July 31 arrives with a lighter mood and hopes of an earlier night

Today marks the first iteration of a softer, gentler July 31, where maybe this time no one is googling “what time does Capitol Coffee open” as the Legislature’s day stretches into the next morning. 

The stakes aren’t as high now that a once-firm deadline is no longer a do-or-die day for major bills, and neither are the inter-branch tensions. 

Heading into the marathon overnight session two years ago, House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka were embroiled in a war of (the same) words. Mariano knocked the Senate as “not really serious” about passing an addiction prevention bill because they’d scheduled it for a July 30 vote. Spilka threw his comments back at him, reading them off a piece of paper in response to a reporter’s question about the House approving a Boston property tax bill. 

“The frustration is real,” Mariano said at the time.

Fast forward two years, and the boxing ring has transformed into a food court. 

Instead of trading jabs in hallway scrums, the speaker and Senate president marked the penultimate day of July by jointly hosting a “food truck takeover” on Bowdoin Street, bringing in Bon Me, Jamaica Mi Hungry, Roxy’s Grilled Cheese and Boston Street Tacos to serve lunch to hungry staffers. 

“It’s already different,” Mariano said Thursday, asked if the legislative rule change would make this July 31 different from the last. “There’s less of a potential for us to be here at 3:30 in the morning like we were last year, so most of the stuff is starting to happen. We have some conference committees that are starting to complete their work, and the rest is still working. So we know that the pressure will not be the same as it was last year. It’s that simple.”

Simple in theory, at least. We’ll find out today how it plays out in practice. 

In 2024, the “this-can’t-happen-again” year, the final gavel dropped in the House at 9:19 a.m. on Aug. 1, and the Senate at 9:57 a.m. What's your bet for the time of adjournment this year? Let me know: [email protected]

WHAT YOU'RE WATCHING: MASSterList subscribers wrote in to name several bills they want to see the Legislature act on before Friday ends. Here are some of the ones still pending in the Ways and Means Committees: 

H 4538 relative to preventing educator sexual misconduct and abuse of children and youth; H 4870/S 3034 to protect Massachusetts public health from PFAS; H 2432 to reduce incidence and death from pancreatic cancer; H 4316 relative to fairness in debt collection; H 4370/S 1168 to increase rates for court transcribers; H 4670 relative to personal financial literacy; H 91/S 2556 to modernize funding for community media programming; H 5217 restricting the use of rodenticides; H 4868 relative to chaperones for medical exams; H 4553 requiring insurance coverage for medically necessary oral and dental care for head and neck cancer survivors; S 2973 to provide a continuum of care for severe mental illness; H 4297 to mandate a percentage of Chapter 70 funds for arts education programs; S 1095 relative to the expungement of non-convictions and S 2874 ending debt-based driving restrictions.

10:00 | Committee on the Judiciary holds a hearing on a bill (H 5437) from Rep. Gómez and Sen. Comerford to amend the state's duty-to-report statute. | Hearing Room A-2 |Agenda and Access

11:00 | House meets in a full formal session on the last day lawmakers have to get bills into conference negotiations. Roll calls start at 1 p.m. | House Chamber

12:00 | Senate meets in a formal session. | Senate Chamber

12:30 | Conference committee for pet equity and ownership bills (S 3028, H 5589) meets for the first time | Room 222

Director of Public Affairs and Communications — NEW, Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization

Vice President, Strategic Communications — NEW, United Way of Mass Bay

Community Engagement Manager – Fairmount Indigo CDC Collaborative — NEW, Fairmount Indigo CDC Collaborative

Federal Policy & Municipal Affairs Director, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Director of Policy and Planning, Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization

Deputy Chief Fiscal Officer for Procurement and Contracts, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General

Job board continues below the fold — post a job

SOURCE FIELD: The Senate approved language that would bring Massachusetts in line with most other states by creating a "shield law" to protect journalists from being forced to reveal confidential sources. The measure is part of a broader public records bill that will need to be reconciled with the House. | Boston Globe

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS: Before the House unanimously passed its version of primary care legislation Thursday, representatives adopted an amendment eliminating the statute of limitations for civil child sexual abuse claims and another requiring notice of pharmacy closures. | State House News Service (gift link)

CHIP CARDS: The Healey administration is distributing chip-enabled EBT cards for public benefits like the the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, in a move to prevent card skimming, benefits theft and fraud. The added security comes as the state is facing scrutiny from the Trump administration as part of the president's "war on fraud" campaign. | Eagle-Tribune

NORWOOD HOSPITAL: Both branches of the Legislature have now signed off on plans that would let the state take the Norwood Hospital property by eminent domain, though their approaches differ. | NBC10 Boston

STREETS CHIEF: A familiar face in City Hall, Chris Osgood, is Boston's new interim chief of streets as Mayor Michelle Wu shakes up her Streets Cabinet in the wake of a cyclist death that left the city's bike community seeking action. | WBUR

RODENTPALOOZA: Boston will host the National Urban Rat Summit in September to explore rodent control strategies with experts, health professionals and municipal officials from across the country. | Boston Herald

PROFILING “MAYOR MAZZ”: The longest-serving mayor in Massachusetts history, Leominster’s Dean Mazzarella, starts his day with a 3 a.m. Facebook check-in, shuttles people around in the Flamingo Express, and has been elected 17 times. | CommonWealth Beacon

1ST FRANKLIN: Affordability and school funding key topics in a Sunderland forum featuring two Democrats and one independent candidate running for the vacant Franklin County House seat last held by Natalie Blais. | Greenfield Recorder

Mass. TPS holders in court, say revocations hit before status actually expired

Death of 18-year-old at home owned by Ayanna Pressley’s husband ruled a homicide

Family says man’s death from suspected meningitis exposes failures in Mass. prison healthcare

State determined Lynnfield adhered to the law after racial incidents

WPI lab's plan to convert PFAS into energy gets $1.5M in funding

‘Yet another embarrassment’: Stoughton residents react to top officials placed on leave

Ownership quandary complicates Wendell smallpox cemetery preservation push

USPS worker robbed of master key at Billerica post office parking lot

Residents split on parking at proposed 520-apartment Quincy complex

KELLER AT LARGE: 8:30 a.m., WBZ-TV. Political analyst Jon Keller's guest is U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Worcester), who discusses his party's ideological divisions, their prospects for the midterms, and the flow of federal funding to Massachusetts.

@ ISSUE: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard interviews U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston).

ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. Political reporter Sharman Sacchetti and anchor Ben Simmoneau talk with MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale. Democratic political analyst Mary Anne Marsh and Republican political analyst Ginny Buckingham join for a roundtable discussion.

Field Director, Massachusetts Association of School Committees

Human Resources Business Partner, Recruitment & Retention, City of Newton

Mid-Career Fellowship, Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation

Program Analyst, Massachusetts Housing Partnership

Senior Investigator, AOI, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General

Associate, Shepherd Strategies

Project Accountant, Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC)

Public Affairs Manager, Bentley University

Director, Toxics Use Reduction Institute, UMass Lowell

Legislative Affairs Manager, MassHousing

Legislative Coordinator, Massachusetts Municipal Association

Managing Editor, CommonWealth Beacon

Chief Financial Officer, Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office

Court Administrator, MA Supreme Judicial Court

Executive Director, LivableStreets Alliance