Happy Almost Christmas to all who celebrate! (Personally, I observe Almost Christmas the traditional way: by stressing about gift buying and desperately trying to find a COVID test before traveling home.) I hope you are staying safe and sane out there during these endlessly strange times.
This past week the State House incubated a lot of ideas, but ultimately chickened out on making any big decisions. Let's dive right in.
State House Scoop
Baker signs ARPA bill, vetoes “red tape”
On Monday, Governor Baker signed the American Rescue Plan Act bill, putting the $4 billion of federal COVID relief money to work here in Massachusetts. He did issue one line-item veto around the distribution of $460 million of bonuses for essential workers, giving the executive branch more power to decide who gets the bonuses, how big the checks will be, and when they will be distributed. It’s not yet clear whether the legislature will try to override the veto, or let it go. The veto currently sits in Ways & Means.
The Mariano Report
Massachusetts House Speaker Ron Mariano addresses delays in ARPA funding distribution (WCVB channel 5): In this 11-minute interview with channel 5, Speaker Mariano answers questions on a number of topics, including the Governor’s response to the ARPA bill and the Secretary of State’s comment that the new district maps are tantamount to an “incumbency protection plan” (which maps drawn by incumbents tend to be!). When asked about the COVID-era voting protections that lapsed this week, the Speaker placed the blame squarely and disingenuously on the Senate for Beacon Hill’s lack of action. In reality, the Senate passed a bill with voting protections in October, and the House has refused to bring it to the floor for a vote.
#EggGate2022
90% of eggs currently being sold in Massachusetts will become illegal to sell as of January 1, leading to a massive egg shortage unless the legislature takes action. It all dates back to a binding ballot question in 2016 in which voters voted to require livestock to have larger living spaces. The law was set to go into effect in 2022. Industry standards have changed in the last 5 years, making the 2016 law outdated and devastating if enforced. The legislature, an inspiration to procrastinators everywhere, has left the matter unresolved with just two weeks until the law takes effect.
The legislature is currently scrambling. They need to get cracking on this legislation, or they’re going to have egg on their face. The situation is being handled by fewer than a dozen conference committee appointees who are ruling the roost during the legislature's holiday recess. If passed before the new year, it will be during an informal session without a roll call vote or all members present. But you know what they say: you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs!
Committee Hearing Roundup
While the legislature can’t hold formal sessions during their 7-week holiday recess, committee hearings are still taking place. Here are some highlights from the past week:
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Tuesday - Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy heard testimony on energy-related bills, including several bills that would get the Commonwealth to 100% renewable energy by 2030 and 2035. After the passage of the Climate Roadmap bill at the beginning of this session, Massachusetts is currently on pace to convert to 100% renewable energy by 2090.
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Tuesday - Joint Committee on the Judiciary heard testimony about criminal records. You might recall a blurb in an earlier edition of the Scoop about the failures of the 2018 criminal justice reform bill. Several bills heard on Tuesday sought to address these shortcomings by ensuring that more people would be eligible to have their records expunged. Senator Adam Gomez testified in favor of one such bill, S.1048, citing his personal experience having a criminal record for marijuana possession from when he was 17 years old.
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Thursday - Joint Committee on COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management heard testimony from experts on the current challenges posed by COVID, in particular the omicron variant, and potential solutions. Recommendations were varied and included a return of the statewide indoor mask mandate, a measure the Governor has refused to implement.
In Electoral News
Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards defeated Revere School Committee member Anthony D'Ambrosio in Tuesday’s special election to fill the senate seat vacated by Sen. Boncore, making history as the first woman and first person of color to represent the district.
Take Action
Sign the Petition: After 9 months of inaction, it's time to release the Joint Rules from Conference Committee.
In response to widespread pressure from our Transparency is Power campaign, the House and Senate voted in February to make more votes publicly available. But instead of working to swiftly implement these new rules, the final version has been tied up in a conference committee for the past 9 months. Committees have a deadline of 2/2 to take action on their bills. If we don’t have the new rules in place before then, we won’t get to see the committee votes after all.
Join The People’s House coalition in calling on the Conference Committee to release the rules:
Help us reach our End of Year goal!
2021 is nearly over and we’re behind our fundraising needs for the year. We have big plans for 2022, including another People’s House campaign for rules reform. Unfortunately, a campaign on that scale requires a lot of money and resources, and we can’t pull it off without your help. Chip in $10 today so we can start off 2022 in the best position possible to keep our movement alive:
And last, a not-so-fun-fact to kick off your weekend
One of the main ways rank-and-file representatives are rewarded and punished for their loyalty to the Speaker is through staff allocation. That means some reps only have one legislative aide, whereas others have an entire team of staffers, all at the discretion of the Speaker. Having more staff means a representative has more capacity to respond to constituents and be a more prolific legislator. In turn, these reps are more easily reelected because they’re able to build a bigger presence in their districts than reps who are on the Speaker’s naughty list.