Weekly round-up: Three days in the life
Opioids, charter schools and energy
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A lot can happen - or not happen - in 72 hours.
It might have been a shortened work week on Beacon Hill, but there was just enough time from Tuesday through Thursday for budget clouds to begin gathering, for the three major pressure points - opioids, charter schools and energy - to boil over, and for Las Vegas to throw a haymaker at fantasy sports sites such as Boston's DraftKings.
Seventy-two hours, a hopeful Gov. Charlie Baker explained, could also be enough time to prevent someone from getting hooked on painkillers, or to turn a heartbreaking tale of addiction into a recovery success story.
The semi-sweet news on the economic front? The state's unemployment rate dipped slightly to 4.6 percent despite the loss of 7,100 jobs in September, and economists are predicting solid growth through 2016.
The bitter economic news? Administration and Finance Secretary Kristen Lepore recalibrated the administration's expectations for available revenue to pay for the $38.1 billion state budget this year, trimming $145 million as non-tax revenue is expected to miss projections. The administration is not yet using the "9c" word, but mid-year cuts could be looming again.
The bitter economic news? Administration and Finance Secretary Kristen Lepore recalibrated the administration's expectations for available revenue to pay for the $38.1 billion state budget this year, trimming $145 million as non-tax revenue is expected to miss projections. The administration is not yet using the "9c" word, but mid-year cuts could be looming again.
On the positive side of the ledger for cities and towns, Lottery revenues - now projected to come in about $35 million higher than expected - are not getting siphoned away as feared by the new slots parlor in Plainville, which is now expected to generate $22 million less - or $83 million - in taxes to the state.
Perhaps the less than stellar performance of the state's first gambling venue will generate momentum behind the idea of grabbing for the state's "fair share," in the words of House Speaker Robert DeLeo, from growing online fantasy sports betting sites like DraftKings. Senate President Stanley Rosenberg said this week after some study that fantasy sports should be taxed and regulated like a gambling venture, and after news broke that the F.B.I. was investigating the industry, Nevada moved to shut down the sites in that state.
Baker hoped to turn attention at the start of the week to his administration's push to expand access to charter schools, but the day after Columbus Day the owners of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth inadvertently breathed wind into the sails of another Baker priority - hydroelectric power.
The announcement by Entergy that it would close the Pilgrim nuclear plant no later than in 2019 was, judging by the language used in the barrage of statements from elected leaders - no big surprise. And yet the development was held out as both a significant blow to the state's clean energy goals, as well as an opportunity.
"On some level it creates a certain sense of urgency around our hydro proposal, which would make it possible for us to generate significant megawatts to serve that baseload loss on a go-forward basis and to do so in a way that would be competitive and cost effective for business and families in New England," Baker told reporters on Tuesday morning, moments after testifying on his charter school proposal.
While the impending loss of 680 megawatts of clean power from Pilgrim creates a hole in the state's energy portfolio, Baker and environmental advocates said that now more than ever the Legislature needs to act quickly to allow the administration to explore the market for hydropower - and possibly offshore wind - to fill the void.
Charter school advocates and opponents flooded the State House on Tuesday to deliver their two cents to the Education Committee, a litany of arguments, many predictable, for and against the schools that by some counts have a waiting list of 37,000 kids hoping to get a seat.
Even Baker pulled up a chair in the front of the panel and made a case for his own legislation, but what became clear was that the governor's team must really focus on wrangling senators who killed a charter expansion last year and could do the same this year before the turkeys hit the tables.
Senate President Stanley Rosenberg hosted the second of three bipartisan caucuses this week, inviting charter school opponents to make their case, behind closed doors, to the full Senate. He did the same with proponents last week.
Another caucus is planned on Oct. 28 for senators to talk amongst themselves, the goal being to reach a consensus by Thanksgiving whether it's worth anyone's time to write a charter school expansion bill. House Speaker Robert DeLeo acknowledged telling the Senate they should "go first" this year because it makes little sense to go through the motions in the House if the Senate is going defeat another bill, and Rosenberg agreed it would be a "fool's errand" to embark on a repeat of last year.
With the membership in the Senate largely unchanged, the question becomes whether the threat of a 2016 ballot question is enough to push reluctant senators to find something they can live with.
With the membership in the Senate largely unchanged, the question becomes whether the threat of a 2016 ballot question is enough to push reluctant senators to find something they can live with.
The governor capped his week off by rolling out his proposal to fight opioid addiction. Though the legislation comes too late to influence the Senate, which already passed a major bill, the governor's office is hoping the House will incorporate its ideas as the process moves forward.
Rep. Elizabeth Malia, who is spearheading the substance abuse efforts on the House side, gave no indication that action could be coming soon from the House. In fact it appears it might be just the opposite.
That might not be a bad thing for Baker, however, who encountered stiff criticism from the Massachusetts Medical Society over his proposals to limit first-time opioid prescriptions to a 72-hour supply, and to give doctors the authority to hold a patient with substance abuse problems for 72 hours against their will if they pose a threat to themselves.
Doctors appear to resent the insinuation that government knows better than they do about how to treat their patients, but with more than 255 million pills hitting the streets last year it's a fight aides suggest the governor is willing to take on.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Three days packed with addiction prevention, a troubling state balance sheet, daily fantasy sports regulation and charter schools.
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.
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