Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ and senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of Feb. 23 to Feb. 27.
Energy (H 5151)
The House, 128-27, approved and sent to the Senate legislation that supporters said would result in more than $9 billion in savings for utility ratepayers over the next 10 years. The measure cuts roughly $1 billion from the Mass Save program’s marketing and administrative budgets; returns 70% of alternative compliance payments to ratepayers through mid-2029; expands clean energy procurement authority; eases political barriers to nuclear development by repealing a voter law that placed restrictions on it; and delays an offshore wind contracting deadline by two years to 2029.
“As residents across Massachusetts face sky-high heating bills amid another brutal winter, this legislation is proof of the House’s commitment to bringing costs down by cutting unnecessary spending, by putting money back in residents’ pockets and through energy diversification,” said House Speaker Ron Mariano, D-Quincy. “While the Trump administration continues to attack clean energy projects on behalf of the fossil fuel industry, the House understands that energy diversification is the best tool that the commonwealth has to cut costs for ratepayers in the long term.”
“While sustainability remains paramount, without a federal partner in Washington, the commonwealth finds itself in a difficult position,” said Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, D-Boston, chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means. “By making our energy infrastructure more transparent and more predictable, and by controlling costs, we can improve the lives of millions of our residents while at the same time bringing more energy onto the grid.”
“While there are some worthy provisions contained in this bill, it still falls far short of its stated goal to make energy costs more affordable and represents a missed opportunity to deliver real financial relief to the commonwealth’s residential and commercial ratepayers,” said House GOP Minority Leader Rep. Brad Jones, R-North Reading, who voted against the proposal. “The House Republican Caucus offered nearly three dozen amendments that would have provided meaningful short and long-term assistance to those individuals and businesses who are struggling to pay their utility bills. Unfortunately, most of those amendments were rejected, so I could not support the underlying bill in its current form.”
“Beacon Hill is now admitting that $1 billion in Mass Save spending was unnecessary and that ratepayers were funding bloated marketing and administrative costs,” said Paul Craney, executive director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. “Lawmakers approved this billion-dollar spending year after year, and families are only hearing about ‘inefficiencies’ after their electric bills reached record highs. That is not oversight. That is damage control.”
Craney continued, “Expanding procurement authority, codifying subsidy programs like SMART and creating new energy storage incentives is just expanding on the same approach that helped create this affordability crisis in the first place. These programs guarantee above-market compensation backed by ratepayers. Without repealing the upcoming 2030 climate emissions reduction mandate, this bill will be doing nothing but smoothing out the sticker shock while locking in the structural drivers of high energy costs.”
A “Yes” vote is for the bill.
- Rep. Aaron Saunders — Yes
- Rep. Susannah Whipps — Yes
Suspend charges (H 5151)
The House, 25-130, rejected an amendment that would suspend the electric distribution companies from assessing and collecting from consumers “public benefit energy charges” on electric utility bills for 12 consecutive billing months. These charges currently fund programs such as energy efficiency, renewable and clean energy initiatives, distributed solar, electric vehicle programs and residential assistance.
The amendment also prohibits the Department of Public Utilities from deferring or later recovering the forgone revenue through future rate increases. Program administrators would be required to adjust expenditures accordingly during the suspension.
“This bill has been described as an affordability measure, but it does not guarantee immediate relief for ratepayers,” said amendment sponsor Rep. Ken Sweezey, R-Hanson. “[My amendment] provides direct, measurable relief by removing public benefit charges from bills for a full year. At a time when families are struggling to keep up with basic household costs, this gives them breathing room instead of asking them to continue funding state programs through their utility bills.”
Rep. Michael Kushmerek, D-Fitchburg, said he opposes the amendment because it would cut the residential assistance charge that funds low-income discount rates for electric customers. He noted that this would impact hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable ratepayers.
A “No” vote is against the amendment.
- Rep. Aaron Saunders — No
- Rep. Susannah Whipps — No
Natural gas (H 5151)
The House, 25-129, rejected an amendment that would require the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, in consultation with the Department of Public Utilities and the Energy Facilities Siting Board, to conduct a competitive solicitation for proposals to increase firm interstate natural gas transmission capacity into the state with a goal of enhancing winter energy reliability and mitigating price volatility affecting ratepayers.
“[My amendment] would have required the executive branch to put out solicitation for bids to build a pipeline from the Appalachian Shale to Massachusetts, introducing an ample supply of cheap natural gas to ratepayers,” said amendment sponsor Rep. Marc Lombardo, R-Billerica. “Had Maura Healey not stopped the Kinder Pipeline, it would’ve saved ratepayers $5 billion since 2018. We saw during the arctic blast of late January and early February how ill-prepared our energy portfolio is to reliably and cost-effectively handled the demands of Massachusetts. During that time, hydroelectric from Canada was terminated, and wind produced less than 1% of electrical needs. Instead, ISO New England needed to bring online oil-based production, which accounted for 40% of the energy supply at that time. Additional gas supply would have been significantly cheaper and cleaner for Massachusetts ratepayers. If we’re ever going to be serious about lowering costs, then we need to increase our gas supply.”
