Dems ... in array?
ALL TOGETHER NOW — Beacon Hill Democrats might finally be on the same page.
Relations between the House and Senate were … less than cozy in the waning days of the formal lawmaking last summer, and some of that sentiment bled into the new session.
But there were a few signs this week that Democrats are ready to put the bickering on the back burner. After bold commitments to update the joint rules they've struggled to agree on over the last five years, top House and Senate Democrats suddenly reached a deal this week on a package they say will make things run more smoothly and with increased transparency.
House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka cheered the agreement after their semi-regular meeting with Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll. Spilka even hit Mariano with a little light back-slapping as they took their victory lap.
'Neither one of us liked the way it ended July 31 of last year,' Mariano told reporters at the time, referencing the impasse Democrats hit during what normally would've been their final formal session (Both chambers came back to work to pass the bills left undone later in the year.). 'We just knew it was time to make this thing work. And we did,' Mariano added.
Lawmaking has been slow-going so far — the Legislature has only passed a handful of bills, and most of what's moved has been supplemental budgets. But as the Senate met Thursday to pass new protections for patients and providers seeking and administering abortions and gender-affirming care, Mariano told reporters the House could take up the issue in the coming weeks.
'As soon as we can get something from the Senate, go through it, see how we can be helpful … we just have to keep plugging away,' he said.
One thing to keep an eye on in the next couple of days: How quickly negotiators can reach a budget deal. Monday is the final day of the fiscal year, a deadline the Legislature hasn't hit in more than a decade — but in a sign that things could be getting close, the House gaveled out Thursday night (after members hung around for hours) without passing the interim budget Healey filed to fill a potential budget gap.
Still, getting a budget signed on time is likely out of the question, since Healey gets 10 days to decide on any vetoes.
GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. TGIF!
TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey has no public events. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hosts a coffee hour in the North End at 10 a.m. and speaks at the Boston Arts Academy Foundation lunch at noon in Beacon Hill.
THIS WEEKEND — Gov. Maura Healey is on WBZ's 'Keller @ Large' at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale is on WCVB's 'On the Record' at 11 a.m. Sunday.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Drop me a line: kgarrity@politico.com.
DATELINE BEACON HILL
— A Massachusetts. doctor mails 2,500 abortion kits out of state per month. Lawmakers voted to further protect providers like her. by Samantha J. Gross, The Boston Globe.
— Will Massachusetts ban Native American mascots in schools? Legislators make another push by Margie Cullen, Taunton Daily Gazette.
MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS
— U.S. wants to deport FBI informant who was set to testify in gang case in Massachusetts. by Jesús Marrero Suárez, WBUR: 'In November 2022, a man in El Salvador believed he had few options: be snatched off the street by police or testify against Massachusetts members of MS-13, the criminal organization responsible for countless murders and other violent crimes in the U.S. and Central America. But both happened. After nine months in Salvadoran prisons, the man only known as John Doe in court documents came to the United States as a material witness for a racketeering case in exchange, as he understood it, for refuge in the U.S. He's now locked up in a facility here. A material witness often has testimony crucial to a case, and can be detained to protect them or prevent them from fleeing. In the midst of the MS-13 case, the U.S. government revealed his identity in evidence and has been attempting to deport him.'
FROM THE HUB
— Boston's property assessments questioned; city accused of secret tax hikes by Maya Shavit, Boston Business Journal: 'The Pioneer New England Legal Foundation, a group formed from the merger last month of the Pioneer Public Interest Law Center and the New England Legal Foundation, said this week that commercial property owners in Boston who appealed their tax assessments were penalized without notice over the past year. In a letter to the state commissioner of Revenue, a copy of which was sent to the city of Boston, the legal foundation claims the city is unlawfully charging taxpayers with bills that are based on property valuations those taxpayers dispute.'
YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS
CASH DASH — Former Secretary of State John Kerry headlined a Cambridge fundraiser for Sen. Ed Markey Thursday night, per the invitation. On the guest list: A whole host of former ambassadors.
