| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity, Lisa Kashinsky and Mia McCarthy | BALANCING ACT — The much discussed “belt-tightening” has arrived on Beacon Hill — sort of. Gov. Maura Healey is pushing a $58 billion budget that pumps tens of millions more dollars into child care and the MBTA. It also slashes close to $1 billion in spending and searches for new revenue sources to pay for the spending increases she’s seeking without hiking taxes or tapping the state’s so-called rainy-day savings account. Even with essentially flat tax-revenue projections, Healey’s proposal is about $2 billion more than the budget she signed last summer — and recently cut $375 million from. Healey is leaning on the roughly $1.3 billion in money the state estimates it will bring in from the so-called millionaires tax to cover the cost of the proposals she first laid out in her State of the Commonwealth address — including $590 million for child care and education programs, $127 million more for the MBTA’s operating budget and $45 million to reduce fares for low-income riders. She’s also seeking new funding sources, including from authorizing online lottery sales and redirecting other revenues. To balance things, Healey wants to cut $450 million from various line items — going so far as to propose closing MCI-Concord to save $16 million in operating costs and $190 million in capital projects — and avoiding $500 million in spending increases in other areas. Criticism came swiftly from Republicans and service providers who rely on state funding. House Minority Leader Brad Jones said Healey’s plan ought to be “tempered by the fiscal realities facing the Commonwealth.” And the correction officers union also said it's "adamantly against" closing the state's oldest men's prison. None of what Healey laid out is a done deal. Healey’s budget proposal officially kicks off a monthslong legislative process that’s unlikely to end before the summer. But her biggest spending battle may come far sooner. Healey also filed a long-awaited supplemental budget Wednesday to help cover the ever-ballooning costs of the state’s shelter system through next year. The governor wants to drain more than $800 million in pandemic-era funds from a surplus account. Yet that money, combined with the $325 million Healey is budgeting for the next fiscal year, still leaves a roughly $90 million funding gap. Healey's plan to plunder a reserve account drew criticism from top Democratic legislative leaders before she even filed it. Now that she has, they're not saying much. A spokesperson for Senate President Karen Spilka said she would “review what the governor filed as the budget process moves forward.” And a joint statement from House Speaker Ron Mariano and Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz similarly offered little insight. “The House has worked hard to balance the goal of ensuring that no family in Massachusetts spends a night on the street, with the responsibility of allocating taxpayer money in a fiscally prudent manner,” they said. So, basically, TBD. GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Senators are set to give a long-awaited "update" on their plans for gun-safety legislation at 3 p.m. TODAY — Healey speaks at Associated Industries of Massachusetts January Executive Forum at 9 a.m. in Newton and swears in Michelle Yee as a probate and Family Court justice at 3 p.m. at the State House. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll attends the Massachusetts Marine Trades Association Business of Boating Conference at 11:45 a.m. in Foxborough and chairs a Seaport Economic Council meeting at 2 p.m. at the State House. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announces a geothermal energy pilot at 11 a.m. in Dorchester, is on GBH’s “The Culture Show” at 2:30 p.m. and speaks at the reopening of the Faneuil Boston Public Library Branch in Brighton at 3:30 p.m. Tips? Scoops? Birthdays? Email us: lkashinsky@politico.com, kgarrity@politico.com and mmcarthy@politico.com.
| | | | JOIN 1/31 FOR A TALK ON THE RACE TO SOLVE ALZHEIMER’S: Breakthrough drugs and treatments are giving new hope for slowing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and ALS. But if that progress slows, the societal and economic cost to the U.S. could be high. Join POLITICO, alongside lawmakers, official and experts, on Jan. 31 to discuss a path forward for better collaboration among health systems, industry and government. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “A state law could separate mothers from their children: Why is this happening?” by Henry Schwan, Worcester Telegram & Gazette: “The moment when a mother gives birth is supposed to be a time of supreme joy. But a state law is traumatizing parents, according to some medical experts and lawmakers, because it can potentially take a newborn away from its mother.” — "State lawmakers explore hospital receivership amid Steward Health Care [financial] crisis," by Jessica Bartlett, The Boston Globe.
| | MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS | | — “'Beyond terrible': With overflow shelters full, families huddle in cars and at Logan,” by Gabrielle Emanuel, WBUR: “Across the state, advocates said some families have been sleeping in their cars, even as temperatures have dropped below freezing. It’s become common enough that one nonprofit developed a handout on how to safely spend the night in a vehicle during the winter. Other homeless families are sleeping at Logan Airport. On a recent night, dozens of families, including children, slept on blankets while a regular stream of airport announcements played overhead, and suitcase-toting travelers passed by.” — “Immigrants and supporters in Fairhaven shaken by move to new shelter,” by Eleonora Bianchi, The New Bedford Light: “Earlier this month, the state’s Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) started moving families from the Seaport Inn to the Inn & Conference Center at UMassLowell. The state notified Fairhaven officials of this change, which is detailed in posting on the town’s website. … The state moved 250 families from short-term hotel accommodations, many of which didn’t have contracted housing providers, to new hotels used as shelters with wraparound services, housing officials told The Light in an email. By the end of January, the hotels in Fairhaven, Dartmouth, Swansea and around the state will no longer function as emergency immigration shelters.”
| | FROM THE HUB | | — “Wu announces research teams for task force on reparations,” by Mandile Mpofu, The Bay State Banner: “Mayor Michelle Wu took another step toward reparations this week, announcing the group of academics and history experts who will lead research efforts into Boston’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and the city’s more recent history of discrimination. The results will serve as the basis for recommendations by a reparations panel she formed last year.” — “Boston City Councilor Flynn heads to Israel for ‘educational seminar’” by Molly Farrar, Boston.com.
| | DAY IN COURT | | TICK TOCK — Former President Donald Trump’s legal team and the MassGOP have until 4 p.m. today to submit responses to an appeal filed Tuesday by the coalition seeking to remove Trump’s name from the ballot in Massachusetts. — “Incarceration and crime rates both down sharply since 2018 reforms,” by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Beacon: “Fiver years after Massachusetts enacted sweeping reforms aimed at reducing incarceration and addressing racial disparities in the criminal justice system, a new study says the state has seen sharp decreases in both incarceration and crime rates, but found racial disparities in the system have widened.” — “Judge pushes back hearing for Mass. Air National Guardsman accused of leaking top secret information,” by Travis Andersen, The Boston Globe
| | THE PRESSLEY PARTY | | — “More than 100 gather for Boston interfaith vigil calling for ceasefire in Israel-Hamas war,” by Emily Spatz, Boston.com: “More than 100 people gathered in front of Boston Public Library Wednesday evening for a vigil calling for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and memorializing the lives lost in Gaza and Israel since the war’s outbreak. … As [Rep.] Pressley stepped up to the podium on the stairs leading up the Library, she said she did not accept the invitation to speak as a member of Congress, but as ‘a sister in struggle,’ recalling her roots of growing up as part of a small church in Chicago with her grandfather as the reverend.”
| | | | YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics. | | | | | | | FROM THE 413 | | — “Mental Health Association secures $6.5 million in financing for new Chicopee headquarters,” by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican.
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “Newton school district shares anti-strike posts on official social media,” by Carrie Jung, WBUR: “Teachers on strike in Newton are crying foul over a series of posts on the Newton Public Schools official Facebook account criticizing the Newton Teachers Association. The 10 messages appeared just after 7 p.m. Tuesday night. … Officials with Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller's office said they did not know who authored the posts and referred WBUR to the school district. Superintendent Anna Nolin did not respond to a request for comment.” — “Anti-Defamation League’s New England regional director resigns after less than year in role,” by John Hilliard, The Boston Globe: “Rabbi Jonah Steinberg, who was announced as the successor to longtime regional director Robert Trestan in June, will “refocus his efforts in returning to his lifelong role as a rabbi, a member of the academic community, and a Jewish educator, a calling he wouldn’t be able to pursue at ADL,” spokesperson Shellie Burgman said in an email.” — “Sale of old Attleboro high school appears to have strong city council backing,” by George Rhodes, The Sun Chronicle. — “Perry sees Methuen reaching 'new heights',” by Monica Sager, The Eagle-Tribune.
| | MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE | | NOT-SO GRANITE STATE OF MIND — Nikki Haley is taking the fight to Donald Trump in South Carolina. Trump and his allies are ramping up pressure on her to get out of the GOP primary. The presidential race may have moved on from New Hampshire — for now — but we've got new data from the primary to parse. Our colleague Jessica Piper unpacks the downsides for the four major candidates still in the running. And Lisa talks to the anti-Trump Republicans who see signs of general-election weakness for the former president in primary exit polls. We’ve also got updated data on all of those write-in ballots. President Joe Biden won 77,061 write-in votes in the Democratic primary — and 497 on the Republican side. In another quirk, Haley beat Trump in Democratic primary write-ins, 4,695 to 2,055. Democrats who wanted to vote in the GOP primary had to change their party registration back in October.
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