IF YOU WANT TO WHINE & COMPLAIN ABOUT GAS PRICES, READ THIS:
excerpt:
The majority leader ranks fourth among all House lawmakers in 2023-24 campaign contributions from oil and gas interests, according to the watchdog OpenSecrets. His $325,833 in Big Oil contributions trails only Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), who took $572,421; former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who received $335,399; and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who got $328,019.
It's time for Massachusetts Republicans to do their JOBS, inform themselves and inform their constituents with FACTS.
How come REPUBLICANS are consistently UNINFORMED and create HYSTERIA based on DISINFORMATION? Did any single Republican review those 'studies'?
REPUBLICANS don't seem to like FACTS.....RYAN FATTMAN was among the 3 MASS GOP who endorsed DeSantis ignoring the failures of FLORIDA GOP.
"R" voters need to insist that empty rhetoric & disinformation don't belong in public policy.
With just a simple internet search, there were a multitude of studies that are available - just a few posted below.
GAS = METHANE
The health consequences are KNOWN!
Claims of natural gas job losses because of Senate climate bill are ‘misinformation,’ Dem says
Sen. Michael Barrett, a Lexington Democrat, pushed back on claims that thousands of workers could lose their jobs under policies included in a climate bill. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
A top Senate Democrat contested claims that thousands of natural gas workers could be at risk of losing their jobs because of policies included in climate legislation the chamber was debating Tuesday, calling the assertions “misinformation” and “fundamentally flawed.”
Clean energy and climate legislation backed by Senate Democratic leadership attempts to reign in the use of natural gas and phase out an infrastructure replacement program by 2030, a move that has raised red flags among labor unions and conservatives on Beacon Hill.
But Sen. Michael Barrett, a Lexington Democrat and chief author of the proposal, said there is “plenty” of data on those who will be transitioning out of jobs in the natural gas industry as reliance on it fades.
“It’s not 10,000. It’s not 5,000. It’s not 1,000. As it turns out, several studies, some done based on federal data, some done based on Massachusetts data, show counts of well, in one case, 141,” Barrett said. “So what’s this thousands of jobs stuff? That’s misinformation. It’s sincerely offered, I think, but it’s fundamentally flawed. It’s wrong. It’s simply not supported.”
Resistance to the Senate bill bubbled up last week around language targeting natural gas, including the effort to end the gas pipe replacement program and another policy granting state regulators more authority to determine the scope of natural gas use in Massachusetts.
Republican Sen. Ryan Fattman of Sutton twice blocked the bill from moving forward last week, arguing lawmakers had little time to review the proposal and people could be out of work if natural gas use is tightened.
Another Republican, Sen. Patrick O’Connor of Weymouth, said last week that Democrats were “moving at warp speed without really taking into account the 20,000-plus union people that work inside of this profession right now.”
Barrett said he “can appreciate that transition sometimes cause inconvenience” and “it’s always a pain to change jobs.”
“We have to help people do that easily whenever we can. But just remember, every time you talk about the inconvenience of moving away from a fossil fuel job, you need to balance it with the lives you’re saving by moving off fossil fuels. Inconvenience is real. It’s a pain. Lives lost to fossil fuels are a reality too,” he said.
Later in the Senate debate, Sen. Mark Montigny appeared to push back on Barrett’s characterization of the transition away from natural gas and the impact it could have on jobs as an “inconvenience.”
Montigny, a New Bedford Democrat, said if Massachusetts is to “properly” wean itself off fossil fuels, “we better be mindful of that transition and the impact on jobs.”
“When we look at the transition and the potential disruption of people’s lives, it’s not an inconvenience, it’s a disaster at times. I’m not suggesting, by the way, that (Barrett) doesn’t feel the same way, because he and I have shared these feelings with each other. But cost does matter,” he said.
In a June 25 letter, the New England Gas Workers Alliance, a group that represents industry unions, asked lawmakers to keep the pipe replacement program because more than 3,000 miles of “leak-prone pipe” in Massachusetts needs to be repaired to “prevent deadly conditions.”
New England Gas Workers Alliance President John Buonopane told the Herald he understands workers could lose their jobs if the program, known as the Gas System Enhancement Program or GSEP, sunsets, but his organization wants officials to understand the public safety impacts.
