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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
KEENAN'S ANTI-VAPING PUSH — State Sen. John Keenan is putting some muscle behind a bill that would ban the sale of flavored tobacco products by filing it as an amendment to the newly-released Senate budget bill this week. It's an initiative Keenan says will help Massachusetts curb teenage vaping.
One in five high school students use e-cigarettes in Massachusetts, according to Keenan's office. And among those high school tobacco users, 80 percent say they have used a flavored tobacco product in the last month.
At the beginning of this session, Keenan and state Rep. Danielle Gregoire filed a bill to outlaw the sale of flavored tobacco products. The legislation would ban flavored nicotine products from e-cigarette companies like Juul, the vaping giant which forecasts $3.4 billion in revenue this year. Last year, Juul stopped selling its sweet flavors like fruit, cucumber, mango and creme, in stores. The company still sells tobacco, mint and menthol flavors in stores.
Keenan told me he regrets not pushing harder for a flavor ban when the state raised the tobacco age to 21 last summer. That law also raised the age to buy e-cigarettes.
"At the end of last session when they were working on the tobacco bill, particularly raising the age to 21, I raised the issue. There were some signs then that e-cigarette use was getting out of control. But that bill was on a track to be passed as it was, and so we're renewing the push," Keenan said. "At the end of last session, I regretted that I didn't push harder. We're going to push really hard this session."
The proposed Senate budget already includes an excise tax on e-cigarettes, but Keenan said it's not clear an added tax will stop teenagers from getting the products, which are often purchased on the so-called black market by underage kids. Keenan has also met with Attorney General Maura Healey, who launched an investigation into Juul last summer and called for a tobacco flavor ban in April.
"I firmly believe the better approach is prevention, and that means taking flavored tobacco products off the shelves so that kids are not exposed to them and they're not being targeted by the industry," Keenan said. "Big tobacco is going back to an age-old approach, an age-old game, and they don't seem to care that they're putting a generation at risk of addiction."
Keenan and Gregoire will host a briefing at the State House today on the impact flavored tobacco has on teen vaping with Dr. Jonathan Winickoff of Harvard Medical School, and others from the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society and Tobacco Free Mass. Keenan can't attend today's briefing due to a death in his family.
Earlier this year, former Attorney General Martha Coakley joinedthe government affairs team at Juul, as the company ramps its lobbying presence in state governments across the country. Keenan said he hasn't spoken with the former AG.
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 a ribbon cutting for the Pfizer Andover Clinical Manufacturing Facility, then highlights the administration's housing legislation in Haverhill. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito highlights the administration's housing legislation in Grafton. Polito makes an announcement in Brockton. Some members of the Red Sox visit the White House. Senate President Karen Spilkameets with members of the MetroWest Leadership Academy.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Senate delays debate on distracted driving bill," by Colin A. Young, State House News Service: "The Senate on Wednesday delayed for a month the debate it had planned for Thursday over legislation prohibiting handheld cellphone use while driving, a decision that will give senators a chance to focus on writing and filing state budget amendments. The Senate has passed versions of the hands-free cellphone use bill in each of the last two sessions and had adopted an order to consider the latest version (S 2198) on Thursday. But during an informal session Wednesday morning, Minority Leader Bruce Tarr began the process of delaying the debate, and Democrats in the majority were on board with the postponement."
- "Spilka to meet with UMass prez over tuition hike freeze," by Mary Markos, Boston Herald: "Senate President Karen Spilka is planning to meet with University of Massachusetts President Martin Meehan after receiving a letter claiming a Senate proposal to prohibit the institution from increasing in-state tuition and fees for the next school year would be "unprecedented." "We certainly will talk to them," Spilka said, noting that the university system is slated to receive a "hefty" 7% increase. "Not many state agencies or state systems are getting that much of an increase ... but we will certainly meet with him and talk to him." The letter, sent by Meehan and the chancellors of each campus Tuesday, detailed $22.2 million in budget cuts they said they'd need to make in order to freeze tuition, despite a proposed $39 million increase in state funding from the previous fiscal year."
