has History of Racist and Violent Remarks, Filing Says," by Glenn Thrush, New York Times: "Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of posting classified documents online, repeatedly tried to obstruct federal investigators and has a “troubling” history of making racist and violent remarks, Justice Department lawyers said in a court filing late Wednesday."

DATELINE D.C.

— “A ‘profound impact’: Senate assesses lessons learned from Boston Marathon bombings,” by Jorja Siemons, Boston Globe: “A Senate hearing on Wednesday reflected on the legacy of the Boston Marathon bombings in terms of preparing for emergencies, with law enforcement veterans of that day citing lessons learned and remaining challenges to address.”

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FROM THE 413

— “North Adams residents and officials have a lot of unanswered questions about a proposed homeless shelter in an MCLA dorm. The college president says he hears them,” by Greta Jochem, Berkshire Eagle: “The Church Street dorm is empty amid declining enrollment at the college, and the state Department of Housing and Community Development has been looking at building to use as housing for homeless people to meet the demand for family shelters.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Worcester educators to hold all-member rally as they fight for contract,” by Kiernan Dunlop, MassLive: “Worcester Public Schools educators and staff will picket outside of City Hall for what they call a 'fair, reasonable and necessary' contract before a school committee meeting Thursday. The all-member rally is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. and last an hour.”

— “Newbury voters reject Town Hall proposal,” by Jennifer Solis, Newburyport News: “A proposal to fund a newly constructed, $11.8 million Town Hall at 25 High Road failed the first of two steps needed to move forward. But the 499 voters who turned out for the annual gathering at Newbury Elementary School approved a related request — to add $1 million to the town hall account to help offset costs for the project."

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED — at the White House state dinner with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol : NCAA President and former Gov. Charlie Baker, Chief of Protocol Rufus Gifford , Sen. Mitt Romney , Vermont Gov. Phil Scott and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo .

TRANSITIONS — Chloe Gotsis is now communications director at DCR. She previously was deputy communications director at the attorney general's office and press secretary before that.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Lou Mandarini , Patrick Bench , president of Benchmark Strategies; Brendan Joyce, Seth Mnookin, Simon McTeigue and Jessica Ruby.

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: DEVIL'S IN THE T TALES — TransitMatters’ Jarred Johnson takes hosts Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith on a ride through the latest MBTA news. MassINC senior research director Rich Parr discusses polling on regional transit authorities with Smith and Lisa Kashinsky . Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud .

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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