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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
HOUSE TO MOVE ON TITLE X — The House could vote on legislation today that would offset the loss of federal dollars for women's reproductive health organizations under a new Trump administration rule.
The bill is a rebuke to Trump's Title X proposal that would direct money away from health providers that offer abortion services, which has faced a court challenge from nearly two dozen states and could take effect in May.
The proposal Beacon Hill lawmakers will likely vote on today would free up $8 million in funding through the end of June 2020 for family planning services threatened by the Trump rule, and is part of a supplemental budget bill. The state House Committee on Ways and Means has until 10 a.m. to vote on whether the committee should report the legislation favorably. From there, it would head to the full House.
The push is an effort to "hold family planning centers harmless"if Trump's Title X rule takes effect, House Speaker Robert DeLeo said when he announced he's been working for several weeks to get funding included in the supplemental budget with House Ways and Means chair Rep. Aaron Michlewitz.
And if the House passes the supplemental budget bill today, it could be up for a vote in the state Senate tomorrow. Senate President Karen Spilka said earlier this week she wants to see something on Gov. Charlie Baker's desk as soon as possible. The Republican governor said he supports the effort.
This push to legislate quickly is an example of lawmakers rallying against what seems to be a common enemy — the Trump administration. Similarly, lawmakers swiftly repealed the state's archaic abortion ban last year after Trump's appointments to the Supreme Court raised concerns that a more conservative bench of judges could overturn Roe v. Wade.
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 Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito participate in Massachusetts Agriculture Day. Baker gavels in a weekly meeting of the Governor's Council. Polito and Deputy Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Timothy McGourthy visit to College Bound's Dorchester Boat Shop Maritime Apprentice Pathway program.
State Senate President Karen Spilka speaks to the Massachusetts Mayors' Association Former Gov. Bill Weld visits Manchester and Stratham, N.H. The House meets in formal session. State Rep. Kay Khan and State Sen. Harriette Chandler speak in support of a bill to end child marriage. The Boston Mayor's Office of Economic Development hosts a panel on a new study titled "Untapped: Redefining Hiring in the New Economy" at the Wayfair Headquarters.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Lawmakers will examine state's taxes — including new revenue," by Victoria McGrane, Boston Globe: "As calls multiply for money to address the state's transportation and education needs, Senate President Karen E. Spilka is taking some initial steps to examine the tax system — a process that could ultimately find new ways to bring in more cash. Spilka is launching a group of policy makers, academics, and business specialists from across the political spectrum who will be charged with taking what she calls "a good long hard look at our tax code." Spilka and Senator Adam Hinds, chairman of the revenue committee, said they want the group to generate ideas that not only would better provide for the state's policy priorities but also ensure wealthier citizens pay their fair share."
- "DeLEO, OTHER REPS TAKING NOTICE OF DECKER'S GROWING INFLUENCE," by Colin A. Young, State House News Service: "Speaking at a breakfast in Cambridge on Tuesday morning, House Speaker Robert DeLeo cracked a joke that served to highlight the steady rise of Rep. Marjorie Decker's influence in the House -- and the fact that other members have noticed. The Cambridge Democrat serving her fourth term on Beacon Hill introduced DeLeo on Tuesday at the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce and talked about how she was able to play a role in a number of the House's accomplishments of the last few years."
- "Child advocates seek to raise legal age to marry," by Christian M. Wade, The Salem News: "Tammy Monteiro was only 16 when she was forced into a marriage with a man nearly twice her age. She said the man, a member of a religious extremist group, convinced her "troubled" mother to sign off on the required paperwork. He then isolated her from family and friends. Monteiro's story of being a teenage bride illustrates the fact there is no minimum age required to marry in Massachusetts. An adult needs only parental and judicial approval to wed someone underage. Lawmakers are seeking to ban the practice of child marriage, arguing that state law fails to protect vulnerable youths who might be pressured or even forced into unions."
- "Baker says rent control is the 'wrong direction' for housing," by Tim Logan, Boston Globe: "Governor Charlie Baker Tuesday threw cold water on a push to restore rent control in Massachusetts, saying he worried it would do more harm than good. "Rent control will stifle the production of new housing," Baker told reporters at an unrelated event in the Back Bay, according to the State House News Service. "That's exactly the wrong direction we should go." Baker's comments followed a Globe story Tuesday about a bill soon to be filed in the Legislature by a group of progressive legislators that would let cities and towns to impose rent control — and implement other tenant protections. Massachusetts voters in 1994 narrowly voted to outlaw rent control, but advocates say the region's housing crisis has become so severe that it is worth revisiting."
