Massachusetts lawmakers need to tackle housing, economy bills in last session
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Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Pat Greenhouse and Carlin Stiehl/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
State lawmakers will be up into the wee hours of Thursday morning frantically making deals and finalizing key pieces of legislation before both chambers recess for the rest of the year.
Why it matters: Time is running out. And Democratic legislative leaders are hurling accusations at each other while trying to tackle a slew of issues, including a massive housing bill and another meant to spur the economy.
- House and Senate leaders leave most of their trickiest deals until the very final evening of the two-year session, causing a chaotic scene around midnight at the State House.
- And it doesn't help when the top two Democrats on either side of the State House are bickering.
The latest: There was a bustle of activity on Beacon Hill Tuesday when Boston Mayor Michelle Wu agreed to scale back a request that would let the city increase commercial taxes to soften the tax burden of residents.
- Wu's concession to cut back on the duration of any tax shift and dedicate more funds to impacted small businesses got the House to pass a bill some thought was destined for the rubbish bin.
The intrigue: The House is less accommodating to some late-breaking policy changes the Senate wants to take up, including legalizing supervised injection sites.
- House Speaker Ron Mariano suggested Monday that throwing new ideas into the mix at the last minute signals senators aren't serious about passing the legislation.
What they're saying: "Anytime you release a bill the day before the session ends, it's a very difficult expectation for us to hear it, especially when it has proposals, major proposals, that we haven't even had the opportunity to debate or vote on," Mariano said, according to the State House News Service.
- Then Tuesday things got even pettier. Senate President Karen Spilka mimicked Mariano's own words about adding new bills to the end of session and accused him of doing just that with Wu's tax deal.
Go deeper: There's an awful lot in the omnibus economic bill, including $700 million in tax credits for local companies and billions more in borrowed funds for job-building programs.
- The House and Senate are at odds over how much to invest in the life sciences industry.
- Also in limbo is the provision that would allow the New England Revolution to build a new soccer stadium in Everett.
What we're watching: A bill to generate more housing has been a top priority of Gov. Maura Healey and legislative Democrats since the beginning of the session, and there's still no agreement with the end of the line approaching.
The bottom line: Facing a countdown for which they have only themselves to blame, the House and Senate will negotiate, barter and bicker until early tomorrow attempting to get as much done as they can.