Healey puts pressure on lawmakers to pass her clean energy goals
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Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
After her fellow Democrats in the House and Senate failed to pass an energy bill during the formal legislative session, Gov. Maura Healey took a novel approach to advance work she considers crucial to the state's climate and clean energy future.
Why it matters: Instead of waiting for the Legislature to settle their hangups, Healey is trying something of an end-run around bickering lawmakers by attaching her climate and energy priorities to a budget bill that must pass this fall.
Between the lines: The budget move isn't revolutionary — governors pack non-spending policy into budgets all the time — but it's rare that a governor has to resort to this tactic to push forward her priorities on something as significant as clean energy.
Catch up quick: House and Senate negotiations over where and how to build new clean energy generating facilities fell apart at the close of formal sessions in August.
- The legislative stallout meant that attempts to accelerate the way Massachusetts designs and permits wind, solar and other renewable energy facilities will have to wait until next year at the earliest.
- Healey is forcing lawmakers to revisit the issue by packing it into the spending bill meant to close out the state's finances for the fiscal year.
The goal here is to streamline the approval process for clean energy projects and prepare the electric grid for more vehicles and buildings going all-electric.
What they're saying: "It's not uncommon for a supplemental budget to include policy proposals that are time sensitive, or that the administration or the House or Senate is looking to accomplish something relatively quickly," Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation president Doug Howgate told Axios.
The other side: Sen. Michael Barrett, the Senate's lead negotiator on climate and energy, said Healey's unilateral move is "killing the negotiations" by favoring House priorities over what the Senate prefers.
- Of course, the House is pleased to see Healey take their side and didn't object to the budget maneuver.
- By forcing the issue, Healey risks alienating Democratic lawmakers used to doing things their way, on their own schedule.
What's next: The budget bill will go to the House first, leaving senators with the last word on whether to side with Healey or return to their own drawn-out negotiations that have yet to yield solid results.
The big picture: The clean energy standoff is just one of several policy priorities lawmakers failed to get to Healey's desk this year.
- Leaders say they'll return to pass another crucial bill — one on economic development and cost of living — but they haven't set a schedule for returning to work.