Beacon Hill begins to weigh the predicament of extra time; gas tax holiday, anyone?

Bills "get done when they get done."

That was House Speaker Ron Mariano's prognosis for 12 different bills approved this session by the House and Senate but under the custody of Democrat-controlled conference committees  — where they could stay until early January, if lawmakers choose to run out the clock this winter in what could be a very consequential lame duck period. 

"There's no timeframe on it. I've had conference committees go on for more than one session. I don't know where you get the idea that there's some sort of time limit on this," Mariano told reporters on Thursday. 

The end of the session on Jan. 5 is certainly one limiting factor, and voters might attach some urgency to the measures based solely on how important lawmakers said the bills are when they passed them over the past several months. 

For what it's worth, Senate President Karen Spilka said she wants to see energy legislation and an economic development bill done "as soon as possible." Beacon Hill has been attaching oral urgency to those bills, and others, for months.

Lawmakers have funneled some bills out of conference since the end of July — child welfare, home care licensure, immigrant protections — but there's a slew of legislative actions to be taken and it's almost October. For the public, it's often difficult to posture how it could be taking conferees so long to hammer these out. That is, until it's on display. 

There was a rare look at what negotiations actually look like this week when the conference committee tasked with hashing out one bill kept their meeting open, showcasing a conversation about the extent of penalties they should impose upon people who assault a healthcare worker. Negotiators over the years have opted against open talks, saying it could jeopardize negotiations, but there didn't appear to be any negative consequence of this week's public comments. 

Even more unexpected news came from the corner office on Tuesday, when Gov. Maura Healey proposed to suspend the state's gas tax for two months. It appeared to be an attempt to neutralize an issue that her Republican challenger Mike Minogue pushed in an ad just a few days earlier when he called for a gas tax holiday "until prices stabilize." 

Healey blamed President Donald Trump for rising gas prices due to the war in Iran. Her proposal would cost the state about $120 million in revenue. Healey said the state has enough surplus revenue from its surtax on high earners to absorb the cost and not have to cut transportation programs. 

"She's doing this as a response," Minogue told reporters outside of the State House following Healey's announcement. "It's only for two months because she's going to push everything to right after the election and go back to overtaxing our people right after the election."

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Healey's proposal needs legislative approval. That's a tricky feat, considering Mariano on Monday called suspending the gas tax "fiscally irresponsible" in response to Minogue's proposition. Mariano noted the Legislature has historically chosen not to suspend the gas tax because doing so would "limit our ability to fund critical infrastructure projects while doing little to alleviate costs for residents." The Quincy Democrat said Wednesday he hadn't yet read Healey's pitch.

Historical note: The Legislature in 2013 raised the gas tax from 21 to 24 cents per gallon and tied future increases to inflation. In 2014, voters repealed the automatic inflation adjustment. In 2020, House Democrats passed legislation that would have increased the gas tax by 5 cents, to 29 cents per gallon, and the diesel tax by 9 cents. The House vote was 113-40, but the proposal stalled in the Senate as the COVID-19 pandemic sent unemployment soaring.

In the University of New Hampshire's Bay State Poll released Thursday, 54% of likely voters said they'd vote for Healey while 38% said they'd vote for Minogue. Support for Minogue increased by eight percentage points since August, while the poll reported support for Healey hadn't changed. The poll, which 590 people completed online between Sept. 17 and Sept. 21 and has a margin of error of +/- 4%, also suggested that 52% of residents approve of Healey's handling of her job, while 47% disapprove. 

Another survey, by MassINC Polling Group and funded by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, also dropped this week. It suggested residents still think Massachusetts is among the best places in the U.S. to live, but to hardly anyone's surprise for those deciding whether to stay or move out of state, affordability is a major concern. 

Healey's gas tax proposal is tucked into a $2.24 billion supplemental budget she filed Wednesday to close out fiscal 2026, which includes $41.5 million for the agency that administers SNAP benefits, the Department of Transitional Assistance. That amount has $26.6 million in it to support DTA caseworkers and $15 million for technology improvements and staff support "to improve payment accuracy and help the department meet new federal requirements."

The bill would also create a new Health Care Stabilization Fund, which Healey said would "support emerging health care needs, including new costs born from recent federal policy changes." It also includes her policy to cap the resale price of concert tickets at 110% of the original ticket's face value; $2 million for a home visiting program for parents of newborns; and $1.8 billion in gross funding to MassHealth, which faces threats from future federal funding deficits. 

Mariano and Spilka came to an agreement on something this week: their distaste for Question 3, the ballot measure that would implement a system of all-party primaries in Massachusetts. Mariano called the measure "ridiculous" while Spilka said she has "concerns about it, that those with the most money will be the ones coming out on top." 

The question is splintering folks on Beacon Hill. A handful of senators and reps on Thursday joined the ranks of the opposition campaign alongside the Massachusetts Teachers Association; but some, like Sens. John Velis and John Cronin, have come out in support of the proposal, arguing that it'll make elections more competitive and give voters "real choices." 

The two big parties are guaranteed General Election candidates under the current system as long as they present at least one. The ballot question would take that guarantee away, and it's clearly making some incumbents uncomfortable. 

ODDS AND ENDS: Students' reading and writing performance have declined based on MCAS scores released this week, raising questions about how officials and policymakers should respond to the results of a test that is also no longer required for students to graduate … Sen. Barry Finegold and U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan promoted AI oversight amidst Trahan's push for federal regulations and what Finegold called "pretty intense" outside lobbying surrounding state negotiations about AI regulations … And after 43 years, Westwood fashion warehouse Frugal Fannie's announced this week that it will be closing down, to the distress of Bay Staters and people from across the country who shopped there. 

KELLER AT LARGE: 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. Political analyst Jon Keller hosts a mini-debate on Question 3, the all-party primaries ballot measure, with Danielle Allen of the Coalition for Healthy Democracy arguing for a "yes" vote and Steve Kerrigan of Voter Rights MA advocating for a "no" vote.

@ ISSUE: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard’s guest is Dan Koh, Democratic candidate in the Sixth Congressional District.

ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. NewsCenter 5’s Ed Harding and Sharman Sacchetti talk with Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue.

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