| | | | |  | | By Lisa Kashinsky | Presented by Save Our Benefits Massachusetts | BIG DREAMS MEET BUDGET REALITIES — I hope you’re well-rested from school vacation week, because we’re diving straight into budget season. Gov. Maura Healey will unveil her much-anticipated tax-relief package today, a person familiar with her plans told Playbook. Look for more details later this morning when Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll make their “major affordability announcement” at 9:30 a.m. at the Demakes Family YMCA in Lynn. And look for legislative leaders' reactions after they sit down with the top executives this afternoon at the State House. Healey is widely expected to follow through on her campaign-trail pledge to provide families with a $600 tax credit for certain dependents, including children and people with disabilities. The Democrat is also expected to revive parts of former Gov. Charlie Baker’s tax-relief plan. Healey has long backed the Republican's calls to raise the estate-tax threshold, the senior circuit breaker tax credit and the rent deduction cap — all of which had legislative support last year before record revenues triggered tax givebacks that derailed negotiations between chambers. She also hasn’t ruled out something that didn’t have the support of top Democratic lawmakers: slashing the short-term capital gains rate to 5 percent from 12 percent. Neither chamber included that part of Baker’s proposal in the tax-relief plans they put forward last session. Healey will file her tax-code changes alongside her first budget. The spending plan, expected Wednesday, will show how — and how much — the new governor intends to pay for some of her biggest priorities while also preparing for slowing revenues. Beyond putting more details behind her promises to hire 1,000 MBTA workers, discount community college for some students and boost funding for environmental and energy agencies, Healey's budget will also likely give lawmakers a guide for allocating money from the millionaires tax. We'll see whether they follow her advice when the House and Senate write their own proposals. GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Tips? Scoops? Budget predictions? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com. TODAY — Healey and Driscoll host the first meeting of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Black Empowerment at 11:30 a.m. at the State House and attend a meeting with legislative leaders at 2 p.m. Driscoll speaks at the Winter Reunion of the Civic Action Project at 5 p.m. at the State House. Healey is on WBZ Newsradio’s “Nightside with Dan Rea” at 8 p.m. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 11 a.m.
| | | | A message from Save Our Benefits Massachusetts: In a time when there is so much that is driving up the price of health care - Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) create competition to bring prescription drug costs down.
Find out how PBMs are advocating to lower drug costs on behalf of employers and unions. | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “Healey to create advisory council on Black empowerment, taps over 30 Black leaders,” by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: “Healey will issue an executive order to officially launch the initiative Monday, when the council holds its first meeting. Members will include more than 30 Black leaders, representing state government, religious groups, advocacy organizations and labor unions, among other interests. Members will delve into topics like education, health care, housing and workforce development. Tanisha Sullivan, president of the NAACP Boston, will serve as the council’s co-chair, alongside Anthony Richards II, vice president of equitable business development at the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency.” — “A renewed push to legalize ‘medical aid in dying’,” by Jennifer Smith, CommonWealth Magazine: “Legislators and medical choice advocates are taking another run at passing a medical aid in dying bill after the Supreme Judicial Court last year placed the responsibility squarely on lawmakers to consider the emotionally fraught subject. … ‘Gov. Healey supports legislative action to allow medical aid in dying, provided it includes sufficient safeguards for both patients and providers,’ said spokesperson Karissa Hand. ‘She will review any legislation that reaches her desk.’” — “Better sex ed, stronger abortion rights are priorities for Planned Parenthood in Mass.,” by Alison Kuznitz, MassLive: “PPLM has urged state lawmakers to support bills — filed by Reps. Marjorie Decker and Susannah Whipps and Sen. Adam Gomez — to permanently extend telehealth visits that are covered by insurance. … A bill filed by Rep. Sally Kerans and Sen. Becca Rausch to further expand abortion access, such as removing barriers that could delay the procedure or impose unnecessary regulations on health care facilities, has the backing of PPLM, as well. The legislation would remove parental consent or judicial bypass requirements for pregnant people under age 16.” — "Several thorny political corruption cases await new Attorney General Andrea Campbell," by Samantha J. Gross, Boston Globe: "The newly elected attorney general, Andrea Campbell, inherited several high-profile political cases, including allegations of illegal campaign finance activity by a sitting Republican state senator and the former head of the Mass GOP and pending criminal charges against a former Republican state senator and congressional candidate. ... [Campbell will] have to decide on a referral from campaign finance regulators to investigate possible violations by Republican state Senator Ryan Fattman and Jim Lyons, the recently ousted head of the Massachusetts Republican Party. Her office said she hasn’t made a decision yet."
| | FROM THE HUB | | — “Boston City Council President Ed Flynn on crime: ‘We desperately need more police in our city,’" by Jon Keller, WBZ: “'What I know is we desperately need more police in our city. And I'm advocating for hiring at least two-to-three hundred police officers every year consistently for the next 10 years.' [Flynn said].” — “BPS bus failures violated rights of special education students, state finds,” by Mandy McLaren, Boston Globe: “From late arriving buses to missing pickups, the constant breakdowns in the Boston Public Schools transportation service for students with disabilities amounts to a violation of their right to special education services, the Massachusetts Department of Education said Friday.” — “Cybercriminals steal $6.4 million from Pipefitters Local 537 in Dorchester: ‘Very unfortunate news’,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “Pipefitters Local 537 has fallen victim to a cyberattack, as thieves recently stole more than $6 million from the Dorchester union’s health fund. The feds are investigating the cybercrime, and law enforcement is ‘optimistic’ that they’ll be able to return the vast majority of the $6.4 million in stolen funds, according to Daniel O’Brien, business manager/financial secretary-treasurer of Pipefitters Local 537.”
