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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
GEARS TURNING ON BEACON HILL — As we enter the final week of February, there's no doubt the new legislative session is off to a slow start on Beacon Hill. But now that bills have been filed and committee assignments have been doled out, the gears are starting to turn.
The Poor People's Campaign is at the State House today to urge lawmakers to act on legislation that addresses issues like systemic racism, poverty and inequality. It's easier to make your case when it's clear who will steer each committee in the Legislature.
And on Tuesday, state Sen. Jason Lewis and state Rep. Jim O'Day will make some noise around the so-called Millionaires Tax. The Supreme Judicial Court blocked a ballot question version of the proposal from appearing before voters in June, but the idea of putting a tax on incomes over $1 million is getting a second chance. O'Day and Lewis will hold a briefing on their bill to make an amendment to the state constitution, according State House News Service.
State Rep. Smitty Pignatelli and state Sen. Anne Gobi will also be on hand Tuesday when a number of environmental groups officially announce priorities for the fiscal 2020 budget. Organizations under the "Green Budget Coalition," including the Environmental League of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Rivers Alliance and the Nature Conservancy will call for robust funding for the state's environmental agencies.
Gov. Charlie Baker rolled out his budget proposal in January, but the chairs of the budget-writing Ways and Means committees in both the House and Senate remained empty until a little over a week ago.
The next day, Jane Doe Inc. and the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence will brief lawmakers and staff on their priorities on Wednesday, which include bills to prevent and address sexual violence on college campuses and sex education. House Speaker Robert DeLeo attended a summit over the weekend aimed at addressing sexual violence on college campuses. Talks around a bill which addressed that issue fell apart late last session, but DeLeo said he wants to see a bill addressing the issue "get done this year."
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 attends the National Governors Association Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C. Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu collects signatures against an MBTA fare hike at Ruggles Station. Rep. Eric Swalwell speaks at Politics & Eggs in New Hampshire. It's opening day for the Blue Hill Avenue MBTA station.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "DeLeo proposes $1b in municipal climate investments," by Chris Lisinski, State House News Service: "HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO proposed a sweeping $1 billion environmental grant program Friday that, over the next decade, would fund municipal efforts to build renewable-energy infrastructure and invest in climate resiliency programs. DeLeo, speaking alongside members of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy after a tour of Somerville's GreenTown Labs, said the funding will continue the state's dedication to combating climate change while giving each city and town the flexibility to make locally-driven decisions."
- "To fix public education funding, 'we have to pay for it,' says new Senate education chair," by Victoria McGrane, Boston Globe:"Fresh off his appointment as the new Senate education committee chairman, Jason Lewis of Winchester indicated that he wants to go bigger and perhaps bolder than Governor Charlie Baker when it comes to overhauling the state's education funding formula — and that very well may mean raising new revenue to pay for it."
- "Beacon Hill Weighs Banning Youth Tackle Football," by Mike Deehan, WGBH News: "Tackle football could become a thing of the past for thousands of Massachusetts elementary and middle school athletes, as state lawmakers consider banning the full-contact sport for young players. Under a bipartisan bill supported by 17 House members, schools and leagues would be fined $2,000 for allowing children in grade seven and below to play organized tackle football, which research suggests is more harmful to young players than previously thought."
- "Hospital pill theft prompts call for oversight," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "The theft of more than 18,000 pills, mostly opioids, from Beverly Hospital is spurring calls on Beacon Hill for more state oversight of heavily addictive drugs that are diverted to the street from hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies. Lisa Tillman, 50, of Salem, Massachusetts, is facing larceny charges for allegedly stealing the drugs — including Percocet, Vicodin and OxyContin — from automated dispensing machines at Beverly Hospital, Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester and other locations. Tillman worked overnight as a pharmacy technician, and police say she altered computer records to mark the drugs as outdated."
- "Meet Three Of Massachusetts' Newest State Legislators," Under the Radar, WGBH News: "While the political world focuses on the 2020 presidential election and the charismatic new members of the 116th Congress, here at home a new class of state legislators is settling in and already making waves. This full hour we get to know three of the Bay State's newest lawmakers — a small sample of first-time members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. These new lawmakers say they are ready to make a difference in their communities and for their constituents."
- "Democrats seek state protections for organized labor," by Christian M. Wade, The Daily News: "Democrats are seeking to ease the blow to the state's labor unions from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limited collection of dues and fees from workers' paychecks. More than 100 state lawmakers — all Democrats — have signed onto legislation that would allow unions to represent nonmembers for grievances and other work-related negotiations, and to charge workers for those costs. The measure would also give organized labor representatives access to new hires and nonunion members in state and local government to speak with them about joining a union."
