Monday, April 14, 2025

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Mass. Dems’ HHS heat check

HEATING UP — Sen. Ed Markey has some questions about the removal of workers at the Department of Health and Human Services who administered a multibillion-dollar program to help low-income households pay their energy bills.

Markey and the rest of the Massachusetts delegation are asking HHS to provide more information about the cuts that left the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program without staff. They’re looking for answers to their questions — including who is now in charge of operating the program, and whether staff will be brought back for the next heating cycle — by May 1.

“Our constituents are facing historic energy burdens , yet you have eliminated the federal team that ensures this vital safety net program can function,” the state’s all-Democratic congressional delegation wrote in a letter sent Friday to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “The Department of Health and Human Services must take immediate steps to restore federal LIHEAP capacity.”

Heating costs have been on the minds of Massachusetts lawmakers after the widespread sticker shock brought on by winter gas bills this year.

The increase in costs has mostly been driven by state-level factors: a colder-than-normal winter, combined with rate increases the state’s Department of Public Utilities approved last year in part to help cover the cost of Mass Save, the state’s energy efficiency program.

The bigger bills mean more Bay State residents who need assistance. “More than 27,000 Massachusetts households applied for LIHEAP for the first time this year, 8% more than last year at this point,” the letter reads.

Job cuts at LIHEAP were part of a broader batch of layoffs at HHS in recent weeks amid the Trump administration's efforts to slash costs across federal agencies. Most of the money the state was expecting from the program this fiscal year had already landed in Massachusetts' coffers before the cuts came down – the state is still waiting on the last $15 million to arrive as consumers switch from heating to air conditioning.

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS . ICYMI: Stephen A. just might do it .

BRAIN DEAD CLOWN & WASTE OF TIME!

TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll huddle with legislative leaders at 2 p.m. in the Senate President’s office.

Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@politico.com .

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DATELINE BEACON HILL

CHARGED — Some Democratic leaders are calling for state Rep. Chris Flanagan’s resignation after the Cape Cod lawmaker was arrested Friday for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from his former employer, some of which helped bankroll his House campaigns.

Flanagan, a Democrat, pleaded not guilty to the federal fraud charges. He’s accused of siphoning $36,000 from the Home Builders Association (where he previously worked) from November 2021 to January 2023.

Gov. Maura Healey on Friday said Flanagan “should resign,” warning the charges “threaten to undermine the important work of the Legislature and cast doubt on his ability to faithfully serve his constituents.” That echoed the sentiment from state Sen. Julian Cyr, a fellow Cape Cod Democrat, who said he does “not see how Chris can continue to serve the people of Brewster, Dennis, and Yarmouth. For the good of his constituents and his family, he must resign.”

But Democratic leaders in the House aren’t going that far yet, despite calls from their Republican counterparts to do so. House Speaker Ron Mariano said he would continue to “monitor the legal process as it plays out, and will take the appropriate steps if necessary to ensure accountability.”

And House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz didn’t go further. “There's only one person that can make that determination, and that's him,” Michlewitz said during an interview on WCVB’s “On the Record” taped shortly after the charges were announced Friday morning. “He's the one that was elected, and so he has to make a determination whether he can stay in that seat… I think he's going to have to do some real thinking about that over the next couple days.”

More on the indictment from The Boston Globe and Boston Herald .

ISN'T IT CURIOUS THAT THE MASS GOP IS IRATE & HYSTERICAL, BUT IGNORED FATTMAN'S CORRUPTION THAT INVOLVED FAMILY MEMBERS & THE RNC?

THE STATE'S LARGEST SETTLEMENT!

Mass. GOP couple agree to state's largest settlement after campaign finance investigation

The state investigated contributions funneled from Ryan Fattman’s senate campaign committee through state and local Republican committees to Stephanie Fattman’s register of probate committee during her 2020 reelection campaign

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/massachusetts-gop-couple-agree-to-states-largest-settlement-after-campaign-finance-investigation/3169269/

— State auditor releases correspondence with attorney general amid standoff over new audit law by Adam Reilly, GBH News: “In her ongoing fight to audit the Massachusetts Legislature, state Auditor Diana DiZoglio took the unusual step of waiving attorney-client privilege and releasing approximately 150 pages of documents that include exchanges between her office and the office of Attorney General Andrea Campbell. … In a statement to GBH News after DiZoglio released the correspondence Friday, Campbell said the exchanges made public by DiZoglio paint a radically different picture than what DiZoglio believes.”

Meanwhile, Michlewitz indicated over the weekend that his chamber warmed to the idea of DiZoglio’s audit, citing the constitutional questions that opponents have pointed to.

“We gave an opportunity to the auditor to participate in an audit of us … for us it's always been about, not about worrying about audits, we're not worried about odds we've been audited,” Michlewitz said on WCVB. “But the fact is that she has decided that it's about her auditing the legislature, not the not the legislature being audited,” he added later.

— Sheriffs seek money, reforms for free prison calls by Christian M. Wade, The Eagle-Tribune: “The cost of providing unlimited free phone calls to inmates at state prisons and correctional facilities is rising, and county sheriffs are seeking more money and reforms from Beacon Hill to help offset impact on their budgets.”

