Today: Transgender rights bill hearing; time for hands-free driving?
It's Day 2 of the Health Policy Commission hearings on health care costs trends. State Auditor Suzanne Bump, Attorney General Maura Healey, and Leemore Dafny, a Northwestern University professor and former deputy director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Economics, are scheduled to speak. The hearing begins at 9 am at Suffolk University Law School. Gov. Baker testified yesterday, making a call for more health care price transparency. Here's more from the State House News Service, via MassLive: http://bit.ly/1Oi9P5R
The Committee on Transportation holds a hearing on 17 bills related to distracted driving and speed limits, Room B-2 10:00 am. The State House News Service has more: "On the eve of a Transportation Committee hearing on hands-free legislation, both DeLeo and Gov. Charlie Baker offered no viewpoint, pro or con, on an issue that faces all Massachusetts drivers who continue to encounter distracted drivers on a daily basis." http://bit.ly/1Ma6ply
Committee on the Judiciary will hear a transgender rights bill (H 1577, S 735) from Reps. Byron Rushing and Denise Provost and Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz that expands anti-discrimination laws to include gender identity and allows access to gender-segregated public facilities based on a person's gender identity. Attorney General Maura Healey (1:00pm) and US Rep. Joseph Kennedy (2:00pm) plan to testify in support, Gardner Auditorium, 1:00pm. The Herald has a preview of the hearing, via the AP, here: http://bit.ly/1Q3RM29
Patrick Kennedy's good reviews
Some members of the Kennedy family may not be happy about Patrick Kennedy's book, "A Common Struggle," and appearance on "60 Minutes." And his mother Joan Kennedy contradicted Kennedy's claim that he consulted with her about the book, as the Globe's Frank Phillips reports today. Yet the media are rallying behind the former Rhode Island congressman, who details his substance abuse and mental illness battles and his father Ted Kennedy's drinking issues. "It can't be easy to break the silence and confront the secrets, given the longtime effort to control extended-family mythology," writes the Globe's Joan Vennochi. Kevin Cullen alsoweighs in, writing, "Patrick Kennedy's book challenges and frankly dismantles one of the great myths in America, that the Kennedy family is monolithic. No family is."
Booze ads eyed for T revenue boost
To say the MBTA is scrambling for revenue is an understatement, which explains why the T management is interested in bringing back liquor ads, which were banned from T property in 2012. The T believes it can bring in an additional $9 million in advertising next fiscal year, in part if alcohol ads are part of the mix, writes Boston.com's Adam Vaccaro. Mayor Walsh, who as a state rep supported the T's decision to ban alcohol ads, said through a spokeswoman he doesn't want them brought back. http://bit.ly/1PggIoZ
Baker carefully trying to avoid a budget shocker
No one counting the state receipts is quite jittery yet, but crummy stock markets tend to produce disappointing state revenue figures. The first quarter revenue numbers released were solid -- right on plan. But 4.6 percent revenue growth over the entire year may be a challenge, and as Michael Norton of the State House News Service reports via the Lowell Sun, Gov. Baker faces an Oct. 15 deadline to gaze into the crystal ball and say if the budget numbers will continue to add up through June. "...We believe that we're in good stead financially to get through the fiscal year without having to go back and 9C anything," Baker said. http://bit.ly/1NiLez9
DraftKings, FanDuel increasingly invites scrutiny
Questions about the integrity of fantasy sports sites have intensified as news leaked about employees at the firms playing on their competitors' sites. One DraftKings employee finished second in a FanDuel competition, winning $350,000, reports the Globe's Callum Borchers. The two sites issued a joined statement assuring customers that "internal fraud control teams" monitor the use of internal data. Meanwhile the AG and other regulators are still scratching their heads about the legitimacy of the fast-growing (and heavily advertised) fantasy sports world.http://bit.ly/1KXEYcy
MGM seeks to reassure Springfield it remains all in
Despite a pushback in completion date and the removal of a high-rise tower component to its project, MGM is seeking to reassure both Springfield residents and state gaming officials it is fully committed to delivering on its promises to the city, the Globe reports. MGM says it will still spend $800 million to build the casino and still build 250 high-end hotel rooms, but both the city and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission still have to sign off on the changes. http://bit.ly/1VAQhiY
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Mass. Transit: The future of transportation -- a MASSterList/State House
News Service event:
Join us for a panel discussion featuring Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack, Charlie Chieppo, principal of Chieppo Strategies, and Rick Dimino, CEO of A Better City, on the vision for transportation in Massachusetts. It will be held Oct. 13, 7:30-9:30am at the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education center, 10 Winter Place, Boston. More details and registration here: http://bit.ly/1KADgeC
Scott NTSB bid derailed
President Obama has withdrawn the nomination of former MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott for a seat on the National Transportation Safety Board, the Herald reports. The White House is citing personal family reasons for the withdrawal of the bid, which the Herald notes had lukewarm support among the state's congressional delegation given how Scott's tenure at the T ended last winter.
Polito pulls in the cash
Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito is a fundraising machine, especially compared to her predecessors in the office, according to the Herald. Polito has helped pull in $874,000 since January, nearly three times as much as Democrat Tim Murray and Republican Kerry Healey managed to raise during the same time period in their first terms in office. http://bit.ly/1OV8SSH
Fiorina: I'd consider Baker for cabinet
GOP Presidential candidate Carly Fiorina says she would consider Gov. Charlie Baker and former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown for cabinet posts if she were to be elected. Appearing on Herald radio, Fiorina said, "Certainly Charlie Baker is someone that should be considered. I am looking for people who are not afraid to go in and actually challenge the status quo."http://bit.ly/1RrWdEZ
Magic beach passes spark investigation in Falmouth
Summer may have faded, but special beach passes remain a hot topic in Falmouth, where police are leading an investigation into the distribution of all-access beach passes, the Cape Cod Times reports. The passes have been given out for decades, but the town manager put a stop to the practice in July after receiving a tip that someone overheard a non-resident bragging about having a get-on-the-sand free card. Residents pay $30 for beach passes, which unlike the courtesy pass cards, must be affixed to one vehicle. The town hopes to wrap the investigation within a month. http://bit.ly/1L23neN
Getting heard in an unplugged Massachusetts senate
Bruce Tarr, the Senate's oligarch of oratory and admiral of alliteration, was failing to raise his voice above the din of the Senate as debate began on the drug abuse prevention bill last Thursday. The noisiness was such that Senate President Stanley Rosenberg said he couldn't hear his colleague. "I would suggest that there are two additional options if the body doesn't become a little bit more quiet," Tarr said. "One is I could sit in the seat next to you, or the other is I could simply raise the amplitude of my voice, and I have many degrees of increase that are available." Members and staff evidently did not doubt Tarr's vocal capabilities and the Senate returned to a normal volume, but later in the day the noise returned and Rosenberg suggested a future electronic solution. "The chair once again respectfully, most respectfully and urgently asks the members to please subdue their conversation so that whichever member happens to be speaking at any time, they may be heard," Rosenberg said. "Especially until we put microphones at our desks, and a PA system so that members may be heard." -Andy Metzger, SHNS
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