“The program wasn’t created to create jobs. It was created to address these public safety issues in relation to having leak-prone pipe in the ground,” Buonopane said.
Senate Majority Leader Cindy Creem said the bill “reorients” the GSEP program towards investment in clean heating whenever possible and allows gas companies to sell network geothermal energy.
“What we’re doing is saying we want to partner with the gas companies. We don’t want people to lose their jobs. We want those same people to work with us to find ways of clean energy,” the Newton Democrat said from the floor of the chamber.
Democrats pitched the larger Senate climate bill as instrumental in the state’s fight against climate change, curbing the use of fossil fuels, and lowering rates for consumers.
The proposal would expedite and streamline the siting and permitting process for clean energy projects, one of the key ways elected officials believe Massachusetts can meet its climate goals.
It directs utility providers to offer discounted rates to moderate-income consumers in addition to existing low-income customers and it bans competitive electric suppliers from enrolling new individual residential customers in contracts, among other things.
“The bill does all that while ensuring that the energy transition remains affordable for all residents of Massachusetts,” Creem said.
National Grid employees work on a natural gas line on Lowell Street in Woburn. (Jim Michaud/Boston Herald, File)
Investigation Assessing the Future of Natural Gas in Massachusetts
DPU 20-80: Investigation by the Department of Public Utilities ("DPU") on its own Motion into the Role of Gas Local Distribution Companies ("LDCs") as the Commonwealth Achieves its Target 2050 Climate Goals MASS.GOV
FROM 2022:
What's the future of gas in Mass.? Utilities and critics have different visions
RYAN FATTMAN was one of three Massachusetts Republicans who rushed to endorse
FLORIDA Extremist Ron DeSantis, ignoring his history, FLORIDA's failures and reality.
DeSantis just slashed all arts funding, no reason given.
FLORIDA has outlawed ANY mention of CLIMATE CHANGE even as the severe consequences are impacting the state - high ocean temperatures, flooding (for which funds were slashed), homeowners' insurance, and much else.
FLORIDA REPUBLICANS banned 'undocumented immigrants' which forced married couples and others to flee the state - who's going to pick the crops? fill the construction jobs? It's not going to be affluent retirees. SHORT SIGHTED!
Republican Senator blocks climate bill again over natural gas concerns but agrees to Tuesday debate
Senate GOP also agrees not to delay housing bond bill debate next week
A Republican senator in Massachusetts blocked a wide-ranging climate bill for the second time this week over concerns he had with provisions targeting natural gas. (Cliff Owen/Associated Press)
A Senate Republican stopped a broad climate bill from advancing Friday for the second day in a row but struck a deal with Democrats to allow full debate on the proposal to take place on Tuesday, a move the conservative argued bought lawmakers more time to review the large bill.
Resistance to climate legislation Senate Democratic leadership unveiled Monday has grown over the past week as labor unions and Republicans took issue with language in the proposal targeting natural gas, including ending a program to replace aged infrastructure.
Sen. Ryan Fattman, a Sutton Republican who first blocked the bill Thursday, said his concerns around the “esoteric” bill were still not satisfied and he wanted to buy all 40 members of the Senate more time to review the proposal and the more than 120 amendments that had been filed.
“The idea that natural gas (would be) used as a last option is problematic and could scare away development,” he told reporters at the State House. “In my district, I want it to be economically competitive, and I want there to be housing developed, obviously, within a framework that is appropriate. But this, I think, has a chilling effect potentially on that.”
Only 40 days remained Friday before the Legislature was scheduled to close out formal lawmaking for their two-year session and every delay means House and Senate members have less time to push through and come to agreements on a laundry list of high-priority policies.
The super-minority Republican caucuses in both the House and Senate have historically turned to procedural tactics to delay legislation they do not agree with or want more time to digest, a strategic decision that is felt more acutely by Democrats as time for formal legislating starts to run out.
The agreement Fattman managed to get Democrats who control the Senate to sign off on will see the climate bill taken up next week and conservatives refrain from turning to “dilatory” tactics to delay a highly anticipated borrowing bill focused on affordable housing on Thursday.
