Grilling Into Fall

MA voters support stronger AI safety: AI safety requires transparency and accountability. A new poll shows that 75% of Massachusetts voters support requiring the largest AI companies to publish safety plans, report serious incidents, and face penalties for non-compliance. — See the poll.

In the waning days of summer, Beacon Hill leaders seemed to marinate over some of the biggest issues of the season — without serving up any items for customers who are familiar with their long menu.

The Lindsay Clancy trial, which commanded national attention and exposed deep fractures in maternal mental healthcare, seemed to spur a reaction from Gov. Maura Healey, despite the Arlington Democrat not explicitly saying the name of the Duxbury mother who killed her three children while allegedly suffering from postpartum psychosis.

Previewing an upcoming supplemental budget, Healey said she wants to invest $250,000 into a program focused on preventing, identifying and treating mental health and substance use issues throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period. Some of that money would help track postpartum psychosis data to "improve understanding and clinical response," the governor's office said. Healey is also eyeing a $2 million investment for a home visiting program that supports parents with newborns, significantly expanding access to postpartum depression screenings.

The Department of Public Health will also update rules on screenings for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.

State rulemaking and implementation can take months, and supplemental budgets often languish before the General Court. Massachusetts continues to grapple with a behavioral healthcare workforce shortage and affordability challenges, raising questions of whether people will be able to access the postpartum treatment they need.

"I think it's a very, of course, timely and important topic ..." Healey said Tuesday when asked how the Clancy case influenced her announcement. "My hope is that through the increased attention on this, more people will have both a better understanding of what life is like and what can happen."

Massachusetts is taking steps to lower energy costs. Let’s get the details right. Say NO to fixed charges. Learn more here.

The governor waded into the raging AI regulatory debate Monday, calling for federal oversight and protections "before it's too late." Invoking the "serious risks" raised by the major AI platform leaders, Healey said the country needs "clear rules of the road" that balance innovation with safeguarding individuals, the economy and national security.

But sitting with three other governors at Boston's Old State House last week, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein said "none of us have any confidence in this Congress to solve the big problem." Geoffrey Hinton, a Nobel laureate who's nicknamed the "Godfather of AI," met privately with members of Congress on Wednesday, warning they have "maybe a year, but not much more than a year" to install guardrails before the technology spirals out of control, according to news reports.

By Friday, as the AI debate throttled up yet another notch, Healey's office highlighted a letter dated Thursday to legislative negotiators who for weeks have been sitting on Senate-approved AI protections. She requested that the panel require independent safety evaluations of frontier AI models and earlier disclosures of critical safety incidents.

The Senate bill ascribes a "catastrophic risk" level to a frontier model that will "materially contribute" to at least 50 deaths or $1 billion in property damage. That threshold "warrants further consideration," Healey said in her letter.

Increasing use of AI to handle daily tasks has turbocharged energy demand and sharpened the spotlight on additional guardrails needed for data center infrastructure. The Committee to Restrict Data Centers filed initial paperwork Monday for a potential 2028 ballot question giving host communities more power over the controversial facilities.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is still clamoring for Beacon Hill to loosen its vise over municipal levers like property taxes and liquor licenses, which she suggested could help cities and towns dealing with economic headwinds.

The World Cup, which spurred the Legislature to temporarily allow longer hours at bars and restaurants, was an economic boon for Boston and host cities. Wu said World Cup visitors spent $83 million in the city in the last two weeks of June, and bars reported a 27% increase in sales over the previous year.

The Commonwealth has over 42,000 nonprofits that educate us, keep us healthy, support our most vulnerable populations, and care for our cultural, historical, and environmental treasures. With federal actions seeking to undermine this critical work, the Massachusetts Council of Nonprofits encourages you to listen to the nonprofit voices in your community and advocate for causes that help them thrive — Learn more.

Boston has the Scots, at least in part, to thank for the windfall, but the temporary law helped too.

"We already have next April booked as Tartan Day in Boston, where we'll sign the official MOU," Wu said at a forum Wednesday. "So they'll all be back then, and we're planning things in between, as well."