| | | | JOIN POLITICO ON 3/1 TO DISCUSS AMERICAN PRIVACY LAWS: Americans have fewer privacy rights than Europeans, and companies continue to face a minefield of competing state and foreign legislation. There is strong bipartisan support for a federal privacy bill, but it has yet to materialize. Join POLITICO on 3/1 to discuss what it will take to get a federal privacy law on the books, potential designs for how this type of legislation could protect consumers and innovators, and more. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES | | — “MBTA continues transparency efforts under Gonneville,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “On Friday, the MBTA spelled out clearly for the first time the progress it has made in boosting staffing levels at the operations control center, even though its new staffing target shows just how bad employee levels there were before the Federal Transit Administration ordered changes.” — ON TRACK: Speaking of transparency, the MBTA has a new online tracker for the public to keep tabs on its progress meeting the feds' safety directives. — “Feds probing Pennsylvania contract with MBTA’s Chinese contractor,” by Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald: “The inspector general’s office of DOT announced Friday that it was launching an audit of Chinese-state-owned CRRC MA’s $138 million contract with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, for 45 new passenger rail cars. USDOT launched the probe based on concerns raised by three then-ranking members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last year, who, citing a Philadelphia Inquirer article, stated that the rail cars appeared to be built almost completely in China before being shipped to Springfield for final assembly.”
| | | | A message from Save Our Benefits Massachusetts:   | | | | | FROM THE DELEGATION | | — “Ed Markey helped make Elon Musk. Now, Markey is working to slow him down,” by Tal Kopan, Boston Globe: “[T]heir history goes far beyond trading dunks on Twitter, the platform Markey has adopted as his signature communication method. For while he mocks the senator now, Musk has benefited from Markey’s environmental foresight — policies that Markey got through Congress helped boost the electric vehicle market, build Musk’s wealth, and make him a household name.” — “Cape Cod bridge grants will be right next time, Keating says, still plenty of time,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “Money to replace the Cape’s two only connecting bridges will be available to get the job done when the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers get their acts together on a winning application to fund the critical project, Congressman Bill Keating said Sunday [on WCVB’s ‘On the Record’]. … Keating said the denials of previous grant requests were the result of missing commitments on the part of the Army Corps and the state, which apparently won’t be absent from following applications.” — “Days before the Supreme Court takes on Biden's student-loan forgiveness, Elizabeth Warren urges it to 'do its job and apply the law as it is written',” by Ayelet Sheffey, Insider. — IN MEMORIAM: “John Olver, longtime US representative in Western Massachusetts, dies at 86,” by Bryan Marquard, Boston Globe. — MORE: “Former U.S. Rep. John Olver, who represented Western Massachusetts, is remembered as 'a humble public servant',” by Greta Jochem and Amanda Burke, Berkshire Eagle.
| | DATELINE D.C. | | — "John Kerry plans to stay in special climate envoy role at least through late this year," by Jess Bidgood, Boston Globe: "John Kerry, the nation’s top international climate envoy, has told President Biden he will stay in his role at least through this year’s United Nations climate summit in Dubai, which begins in late November. The decision by the elder statesman of American climate politics to stay stands in contrast to that of other high-profile administration officials decamping for the private sector, and might surprise close associates who expected him to depart his post well before now."
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | | | MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS | | — “Legal clinic in Somerville offers free aid to help people clear their records of marijuana crimes,” by Laura Crimaldi, Boston Globe: “The program, called Changing Legacies, offered free legal assistance to people who hope the easing of marijuana laws have made them eligible to expunge state marijuana offenses from their criminal records or seal them from public view in most cases.”
| | FROM THE 413 | | — “Shelter, food, art funded through Northampton’s $4M ARPA grant,” by Alexander MacDougall, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “Ventilation systems, pickleball courts and manhole covers honoring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are just some of the projects awarded grants by the city of Northampton, using $4 million the city received in [ARPA] funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “A year since the war started, Ukrainians in Massachusetts now wait to see how long they can stay,” by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News: “Under the federal rule that existed the day they entered the country, [Larysa] Atamas, her husband and son were granted humanitarian parole when they turned themselves in at the border. That means they can legally remain in the U.S. for a year, minus two days. That clock runs out on April 16.” — “Sheriff's department drops hiring age to 19 due to 'critical shortage',” by Jill Harmacinski, Eagle-Tribune: “Starting Monday, the Essex County Sheriff’s Department is lowering its minimum age for correctional officers from 21 years old to 19 years old to help address a critical shortage of officers. … [Essex County Sheriff Kevin] Coppinger said he’s spoken to peers in Massachusetts who are also having hiring difficulties. The trend is also mirrored nationally, fueled by 'anti-law enforcement feelings' across the country, he said.”
| | | | A message from Save Our Benefits Massachusetts: For nearly 50 years, federal law and legal precedent has prevented state legislators from preempting federal laws governing self-funded ERISA plans. Health plans are offered by employers, labor-management trusts as well as local, state and federal governments. With roughly 60 percent or more of the health plans offered by ERISA protected entities, these protected plans could expect consistency across state lines and a fair regulatory climate.
Now, lobbyists for Big Pharma and independent pharmacists are looking to increase their profits by ignoring federal law and undermining the cost-savings in self-funded plans. Save Our Benefits Massachusetts is ready to help you fight back against rising costs. Please, Join our coalition today and help us keep health benefits affordable and accessible for employers, employees and unions. | | | | | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | TRANSITIONS — Laura Dove is joining the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School as senior director of administration. She previously was Senate Republican secretary. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to former state Sen. Eric Lesser, Susan Zalkind, Alan Harvey Guth and Ayub Tahlil, press assistant for Gov. Maura Healey. Happy belated to Li Zhou, who celebrated Sunday. Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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