Weekly roundup: It's pronoumced [sic] GLAW-ster
Recap and analysis of the week in state government
- See more at: https://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2015/10/04/226451-Weekly-roundup-Its-pronoumced-GLAW-ster#sthash.anBepxWy.dpuf
The Cradle of Liberty-inspired hubris that can sometimes infuse the political discourse around these parts got a pat on the back this week from none other than Hillary Clinton, whose swing through Boston couldn't have been timed better for State House pols.
As Clinton settled into her chair on a Dorchester union hall stage with Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Attorney General Maura Healey to discuss opioid addiction, a new addiction treatment insurance coverage law was taking effect and four miles away under the point of the Golden Dome the state Senate was enmeshed in a debate over how to prevent future addiction. Coincidence?
Kudos from the former First Lady was forthcoming.
But if anyone truly came out a winner of Clinton's visit to Boston, it was Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello, who dare we say, depending on how far Clinton goes in her campaign and how much she talks about the substance abuse issue, could wind up a household name. It could be Gloucester's biggest national moment since George Clooney and "The Perfect Storm."
Campanello's unique program, which promises to help steer addicts to treatment if they turn in their drugs at the police station without risking arrest, has clearly garnered attention beyond the boundaries of the small fishing city, or even Massachusetts.
"What the police department in Gloucester has done should be an example for police departments everywhere," Clinton said. "It's saving people's lives and giving them a second chance."
Campanello didn't attend the event, but was sending messages through Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, who did not correct Clinton when the first lady referred to her as a senator, but did beg her to be a "champion" for those fighting substance abuse.
Members of the Senate could not attend the presidential fanfare because they were legislating many of the ideas Clinton puffed up in her remarks, including education and intervention for young people, better prescribing practices and the encouragement of alternative methods of pain management.
Sen. Jennifer Flanagan's push to mandate schools to screen and counsel students at risk of substance abuse cleared the Senate, though she backed off requiring the screenings in grades seven and 10 to let the Department of Public Health determine age-appropriateness at a later date. Gov. Charlie Baker and House Speaker Robert DeLeo have retreated from their early criticisms of screening, saying they misinterpreted the plan as mandatory drug testing, and the House approved $1.2 million this week to finance the program.
After lengthy backroom negotiations, the Senate also pushed ahead with a plan to allow patients to request partial-fills of potent opioids prescribed by their doctors, overcoming, they hope, the legal questions raised by attorneys who Quincy Sen. John Keenan was determined to overrule.
The opioid abuse prevention bill now moves to the House for consideration with Gov. Baker waiting in the wings with his own legislation, that he now says he will file next week.
While the Senate focused on drug addiction, the House returned to action for the first time since late July, signing off on a budget bill to close the books on fiscal 2015 that included millions in funding for snow and ice removal, the Department of Children and Families, substance abuse prevention, sheriffs and MassHealth.
That the Legislature had hundreds of millions of dollars to play with would have seemed unfathomable eight months ago when Baker and Legislature banded together on remedies that they said closed a $768 million budget gap.
Flash forward to October, and House Ways and Means Chairman Brian Dempsey was behind a podium explaining how he would recommend spending $360 million, or $248 million after federal reimbursements. And that's not even counting the $75 million the House wants to sock away in reserves and the $113 million it proposes using to pay down additional debt in 2016, which curiously is not included in what officials consider the bill's bottom line.
Asked before the House voted on the bill whether he's confident the new state budget can remain balanced for the remainder of fiscal 2016 without another round of intervention, DeLeo said, "I felt pretty confident last year, actually."
The governor limped, literally, through a week that included tough talk from Baker on the "unacceptable" failures identified in a new report by the Department of Children and Families leading up to the death of a 2-year-old girl in Auburn and nine-plus hour hearing on energy legislation.
Relegated to crutches after an old Achilles basketball injury flared up, Baker personally urged lawmakers to act on his bill to lift the cap on solar net metering and authorize long-term contracts for large-scale hydroelectricity to be brought into Massachusetts.
If the House or Senate wants to add off-shore wind to the long-term contract bill, Baker said, 'Go for it,' even if Energy Secretary Matthew Beaton remains skeptical of its ability to compete on price. The we'll-try-anything approach to controlling energy costs resonated with some of the industry representatives in the crowd who all want to make sure their sliver of the renewable energy market doesn't get crowded out.
"I'm here basically to testify on the combo platter," said SunEdison Executive Vice President Paul Gaynor, who borrowed one of Baker's favorite expressions.
Bad actors helped write many of the other headlines of the week, highlighted by a caricature of the Teamsters drawn by U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz in an indictment alleging that a handful of union heavies attempted to extort jobs from Bravo's reality cooking show "Top Chef" through intimidation and vandalism.
The indictment bled onto Walsh who hired an outside attorney to investigate claims in the indictment that a City Hall official made calls to venues planning to host "Top Chef" warning that there could be local union trouble.
Though not criminal, the Office of Campaign and Political Finance also came down on the owners of a Worcester law firm - Louis Aloise and Michael Wilcox - who agreed to pay $8,000 in fines and $1,000 to charity after getting caught giving their employees money to donate to Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito's campaign last year.
STORY OF THE WEEK: If you're a top public official in Massachusetts, you were probably somewhere this week talking about the opioid abuse crisis.
TEASE OF THE WEEK: Rep. Joseph Wagner, co-chair of the Economic Development Committee, who said, "Stay tuned," when asked whether legislation could be forthcoming to try to regulate the ubiquitous Draft Kings.
About the Author »
Matt Murphy covers major media, lobbying firms, government agencies, political junkies as well as towns Statewide. He likes to cover politics and campaigns.
No comments:
Post a Comment