- "Is It Time To Change The Massachusetts Flag? Critics Say Yes," by Arun Rath, WGBH News: "A movement is underway to revise the Massachusetts state flag. Some people find its imagery offensive. And while the flag is seemingly everywhere, it's easy to overlook. Even for Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, the flag was somehow hidden in plain sight for years. "You walk past the state flag a lot," Sabadosa said. "We go to city council meetings, and it's there. It flies over our town halls. It's even on our little buttons [worn by representatives and senators] here at the State House. But I don't think we spend a lot of time thinking about the symbols and what the messages are." It can be hard to decode those messages and symbols with a quick glance at the flag, especially if you're unfamiliar with the specific images, the artists' intent, and Latin."
LONG OVERDUE!
FOR SUPPORTING FOR PROFIT EDUCATION PAUL SAGAN SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN APPOINTED TO HIS POSITION AND CHARLIE BAKER SHOULD HAVE ASKED FOR HIS RESIGNATION...OH! WAIT! CHARLIE BAKER SUPPORTED FOR PROFIT CHARTER SCHOOLS....VOTERS KNEW BETTER!
Paul Sagan’s departure comes four years after Governor Charlie Baker appointed him to the board. His tenure was marked by calls for his resignation after giving more than a half-million dollars to organizations quietly raising money for a 2016 ballot-question campaign to expand charter schools, which voters ultimately rejected.
- "State education chairman, a controversial supporter of charter schools, steps down," by James Vaznis, Boston Globe: "The chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education who repeatedly drew criticism for his financial support of charter schools will step down, state officials announced Tuesday. Paul Sagan's departure comes four years after Governor Charlie Baker appointed him to the board. His tenure was marked by calls for his resignation after giving more than a half-million dollars to organizations quietly raising money for a 2016 ballot-question campaign to expand charter schools, which voters ultimately rejected."
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| WHAT CITY HALL IS READING |
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- "Walsh has paid nearly $900,000 to a campaign consultant that employs his girlfriend," by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: "Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who has built a record-breaking campaign account since entering City Hall, has spent nearly $900,000 on a boutique fund-raising consulting firm that employs his longtime partner, accounting for more than half of the company's political business since 2013. The Walsh campaign's payments to LB Strategies are growing in size and reached $13,500 a month last year. This is evidence, Walsh aides say, of the company's expanding role in his political world. But the payments, and the ties to Walsh's girlfriend, Lorrie Higgins, could create questionable political optics for the second-term mayor, analysts said."
- "Confusion, anger in East Boston and City Hall as mayor's office approves two pot shops closer to each other than allowed by law," by Adam Gaffin, Universal Hub: "A decision by the mayor's office to approve two marijuana shops less than a half mile apart - in potential violation of a city ordinance - sparked an unusually volatile Zoning Board of Appeals meeting today, during which the board chairman slammed his gavel to the table to restore order at one point, not long after he yelled at a city councilor that she was out of order. Placed in a precarious legal position by the mayor's office, the board voted to approve a Pittsfield corporation's proposal for a recreational and medicinal marijuana shop at 251 Meridan St. in Central Square, then was poised to vote to reject a proposal by a group of East Boston businessmen for a recreational pot shop just 0.4 miles away at 71 Maverick Sq., because of the distance issue.
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "MBTA's new boss talks plans to woo riders back on board," by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: "Steve Poftak wants you back. The MBTA's new general manager has a plan to woo riders by making the beleaguered MBTA cleaner, faster, more reliable and less crowded. In a one-on-one interview with the Herald in the T's downtown control room Tuesday, Poftak gave his list of fast fixes and long-term projects that he hopes will stop the steady loss of riders. It ranges from cheap cosmetic measures to overhauling bus routes, installing new control systems and replacing aging trains, with long overdue repairs to tracks, tunnels and stations."
WEALTHY WHITE MEN HAVING SEX WITH CHILDREN HELD AGAINST THEIR WILLS?
- "Kraft's buddies rally around him," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "ROBERT KRAFT'S BFFS are rallying around him as part of what appears to be a well-orchestrated campaign to resurrect his image in the wake of his arrest for twice soliciting prostitution at a massage parlor in Jupiter, Florida. The big news over the weekend was Kraft's apology, where he said he was "truly sorry" without ever specifically saying what he was truly sorrow for. (Kraft is fighting the legal charges.) The statement by the owner of the New England Patriots also laid out his strategy for regaining his reputation."
