Healthcare workers continue to suffer assaults and other incidents of workplace violence. The Massachusetts Nurses Association, the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, the Massachusetts Division of 1199SEIU, the Massachusetts Emergency Nursing Association and the Massachusetts College of Emergency Physicians have come together to support meaningful, measurable and enforceable legislation addressing workplace violence in our healthcare facilities. Pass H.4767.
Ask anyone who spends their days standing around State House hallways — lobbyists, advocates, reporters — and no one’s quite sure what exactly it’s going to look like when July 31 rolls around in a few weeks. In some cases, lawmakers now can kick the can down the road under new legislative rules that let them continue work on certain bills past that traditional hard-stop date.
There are a lot of questions, like whether the House and Senate once again mark July 31 with a full all-nighter, and whether August will remain, as it usually is, a month more for campaigning and vacationing than serious legislating.
There’s a whole other set of questions to be asked around one of the marquee pieces of legislation still winding its way through the process.
The biennial economic development bill is an election-year mainstay, packed each time with policies, grant programs and local projects that — along with their eventual impacts on businesses and residents — give lawmakers something to tout back home in the districts before their names appear on the ballot.
It’s one of the most anticipated and closely watched bills every session, and the House’s 148-2 vote last night sends it to the Senate to be reviewed, revised and ultimately voted on.
That some iteration of that legislation ends up on Gov. Maura Healey’s desk is a safe bet. But beyond that, there’s a host of unknowns, ranging from when it will get done to how big it will grow. In each of the last two sessions, the House and Senate didn’t finalize a deal until November.
And that’s growth not just in the bottom line, but in hefty policy sections as well. The economic development bill in years past has been a vehicle for significant law changes. The hot-button MBTA Communities Act zoning law, for instance, started its life as a little-noticed, late-night amendment to the 2020 economic development bill.
This year, House leaders took the $305-million bill that Healey filed in April and tacked on another $250 million-plus, along with new rules for e-bikes, a zoning change to allow multifamily housing on land owned by religious institutions, a pilot program around clincal use of psychedelic substances, and more. The Senate, too, will likely have its own priorities to build in.
So why does a piece of legislation that’s often shorthanded to a “jobs bill” become a policy catchall? House Speaker Ron Mariano offers an efficiency argument. Committee chairs have put time in throughout the session talking to their colleagues and vetting ideas like regulating e-bikes or building new homes on church property, he said.
“And we reach a point where there’s a lot of little things going on that don’t require a full formal session but need to be straightened out,” he said.
With just over three weeks until July ends, expect those little things to keep piling up.
What are you hoping to see make it into — or get spiked from — the final economic development bill? Let me know at [email protected].
According to polling released yesterday, 73% of likely Democratic primary voters say they are more likely to support their representative if they vote for H.2554. This is a popular, pro-family vote that protects children, prevents disease, and shows Massachusetts is serious about keeping schools healthy.
HAPPENING TODAY
10:00 | Lt. Gov. Driscoll and Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Matias announce a new round of Housing Development Incentive Program awards. | Durfee Block Apartments, 80-84 North Main Street, Fall River
10:00 | Cannabis Control Commission meets with plans to discuss social consumption regulation implementation, licensing data updates and tier relegation | Union Station, 2 Washington Sq., Worcester | Access and More Info
10:30 | Senate President Spilka, healthcare workers, union officials and others hold a press conference to unveil legislation meant to protect healthcare workers from violence in the workplace | Senate Reading Room
11:00 | Senators plan to debate legislation (S 3164) that aims to reduce youth access to addictive aspects of social media. | Senate Chamber
11:15 | Lt. Gov. Driscoll tours Bristol Community College to promote the administration’s BRIGHT Act | Bristol Community College Fall River Campus, 777 Elsbree Street, Fall River
1:00 | Mayor Michelle Wu will be live on the Men in Blazers pre-match show ahead of the FIFA World Cup™ Quarterfinal between France and Morocco | Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, 100 Atlantic Ave, Boston | Livestream
3:10 | United Kingdom's Royal Air Force aerobatic team, nicknamed the Red Arrows, is scheduled to perform a special flyover of the State House. Suggested viewing locations are outside the Hooker entrance or on Boston Common | State House
MASSterList Job Board |
|---|
Managing Editor — NEW!, CommonWealth Beacon |
Chief Financial Officer, Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office |
Court Administrator, MA Supreme Judicial Court |
Executive Director, LivableStreets Alliance |
Organizing Director, City Life/Vida Urbana |
Senior Counsel – Workers’ Compensation and Employee Benefits, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority |
Capital Projects & Procurement Manager, MetroWest Regional Transit Authority |
Jobs continue below the fold — post a job
FROM BEACON HILL
WHAT’S IN THE BILL: Tenant right of first refusal. Historic horse race betting. Double poles. “Made in Massachusetts” movie logos. AI and quantum money. Help for TPS recipients. There is, indeed, a lot in the $561 million economic development bill that won the House’s sign-off. — State House News Service
PROGNOSIS NOT GOOD: House Speaker Ron Mariano says the state Senate passed a primary care reform bill “without any idea” of what it would cost. As time dwindles, Mariano says he’s not yet sure if the House will jump in with its own primary care proposal. — State House News Service
Join us for our fourth annual Meet the Media event, a timely gathering that brings together journalists and professionals in communications and government affairs for a morning of connection, conversation, and community. Hear from Boston Globe Power Play co-authors Shirley Leung and Jon Chesto, MASSterList columnist Jon Keller, Axios Boston’s Mike Deehan, GBH News Rooted host Paris Alston, CommonWealth Beacon editor Laura Colarusso, NBC10 Boston politics reporter Matt Prichard, and MASSterList editor Katie Lannan.
NEWS NEXT DOOR
MARKEY v. MOULTON GOES WEST: Facing off in Chicopee for their first debate, Sen. Ed Markey and primary challenger Congressman Seth Moulton sparred over the issues and whose ideas are freshest. — WBUR
SIGNED, SEALED, LITIGATED: The question of whether to put a pair of GOP candidates back on the ballot after they were tossed over allegedly fraudulent nomination signatures is now before an Essex County court. Lawyers for lieutenant governor hopeful Anne Manning Martin and attorney general candidate Michael Walsh argued that the two Republicans weren't properly notified their signatures were being challenged. — Boston Globe
SOCIAL SUIT: Boston is suing social media giant Meta, plus the parent companies of TikTok and SnapChat, joining 1,500 other school districts in arguing that the platforms are designed in an addictive way that harms kids. The lawsuit lands as Beacon Hill is negotiating rules around youth social media access, and Mayor Wu says it's a bid to force the tech companies to put protections in place on their own. — Axios Boston
AT YOUR SERVICE: A new commission overseeing the effort to find vendors to revamp the state's highway service plazas, which met for the first time in Worcester, is eyeing an August vote on a new request for proposals. The redo comes after the process imploded last year over controversy around the selected bidder. — Telegram & Gazette
PUBLIC SAFETY SUMMIT: Boston city councilors want to hear from Mayor Wu and police officials on the city’s summer safety plan, in the wake of multiple shootings during the Fourth of July weekend. — Boston Herald
MORE HEADLINES
JOB BOARD
Do you have an open role you'd like to feature here? Click here to place a job board order, or email Dylan Rossiter, Vice President of Affiliated News Services, at [email protected].
Constituent Services Representative, Office of Congressman Jake Auchincloss, MA-04
VP Program and Grantmaking, Atrius Health Equity Foundation
Senior Associate General Counsel (Counsel II), Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance
Director of Donor Engagement, Charles River Watershed Association
District Press Assistant, Congressman James P. McGovern