Further up in the alcohol supply chain, distributors toasted Treasurer Deb Goldberg — whose office oversees the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission — at a briefing Wednesday. Deeming President Donald Trump's tariff policy a "game," Goldberg shared how the ABCC is giving out-of-state alcohol suppliers flexibility over prices amid the economic volatility.

Without producing evidence, Republican candidate for treasurer Elizabeth Dionne has accused Goldberg of running a pay-to-play scheme at the ABCC and pointed to donations to the treasurer from the industry she regulates.

"This is yet another example of, if you want to know if Elizabeth Dionne is lying, just see if her mouth is moving," Chris Keohan, senior advisor to Goldberg's campaign, told the News Service.

Far more believable, though, were lawmakers' estimates of when they might deliver major bills they were highlighting a few months ago, but which are on hold while residents and businesses cope with rising costs.

JOB BOARD

Staff Attorney — NEW, Disability Law Center

Chief Financial Officer — NEW, Boston Public Health Commission

Financial Investigations Manager — NEW, Mass Gaming Commission

Deputy General Counsel and Clerk of the Commission — NEW, Civil Service Commission

Behavioral Health Coordinator, For Kids Only Afterschool

Assistant Secretary / MEPA Director, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

Director, Finance & Accounting, AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod

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Massachusetts is a national leader in healthcare, but soaring costs are putting immense pressure on families, employers, and providers. With spending outpacing the state’s cost-growth benchmark, how can we realistically contain costs while maintaining high-quality care? Join MASSterList and key healthcare leaders on Thursday, October 8, for an urgent, data-driven conversation about the forces driving healthcare costs on Beacon Hill and the critical policy choices facing the Commonwealth — Register.

Energy affordability legislation conferees first met on July 29, and Healey has repeatedly called on lawmakers to reach a compromise while she faces a reelection challenge.

"I do think we still have a long way to go — a lot of work to do," House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz, who's on the conference committee, told the News Service.

In the interim, Healey teased relief Wednesday for Bay Staters heading into fall and winter, particularly for households that heat with oil or propane.

As much as Healey may welcome a primary care investment and access bill before Nov. 3, a pre-election deal may not be the goal for Sen. Cindy Friedman — even as the Senate favors a quicker timeline than the House in hitting a spending target for the sector.

"We have till Jan. 4, and I hope we do it a lot sooner," Friedman said.

For those frustrated that once-trumpeted solutions to problems remain in the darkness of conference committees, the pace of legislating may resemble the speed of the MBTA's 10 slowest bus routes cruising at an average speed of just 6.42 mph, per the latest Pokey/Schleppie report.

Friday brought news that might catch the attention of economic development bill negotiators, and candidates who believe a stronger policy approach is needed to spark employment. Massachusetts lost 7,100 jobs in August, and the more than 11,000 jobs lost in July and August almost matches the number of jobs gained since September 2025.

THE SUNDAY SHOWS

KELLER AT LARGE: 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. Political analyst Jon Keller talks with Andrea James, independent candidate for governor, about housing policy, government accountability and her work with formerly incarcerated women.

@ ISSUE: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard’s guest is Micah Jones, Republican candidate in the Sixth Congressional district.

ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. NewsCenter 5’s Sharman Sacchetti and Ben Simmoneau sit down Dan Koh, Democratic candidate in the Sixth Congressional District.

JOB BOARD

Director of Grants Development, Boston Public Health Commission

Chief Procurement Officer, Barnstable County

Deputy Comptroller, City of Newton

Associate General Counsel-MRSB, Office of the State Treasurer and Receiver General

Utilities Program Manager, MassDevelopment

Climate Action Coordinator, City of Newton

Project Manager, District Services, Longwood Collective

Chief Financial Officer, Bristol County Sheriff's Office

Housing and Human Services Policy Analyst, Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center

Government and Community Affairs Division Chief, Mass Gaming Commission

Senior Legal Counsel, Office of the Child Advocate