As Election Day nears, the future of major legislation remains in the dark

The campaign trail is heating up. Beacon Hill remains on ice.

With less than three weeks until voters head to the polls, the campaign rhetoric is loud, the legislative negotiations are quiet, and a dozen major bills remain trapped in conference committees with nothing to show for months of negotiations. It's not a partisan thing; all of the negotiating panels are controlled by Democrats.

Former Gov. Charlie Baker once called the conference committee process a "black hole." With Nov. 3 approaching and the Legislature yet to pass a major bill or meet in a formal session since July, the metaphor is getting another workout.

The House and Senate have ostensibly spent much of the summer and fall negotiating privately over measures touching energy affordability, economic development, social media, artificial intelligence and other priorities. Exactly when those talks might produce results remains an open question.

House Speaker Ron Mariano has said lawmakers are not using Election Day as a deadline for reaching agreements. But with voting already well underway, it's looking more likely that some of the biggest decisions on Beacon Hill could wait until voters have had their say — or even until the Legislature's final days in January.

The inactivity has become a campaign issue, too. At Thursday night's second and final gubernatorial debate, Republican Mike Minogue criticized lawmakers for failing to act on energy costs, while Gov. Maura Healey said she wanted an energy affordability bill on her desk before winter.

"I want that energy bill to my desk," Healey told reporters after the debate. "People need relief now."

Asked what she was doing to work with lawmakers, the governor said she had continued to urge them to act and had spent considerable time discussing the bill with them. She said her last face-to-face meeting with Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka was "about a week ago".

"I mean, I hope so," Healey said when asked whether lawmakers understood the urgency. "They're in session now, and they're working on things."

That's technically true, but the public has little to show for the work and both branches have been publicly meeting for about one hour per week over the past 11 weeks and tending to local bills mostly.

Minogue gave the Legislature a "failing grade" during the debate, citing the lack of movement on a gas tax suspension plan and an energy bill that Healey filed more than a year ago. He also called for an audit of the Legislature, echoing a longstanding dispute over legislative transparency.

"You did not support it. You don't even communicate and talk to the state auditor," Minogue told Healey. "You need to lead. You need to push on the Legislature. You didn't do any of that, and you let the auditor hang out and dry."

During the first WBZ debate on Oct. 8, Minogue also claimed Healey doesn't support the voter-mandated audit of the Legislature. She replied: "You're incorrect to say that I didn't support the audit. You know full well I supported the audit. I voted for it along with 72% of the people in Massachusetts."

"You did not support it. You don't even communicate and talk to the state auditor," Minogue responded. "You need to lead. You need to push on the Legislature. You didn't do any of that, and you let the auditor hang out and dry."

Asked if she would like to respond to those claims, Healey said, "They're all inaccurate."

"I supported the audit. I've said the Legislature needs to get it done, and they need to get it done. And I'm not afraid to continue to push the Legislature on that," Healey said.

After calling for more transparency during the televised debate, Minogue again declined to take questions from reporters following Thursday night's event, after passing on media questions after their first debate a week ago.

"I proposed a gas tax, Governor Healey also proposed a gas tax, they blew it off," Minogue said of the Legislature during the debate. "She did not call a special session, and we're not even sure what they're doing right now. And the election's almost over. So, they're not paying attention."

Both candidates have proposed suspending the gas tax, though their approaches differ, and both have made affordability a central theme of their campaigns. The Legislature, meanwhile, seems cold on the idea, and has not acted on the proposals, although the House rejected a gas tax suspension earlier this year before prices at the pump rose even higher.

Meanwhile, Healey is leaning on executive authority to offer energy cost relief where she can.

This week, she pressed Eversource, National Grid and Unitil to accelerate refunds to ratepayers stemming from a federal decision to reduce the profits transmission utilities can earn. The refunds, which could total roughly $1.5 billion across New England, are not legally due until May 2027.

"Further delay is unacceptable," Healey wrote in a letter to utility executives, urging them to begin returning money to customers sooner.

The utilities have pointed to the complexity of calculating and distributing refunds. Healey wants a detailed accounting and schedule by Oct. 27.

The push gives the governor another opportunity to be seen addressing energy costs before Election Day, even as the legislation she says could provide broader relief remains stalled.

The governor this week also made healthcare reforms she effectuated by executive fiat the centerpiece of an election ad.

Minogue, meanwhile, has argued for reducing utility fees, expanding natural gas supplies and pursuing other energy sources to lower bills.

The candidates' final debate offered a concentrated version of the campaign's competing messages. Healey repeatedly connected the state's challenges to President Donald Trump's federal policies, while Minogue tried to frame the election as a choice between a conventional party politician and an outsider who would focus on solving problems.

Healey referenced Trump 12 times during Thursday's debate, substantially fewer than the more than 30-plus references she made in their first televised encounter. Asked by reporters after the debate whether that was a deliberate strategy, she said she was responding to the questions posed.

But the president remained central to her argument, particularly on immigration, abortion and food assistance. Healey said Trump's administration had forced Massachusetts to respond to changes affecting residents, including federal disruptions to SNAP funding.

Minogue's response to the SNAP issue illustrated his effort to portray himself as above partisan politics.

