POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Senate's turn to target gun rules

BY KELLY GARRITY , LISA KASHINSKY AND MIA MCCARTHY MASSACHUSETTS: GUN ZEALOTS ARE WELL ORGANIZED & OPPOSE ANY CHANGES! PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS IF YOU SUPPORT THESE CHANGES! BRINGING A BILL TO A GUNFIGHT — The Massachusetts House and the Senate are once again on a collision course over gun regulations. After an inter-chamber procedural squabble led the House to go solo on gun regulations last fall, the Senate is now out with its own plan for strengthening the state’s firearms laws. There are broad similarities between the bills, including provisions aimed at cracking down on “ghost” guns and expanding the state’s “red flag” law. But, as House Speaker Ron Mariano likes to say, the devil is in the details. And the specifics between the House’s 126-page bill and the Senate’s 35-page proposal diverge in key areas. Take the red flag law: Senators also want to expand the list of who can petition a court to revoke someone’s ability to possess a gun. But they’re not following the House in extending that power to school administrators or a person’s employer. And while both chambers would ban firearms from government administration buildings, senators wouldn’t bar people from bringing guns into polling places or schools. (Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Stone Creem, who is stewarding her chamber’s gun legislation, pointed out that’s in part because state law already bans possessing firearms in schools.) Lawmakers want to crack down on "ghost" guns. Here are some already confiscated by Massachusetts law enforcement officials. | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO Senators also added some proposals that didn’t make it into the House bill — like banning the gun industry from marketing weapons to minors and giving licensing authorities access to a person's history of involuntary mental health hospitalizations. The Senate is reentering the gun-bill debate with a key ally. Members of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association — who opposed the House’s legislation last fall — joined top Senate Democrats in unveiling the package Thursday. What won them over “were all the conversations, the ability to collaborate with Senate leadership about how [the bill] should be crafted,” the group’s president, Agawam Police Chief Eric Gillis, said — perhaps a swipe at the rushed process the House embarked on with its own bill last year. Another hint: the Senate’s version is “concise” and “enforceable.” Senators plan to take up the bill next Thursday . But their proposal, like the House version before it, is already getting blowback from gun-owner groups. And while both chambers have pledged to get enhanced gun regulations to the governor’s desk by the end of the session, there’s likely to be plenty of public and private bickering over the details before House and Senate leaders reach a deal to send it there. GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS . What a wild week. Enjoy some rest this weekend! TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey attends the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association’s annual meeting at 9 a.m. at the Westin Copley, is on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 11 a.m. and joins Boston Mayor Michelle Wu at the GBCOC’s Pinnacle Awards at noon. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll tours the YWCA of Western Mass. at noon and chairs a meeting of the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking at 2 p.m. in Holyoke. Rep. Ayanna Pressley addresses The New England Council at 8:30 a.m. at The Hampshire House in Boston. Rep. Jim McGovern champions union labor at 10 a.m. at the IBEW Local 96 in Worcester. THIS WEEKEND — Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi is on WBZ’s “Keller @ Large” at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Rep. Richard Neal is on WCVB’s “On the Record” at 11 a.m. Sunday. Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler is on NBC10’s “At Issue” at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Tips? Scoops? Email us: kgarrity@politico.com , lkashinsky@politico.com and mmccarthy@politico.com .   JOIN 1/31 FOR A TALK ON THE RACE TO SOLVE ALZHEIMER’S: Breakthrough drugs and treatments are giving new hope for slowing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and ALS. But if that progress slows, the societal and economic cost to the U.S. could be high. Join POLITICO, alongside lawmakers, official and experts, on Jan. 31 to discuss a path forward for better collaboration among health systems, industry and government. REGISTER HERE .     DATELINE BEACON HILL BUDGET BLOWBACK — The group that worked to pass the so-called millionaires tax is sounding alarms about what it views as “damaging cuts to critical healthcare and social services programs” in Gov. Maura Healey ’s budget proposal (while also cheering how she wants to use the $1.3 billion in estimated revenue from the surtax). Raise Up Massachusetts is calling to up taxes on multinational corporations like Amazon and Uber to balance out the state’s fiscal woes. — “Can Healey’s budget proposal ease the health and social services staffing crisis in Mass.?” by Jason Laughlin, The Boston Globe: “Governor Maura Healey hopes to tackle the staffing crisis plaguing social service care providers with a big investment in the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. The office’s proposed $30.7 billion budget for fiscal year 2025, unveiled Wednesday, includes $485 million dollars to increase payment rates to companies that provide a wide swath of social service programs.” EXCERPTS: MCI-Concord, a medium-security men’s prison, currently operates at 50% capacity and has an incarcerated population of about 300 inmates. State officials touted this closure as a cost-saving move amid the state’s lowest prison population in 35 years. Closing MCI-Concord will save about $16 million in annual operating costs, along with $190 million in overall upkeep costs. BAR THE PRISON CLOSURE — State correction officers are putting more pressure on Healey not to shut down MCI-Concord, sending a letter on Thursday saying that closing a fourth prison in three years “stretches the system too thin,” the Boston Herald’s Rick Sobey reports . CAMPAIGN MODE — After state Rep. Dan