- "How a Gloucester author and the man who killed his son teamed up on gun reform," by Nestor Ramos, Boston Globe:"One day last spring, Greg Gibson went to visit the man who murdered his son. It was the second time Gibson had made the 90-minute drive from his home in Gloucester to MCI Norfolk to see Wayne Lo, who is serving two life sentences for the 1992 shooting spree at Bard College at Simon's Rock. Seven years before Columbine started a stream of mass shootings so steady that they are now terrifyingly commonplace, Lo stormed onto the campus in Great Barrington and killed Galen Gibson and a teacher, Ñacuñán Sáez, and wounded four others."
- "Boston ICE chief lashes out at DA's 'demoralizing' office policy," by Joe Dwinell, Boston Herald: "The Suffolk DA's new office policy ordering staffers to be on the lookout for ICE agents at courthouses is a "demoralizing" edict that puts the public at risk and ignores the law, Boston ICE chief Todd Lyons told the Herald today. Lyons warned "The Rollins Memo" — a 65-page office policy rolled out yesterday by Suffolk DA Rachael Rollins — could help put illegal immigrant drug dealers back on the streets."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Parents charged with money laundering in college admissions cheating scandal," by Shelley Murphy, Boston Globe: " A federal grand jury Tuesday handed down new charges of money laundering against a California couple who were among 50 people accused earlier this month in a sweeping college admissions cheating scandal. The indictment against Gregory Colburn, 61, a physician from Palo Alto, and his wife, Amy, 59, marks the first time money laundering charges have been brought against any of the parents accused of paying bribes to help their children gain admission into elite universities."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "Mass. Democrats defend Obamacare, Trump administration pushes to strike down entire law," by Shannon Young, Springfield Republican: "Several members of Massachusetts' congressional delegation spoke out Tuesday against the Trump administration's push to strike down the Affordable Care Act in a new court filing, arguing that millions of Americans benefit from the controversial health care law. The Democrats, who have opposed GOP-led efforts to dismantle the ACA, criticized the Justice Department for stating in a Monday legal brief that it will not challenge any parts of the ruling in Texas v. United States, which found the law unconstitutional."
- "Rep. Lynch Criticizes 'A Bunch Of Issues' In Mueller Report Process, Nadler's Subpoena Count," by Tori Bedford, WGBH News: "Rep. Stephen Lynch criticized the process behind Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump administration on Tuesday and expressed concerns about the release of the report. It's unclear how much of the report will be made public, and a Justice Department official said on Tuesday that Attorney General William Barr will still need weeks to finish reviewing it, the Associated Press reported. "We're hoping [to] get the full report and are able to obtain as much evidence as possible," Lynch said in an interview on Boston Public Radio."
- "With Dems in charge, Rep. Keating wields gavel for the first time," by Ted Nesi, WPRI: "For Bill Keating, the evening of Nov. 2, 2010, had to be bittersweet. Keating celebrated a personal victory that night, as Eastern Massachusetts voters chose him to fill the U.S. House seat left open by the retirement of Bill Delahunt. But he was the exception rather than the rule: that same night dozens of Keating's fellow Democrats lost their House seats nationwide, handing control of the chamber to the Republicans. Keating wound up being one of only nine House Democrats newly elected in 2010. (Another was Rhode Island's David Cicilline.) Now, after eight years in the minority, Keating is experiencing life as a member of the majority party for the first time."
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| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
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- NAME CHANGE: "GOP money machine stumbles over fears of putting data in Trump's hands," Yahoo News: "The Republican Party's efforts to build a small-dollar donation machine to keep up with the Democrats has hit a wall: a deep mistrust of President Trump and his campaign among Republican operatives. ... The project recently changed its name from "Patriot Pass" to "WINRED," after New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft called President Donald Trump and complained the project sounded like it was affiliated with his football team, according to a Republican familiar with the call from Kraft."
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| IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN |
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- "Ed Markey calls Mike Lee's prop-filled Green New Deal speech 'shameful,'" by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: "Sen. Mike Lee didn't quite bring a snowball onto the Senate floor. But the Utah Republican's prop-filled speech Tuesday mocking the proposed Green New Deal resolution on addressing climate change elicited similar incredulous reactions from Democrats. Lee's speech — in which the conservative Mormon argued, seemingly genuinely, that the "real solution to climate change" was to have more children — included a dramatic portrait of former President Ronald Reagan firing a machine gun while on the back of a velociraptor, photos of Star Wars characters and Aquaman, and frames from the sci-fi disaster movie 'Sharknado.'"
