Governor Healey takes to the airwaves with tax season ad

Remember the roughly $1 billion tax relief package Gov. Maura Healey signed into law last fall?

It’s tax season, and if you had somehow forgotten the conclusion to a 20-month storyline that began under former Gov. Charlie Baker, a brand-new ad should refresh the memory. 

Healey’s campaign invested in a significant digital ad buy on Hulu, YouTube and social media, which rolled out Monday morning, reminding Bay Staters about the tax relief package the governor signed in October. 

The Healey camp won’t say how much it spent on the ad, which serves more than one purpose. It’s both a reminder that the time has arrived to file annual tax returns, and a victory lap for Healey, who can pat herself on the back for checking off a campaign process, albeit on a measure the Legislature failed to complete under her predecessor.

As the ad itself points out, “history was made” when Healey became the first Massachusetts governor to sign a major tax relief law in two decades. The package included over a dozen specific tax measures, aimed both at making the state more affordable for families and more competitive for businesses.

The ad pitches Healey as a governor “working to save you money and make Massachusetts more affordable,” and promises that Bay Staters “will experience money back in their pockets” this tax season.

It lands not just in tax season, but in a presidential election year when scores of state lawmakers, mostly Democrats, who helped steer the tax relief bill to Healey’s desk are gearing up for reelection. (Even though her campaign cut and pushed the video spot, Healey is not on the ballot again until 2026.)

Tax relief will cut into available state revenues at a time when lagging tax collections and soaring costs, especially in the state’s emergency family shelter system, inflict major pressure on budget-writers. — Ella Adams

Last week (a quick reminder)

Gov. Healey launched an official push to make Mass. the first state in the country that will pardon all misdemeanor marijuana possession convictions, a decision the Governor’s Council now has to approve.

The Senate unanimously passed a potentially expensive early education reform bill on Thursday — the second time in three years the chamber has done so — and there’s no clear outlook in the House, despite House Speaker Mariano‘s past promise that early ed would be a priority of his chamber.  

Millions of dollars in spending could be cut from personal care assistant services across the state, a result of slashed funding in Healey’s budget and a move the administration says comes from unmanageable costs in the state’s PCA program.

Concerns are rising for med student placements in Steward Health Care facilities; eyes are on Boston Mayor Michelle Wu‘s next move regarding White Stadium renovation; and a legislative committee is deciding whether to approve a potential ballot question that could increase what businesses need to pay tipped workers. — State House News Service

State’s casinos report stronger month as sports betting dips

The state’s three casinos collected an even $100M in revenue during February, rebounding from a relatively weak month in January as all three destinations matched or exceeded their performance from a year ago. Sports wagering saw a slight dip, despite the fact that the month included the Super Bowl, with $52.5M wagered online and at sports books. — MassLive

New wind energy area designated off Mass.

The federal government finalized its placement of a two-million acre wind energy area off the coast of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts last week, reports Michael P. Norton for the News Service. The designated area in the Gulf of Maine will aid in offshore wind power momentum, potentially supporting 32 gigawatts of clean energy generation — more than the goals of both Mass. and Maine combined. — State House News Service

Launched: Converting office buildings into housing

Gov. Healey announced MassHousing‘s Commercial Conversion Initiative Friday, a program born out of the massive amounts of office space left unused as remote and hybrid work models became popular during the pandemic. As a way to make it easier for cities and towns across Mass. to turn those spaces into housing, the program will help municipalities find potential properties for “commercial-to-housing” conversions, conduct analyses and reduce regulatory barriers, reports GBH’s Katie Lannan. — GBH

‘Vineyarder’ Arielle Faria running for Fernandes House seat 

Arielle Faria, a Martha’s Vineyard-based affordable housing advocate and Island Housing Trust project manager, pulled nomination papers to run as a Democrat for the state representative seat currently held by Rep. Dylan Fernandes, who is running for state Senate. Faria’s campaign will prioritize housing, coastal resilience and mental health, and she will face Falmouth Democrat Thomas Moakley in the primary to potentially become the first “Vineyarder” to hold the office. — Vineyard Gazette

Healey’s office won’t disclose where governor went on out-of-state trip

The office of Gov. Maura Healey won’t say where she traveled last month when she was out of the state for a four-day stretch, part of which also included the absence of Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll. Matt Stout of the Globe reports that Healey previously said she would keep out of state trips under wraps before they happened for security reasons, but that the decision to redact the travel details from the governor’s calendar after the fact marks a further shift away from her campaign promises to boost transparency in the governor’s office. — Boston Globe

Great Barrington dispensaries sue town

Three cannabis dispensaries sued the town of Great Barrington last week for almost $6M, accusing local officials of improperly collecting and utilizing the “community impact fees” being collected from the businesses — a percentage of gross sales that cities and towns can charge companies to offset government spending caused by cannabis business, reports MassLive’s Will Katcher. This is another legal battle in the wake of suits by other dispensaries across the state claiming that municipalities are putting the collected cash toward common expenses as opposed to specific marijuana-related community impacts. — MassLive

Greenfield City Council to consider cease-fire resolution

City Council plans to hold a special meeting today to address the growing push for the body to pass a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, reports the Recorder’s Anthony Cammalleri. The single-topic meeting will feature 30 minutes of public comment, and will help a few members of the council decide whether they want to take a stance on foreign affairs. Activists will be meeting outside of Baystate Franklin Medical Center to rally in support of the resolution this morning, calling for a resolution and an end to the bombing of hospitals in Gaza. — Greenfield Recorder

No, thanks: Scott Brown says he declined to be RFK Jr.’s running mate

Former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown says he took himself out of the running to be Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s running mate in his long-shot 2024 presidential bid. Brown, who lost efforts to return to the Senate in two states before being named a foreign ambassador during the Trump administration, did not say when the offer was made but the news emerged as word came out about other potential RFK Jr. ticket-mates, including prominent anti-vaxxers Aaron Rodgers and Jesse Ventura. — New Hampshire Journal

Amherst Regional School Committee recommends $1M higher budget

The School Committee is bypassing the original $34.81M budget brought forward by the interim superintendent, instead recommending a budget almost $1M higher, a move that if confirmed, would require each of the four Amherst Regional School District towns to double their projected contributions. With the higher price tag, the district says it won’t have to lose educators, foreign language programs and restorative justice programs. There remain concerns about town councils’ acceptance of their potentially increasing fiscal responsibility, — Daily Hampshire Gazette

A shift in Milton’s legal team

The standoff between the town of Milton and AG Andrea Campbell has a new development: an attorney representing Milton as special counsel withdrew from the case after only two days on the job. The withdrawal came as a result of state officials claiming his involvement in the case was a conflict of interest, as his firm represents MassDOT and the MBTA in other capacities, reports the Beacon’s Bruce Mohl. A new special counsel has been hired after an emergency Select Board meeting Friday morning, a shift in Milton’s legal presence during a tense time — today, SJC Justice Serge Georges Jr. is slated to rule on whether the case should go to the full Supreme Judicial Court. — CommonWealth Beacon

Newton police launch hate-crime investigation after hostage posters vandalized

Police in Newton say they are handling an investigation into the weekend vandalism of a display of posters depicting Israeli hostages being held by Hamas since October as a hate crime. Bryan McGonicle of the Newton Beacon reports police were the first to discover the poster display at a property on Homer Street had been defaced with spray paint and that the couple who put it up wants the FBI to join in the investigation. — Newton Beacon

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