This past January, the DPU approved expansion of Eversource’s Algonquin pipeline, which will be paid for by developers. Also, building a new gas pipeline would be a 10-to-15-year process, and would require interconnection to New York, which would have to build first.
A “No” vote is against the amendment.
- Rep. Aaron Saunders — No
- Rep. Susannah Whipps — No
Battery storage (H 5151)
The House, 26-127, rejected an amendment that would prohibit the state from approving a battery storage facility in a municipality, unless the governing body of the municipality in which the facility is proposed has voted to approve the project. The amendment also gives cities and towns the authority to establish additional siting, safety and environmental requirements for these storage facilities, as long as they don’t conflict with state law.
“The commonwealth is moving all approvals for new energy storage facilities to the state level,” said amendment sponsor Rep. Kelly Pease, R-Westfield. “This amendment would still allow cities and towns to have a say in where, when and how new battery storage facilities are implemented, or not implemented within their municipalities.”
Rep. Michael Kushmerek, D-Fitchburg, said the House should wait until action is taken on a similar bill that is pending before the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. He noted that there are already conversations underway between the committee, the Department of Energy Resources and the Energy Facility Siting Board to establish parameters on setbacks in local communities for battery storage.
A “No” vote is against the amendment.
- Rep. Aaron Saunders — No
- Rep. Susannah Whipps — No
Unit pricing in convenience stores (S 2965)
The Senate, 37-0, approved and sent to the House a bill that would amend a law that exempts smaller convenience stores from being required to display unit pricing. Unit pricing is the identification of and labeling of items for sale with the retail price per unit, permitting easier price comparisons among similar products in different sized containers.
Under current law, an exemption from unit pricing is given to retailers with lower sales volumes — defined as establishments that generate less than $5 million in in-store sales each year, including sales of Lottery products and gift cards. The bill would remove Lottery products and gift card sales from the calculation of whether a store can be included in the unit price exemption.
Bill supporters said that with the steady rise of inflation, introduction of higher-value Lottery products and increased popularity of pre-paid gift cards, local businesses are more apt to exceed the exemption threshold.
“The unit pricing exemption is a simple way to cut expenses for small businesses and support the communities they serve,” said Sen. Mike Moore, D-Millbury, the bill’s lead sponsor. “However, in the two decades since the policy was written into law, the $5 million revenue threshold for the exemption has remained the same while the cost of products has risen significantly. This legislation makes small tweaks to how a store’s revenue is calculated to ensure the law continues to apply to the corner stores and small businesses it was originally intended to protect.”
A “Yes” vote is for the bill.
- Sen. Joanne Comerford — Yes
- Sen. Paul Mark — Yes
$3.28 billion to modernize colleges and universities (S 2962)
The Senate, 37-0, approved a $3.28 billion package, known as the BRIGHT Act, that funds the modernization of public colleges and universities by using the revenue from the 2022 voter-approved law, known as the millionaire’s tax, that imposes an additional 4% income tax, in addition to the current flat 5% one, on taxpayers’ earnings of more than $1 million annually. The House has already approved its own version of the bill and a House-Senate conference committee will likely hammer out a compromise version.
Provisions include $1.25 billion for the UMass system; $1.25 billion for nine other state university campuses and 15 community college campuses; $275 million for upgrades to MassArt; $100 million for the transition of campus facilities and property into housing and mixed-use developments; $80 million for costs associated with decarbonization and energy efficiency; $120 million for lab modernization, projects at community colleges to support collaboration with vocational technical schools, and projects related to student health and well-being; $50 million for a grant program for general improvements and climate-related upgrade; $20 million for enhancing remote or hybrid learning; and $100 million for a grant program for improvements to upgrade and expand career technical education and training programs.
“Today, the Senate advanced urgently needed legislation to transform public higher education infrastructure by leveraging Fair Share dollars to address deferred maintenance, modernize classrooms and decarbonize campuses,” said Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, Senate chair of the Committee on Higher Education. “With the BRIGHT Act, Massachusetts is choosing not to retreat in the face of federal attacks on higher education, but to build forward — creating healthier, more sustainable campuses that reflect the future we are preparing our students to lead.”
A “Yes” vote is for the bill.
- Sen. Joanne Comerford — Yes
- Sen. Paul Mark — Yes
$300 million for K-12 education (S 2962)
The Senate, 6-31, rejected an amendment that would provide local cities and towns with $300 million in education aid for public elementary and secondary education, including “programs, services, operations, supports and improvements that advance educational quality, equity, access and student success in the commonwealth.”