WILL BEACON HILL GENUFLECT TO INDUSTRY YET AGAIN? IT'S TIME TO BAN PLASTIC BAGS ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH!
- "As Legislators Once Again Mull Statewide Plastic Bag Ban, Some Retailers Carry Concerns," by Lexi Peery, WBUR: "When it comes to getting rid of pesky plastic bags, Massachusetts state Rep. Lori Ehrlich hopes the sixth time's the charm. Ehrlich is sponsoring a House bill (H.771) that would ban plastic bags statewide. Since 2009, Ehrlich has proposed such a bill each session, without success. But with state Sen. Jamie Eldridge sponsoring an identical bill in the Senate, and the recent stories of plastic-choked whales splashed across the media, she says this year feels different."
- "LAWMAKERS ADVANCE INCOME SURTAX ON WEALTHY 156-37," by Matt Murphy, State House News Service: "House and Senate Democratic leaders look to be sitting on a comfortable cushion of support for a revived constitutional amendment to increase taxes on the wealthy, easily advancing a "millionaires tax" proposal on Wednesday, and making plans to debate it next month. The House and Senate gathered in a Constitutional Convention on Wednesday to consider proposed amendments to the state's constitution, including another attempt to let voters decide whether to impose a higher tax on household income over $1 million."
- "Renewed push to close legal loophole shielding doctors from the law," by Kerry Kavanaugh, Boston25. Link.
- "Studying juvenile cutoff age, task force checks out DYS facility," by Sarah Betancourt, CommonWealth Magazine: "A STATE TASK FORCE TRYING TO DECIDE whether the cutoff age for juvenile criminal offenders should be raised above 18 traveled to a Department of Youth Services facility this week to hear first-hand what's different about a correctional system designed for youthful offenders. What they learned at the Judge Connelly Youth Center in Roslindale was that education programs provided at the center combined with support services upon release have dramatically cut recidivism rates. "I couldn't be more impressed by what I saw," said Rep. Paul Tucker of Salem, the co-chair of the Emerging Adults Task Force. The task force, created by legislation, is due to report by July 1 on whether the cutoff age should be raised and by how much."
- "Collins pushes for faster Fairmount," by Yawu Miller, Bay State Banner: "While Fairmount Line trains run every 40 minutes for the morning and evening rush hours, the hour-long intervals at midday greatly diminish the efficacy of the line for residents of the Hyde Park, Mattapan, Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods the line traverses. State Sen. Nick Collins is looking to speed things up along the sleepy Fairmount Line with a budget amendment that would allow for service at 15-minute intervals."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "It's time to move on Morrissey rehab, says Walsh; DCR's timeline remains unclear," by Jennifer Smith, Dorchester Reporter: "For the last year, the only things visibly moving on Morrissey Boulevard have been cars and a few bicycles, at least when the flood-prone roadway isn't inundated with seawater and left impassable. A state-led effort to redesign the critical coastal roadway, on the other hand, has been publicly stuck in neutral since the most recent community meetings and comment period on the topic ended in December 2017. This week, city and state leaders — notably Mayor Martin Walsh — told the Reporter that they want to see the project swing back into motion."
- "Greater Boston Sees Major Shift In Population's Racial Makeup, Report Finds," by Simón Rios, WBUR: "Over the last generation, the Greater Boston region has seen a major shift in the racial makeup of its population, according to a new report from the Boston Foundation. The study, titled "The Changing Faces of Greater Boston," found that all 147 cities and towns in the region have seen increases in the number of people of color who call them home. But some parts of Boston are losing people of color, who are ending up further outside of the city."
