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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. TGIF!
LAST CHANCE — Today is the final day for Gov. Charlie Baker to sign the last of the 42 bills sent to him by the Legislature on New Year's Day, meaning we're closing the curtain on the last legislative session for good.
Beacon Hill lawmakers sent dozens of bills to the governor's desk on the last days of the 2017-2018 session. And once the bills got to Baker, the clock started ticking on the 10 days the governor has to look them over. During session, Baker has the option to sign a bill, send it back with an amendment or veto it. But because the session ended well before his 10 days were up, Baker can't send a bill back with any changes.
The most notable of the six bills that remain on Baker's desk today is a piece of legislation that would ban flame retardant chemicals from some household goods. The proposed law was at the center of some push-and-pull on Beacon Hill earlier this week. State Rep. Marjorie Decker and state Sen. Cynthia Creem rallied supporters of the bill at the State House, and Baker met with industry opponents who say the bill goes too far. The other five bills waiting for Baker's signature this morning deal with municipal issues in Greenfield, Bourne, Huntington, Harwich and Ashland.
Baker has signed 108 bills between New Year's Day and today , and yesterday signed several bills including the "Equifax" bill that creates new consumer protections from security breaches, and a law that aims to make disability insurance more equitable. He also opted not to sign several bills — state contracting legislation he said he would've sent back to the Legislature with an amendment if he could, and a few sick leave banks he said are no longer necessary.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY - Gov. Charlie Baker and Vineyard Wind CEO Lars Pedersen talk offshore wind at the State House. State Sen. Adam Hinds, state Rep. John Barnett, state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier and state Rep. Paul Mark talk about poverty in the Berkshires with Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington. Sen. Elizabeth Warren campaigns in Concord.
Sen. Ed Markey attends a rally led by the Greater Boston Labor Council and Massachusetts AFL-CIO for an end to the government shutdown. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is a guest on "Boston Public Radio." The Supreme Judicial Court hears arguments in Boston.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "BAKER SIGNS CREDIT PROTECTION, DISABILITY INSURANCE BILLS," by Katie Lannan, State House News Service: "Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday signed bills aimed at protecting consumer information from data breaches, preventing gender discrimination in disability insurance, and prohibiting counterfeit airbags. The trio of bills were among 23 pieces of legislation Baker signed as time winds down for him to act on bills lawmakers sent him on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, the final days of the 2017-2018 legislative term."
- "Holmes calls House leadership 'a dictatorship,'" by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: "RUSSELL HOLMES, the Mattapan state representative who caused a stir two years ago with talk of succession planning for a new House speaker, is showing no signs of quieting down and dialed up his pointed critique of leadership in the chamber. Appearing as a guest Wednesday night at a live recording of the weekly 'Horse Race' podcast, Holmes was asked to outline his objections to how the House has been run."
- "UNION SUSPENDS $$$ DONATIONS TO PROTEST 'LEGISLATIVE INACTION'" by Michael P. Norton, State House News Service: "A union that represents electrical workers plans to withhold direct campaign contributions to state legislators until further notice, saying they hope lawmakers will "feel the pinch" that families are feeling due to inaction on important bills. While lawmakers last session raised the minimum wage, established a paid family and medical leave law, and gave locked out workers new income protections, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers say their decision stems from the Legislature's failure to pass bills targeting wage theft, increasing education funding, and blocking the MBTA's ability to outsource work to private contractors."
- "Local freshmen picking their battles at State House," by Mary Whitfill, Patriot Ledger: "The State House offices of newly-inaugurated South Shore state Reps. Patrick Kearney and Alyson Sullivan aren't exactly glamorous. They have been shoved into what's affectionately referred to as 'The Bull Pen'' — two basement hearing rooms packed with freshmen lawmakers, their aides, folding tables and temporary coat racks."
- "Massachusetts Considers A Stress Test For Private Colleges," by Kirk Carapezza, WGBH News: "The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education is preparing to adopt a stress test to monitor the financial health of private nonprofit colleges in the state. The proposal comes after the abrupt shutdown of Mount Ida College in Newton last year. A draft report obtained by WGBH News shows the board is considering a new method to determine whether a school is at risk of abrupt closure."
- "Boston proposes state law requiring doctors to ask about guns in homes," by Priyanka Dayal McCluskey and Milton J. Valencia, Boston Globe: "Health care providers would be required to play a larger role in addressing gun violence, and more drug offenders could receive treatment instead of punishment, as part of legislation that Mayor Martin J. Walsh plans to push on Beacon Hill this year. Walsh administration officials said Wednesday that they will ask lawmakers to approve a bill requiring doctors to ask patients about guns in their homes to help identify risks of suicide and domestic violence."