Sen. William Brownsberger, a Belmont Democrat who presided over Friday’s Senate session, said a handful of lost days is not going to “make or break” plans laid out by Democratic leadership.
“Every day matters but not every scheduling movement matters. So this shift of timeline, it’s not going to break the bank in terms of the conversation,” he said.
Senate President Karen Spilka, an Ashland Democrat, released the climate bill on Monday and initially planned debate for Thursday during a week that was bifurcated by a federal holiday. Brownsberger said Fattman had “a lot of time to think about” the bill.
“We felt the timeline was reasonable, but (Fattman) has his rights to grab a couple of additional days and so he’s done that,” Brownsberger said.
Democrats proposed phasing out a natural gas infrastructure replacement program known as the Gas System Enhancement Program, or GSEP, by 2030, a move they argued would bring down costs for consumers and take residents off the hook for “paying billions of dollars for fossil fuel investments that will soon serve no purpose.”
But labor unions and business groups have said sunsetting the program in four years would end the incentive for utility companies to repair pipes across the state and potentially put tens of thousands of workers out of jobs.
In a June 12 letter to legislators, the New England Gas Workers Alliance said the organization’s members work to maintain “critical infrastructure” that keeps “hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents safe and warm.”
“As part of their work, they routinely find leaking or dangerous pipe that are near homes and businesses throughout the commonwealth. They often put their lives at risk to safeguard the public,” the letter said.
Fattman echoed similar concerns.
“There’s about 20,000 people who do that work statewide. We’re basically sending them a message that they’re going to be unemployed. There’s 20,000 people with 20,000 families, potentially, 20,000 mortgages. They have lives too. They’re valued. They deserve a seat at the table,” he said. “Well, they’ve written us letters saying ‘we have real concerns about this bill.’”
Sen. Michael Barrett, a Lexington Democrat who helped author the climate bill, said Thursday that Massachusetts needs to step back from its “over-reliance” on natural gas, including by allowing state regulators to sign off on plans to terminate service to consumers so long as “safe, reliable, and affordable” alternatives are in place.
“Our plea to our colleagues and to our friends in this branch, in the other branch, and throughout Massachusetts, is that there is a way to do this well. There is a way to get off natural gas while keeping people warm and safe. We believe we struck the right balance with regard to this legislation,” he said.
TAXED OUT — A local-option transfer fee isn’t expected to be in the housing bond bill the Senate is unveiling later today, according to four people familiar with the legislation that the Senate Ways and Means Committee is polling later this morning.
The tax on high-dollar real estate transactions Gov. Maura Healey included in her version of the housing bond bill seemed to be gaining momentum on Beacon Hill earlier this year. Just a few months ago, House Speaker Ron Mariano sounded open to the idea, telling business leaders the state “must explore all options that have the potential to make a real difference” during a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce event in March.
But by May, the House had nixed the proposal from its version of the bill, and Mariano was calling the policy “inequitable.”
Beacon Hill observers expected the tax might stand a better chance in the Senate, where several lawmakers have publicly pushed for it. It’s possible at least some iteration of the transfer fee could make it into the final version of the Senate’s bill through the amendment process — but unlikely with Senate leaders divided on the issue.
Both chambers passing on the policy is a blow to Healey. But it’s also only one avenue — a single tool in the toolkit, as lawmakers like to say — for helping create the 200,000 units of housing the state is currently short.
Healey, asked earlier this month if she would sign housing legislation without the tax, simply said she was “very glad” to see a bill moving and that she hopes to see a “law in place that will do what we’re trying to do, which is to increase production.”
MEANWHILE IN THE HOUSE — Top Democrats are releasing their version of the economic development bond bill today. The House Ways and Means Committee plans to poll the bill later this morning, and representatives intend to take it up Thursday, Chair Aaron Michlewitz told Playbook.
While Healey made bond authorizations and tax incentives for the life sciences and climate tech sectors the centerpiece of her the economic development legislation she filed, the $2.86 billion omnibus bill the House is unveiling today will be laden with additional policy riders.
It’ll also include a provision that would allow cities and towns to strike project labor agreements on public projects (similar to a state Rep. Marjorie Decker bill), per details of the bill first shared with Playbook.