- "New Boston Public Schools supt. calls for 'urgency' on closing minority achievement gap," by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: "Incoming School Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said closing Boston's deep minority achievement gap calls for "urgency," saying it is her top priority and will require an "all hands on deck" approach. Her remarks came just before the School Committee voted 7-0 Wednesday to approve her three-year contract at $280,000 a year, with the possibility of a two-year extension. Cassellius has been criticized for her 8-year tenure as Minnesota secretary of education, during which the achievement gap between white and non-white students stagnated. Minnesota is now being sued over the issue. When asked what lessons she brought from Minnesota, she told the Herald, 'You create an urgency.'"
- "Mayors say they'll sue over education aid if Beacon Hill doesn't act," by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine:"LEADERS ON BEACON HILL, who say they are committed this year to revamping the state's 26-year-old education funding formula, got an extra nudge from a group of municipal leaders who say they're prepared to file a lawsuit to force more state funding if lawmakers don't act. At a briefing in a downtown Boston office, the mayors and school leaders from Brockton, New Bedford, and Worcester said they hope the funding issue is resolved through legislation, but are prepared to take action if it isn't."
- "Impact of Uber, Lyft driver strike unclear," by Andy Metzger, CommonWealth Magazine: "UBER AND LYFT drivers and their supporters did a good job getting the word out to the public about a strike and boycott on Wednesday, but it's an open question what effect, if any, it had on the businesses. Uber, which along with Lyft dominates the local ride-hailing market, said it has not seen any significant impact on the service's reliability or the number of drivers online compared to the monthly average. A spokesperson for Lyft didn't provide on-record answers to questions about whether the strike affected business."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Massachusetts State Police troopers and lieutenant coordinated in overtime abuse, prosecutors say," by Dan Glaun, Springfield Republican: "Massachusetts State Troopers and a State Police lieutenant allegedly worked together to perpetrate the overtime abuse scam that has enveloped the department and led to criminal charges against ten officers, federal prosecutors said in a court filing Wednesday. The disclosure comes in response to a directive by Judge Mark Wolf, who this week ordered prosecutors to submit a memo justify the sentencing deal they cut with former Trooper Daren DeJong. Wolf delayed DeJong's sentencing following a hearing last Thursday, saying he needed more information to determine whether the troopers' conduct was a criminal conspiracy that deserves additional prison time."
- "Suffolk DA Rachael Rollins quietly drops intimidation case against wealthy developer," by Andrea Estes, Boston Globe:"She was a young nurse taking on one of Boston's most powerful developers. Audrey Kenney charged that Arthur Winn, then 78, tried to strangle her as she cared for him in his Brookline mansion in 2017 — because he wanted Valium instead of the respirator she offered, she said. When Kenney went to the police, Winn, in turn, complained about Kenney's care to the state nursing board, a move that threatened to derail her young career. The assault charges against Winn are proceeding in Norfolk County. But in Suffolk County, District Attorney Rachael Rollins quietly dropped a charge of intimidating a witness against Winn for his nursing board complaint. Rollins's move, made without even interviewing Kenney, infuriated her lawyers, who said it flies in the face of Rollins's public posture of standing up for victims and railing against people of privilege who get special treatment."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- Sen. Elizabeth Warren is on the cover of Time Magazine. Pic.
- "Warren to donate campaign money she previously took from opioid titan," by Alex Thompson, POLITICO: "Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday rolled out a new version of her aggressive plan to combat the opioid crisis, hoping the crackdown will appeal to 2020 voters in states hit hard by the epidemic. But even as she has repeatedly vowed to punish executives profiting off the booming industry, Warren's campaign in 2018 accepted money from a prominent family member of one of the nation's top opioid manufacturers. After POLITICO pointed out to Warren's campaign that her 2018 Senate reelection effort had accepted $2,500 in donations from Beverly Sackler — whose late husband Raymond ran Purdue Pharma with his brother, Mortimer — an aide said late Tuesday that Warren would donate the money to charity."