Carey became the second Beacon Hill lawmaker to say he was foregoing a reelection bid to instead seek a county court job, Easthampton City Council President Homar Gomez is stepping up to run for his seat, the Daily Hampshire Gazette’s Maddie Fabian reports . MUST READ! 50% of Massachusetts residents have 4 year degrees Maybe that's why Massachusetts voters are well informed and vote for DEMOCRATS — “Governor Healey drops degree requirements from most state job listings,” by Jon Chesto, The Boston Globe. PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES Thank you President Biden! This would not have been possible without your INFRASTRUCTURE LEGISLATION! — “Feds direct $372M to Sagamore Bridge replacement,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “The Biden administration has awarded roughly $372 million to replace a ‘functionally obsolete and structurally deficient’ bridge on Cape Cod, the president and transportation secretary announced Thursday. The funding announcement affirms what three federal lawmakers representing Massachusetts said last month — that the U.S. Department of Transportation approved an application from the state and U.S. Army Corp of Engineers for that amount to start replacing the 90-year-old Sagamore Bridge.” — “Wu wants to lower commuter rail fares to T prices in Hyde Park, Roslindale, West Roxbury,” by Molly Farrar, Boston.com. WARREN REPORT Thank you Senator Elizabeth Warren! Massachusetts supports you! — “Elizabeth Warren raises over $850,000 for reelection campaign, while fund-raising for Senate colleagues,” by Niki Griswold, The Boston Globe: “Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren raised more than $850,000 for her reelection campaign in the fourth quarter of last year, while also using her extensive fund-raising prowess to give boosts to the Biden-Harris campaign and several Senate Democrats facing competitive reelection races.” IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN — “Environmentalists demand Northeast governors oppose gas pipeline expansion project,” by Miriam Wasser, WBUR: “A multistate coalition of over 90 environmental organizations is demanding that the governors of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York publicly oppose a proposal to expand a major natural gas pipeline in the Northeast.” FROM THE 413 — “Valentine's Day veers toward controversy at the Hoosac Valley Regional School District,” by Sten Spinella, The Berkshire Eagle: “A move away from valentines in the second grade, as well as a middle school fundraiser focusing on ‘random acts of kindness grams’ rather than valentines, has upset some parents who characterize it as political correctness run amok."   YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS : From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics.      THE LOCAL ANGLE — “Teachers increasingly willing to put up with costs of strikes to gain better pay,” by James Vaznis and Mandy McLaren, The Boston Globe: “More than 40,000 students in Massachusetts have missed one or more days of school due to illegal teachers strikes over the last two years, disrupting classroom time for students and forcing their parents to scramble for child care. Teachers say that cost, while unfortunate, is necessary to force school administrators to agree to improved working conditions. And the strategy appears to be working for them: Teachers unions are winning better pay and other benefits they say will keep them in the classroom.” — "Steward’s medical devices were repossessed. Weeks later, a new mother died," by Jessica Bartlett, The Boston Globe: "As [Steward's] financial challenges mount, some patients say they have struggled to access care, with doctors blaming the system’s financial problems as the cause." PRIMARY SOURCES — “Trump ally withdraws plan for a GOP. resolution to move past Haley,” by Shane Goldmacher, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, The New York Times: “One of Donald J. Trump’s key allies inside the Republican National Committee withdrew a planned resolution to try to force the party’s official body to say that the G.O.P. presidential nominating contest is effectively over, even though only two states have voted and Nikki Haley has vowed to continue her campaign against the dominant front-runner. … But he withdrew the plan to push the resolution after Mr. Trump posted on his Truth Social website that he did not want such a measure.” MEDIA MATTERS NEW OUTLET INCOMING — The former managing editor of the Bay State Banner, Yawu Miller, and Claudio Martinez are launching the Greater Boston News Bureau , a nonprofit aimed at supporting local news outlets that serve communities of color in and around Boston. Articles will be available in English and Spanish. The organization is set to officially launch later this year. HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH TRANSITIONS — Moses Dixon , president and CEO of the Central Massachusetts Agency on Aging, and Robert Watson , of the Harvard EdRedesign Lab and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, have been named to the new class of Presidential Leadership Scholars. Koray Rosati is joining the Progressive Policy Institute as a congressional communications fellow, to be placed in the office of the New Democrat Coalition. He was a communications assistant for Rep. Jake Auchincloss. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Matt Kaye and state Sen. John Velis.  HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to Anna Ornstein, Jenna Kaplan and Cherilyn Strader, who celebrate Saturday; and to Sunday birthday-ers 90 West’s Antonio Caban, former deputy communications director to Senate President Karen Spilka; former Rep. Peter Blute, Chrissy Raymond, former Rep. Peter Torkildsen, Christina Knowles and Katie Holzman . NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: THE SUNDANCE KIDS — Lisa Kashinsky rejoins the pod for a New Hampshire primary breakdown. Steve Koczela and CommonWealth’s Gintautas Dumcius dig into who’s supporting the audit-the-Legislature ballot question. Jennifer Smith and producer John Gee report in from Sundance. 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 .   Follow us on Twitter Lisa Kashinsky @lisakashinsky Kelly Garrity @KellyGarrity3   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters FOLLOW US

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