| | | | |  | | By Kelly Garrity | PROGRAMMING NOTE: Massachusetts Playbook won’t publish Thursday and Friday for the Fourth of July but I’ll be back in your inbox Monday. In the meantime, you can reach me at kgarrrity@politico.com. Hope you all have a lovely holiday weekend! CHIPPING AWAY — One lawsuit down, a couple to go for the MassGOP. The state Republican Party’s current leadership notched a win Tuesday when a Superior Court judge dismissed the lawsuit that former party Chair Jim Lyons filed last August alongside more than 20 state committee members. Lyons brought the suit against the party, party Chair Amy Carnevale and party Treasurer Patrick Crowley, after legal bickering over an earlier lawsuit that Lyons brought against Crowley in 2022 that the party voted to end when new leadership took the helm. Lyons couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday night. Meanwhile, a judge overseeing another lawsuit from Lyons against the party — this one for back pay he said he was owed after forgoing a salary for his role as head of the party during the pandemic — offered more good news for Carnevale and company. Lyons requested for that money — totaling more than $90,000 — be set aside as the case plays out. But the district court judge in that case rejected the request, per a memo Carnevale shared with state committee members — and threw cold water on hope for a quick, favorable ruling for Lyons. The plaintiff, Justice Asha White wrote, “has not established a reasonable likelihood of success on the suit,” adding that the request to hold the funds aside was “excessive, unreasonable and unnecessary.”
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New MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale addresses state committee members on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023, in Marlborough. | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO | Carnevale took a modest victory lap in an email to state committee members Tuesday evening. The decision to dismiss the Superior Court case “allows the Massachusetts Republican Party to continue its efforts to move the Republican Party forward with a focus on supporting candidates and winning elections,” Carnevale wrote. “Our goal should always be on bringing back a two-party government to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and litigation only serves to divert our party from that goal.” The MassGOP might not be out of the red yet. Money’s flowing into the party’s coffers again. A more than $80,000 fundraising haul in June put the party’s state campaign finance account above $115,000 (the first time its hit three figures since 2022, according to state records. And it currently has $100,000 on hand in its federal account, per a party official. But it could have to shell out at least some of those savings. Lawyers are in the process of disputing nearly $300,000 of the roughly $400,000 in unpaid receipts for media, including some supporting former state Rep. Geoff Diehl’s failed gubernatorial bid. But it has been steadily padding its coffers. GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Two dozen Democratic governors gathered on a call Monday to commiserate and share information amid the fallout from President Joe Biden’s debate performance last week, POLITICO’s Elena Scheider confirmed Tuesday. Gov. Maura Healey was on the call, a campaign spokesperson confirmed without providing more detail. The White House quickly moved to set up a hybrid meeting today with Democratic governors, but Healey’s campaign was mum on her plans to join. It’s safe to assume given her publicly blank schedule that Healey will be attending in some form or another (She is a campaign surrogate, after all.), but she’s not broadcasting her plans the way some other, higher-profile Biden surrogates like Gavin Newsom are. TODAY — Gov. Maura Healey has no public events. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is on “Java with Jimmy” at 9 a.m. THIS WEEKEND — David Cash, regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, is on WBZ’s “Keller @ Large” ]at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro and Sen. Michael Moore are on NBC10 Boston’s “@ Issue” at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | |  | DATELINE BEACON HILL | | — “Watching the sausage get made on Beacon Hill,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Beacon: “It's often said that laws are like sausages – it’s best not to see them getting made. But a proposal to change the way the state procures clean energy is worth keeping a close eye on, partly because the stakes are so high but also because a bit of scrutiny is likely to keep all parties honest. The proposal didn’t follow the traditional legislative route – getting filed as a bill, vetted in a hearing before a committee, and then moving on to the full Legislature. Instead, the Healey administration broached the idea earlier this year but actual language didn’t emerge publicly until a climate bill was reported out of the Senate Ways and Means Committee midway through June.” — “After Karen Read trial, State Police expecting ‘additional scrutiny’,” by Sean Cotter and Matt Stout, The Boston Globe: “The leader of the State Police said he expects his troopers to face increased scrutiny in their investigations as he further condemned the actions of Trooper Michael Proctor, the lead investigator on the Karen Read case who was relieved of duty Monday night. … The State Police, which has faced multiple scandals in recent years, has been thrust back into the spotlight by Proctor’s testimony in the Read case, in which the Mansfield woman is accused of striking her boyfriend, Boston police Officer John O’Keefe, with her Lexus SUV in a drunken rage and leaving him to die in a blizzard in January 2022.” — “Healey administration awards $45M to extend broadband infrastructure,” by Namu Sampath, The Springfield Republican. — “Healey: More housing for Lowell, state,” by Melanie Gilbert, The Lowell Sun.