He argued Healey could have covered a month's worth of benefits with $240 million from the state's rainy day fund rather than publicizing the threat to food assistance.

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"You wanted people afraid," Minogue said. "... Because that's what party politicians do. We do not want to scare our people. Lower the temperature. Be a leader and solve problems. Don't campaign on it."

The appeal to independence has become a recurring feature of Minogue's campaign, including in his social media posts, where he regularly criticizes Healey as a politician and argues that Massachusetts needs a different approach. He has emphasized his years as an independent and portrayed himself as someone more interested in bringing neighbors together than scoring partisan points.

Yet the strategy also presents a challenge: Minogue is running as a Republican, and his opponent has repeatedly tied him to Trump, including through his $1 million contribution to help reelect the president. Healey's campaign has made that connection a central part of its argument that the governor's race carries consequences beyond state politics.

Minogue, for his part, has tried to redirect attention toward affordability, government accountability and the cost of living. Those themes intersect with the Legislature's inactivity, giving him a ready-made argument that the incumbent administration and its Democratic legislative allies have had a chance and have not done enough.

The candidates also sparred over misconduct in state government, housing, education and abortion rights. Healey defended her record, while Minogue questioned her administration's handling of allegations involving former aide LaMar Cook and misconduct at the State Police. On abortion, Healey accused Minogue of failing to commit to protecting expanded access, while he said he would uphold state law without directly endorsing or opposing a proposed 2028 effort to repeal an abortion law that was approved this year.

Healey has sought other ways to use her executive authority in areas where the Legislature has stalled.

On social media, lawmakers have left competing proposals in conference committee since the House and Senate advanced different approaches earlier this year. The House passed a bill banning children younger than 14 from social media and requiring parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds. The Senate instead approved default safeguards for minors, including disabling features such as autoplay and infinite scrolling.

While the legislation remains in limbo, the Healey administration this week announced $1.75 million in grants to help schools teach students about healthy and responsible technology use. The funding will support classroom instruction, educator training and resources for families — an immediate intervention while the legislation remains on hold.

State officials are confronting accountability questions in another corner of government. The Department of Public Health this week announced plans to revoke the licenses held by RegalCare CEO Eli Mirlis to operate a dozen Massachusetts nursing homes, following serious concerns about resident care and revelations detailed in a Boston Globe Spotlight investigation.

The move does not mean the facilities will close immediately. Regulators said they would increase oversight while the revocation process proceeds, with resident safety and continuity of care remaining priorities. The case has also prompted a closer look at how the state evaluates nursing home operators and whether regulators acted quickly enough as concerns accumulated.

And as voters prepare to decide nine statewide ballot questions, the campaigns are making their final arguments over issues ranging from marijuana sales and new housing production to tax rebates and overhauling primary elections.

The ballot campaigns have raised $21.5 million and spent $16.7 million through the latest available filings. Question 3, which would establish an all-party primary system, has attracted the most spending, overwhelmingly from supporters. Question 8, which would repeal the legalization of retail recreational marijuana sales, has drawn substantial out-of-state backing, prompting questions about the influence of donors who cannot vote on the measure themselves.

Question 5, which would change the state's tax revenue cap, could have implications for future budgets and the Legislature's ability to respond to revenue changes. One opponent, Phineas Baxandall, research director at the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, has said his side would support a legislative rewrite if voters approve the measure, raising the prospect of yet another possible fight over how lawmakers respond to the electorate's decisions.

U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan told business leaders Thursday that the outcome of the midterms could reshape the congressional lame-duck session, with the possibility of bipartisan agreements before a Dec. 11 spending deadline. Democrats see opportunities to retake the House and potentially the Senate in the new year.

For Beacon Hill, however, the immediate question is what happens after Nov. 3. Lawmakers still have major bills to resolve, and the calendar is shrinking. Whether the election breaks the logjam or simply clears the way for a compressed end-of-session rush remains uncertain.

ODDS AND ENDS: MassDOT Undersecretary Jonathan Gulliver is one of two finalists for the top job at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, and with the transportation secretary's post effectively open for more than a year, his interest in the MWRA role may offer a hint as to why he hasn't made a move for the top transportation job ... Healey's approval rating remains strong, with a Morning Consult survey placing her net approval at plus 32 in the third quarter, among the highest of governors seeking reelection … Sen. Rebecca Rausch plans to file legislation limiting candidates' ability to make unlimited contributions to their own campaigns, following Minogue's $17.3 million in self-funding … Charlie Cunnion will be the next port director at the Massachusetts Port Authority, overseeing the Port of Boston's cargo and cruise operations after serving as a supply chain executive at CMPC Forest Products North America.

KELLER AT LARGE: 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. Political analyst Jon Keller hosts a mini-debate on Question 7, reducing minimum single-family home lot size requirements, with Andrew Mikula, chief housing economist at Pioneer Institute and chair of Legalize Starter Homes, and Adam Chapdelaine, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

@ ISSUE: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard sits down with Evan Horowitz of the Tufts Center for State Policy Analysis for a detailed look at all nine ballot questions.

ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. NewsCenter 5’s Sharman Sacchetti and Ed Harding interview Sen. Ed Markey. Democratic political analyst Mary Anne Marsh and Republican political analyst Rob Gray join for a roundtable discussion.

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