FROM THE DELEGATION
— Two Massachusetts military vets in Congress break from Democratic consensus of outrage over Trump's Iran strike by Sam Brodey, The Boston Globe: 'After President Trump ordered dramatic airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on Saturday night, most Democratic lawmakers were outraged — not just because Trump bypassed congressional approval for the attack, but also because many worried the escalation could destabilize an already volatile situation with Iran. A smaller but still influential group within the party, however, responded to the attack on Tehran's nuclear program differently— including two vocal members of Massachusetts' generally progressive delegation in Congress. Representatives Jake Auchincloss and Seth Moulton, Marine veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, respectively, were both extremely alarmed that Trump didn't consult Congress. But they didn't share the immediate anger of their colleagues that the aftermath of the strikes was obviously dangerous or damaging.'
— Baby on board: Mass. lawmaker asks Trump to keep strollers, cribs out of his trade war by John L. Micek, MassLive: 'A Democratic lawmaker from Massachusetts, joined by more than two dozen of her colleagues, has called on the Trump White House to exempt already pricey baby products from its overseas trade war. In a letter shared exclusively with MassLive, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-7th District, called on U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to move ahead with exemptions for such key products as strollers, car seats, cribs and highchairs from current and future tariffs.'
FROM THE 413
— Silent standout in Northampton protests ICE detainments, deportations by Alexander MacDougall, Daily Hampshire Gazette: 'It's not uncommon to see protesters and activists assembled in front of Northampton City Hall, speaking out in support of social issues and against injustices of the day. But the gathering held there early Thursday afternoon did not feature boisterous speeches or calls to action; rather, it struck a more somber tone in protesting against the detention and deportation of immigrants and foreign nationals in the U.S. by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.'
THE LOCAL ANGLE
— AG: Barre town officials intentionally violated open meeting law hiring DPW director's cousin as his assistant by Brad Petrishen, Telegram & Gazette: 'Town officials in Barre are facing a $500 fine after the Office of the Attorney General ruled they intentionally violated the Open Meeting Law when hiring the cousin of the Public Works director to serve as his administrative assistant. A town official who filed the complaint said it supports his contention that town is being improperly managed, while the selectmen chairwoman — who was among those faulted by the attorney general — said she had no intent to violate the law.'
— Reprimanded police sergeant committed more sexual harassment, then retired without discipline by Anastasia E. Lennon, The New Bedford Light: 'A city police sergeant, reprimanded for sexual harassment in mid-2023, was found last year to have committed further sexual harassment. He went on paid administrative leave and then medical leave, and retired without discipline in November, months after the investigation's findings were submitted to the police chief.'
— Bitterly divided Brockton school board meets behind closed doors to discuss longtime member by Chris Helms and Jacob Posner, The Brockton Enterprise: 'A bitterly divided Brockton School Committee met behind closed doors Tuesday evening, June 26, to discuss Ward 7 School Committee Member Tim Sullivan. Massachusetts law requires that most public business be done in public. However, there are a handful of exceptions that allow elected boards to go into executive session where any discussion and votes they take can be kept from the public for a certain period. The reason the board gave for the executive session is broad. It was about the 'reputation, character, physical condition or mental health, rather than professional competence, of an individual, or to discuss the discipline or dismissal of, or complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual.''
— 'Critical' Sandwich gate at Joint Base Cape Cod gets another reprieve by Rachael Devaney, Cape Cod Times: 'A July 1 deadline for the potential closure of Joint Base Cape Cod's East Sandwich gate loomed over local residents, workers, and military personnel who use the gate year-round. But on Thursday, Don Veitch, Joint Base Cape Cod public affairs officer for the Massachusetts National Guard, said the gate will remain open and funded for one year. Funding, said Veitch, will be continually reevaluated. The Sandwich gate was originally scheduled to close May 16 due to federal funding cuts. Joint Base Cape Cod then extended the closure until June 30 after reallocating funds and arranging for soldiers to perform their annual training at JBCC, according to Veitch.'
HEARD 'ROUND THE BUBBLAH
HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former state Sen. Joe Boncore, state Sen. Michael Barrett, former Plymouth state Rep. Mathew Muratore, Molly McGlynn, of AG Andrea Campbell's office; Nick Mitchell, Jesse Lehrich and Paul Tencher, a Sen. Ed Markey alum.
HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to Erin McPike and Moses Marx, who celebrate Saturday; and to Sunday birthday-ers Ben Jarrett, Amish Shah, Jason Ostrander, Katrina Gaddis and state Sen. Liz Miranda.
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