That policy provides a legislative fix to a question that came before the Hampden Superior Court earlier this year. A judge in May held up construction on a Springfield water treatment plantafter non-union trade groups argued the PLA, which required the construction to be done by union workers, limited competitive bidding.
GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS . Tips? Scoops? Things to look out for in the economic development bill? Email me: kgarrity@politico.com .
TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Attorney General Andrea Campbell hold a press conference on the anniversary of the Dobbs decisions at 11 a.m. where Healey announces executive action to protect access to emergency abortion care. Healey and Driscoll host a press celebration for LGBTQ+ youth at 3:30 p.m. at the State House. Driscoll speaks at a Massachusetts Housing Partnership event at 10 a.m. in Boston. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hosts a coffee hour in Mission Hill at 9:30 a.m. and is on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 11 a.m. Healey joins Wu at a press conference announcing new details of Boston’s office to residential building conversion program at 12:45 p.m. in Bay Village. Sen. Elizabeth Warren stumps for President Joe Biden at reproductive rights events in Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin.
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DATELINE BEACON HILL
— “Republican Senator blocks climate bill again over natural gas concerns but agrees to Tuesday debate,”by Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald: “A Senate Republican stopped a broad climate bill from advancing Friday for the second day in a row but struck a deal with Democrats to allow full debate on the proposal to take place on Tuesday, a move the conservative argued bought lawmakers more time to review the large bill. Resistance to climate legislation Senate Democratic leadership unveiled Monday has grown over the past week as labor unions and Republicans took issue with language in the proposal targeting natural gas, including ending a program to replace aged infrastructure.”
— “Unnerved by bankruptcy, doctors and patients are leaving Steward hospitals,”by Deborah Becker, WBUR: “As Steward Health Care goes through bankruptcy proceedings, many doctors and patients are reluctant to associate with its seven operating hospitals in Massachusetts, according to health care leaders and people who work in the facilities. ... Patients at one cancer clinic already had to seek alternatives after a doctor's departure caused care to be suspended. At the same time, state officials and hospital leaders said some patients are avoiding Steward facilities over concerns about the company's financial troubles. The dynamic could further erode the hospitals' finances and repel potential buyers. The drain on staff and patients may also strain the state's health care system.”
ICYMI — Senate President Karen Spilka and other state officials from around the country “ shared how lowering costs for community college students has increased enrollment rates and access to postsecondary education,” during the virtual White House panel last week, per a White House readout from the event, which was closed to the press.
MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS
— “Boston Mayor Wu: ‘No plans’ to return migrant, homeless shelter to addiction outreach amid Mass and Cass spike,”by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “Boston’s mayor said there are no plans to transition a building that’s been sheltering migrant and homeless adults for months back into a Mass and Cass addiction outreach center despite the crowds and drug use returning to the area. Mayor Michelle Wu laid out plans to temporarily convert the former engagement center on Atkinson Street into an overnight shelter in February, at which point a mid-March to mid-April closing date was tentatively set by the city, but she said Wednesday that as ‘the need has not abated,’ there are no current plans to close it.”
2025 WATCH — Ed Flynn is still not not eyeing a run for mayor next year.
“You’ve said you’re not running for mayor next year when Mayor Wu seeks reelection, correct?” Jon Keller asked the Boston City Councilor during an interview on WBZ’s “Keller @ Large,”Sunday.
“I haven’t focused on it. I’ve focused on my job as a city councilor,” Flynn replied. But it’s not a no, he clarified.
YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Boston Teachers Union is endorsing Allison Cartwright for Suffolk County Supreme Judicial Court clerk over Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy, a former BPS teacher and BTU member. BTU President Jessica Tang lauded Cartwright’s decades of legal experience “defending young people and managing teams of attorneys” and her “deep roots in the Suffolk County community,” in a statement shared with Playbook.
— Progressive West Roxbury/Roslindale voted over the weekend to endorse Cartwright for Suffolk County Supreme Judicial Court clerk, Stacey Borden for Governor’s Council in District 4, and Stephanie Everett for Suffolk County Register of Probate.
— The Coalition for Social Justice and One Fair Wage are endorsing Milton Select Board member and state Senate hopeful Erin Bradley in her bid for the open Norfolk, Plymouth, and Bristol seat.