Amendment supporters said that the $300 million will help cities and towns across the state fund and improve their K-12 education. They noted that communities are struggling to make ends meet and this $300 million would be welcomed by every community.
Amendment opponents said the amendment is well-intentioned but noted the bill is designed to invest in deferred maintenance of colleges, not in K-12 education funding. They noted that the state budget already includes $760 million for local education aid.
A “No” vote is against the $300 million.
- Sen. Joanne Comerford — No
- Sen. Paul Mark — No
Tax revenue from millionaire’s tax (S 3)
The Senate, 5-32, rejected an amendment that would remove a section in the higher education bill that exempts tax revenue generated from the voter-approved millionaire’s tax from counting toward the allowable state tax revenue limitations, under Chapter 62F, which provides that whenever revenue collections in a fiscal year exceed an annual cap tied to wage and salary growth, the excess is returned to taxpayers.
Amendment supporters said the amendment will protect taxpayers and preserve the voter-approved law known as 62F. They argued that Senate Democrats want to break the will of the voters by excluding the new millionaire’s tax revenue from the total calculation for rebates that go back to the taxpayers from 62F.
Amendment opponents argued that this new revenue is earmarked for education and transportation, and must be protected and treated differently than other tax revenue.
The amendment was on striking the section that exempts tax revenue generated from the voter-approved millionaire’s tax from counting toward the allowable state tax revenue limitations. Therefore, a “Yes” vote is for the amendment that favors tax revenue generated from millionaire’s tax counting toward the allowable state tax revenue limitations. A “No” vote is against the amendment and supports exempting the millionaire’s tax revenue from the allowable state tax revenue limitations.
- Sen. Joanne Comerford — No
- Sen. Paul Mark — No
Also up on Beacon Hill
Several bills get initial approval from the House
Several bills were given initial approval from the House, on a voice vote without a roll call, including:
Prohibit recording or broadcasting while driving (H 3748): Would prohibit an operator of a vehicle from recording, broadcasting or otherwise capturing images or video of themselves while driving.
Double fines for speeding in the breakdown lane (H 3729): Would double fines for vehicles speeding in the far-right lane, otherwise known as the “breakdown lane,” in areas where travel is permitted during peak commuting hours.
Supporters said that while allowing travel in the far-right lane is essential on some highways to temporarily provide traffic relief during peak hours, many motorists irresponsibly use this lane as a high-speed passing lane, risking their own safety and the safety of people who might be pulled over in disabled vehicles. They noted that numerous crashes and fatalities have occurred due to excessive speed in the breakdown lane.
New employees under (H 2175): Would establish a 120-hour training period for new employees under the age of 18 who work 20 hours or less per week and require a work permit. During this initial training period with a new employer, these workers would be paid a minimum wage of at least $10 per hour.
Supporters said this legislation is designed to create a structured pathway to the full state minimum wage, currently $15 per hour, and sets a significantly higher standard for young workers than the federal “Youth Opportunity Wage,” which is currently only $4.25 per hour.
Increase fines for handicapped parking violations (H 3614): Would allow cities and towns to increase fines for handicapped parking violations by $450. Current fines are between $100 and $300, and the bill would increase that range to between $550 and $750.
The additional funds must be placed in a special municipal account and used solely to support compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on public property and in public buildings. Local commissions on disabilities or special commissions are tasked with assessing municipal needs for ADA implementation.
Ban retrofitting of diesel-powered vehicles (H 3746): Would prohibit anyone from retrofitting a diesel-powered vehicle with any device, smokestack or other equipment that enhances the vehicle’s capacity to emit soot, smoke or other particulate emissions. Violators would be subject to a fine of between $100 and $1,000.
Raise fine for right-of-way violations (H 3817): Would raise from $35 to $200 the fine for violating the traffic rule that provides when two vehicles approach or enter an intersection at approximately the same instant, the operator of the vehicle on the left must yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right. The proposal also imposes additional penalties and/or license revocation for up to six months for any of these violations that cause death, serious bodily harm or bodily harm.
The measure received initial approval from the House in 2024 but died in committee because the House did not take further action on it.
Sponsor Rep. Steven Xiarhos, R-Barnstable, noted the bill is named “Cecelia’s Law” in memory of Cecelia Finnegan, who was killed at age 26 on Sept. 6, 2020, while riding her motorcycle to work when someone turned in front of her in the town of Bourne.
“As a former police officer, I have responded to far too many crashes caused by drivers failing to yield,” Xiarhos said. “This legislation is about awareness. It is about responsibility. It is about protecting motorcyclists and all who share our roads. Please look twice. Take that extra second. Yield the right of way. Cecelia’s life mattered. And I will continue fighting to make sure her legacy helps save others.”