State-level bigwigs invade the Seaport for national conference
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Deehan here, back with Spill of the Hill, my column unraveling Massachusetts politics.
If you see some people around the Seaport this week who look like they could be politicians, it's because they probably are.
What's happening: Thousands of state lawmakers, legislative staff and government professionals from across the country are in town for the National Conference of State Legislatures' annual summit at the newly re-christened Thomas Michael Menino Convention Center.
Why it matters: Legislative leaders from both parties have the opportunity to compare notes on the staggering and rapid changes coming from the federal government under President Trump.
Zoom in: NCSL is the nation's primary clearinghouse for legislative best practices. The annual get-together lets state House and Senate members confab on everything from local budgets and school polices to clean energy initiatives and AI guardrails.
- Around 9,000 attendees will get into the weeds on all sorts of policy issues.
- One of the biggest sessions was a standing-room-only panel on the impact the Trump tax bill will have on states.
Gov. Maura Healey headlined a session Tuesday examining political realignments. Senate President Karen Spilka, in her role as de facto hometown hostess, popped up on multiple panels.
- Massachusetts academia is well-represented, with agents from top schools like MIT making the pitch to the country's rank-and-file electeds that research universities still matter.
The intrigue: And like any good national conference, its parties show off Boston as a tourist destination.
- Politicians partied at the opening event at TD Garden and along the sports bar-strewn strip of Canal Street outside the arena.
- Between sessions, attendees can be spotted along the waterfront, at the Seaport's museums and lunch spots, and up and down the Freedom Trail downtown.
The whole thing culminates on Wednesday with "Hamilton" star Leslie Odom Jr. and Spilka, House Speaker Ron Mariano and others for a closing event cheekily called "The Room Where it Happens."