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| EYE ON 2020 |
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- "REPUBLICAN BILL WELD ON HIS PLANS TO STOP 'INSECURE BULLY' DONALD TRUMP FROM MAKING IT TO THE 2020 GENERAL ELECTION," by Alexandra Hutzler, Newsweek: "Bill Weld has always felt like he could "start Monday" as president of the United States, but he never thought it was truly necessary to turn the fantasy into a reality. That is until Donald Trump came along. "Most of the people I know are extremely upset about the idea of six more years of Trump—including me," Weld told Newsweek. "I just think it would be terrible for the country." The 73-year-old former governor of Massachusetts is the first Republican to form an exploratory committee for a presidential run, posing a potential threat to Trump's otherwise clear path to the party's nomination and possible re-election."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "WE WANT YOU BACK!" — Globe: "The real winner: power of the presidency," "Spilka takes aim at state's tax code." |
| FROM THE 413 |
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- "In Northampton, it's tough to be a police officer," by Linda Enerson, CommonWealth Magazine: "ON A RECENT CALL for police assistance, Northampton Police Officer Adam Van Buskirk said a young boy saw him walking towards the building, shouted "fuck you," and ran away. "When I started working here that would never have happened; now, things like that happen all the time," said Van Buskirk. Over the past 11 years, Van Buskirk and other veterans of the Northampton Police Department say, hostility towards police from a vocal minority of residents and public officials has increased. Police officials say harassing comments on the street and on social media, and heated public debates over police initiatives, have hurt morale and contributed to an uptick in younger officers leaving the department to work in other communities."
- "Working group finds Hampshire College's fiscal state 'worrisome,'" by Dusty Christensen, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "A working group of influential members of the Hampshire College community has released its first update, calling the college's financial state "extremely worrisome." The President's Options Working Group is tasked with serving as an independent sounding board for Hampshire's board of trustees as officials continue to search for a path to financial sustainability for the struggling college. The group includes filmmaker Ken Burns, the co-founder of the organic yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm, Gary Hirshberg, and others from the business and education worlds."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Barnstable Town Councilor calls neighboring town's wastewater plan 'phony,'" by Geoff Spillane, Cape Cod Times: "It may be spring, but there appears to be a frosty chill developing between the neighboring towns of Barnstable and Mashpee. Barnstable Town Council President James Crocker slammed Mashpee's state-approved comprehensive wastewater management plan last week, adding to an already palpable tension between the two communities, or at least between Crocker and Mashpee Selectman Andrew Gottlieb. At Thursday's Council meeting, Crocker said he had dissected Mashpee's plan, called it "phony" and "not legit," and said the town had "failed to make any of the phases" since the plan was approved in 2015."
- "Feds, fishermen reach understanding on wind," by Sean Horgan, Gloucester Daily Times: "As the worlds of New England commercial fishing and offshore wind power continue on their collision course, federal regulators are reaching out to fishing groups to assure them of a role in future decisions on the region's ocean resources. On Tuesday, NOAA Fisheries and the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said they have signed a 10-year "memorandum of understanding" with the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance. A number of fishing industry stakeholders, such as the Fishing Partnership Support Services and the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association, are members of the alliance.
- "Quincy landlords, officials wary of rent control," by Erin Tiernan, Patriot Ledger: "Lawmakers are scrambling for affordable housing solutions for a region where rents have spiked more than 50 percent in the last decade and waits for public housing stretch over 10 years, but officials in Quincy, one of the hardest-hit communities, say a proposal to bring back rent control isn't the answer. "Rent control is not the answer to our housing crisis," said Ward 4 City Councilor Brian Palmucci, who also serves on the city council's affordable housing committee. "Governments don't have a good track record of setting price controls that solve problems." This week, state Rep. Mike Connolly, D-Somerville, announced plans to file a bill that would revisit the question of rent control, which has been banned statewide since a narrowly decided 1994 ballot initiative."
TRANSITIONS - The Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center named Charles A. Murphy as executive director.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Charlotte Peyser, a Baker alum and BU grad student.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Celtics beat the Cavaliers116-106.
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