PAY WALL

— Republican candidates for governor face difficult path to beating Healey in ‘26, experts say by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “Money, Donald Trump, name recognition. Conservative candidates for governor of Massachusetts are expected to face a difficult road to securing the state’s highest constitutional office, with Democrats already tying any potential challenger to Gov. Maura Healey to President Donald Trump, according to local political operatives.”

THE WARPED MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE WHITE TOOTHED GOVERNOR WHO LEFT A TRAIL OF EXPENSIVE PROBLEMS BEHIND...A STARK REMINDER IS THE MBTA...SCRUTINZE THE "R" CANDIDATES...NOT SURE VOTERS WANT TO RETURN TO THAT!

— Massachusetts is the only state that still bans nunchucks. Could a recent court decision impact weapons laws? by Zack Huffman, Horizon Mass News.

— ‘We’re treading on thin ice.’ Trump’s unpredictability threatens to upend Massachusetts spending plans. by Matt Stout, The Boston Globe.

HANDS OFF PROTESTS DEFINE THE OPINION OF VOTERS EVEN THOUGH CORPORATE MEDIA MOSTLY IGNORES THOSE PROTESTS!

FROM THE HUB

DRIP, DRIP, DRIP — Boston Water and Sewer has investigated its HR director repeatedly as she rakes in $200K salary amid civil fraud allegations by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “The Boston Water and Sewer Commission has spent tens of thousands of dollars investigating its human resources director, but continued to give her raises, promote her and now pay her $202,873 salary while she stays home on paid leave. Public records released by the Commission following a Herald request and appeal to the Secretary of State’s office show two outside law firms were hired to conduct investigations into chief human resource officer Marie Theodat, who’s embroiled in several civil lawsuits that include fraud allegations, at different times last year.”

— In wake of her guilty plea, constituents express disgust, sadness at Tania Fernandes Anderson by Niki Griswold, The Boston Globe.

MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS

— Detained Tufts student alleges poor medical treatment, religious freedom restrictions in detention by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: “The Tufts University international student who’s been held in a Louisiana detention facility since last month says she thought the plain clothes officers who detained her ‘were going to kill [her].’”

THE NATIONAL TAKE — Rümeysa Öztürk’s journey from Ph.D. scholar to Trump target languishing in Louisiana cell by Hannah Allam, ProPublica.

— New Bedford man detained by ICE despite longtime legal residency in U.S. by Eleonora Bianchi and Kevin G. Andrade, The New Bedford Light: “A 32-year-old New Bedford resident who has lived in the United States since he was 2 years old is in immigration detention in Maine due to a drug charge resolved a decade ago, according to his attorney. At the end of March, after returning from a vacation abroad, Rui Murras was detained by U.S. immigration officers at the airport. He is currently being held at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland, Maine, while his family fights to bring him home.”

— DHS mistakenly tells Newton lawyer to self-deport by Dan Glaun and Jason Laughlin, The Boston Globe.

WARREN REPORT

WATCH — Sen. Elizabeth Warren hit the Sunday show circuit to talk Trump’s tariffs and why she wants an SEC investigation into whether federal officials violated insider trading laws as the 90-day pause was announced.

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— Major drug trafficking case tossed due to New Bedford police detective’s misconduct with informant by Anastasia E. Lennon, The New Bedford Light: “A major New Bedford drug trafficking case has been dismissed after state prosecutors determined the investigation was tainted by a sexual relationship between a now-retired city police officer and a woman he used as an informant. The defense had presented evidence of misconduct by New Bedford detective Jared Lucas with Carly Medeiros, who was also in a relationship with the defendant, Steven Ortiz, court records state.”

— Salem schools faced with cutting 56.5 jobs to close $4.9M budget gap by Michael McHugh, The Salem News: “The School Committee is considering a proposed budget for fiscal 2026 that would cut the equivalent of 56.5 positions in the city’s schools to address a $4.9 million budget gap. District officials say the gap is primarily driven by federal funds for pandemic recovery expiring this year, Chapter 70 funding not increasing enough to address inflation coupled with major expenses such as rising out-of-district tuition or transportation. They also cited increased salary contributions following the settlement of the teachers’ union’s new contracts resulting in an average wage increase of 19% for teachers over the next three school years.”

— Protesters call on Harvard to fight Trump threats, defending democracy, its students and its legacy by Jodi Hilton, Cambridge Day: “More than a thousand people gathered on Cambridge Common on Saturday to demand that Harvard stand up to the latest threats coming from the Donald Trump administration. Late last month, the administration threatened to freeze nearly $9 billion in federal grants, part of an attack on elite universities including Princeton and Columbia ostensibly to weed out antisemitism on campus.”

— Can extra housing be built on private lots in Cape Cod National Seashore? Park says no. by Denise Coffey, Cape Cod Times.

— North Attleboro council to hear budget proposal, recommendation on senior tax break Monday by Stephen Peterson, The Sun Chronicle.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

IN MEMORIAM — Moving moments from Taunton Easton State Rep. Carol Doherty's celebration of life via Marc Vasconcellos, The Taunton Gazette.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former Rep. Chester Atkins and Joe Rospars , founder and CEO of Blue State and an Elizabeth Warren alum.

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