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Thursday, July 21st, 2022

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Today on Beacon Hill

10:00am Senate Session, Full Formal Session

11:00am House Session, Full Formal Session

12:30pm "Ask the Governor" with Governor Charlie Baker on GBH's Boston Public Radio, 89.7 FM or gbhnews.org

12:30pm House Committee on Post Audit & Oversight, Public Hearing

1:00pm Joint Committee on Environment & Natural Resources, Public Hearing

6:00pm Chelsea Meet & Greet Fundraiser with Lt. Governor Candidate Kim Driscoll

6:00pm Marina Bay Reception for Gov. Candidate Chris Doughty

6:30pm Fundraiser for Secretary of State Candidate Rayla Campbell

6:30pm Fundraiser for Gov. Candidate Geoff Diehl with special guest Mikey Adams

Birthdays: Rep. Colleen Garry

Must-Reads

Massachusetts Republican governor candidates Geoff Diehl, Chris Doughty rip each other in fiery debate » Boston Herald

Diehl, Doughty face off in first — and maybe last — GOP gubernatorial debate » Boston Globe

A super PAC for... Mass. lieutenant governor??? Strange but true, despite the position having little power. » Boston Globe

State House staffers have to wait months for health insurance to kick in. Their bosses nixed part of a bill to give them coverage on day one. » Boston Globe

Judge bars mandatory life sentences for people under 21 in Mass. » WBUR

MBTA is not ‘necessarily worth saving,’ says transportation committee chair » Boston Herald

41% of Massachusetts families struggle to afford health care » Boston Globe

One cause of the Mass. nursing shortage? Too few educators. » Boston Business Journal

NY: New York’s latest union push is coming from inside the Capitol » Gothamist

MD: Dan Cox’s Win Brings Maryland GOP Back to the MAGA Movement » New York Magazine

IN: Indiana Republicans Propose Banning Abortion With Exceptions » HUFFPOST

GA: Court allows Georgia’s ‘heartbeat’ abortion law to go into effect post-Roe » Washington Post

FL: Rubio test-drives a new attack on Demings: She's on TikTok » NBC News

FL: Publix heiress gives $50K to conservative education group Moms for Liberty PAC » Politico

Federal investigation of Hunter Biden reaches critical juncture, sources say » CNN

Mitt Romney dismisses Clarence Thomas' opinion to reconsider same-sex marriage ruling: 'He's opened a lot of doors that no other justices walk through' » Business Insider

Documents detail the secret strategy behind Trump's census citizenship question push » WBUR

Activist David Hogg removed from House hearing on an assault weapons ban » NBC News

57 Billion Dollars in 5 Days: The Frenzy of July

Over the past five days, the Massachusetts legislature has made significant progress on two major expenditure bills, the FY23 budget and economic growth and relief bill. This legislation, if enacted, will provide over 57 billion dollars of critical support to the Commonwealth over the next fiscal year. With the legislature preparing to take vacation at the end of the month, this has only increased the sense of urgency to get these bills passed. This week, the final version of the 2023 budget, HB5050, was laid before the Governor, and later today, the Senate will take up the economic growth and relief bill, SB3018. While the total allotment of funding may end up changing in the coming weeks, this hurried attempt to rush the legislative process has left many struggling to keep track of everything. For those who may be in this position, we conducted a brief analysis of these bills and their movement thus far. Click to view more: https://blog.instatrac.com/blog/57-billion-dollars-in-5-days-the-frenzy-of-july

“What it comes down to is, do House and Senate leadership see staff as integral employees to the Legislature’s operations?” she said. “Or are we simply just disposable labor?”
Nicole Eigbrett, legislative aide from 2017 to 2020
A Senate-backed proposal to immediately cover staffers health insurance was included in the chamber’s state budget bill but was killed in negotiations with the House, to the chagrin of staffers who had hoped the gap in coverage would be addressed.