- "State lawmakers fail to reach consensus on whether to expand public record law," by Todd Wallack, Boston Globe: "A Massachusetts legislative panel has been disbanded after failing for two years to reach an agreement on whether to expand the public records law to cover the Legislature, judiciary, and governor's office. The Special Legislative Commission on Public Records missed its final deadline last month to file a report making recommendations, disappointing some lawmakers and advocates for open government."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "Wind turbine company picks Boston for US HQ," by Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: "This country's nascent offshore wind industry doesn't yet have its own capital city. But Boston could be in the best position of any place to earn that title. Boston's reputation gets a significant boost on Friday when executives at MHI Vestas Offshore Wind meet with Governor Charlie Baker to announce plans for the Danish turbine manufacturer to put its US headquarters here."
- "Boston city councilor Timothy McCarthy says he won't seek re-election," by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: "Timothy P. McCarthy, the Boston city councilor for District 5, announced Thursday night he will not seek re-election this year. In a statement posted to his Facebook page, McCarthy, a Hyde Park Democrat, said, 'After a great deal of reflection and discussion with my family over Christmas break, I feel that it is time for me to make a change, and to move on to my next adventure, whatever that might be. Therefore, I will not be seeking reelection in 2019. It has been an honor to serve as your City Councilor.'"
- "For some, government shutdown means working without promise of paycheck," by Laura Crimaldi, Boston Globe: "For Rita Silva-Martins, the federal government isn't shut down at all. The day starts at 1:30 every morning for the Transportation Security Administration security officer. That's the time Silva-Martins, 34, a married mother of three from Natick, wakes to ready for her job at Logan Airport to work the 3:30 a.m.-to-noon shift. But because federal funding for the TSA lapsed on Dec. 22, her paycheck is in danger."
- "State police still racking up OT cash," by Mary Markos, Boston Herald: "The state police payroll jumped by almost $12 million last year, new figures show, with some troopers doubling their pay with overtime shifts. The force was ranked among the top five most expensive departments in the state, according to newly released payroll data. The overall state police budget climbed to $355.26 million in 2018, up by $62 million over the year before."
- "Residents, city clean up Bunker Hill Monument during shutdown," by John Hilliard, Boston Globe: "While thousands of federal government workers remain furloughed during an ongoing partial shutdown, a group of Charlestown dog owners, as well as city workers, have been clearing away trash from the Bunker Hill Monument. The national park, like others across the country, aren't staffed because of the shutdown that began last month. And in the case of Bunker Hill, a popular park with local dog lovers, members of CharlestownDogs — a local organization of dog owners — began picking up garbage after seeing it pile up at the park."
- "Mass. Pike in Allston, Soldiers Field Road are set for a major overhaul," by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: "After years of debate, state transportation officials Thursday announced a final plan to build the biggest highway project in Boston in a generation: putting the Massachusetts Turnpike at ground level in Allston and elevating a section of Soldiers Field Road along the Charles River onto a new viaduct above the highway. The $1.1 billion project promises to radically reshape the western face of the city and disrupt travel for years on a stretch of highway that carries about 150,000 cars a day."
- "The Everett casino and where it stands," by Mark Arsenault, Boston Globe: "Don't have time to read every Greater Boston casino story? Just catch up with this one. We've anticipated your questions and provided some bite-sized answers."
- "A Boston biotech takes on a challenge most companies have avoided: making a better schizophrenia drug," by Jonathan Saltzman, Boston Globe: "Of the hundreds of drug companies represented at the biggest conference in the industry — which ended Thursday — relatively few are working on medicines to treat one of the worst mental disorders, schizophrenia, leaving the research instead to biotech startups like Boston-based Karuna Pharmaceuticals."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "SJC says judges can base sentencing decisions on drug treatment needs," by Travis Andersen, Boston Globe: "The state's highest court said Thursday that Massachusetts judges can sometimes tailor jail sentences to match the length of time necessary for defendants to complete drug treatment programs while in custody. The Supreme Judicial Court's finding came in a 19-page ruling involving a Western Massachusetts woman who repeatedly violated probation by using drugs and failing to complete rehab programs, among other offenses."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Warren braces for first New Hampshire test," by Natasha Korecki, POLITICO: "As the senator from the state next door, Elizabeth Warren begins with a built-in advantage in New Hampshire. But her proximity to the first-in-the-nation presidential primary state is also creating soaring expectations that could haunt her — the last three Massachusetts Democrats who ran in New Hampshire all finished first."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "Rep. Ayanna Pressley: Focus On 'Foul Policies, Not Foul Language,'" by Tori Bedford, WGBH News: "Rep. Ayanna Pressley defended fellow House Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib's use of profanity in calling for the impeachment of President Trump. Hours after she was sworn into congress, Tlaib was under fire for language she used in a speech that was posted on Twitter ."