- "Warren urges Harvard to drop Sackler name from museum over family's opioid ties," by Andy Rosen, Boston Globe: "US Senator and presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday called on Harvard University to strip its buildings of the name of the Sackler family, whose company makes the drug OxyContin and faces multiple legal battles over the extent of its role in the national opioid crisis. Harvard has previously faced protests over its ties to the family, though the university has said it would be inappropriate to return donations or remove the name from the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, home of Harvard's collection of Middle Eastern and Asian art. Warren's campaign laid out her position on the same day that the former Harvard professor laid out her plan to tackle the opioid crisis."
- "'Case not closed, buddy': Warren goes all in on Trump impeachment," by Burgess Everett, POLITICO: "When Elizabeth Warren arrived at work Tuesday, she had no intention of reading damning excerpts of the Mueller report from the Senate floor while demanding President Donald Trump's impeachment. The Senate majority leader made her do it, she said. "I felt a responsibility to go to the floor to say: 'Case not closed, buddy,'" Warren said in an interview, referring to Mitch McConnell's "case closed" declaration that it was time for Congress to move on from the Russia investigation."
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| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
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- "Democrats pull Mashpee Wampanoag bill after Trump tweets opposition," by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: "President Trump weighed in against the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe's plan to build a $1 billion casino in Taunton on Wednesday, and shortly afterward Democrats pulled a bill from the House floor that would have allowed the controversial project to move forward. The legislation would protect the federal designation of Wampanoag parcels held in trust by the US government as reservation land, which is required for opening a tribal casino. Last year, an official with the Bureau of Indian Affairs determined that the tribe failed to meet certain federal requirements for reservation status, but the legislation pending in Congress would make that finding moot."
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| DATELINE D.C. |
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- "Dems to decide Thursday whether to go to court for Trump's taxes," by Heather Caygle and Aaron Lorenzo, POLITICO: "House Democrats are expected to decide on Thursday whether to go straight to court to obtain President Donald Trump's tax returns, a move that would escalate their ongoing war with the president over his most sensitive financial documents. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said he plans to huddle with House lawyers on Thursday and will make the final decision then. He and other senior Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have already raised the prospect of skipping a subpoena and going directly to court after being repeatedly rebuffed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
- "Congressional hearing puts focus on uptick of veteran suicides," by Jonathan Ng, Boston Herald: "The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs "cannot adequately confront" the persistent wave of suicide deaths among active-duty military and veterans, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch said, as a bipartisan group of Capitol Hill lawmakers pledged to tackle the issue. "Regrettably, the suicide crisis that has endured and markedly increased in our veterans community over the past decade stands as a stark reminder that we must redouble our efforts to address continued gaps in veterans' care," Lynch said during a congressional hearing Wednesday."
- "Cory Booker and Ayanna Pressley Introduce Sweeping Bill to Prevent Pregnancy-Related Deaths Among Black Women," by Anne Branigin, The Root: "Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) will unveil on Wednesday legislation aimed at tackling America's rising maternal mortality rates, particularly among black mothers, among whom death rates related to childbirth and pregnancy are highest. Introduced days before Mother's Day, the Maximizing Outcomes for Moms through Medicaid Improvement and Enhancement of Services, or the MOMMIES Act, comprises two bills: Pressley's legislation, which will be brought through the House, and a companion bill from Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), which he reintroduced this week."
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| KENNEDY COMPOUND |
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- "RFK, Jr.'s anti-vaccine campaign is reckless and wrong — say three Kennedys," by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine:"OF ALL THE WRINKLES in the emerging measles crisis and spotlight it has put on families who have caused the outbreak by refusing to vaccinate their children, the most curious has been the leading role of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The third child and namesake of Robert Kennedy has spent years promoting the debunked idea that vaccines can cause autism in children. He has fanned the flames of conspiracy theorists and true-believers of assorted wacky claims to provide justification for the anti-vaxxer movement that shuns immunizations. While Kennedy has been roundly criticized for years by leading voices in medicine and public health, his views come in for a harsh rebuke today from three people who know him well — two of his siblings and a niece who directs an initiative on global health."