| | FROM THE HUB | | — “Boston ends needle collection program that gathered thousands of syringes daily,” by Jason Laughlin, The Boston Globe: “Since it launched in 2020, Boston’s Community Syringe Redemption Program has taken about five million dirty needles off the street and halved calls to the city for syringe cleanup. In exchange, the program provided small cash payments to those living with addiction, keeping some from turning to theft and prostitution, according to Addiction Response Resources, the small business that runs the program. As of last Friday, though, the needle exchange program is defunct. The city’s Public Health Commission no longer has the money for the initiative, said Pai En Yu, a spokesperson for the commission.” — “After the fire, East Boston residents feel the gaps in city’s emergency response,” by Sarah Betancourt and Elena Eberwein, GBH News.
| | YAHD SIGNS AND BUMPAH STICKAHS | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — State Rep. Sam Montaño is endorsing attorney Allison Cartwright for Suffolk Supreme Judicial Court clerk, the latest in a long list of Beacon Hill lawmakers who are playing in the race for the somewhat obscure post. — “Ex-Mass. Sen. Scott Brown says he’s weighing comeback ‘sooner rather than later’,” by John L. Micek, MassLive.
| | DATELINE D.C. | | — “Democrats begin attacking Biden’s performance and campaign,” by Jared Mitovich, POLITICO: “[O]n Tuesday, Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) said he was doubtful that Biden just had a bad night during the debate, and he urged the president to consider how his place on the ticket impacts the fate of Democrats in the Congress. … Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) echoed Quigley’s sentiment during a later interview on CNN, calling it unhelpful for the campaign to dismiss voter concerns and adding that he thinks Biden should more aggressively confront worries about his age.”
| | | | Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more. | | | | | | | MARIJUANA IN MASSACHUSETTS | | — “At Fall River cultivation site, cannabis workers cast off their union,” by Katie Johnston, The Boston Globe. COMMISSION COMMOTION — Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro will join legislators for a hearing next week on his report on the Cannabis Control Commission, his office confirmed, in response to a request from Rep. Daniel Donahue, who chairs the House Cannabis Policy Committee. Donahue quested Shapiro join the July 9 hearing in a letter Tuesday, after Shapiro pleaded with lawmakers to appoint a receiver to help steer the “rudderless” agency. More from the State House News Service.
| | IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN | | — “In the Berkshires, an effort to corral climate change, one stream at a time,” by Erin Douglas, The Boston Globe.
| | FROM THE 413 | | — “Sabadosa bills bring pregnancy loss out of shadows,” by Emilee Klein, Greenfield Recorder: “Two bills presented by Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa that passed last week will support families who have experienced pregnancy loss by adding paid pregnancy loss leave to the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law and establishing a public information campaign for awareness and treatment options for pregnancy loss. The two pieces of legislation are part of a larger maternal health omnibus bill that seeks to codify many professions and processes that occur before and after labor and delivery. The bill includes a pathway for certified professional midwives, updated regulations on birthing centers, and licensing and reimbursement for lactation consultants.”
| | THE LOCAL ANGLE | | — “State funding to increase paraprofessional positions in New Bedford, Fairhaven schools,” by Matthew Ferreira, The Standard-Times: “As the state and nation continues dealing with a labor shortage, the Healey-Driscoll administration hopes that giving out a total of $15.9 million will help boost various areas of the workforce across the state, according to a press release. While funds coming into some Massachusetts communities will be used to help industries like health care, CDL driving, and restaurants, the portion coming into SouthCoast will be dedicated to putting more people in paraprofessional positions at New Bedford and Fairhaven public schools, as well as helping existing paras become licensed teachers.” — “Attleboro switches to two tax bills instead of four, and gets lots of blowback,” by George W. Rhodes, The Sun Chronicle.
| | HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH | | TRANSITIONS — Jason Law has joined the state’s Executive Office of Education as press secretary and event coordinator. He previously worked as reporter and anchor, most recently at Boston 25 News HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to state Rep. Mark Cusack, Barbara Lee, president and founder of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, Kunal Botla, Maia Raynor, Maya Serkin and Ted Steinberg. HAPPY LONG BIRTHWEEKEND — Thursday birthday-ers Chris Ingerson, Rachel Wells, Lanhee Chen, Will Ritter, Targeted Victory’s Ryan Williams, MassFiscal’s Laurie Belsito, the late Massachusetts governor and President Calvin Coolidge, who was born on July 4, 1872, and, of course, the United States of America; to Pat Beaudry, Christian Greve and Boston.com alum Chris Caesar, who celebrate Friday; to former state Sen. Richard Ross, state Sen. Jake Oliveira, Dave Eisenstadter and WBUR’s Cloe Axelson, who celebrate Saturday; and to Sunday birthday-ers Bryan Bowman, Megan Wessenberg, Mike Rigas, Roselle Chartock, Melisse Morris, Vanessa Gatlin, Tim Murray and Northeastern’s Mike Ferrari, a Beacon Hill and Capitol Hill alum. 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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