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| THE CLARK CAUCUS |
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- "Swatting could become a federal crime," the Economist: "More than a few swatters end up bragging online, an unwise move. To make prosecuting them easier, Congresswoman Katherine Clark, a Massachusetts Democrat, is pushing a bill in Congress that would make swatting a federal crime. In 2016, not long after she had introduced the initial version of the legislation, police with rifles appeared outside her house near Boston. A caller had said that a shooter was inside her home."
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| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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- "SUPPORTERS SAY LAWMAKERS DRAWN TO 'BOLD' CLIMATE BILL," by Matt Murphy, State House News Service:"Over 80 House and Senate lawmakers have committed themselves early in the new session to a set of climate policy goals as Sen. Marc Pacheco and others get ready to file legislation next week that would require Massachusetts to speed its reduction of carbon emissions. Pacheco, of Taunton, and Rep. Ruth Balser, of Newton, said Thursday that 81 legislators, including nearly the entire Senate, had signed a 'New Year's Resolution' to support a variety of climate solutions, including net-zero carbon emissions by 2050."
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| MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS |
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- "Cannabis panel seeks authority to scrutinize shops' pacts with towns," by Naomi Martin and Dan Adams, Boston Globe: "State cannabis regulators will seek greater authority to crack down on excessive payments cities and towns demand from marijuana companies in exchange for permission to locate within their borders, saying many of the contracts signed so far go beyond apparent legal limits on their value. The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission voted 4-1 Thursday to ask the Legislature for more authority to review such deals, which are required to win a state marijuana license."
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| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
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- "Baystate Business: The Government Shutdown," Bloomberg Radio: "We spoke with two members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, Seth Moulton and Katherine Clark, both of whom are critical of the President's position on the border wall and government shutdown. Former Trump state campaign co-chair Geoff Diehl gave us the other side."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "UMASS CASH COURSE," — Globe: "A $1.1b roadmap for the future of Allston," "Boston startup focuses on a better schizophrenia drug," "With both sides dug in, Trump looks for a way around Congress." |
| ALL ABOARD |
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- "MBTA overtime jumped $10M in 2018," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "MBTA employees hopped aboard the OT gravy train last year as the long-beleaguered transit agency shelled out $10 million more in overtime cash — a 14 percent increase — than it did in 2017, according to state data. The T plunked down $82 million in overtime in 2018, up from $72 million even as the total payroll ticked downward."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "The countdown to baseball in Worcester: A timeline of Worcester Red Sox developments expected in 2019," by Melissa Hanson, MassLive.com: "With 2019 now upon us, Worcester is that much closer to having a professional baseball team in the city. Last summer, the Pawtucket Red Sox announced the team would be moving up from Rhode Island to Worcester, sparking an 18-acre, $240 million redevelopment project in the city's Canal District. Come 2021, the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox will be playing ball at a 10,000-seat stadium in New England's second-largest city."
- "Westford schools eye tough cuts to reach $1.2M budget reduction," by Elizabeth Dobbins, The Lowell Sun: "Raising student activity fees. Laying off teachers. Scrapping plans to change high school start times. These are among the cuts the administrators at Westford Public Schools described to the School Committee Thursday night as the district tries to shrink proposed spending for next fiscal year by $1.2 million."
TRANSITIONS - Springfield Rep. Carlos Gonzalez will chair the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus for the 2019-2020 session.
- Luke Ballman joins Chartwell Strategy Group. Ballman, a Democrat, served as deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury under President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump.
- James E. Gallagher was promoted to shareholder at Davis, Malm & D'Agostine, P.C.
- Daniel C. Johnston joins Sherin and Lodgen LLP as an associate in the firm's real estate department.
- Deb Pasternak was named permanent chapter director of the Massachusetts Sierra Club.
- Chris Lisinski joins the State House News Service. He currently works as a reporter at The Lowell Sun.
SPOTTED - At a private screening of "VICE" at Brattle Theatre in Cambridge last night... journalist and author Ron Suskind, former National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection and Counter-terrorism Richard Clark, Daniel Drezner of Tufts, Harvard's Maria Tatar.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Senate President Karen Spilka and WBUR digital editor Lisa Creamer.
HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND - to David O'Brien, president and CEO of Massachusetts Cannabis Business Association, DNC member and a Gov. Deval Patrick alum.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? No! The Heat beat the Celtics 115-99. The Capitals beat the Bruins 4-2.
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