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| WHAT CITY HALL IS READING |
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- "City Council wants four-year terms? Galvin has another idea," by Milton J. Valencia, Boston Globe: "Secretary of State William Galvin, who oversees the state's elections system, said he has been watching from his Beacon Hill office the City Council's effort to extend members' terms to four years. And he doesn't like it. Galvin argued that councilors should be deferring to the ballot box, saying in an interview that voters should be able to decide on an issue that has such large ramifications as the structure of the city's government."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "At Summit On Campus Sexual Violence, Ayanna Pressley Vows To Push For 'Survivor Justice Agenda,'" by Quincy Walters, WBUR: "With 114 colleges in Massachusetts, the issue of sexual violence and assault on campuses is on the minds of many students. That's why Northeastern University senior Jace Ritchey attended a summit at Harvard University on Saturday, where about 100 activists, politicians and survivors of sexual violence gathered to discuss how to tackle the issue."
- "Unionized Stop & Shop workers vote to authorize a strike," by Jeremy C. Fox, Boston Globe: "A union representing nearly 10,000 Stop & Shop workers in Massachusetts voted Sunday morning to authorize a strike, hours after the employees' contract had expired at midnight, according to a statement from the organization. The vote followed more than a month of negotiations between the supermarket chain and five union locals of the United Food & Commercial Workers, representing employees in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, according to UFCW Local 1445."
- "The Rise of Socialism in Boston," by Anna Sims, Boston Magazine: "Here in Massachusetts, the movement is having one of its biggest moments in decades: New DSA chapters have launched on the North Shore and in Worcester, while students at Boston University, Emerson College, and Harvard have all started official socialist clubs in the past few years. Even the protest on Boston Common the day after Trump's election, which drew thousands, was a socialist-organized event. Suddenly, it seems, being red is cool again, and increasingly people want in. But can Boston's socialists really make a political mark on a city that's already so far to the left?"
- "Boston police officers were highest paid city employees in 2018," by Jonathan Ng, Boston Herald: "Five Boston police officers that were reinstated following their dismissal ended up with massive paychecks, according to the city's 2018 payroll data obtained by the Herald following a public records request. Boston police officer Shawn Harris, the city's top earner, raked in $684,411 last year with back pay of $485,967. Officer David Williams, the second highest-paid city employee, brought in $677,681. Officers Ronnie Jones took in $577,123; George Dowling, $536,000; and Walter Washington with $494,320."
- "Sports' great gamble: Betting is big business," by Michael Silverman, Boston Herald: "In this moment of calm between Super Bowl squares and March Madness brackets, take a peek behind the curtain of the fledgling legalized US sports betting industry. Witness the corporate mating dances as professional sports leagues, who once were shocked — shocked! — to be linked to the gambling industry, are now smitten with the gaming industry."
- "Mental health providers face long waits for payments for services to state, municipal workers," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "Mental health professionals who treated state and municipal employees have had to wait for more than seven months for payment, due to an error by the insurance company that has a state contract to manage care for public workers. UniCare currently has around 16,000 claims for behavioral health care that are awaiting processing, although that number includes claims that just came in as well as those dating back as far as July. The number represents around 10 percent of behavioral health claims submitted to UniCare."
- "Message from the bishops summit: The problem is everywhere," by John L. Allen Jr., Boston Globe: "The unprecedented summit on clerical sexual abuse in the Catholic Church has yet to produce major concrete reforms, but, over the past three days, at least one clear message has emerged: No church official, no matter where he comes from, should return thinking this isn't a problem back home. From the beginning of the scandals, there has been a persistent undercurrent of resistance to a major churchwide reckoning from leaders in locations where the crisis has yet to erupt, both in traditional centers of Catholic power, such as Italy, and in newer ones, such as Africa. Those church leaders have often referred to clerical abuse as largely an "American," or an "Anglo-Saxon" or "Western" problem."
- "Kasim Kahrim had long history with Boston police before dying in early morning shoot-out," by Jacqueline Tempera, MassLive.com: "During the 20 years before Kasim Kahrim reportedly had a standoff with Boston police that would end his life, he was in and out of jail and faced more than 40 charges in Boston courts. The Boston Globe and other media have identified Kahrim, 36, as the man who died after exchanging gunfire with police early Friday morning."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Charges could be filed against Robert Kraft as early as Monday," by Jeremy C. Fox and John Hilliard, Boston Globe:"New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and other men accused of soliciting prostitution in a Florida massage parlor are expected to be charged by prosecutors as soon as Monday afternoon, a spokesman for the state attorney in Palm Beach County said Sunday. The solicitation charges that ensnared Kraft and nearly 200 other men stem from a sweeping, months-long law enforcement probe of massage parlors where defendants sought sexual services from women who were allegedly victims of an international human trafficking ring, officials said."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Voters split as Elizabeth Warren stumps in New Hampshire," by Lisa Kashinsky, Boston Herald: "U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren made her second pass through the Granite State since announcing her presidential bid, attempting to court voters in a state that swung heavily in 2016 for her colleague-turned-opponent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. Following a Friday headlining slot at the 60th McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner, Warren on Saturday bounced from a house party in Laconia, to a standing-room-only rally of about 300 at Plymouth State University, to a meet-and-greet in Nashua — her husband Bruce Mann, and dog, Bailey, in tow."