— “Former Sen. Dean Tran facing more criminal charges. This time, his sister is also involved,”by Maco Cartolano, Telegram & Gazette: “Former state Sen. Dean Tran of Fitchburg and his sister Tuyet T. Martin were indicted on obstruction of justice charges related to an alleged attempt to cover up a sham job offer for Tran, the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy announced Friday. Tran, 48, a Republican and former 2022 candidate for Congress in the 3rd Congressional District, already faces several charges in other cases. The indictment was unsealed in federal court in Boston on Friday charging Tran and Martin, 54, of Pelham, New Hampshire.”
FROM THE DELEGATION
— “During Pride Month, Mass. Sen. Markey backs bill supporting older LGBTQI+ Americans,”by John L. Micek, MassLive: “[The] Massachusetts lawmaker says he wants to look after LGBTQI+ Americans who blazed the trail. New legislation sponsored by U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and others would set up a new federal agency aimed at supporting the health and economic needs of older LBTQI+ Americans. The ‘Elder Pride Act,’ as it’s been dubbed, would set up a new Office of LGBTQI Inclusion within the Department of Health and Human Services charged with assisting elders living with HIV, the Bay State Democrat’s office said in a statement.”
WARREN REPORT
— “Warren to stump for Biden in Wisconsin,”by WisPolitics: “ U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., will visit four Wisconsin cities on Monday and Tuesday to campaign for President Joe Biden and criticize Donald Trump’s stance on abortion. Monday marks the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, a 1973 decision that guaranteed the right to an abortion. On Monday, Warren will join abortion rights advocate Amanda Zurawski, of Texas, and local leaders for a panel in Milwaukee and a rally in Madison, both focused on 'Trump’s threats to reproductive rights.' The next day she will host a panel discussion in Eau Claire and a rally in Hudson, both with local leaders, to knock Trump on abortion.”
Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more .
— “North Adams Regional Hospital is still waiting on the critical access designation crucial to funding the operation,”by Sten Spinella, The Berkshire Eagle: “Berkshire Health Systems is currently working on obtaining a ‘critical access hospital’ designation after an initial survey from the state Department of Public Health, on behalf of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in March. Apart from the widely recognized need to get a hospital back in North Adams after NARH abruptly closed in 2014, the main reason Berkshire Health Systems was able to open the facility was a change in federal guidelines that would allow for NARH to become a critical access hospital.”
— “Cambridge confronts road safety after second fatal bicycle crash in two weeks,”by Laura Crimaldi and Nick Stoico: “The city of Cambridge is grappling this month with a pair of crashes in which box trucks struck and killed two bicyclists following a controversial City Council vote to extend a deadline for installing separated bike lanes on three major streets. … Bike safety advocates said the recent crashes in Cambridge, one of which happened on Friday, reveal vulnerabilities in road infrastructure at a time when the city is poised to delay construction of separated bike lanes on Main and Cambridge streets as well as Broadway.”
MEANWHILE IN RHODE ISLAND
— “Gov. Healey tried luring Citizens to Mass. amid RI tax dispute, speaker says,”by Tim White, WPRI: “House Speaker Joe Shekarchi said Gov. Maura Healey offered Citizens Bank multiple deals to leave Rhode Island for Massachusetts amid a tax-break dispute that shook-up the end of this year’s legislative session. During a taping of WPRI 12’s Newsmakerson Friday, Shekarchi said talks between Gov. Dan McKee’s office and Citizens executives over a tax deal included in the budget had broken down in the waning days of the legislative session. At that point, bank officials approached him with a request, he said. … The speaker said Citizens officials then told him there was a risk the bank would leave Rhode Island for Massachusetts because Healey was making offers. … Massachusetts has already enacted a new tax law that simplifies how banks are taxed, making it more generous to banks than Rhode Island.”
HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH
CONGRATULATIONS — to POLITICO's own Katie Locke and GBH News' Esteban Bustillos , who got engaged last week! The two met nearly six years ago while working together at GBH.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Jon Latino, Peter Cutrumbes, former MassGOP Chair Kirsten Hughes, Roger Fisk, Thomas Doane Perry III, Jonathan Yuan, Ed Palleschi, Baker administration alum John Alvarez, Katherine Marie Kulik and Morgan Smith.
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