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| ALL ABOARD |
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- "Here's what we know about the ferry between Boston's waterfront and Encore casino," by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe:"The Alford Street Bridge between Charlestown and Everett will probably be clogged with cars when Encore Boston Harbor at last opens in June. So you might be better off going under it, along the Mystic River on one of the casino's new ferries. Encore operator Wynn Resorts unveiled details this week of its long-awaited ferry service, promised years ago as a condition for receiving its casino license, that will launch with the Everett resort's June opening."
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| EYE ON 2020 |
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- I GOT A 95. "How Well Do You Know The 21(!) Democratic Presidential Candidates?" by Kaitlyn Locke, WGBH News:"Welcome to Democratic presidential race, where there are now 21 — yes, 21 — major contenders hoping to take on President Donald Trump in 2020. But with so many candidates, how well have you been able to keep up with each one's policy proposals, values and experience? Take the quiz below to test your own knowledge and brush up on each candidate's platform."
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| MOULTON MATTERS |
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- "Marie Harf Leaving Fox News to Join Seth Moulton Campaign," by Hanna Trudo, Daily Beast: "It's not just President Trump who attracts Fox News talent. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), who became the twentieth presidential candidate to launch a bid for the Democratic nomination last month, has nabbed a top personality from the network's stable of contributors. Marie Harf is stepping down from her post as a political commentator for Fox News Channel and co-host of Fox News Radio's Benson and Harf—a show co-hosted with Guy Benson—to join Team Moulton as deputy campaign manager for policy and communications, The Daily Beast confirmed."
SETH MOULTON NEEDS TO DO HIS HOMEWORK...THE VA IS GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTH CARE. MEDICARE FOR ALL IS NOT! IT IS SINGLE PAYER! VERY DISAPPOINTED SETH!
- "Here's why Seth Moulton opposes Medicare-for-All," by Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com: "Rep. Seth Moulton likes to say that he's the only candidate running for president who actually has single-payer health care — and that's why he opposes it. Despite being eligible for a "gold-level" insurance plan as a member of Congress, the Massachusetts Democrat and former Marine decided to keep getting his health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs after his election in 2014. And while many of his rivals in the 2020 race have embraced moving toward a national "Medicare-for-All" single-payer system, Moulton says his own experience with government-run health care doesn't give him confidence in the general concept — even if it has proven more successful in other countries compared to the expensive American system."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "STORM'S A-BRUIN," "URGENT CARE," — Globe: "Ex-Sox pitcher, MGH settle claim for $5.1m," "Contempt charge for Barr passes committee," "END OF THE ROAD FOR CELTICS." |
| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Someone Caught Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia Taking a Trip to Vegas," by Spencer Buell, Boston Magazine: "Look, sometimes luck is just not on your side in Las Vegas. But this is really unlucky. Embattled Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia is coming under scrutiny this week after word got out about a recent trip to Nevada that he appears to have forgotten to mention to other officials in the city. It's possible no one would ever have known about the vacation, were it not for an eagle-eyed Fall River resident who spotted him at a Caesar's Palace pool and snapped a pic."
-"State: Planned fee hike at Harwich facility 'exploitive,'" by Cynthia McCormick, Cape Cod Times: "State officials are calling foul on an attempt by the Royal at Harwich Village to increase its monthly residence fees by as much as 100 percent as the financially troubled assisted-living facility prepares to shut down for good this summer. The state Executive Office of Elder Affairs issued a statement calling the fee increases during the closure process "unprecedented and exploitive" and said it had made the state attorney general's office "aware of the situation." Residents at the Royal at Harwich Village received notices dated May 1 that their fees would be increasing — in some cases doubling — as of June 1."
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| MEDIA MATTERS |
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Cory Bisbee, who graduates from Clark University next weekend, David Gergen who is 77; and Ben Herman, Tolman for AG alum and project manager at The Beantown Companies.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes and no! The Red Sox beat the Orioles 2-1. The Bucks beat the Celtics 116-91.
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