- "Are Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders headed for a collision?" by Dan Balz, Washington Post: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) got a rousing reception from a ballroom filled with Democratic activists here Friday night, with multiple standing ovations and a lengthy photo line afterward. In a week when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) joined the presidential race with a bang, it was the kind of reaction that pointed to the competition to come, here and elsewhere. With the Democratic field already large and growing, handicapping the contest for the party's 2020 nomination remains a fool's errand. Most activists are eager to look but not yet ready to buy. Even at this early stage, it seems inevitable that Warren and Sanders will find themselves in direct competition as the campaign unfolds."
- "Warren suggests Native Americans should be 'part of the conversation' about reparations," by James Pindell, Boston Globe: "US Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts suggested Friday that Native Americans, not just African Americans, should be "part of the conversation" when it comes to the federal government providing reparations as a way to address ways minorities have been punished in American history. Reparations, either through making simple financial payments or more broadly by addressing structural discrimination via health, education, and housing policies, have been a topic on the presidential campaign trail this week."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "Ed Markey carries an iPhone and a flip phone," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "Given the chance, Senator Edward J. Markey will pluck example after example from decades in Congress to bolster his argument about the potential of the renewable energy sector. Two of them, it just so happens, are in his pocket. Markey, 72, carried two cellphones with him Thursday: a LG flip phone that looks as if it's pulled from the set of "The Departed," and a sleek, black iPhone."
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| ALL ABOARD |
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- "With traffic so bad, is now really the time to raise MBTA fares?" by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: "Boston has the worst rush-hour traffic in the country, according to a new ranking. Subway and bus ridership is declining. And the Baker administration has an explicit goal of moving more drivers to public transit. And yet the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is on track to increase fares 6.3 percent systemwide in July. The proposed fare increase is causing concern among some transit specialists, who say it could lead to a drop in the number of people who take the bus, train, and subway. Fewer people using mass transit, in turn, would make it that much harder for the state to cut back on congestion and to tackle climate change — another major goal."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "TAP, TAP, BET — Globe: "First the DNA kit, then the support group," "Higher T fares may backfire, critics say," "'GREEN BOOK' GRABS OSCAR." |
| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
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- "Plow driver who sprayed protesters removed as Falmouth contractor," by Christine Legere, Cape Cod Times: The man charged with assault after spraying protesters with snow and ice as they demonstrated on the Falmouth Village Green on Monday has been removed from the town's list of plow drivers. John C. Pimental, 31, of Mashpee, a longtime snowplow contractor for the town of Falmouth, was assigned to the area of Woods Hole. The village green where the incident occurred was not part of his plow route. About 55 demonstrators were on the green shortly after noon Monday to protest President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency to secure funding for a southern border wall."
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| FROM THE 413 |
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- "Emails show talks between Hampshire and UMass about possible partnership," by Scott Merzbach and Dusty Christensen, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "While there has been extensive speculation about whether the University of Massachusetts Amherst would be an appropriate long-term partner for Hampshire College, emails the Gazette obtained from UMass through a public records request show that there were not only conversations between high-ranking officials, but Hampshire leaders requested to an agreement."
- "Springfield fire in popular Student Prince and Fort Restaurant prompts calls from governor, lt. governor, mayor," by Jeanette DeForge, Springfield Republican: "Firefighters responded within minutes and shortly after a second private alarm started sounding for smoke in the same building, this time at the address of 1628 Main St., prompting a second alarm to bring more firefighters to the scene, said Fire Commissioner Bernard J. Calvi. Even before firefighters were done with their work, Yee said he started getting texts and calls from Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Mayor Domenic Sarno and a host of loyal customers who saw the news about the fire and were worried about the iconic restaurant."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Sex misconduct cases fuel student protests at Holy Cross," by Deirdre Fernandes, Boston Globe: "From its perch atop a hill overlooking Worcester, the College of the Holy Cross has for years dodged the waves of activism that have erupted across other campuses. While college students from Seattle to Cambridge have marched, held sit-ins, and taken over their campuses in recent years over concerns about free speech, police brutality, gun violence, immigration, and the last presidential election, Holy Cross has remained relatively quiet. But in recent weeks, the small Jesuit private college has been in an uproar."
SPOTTED: At the McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner in Manchester, N.H. on Friday night ... state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa,Mara Dolan, Kate Donaghue, Jordan Meehan, Amaad Rivera.
TRANSITIONS - David Smentek is now director of business development for Armored Things, a Boston-based cybersecurity startup.
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY - to former Gov. Jane Swift and Sarah Keene, who celebrated Sunday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Jack Dew.
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