Governor Charlie Baker, who has placed bills before the Legislature to boost hydropower and solar electricity in Massachusetts, travels to Canada this week to meet with New England governors and Canadian premiers where energy options will be on the agenda.  Legislative leaders this session are giving serious consideration to energy bills, weighing environmental benefits with implications for the economy and consumer costs.

As the governor heads to Newfoundland, Attorney General Maura Healey by Wednesday must rule on which of the many initiative petition proposals that activists hope to place on the 2016 ballot meet eligibility requirements under the state constitution.  Proponents of questions that survive Healey’s review face a long road to the ballot that starts with a major signature gathering hurdle.

Wednesday is also the release date for state government’s annual assessment of the health care system’s performance.  Massachusetts has been ground zero for policy experimentation in the areas of health care access, quality improvements and cost control and the Center for Health Information and Analysis report will shed insight into how the state is doing against some of its benchmarks.

For Henry Epp’s conversation with State House News Service reporter Matt Murphy about the week ahead on Beacon Hill, click the audio player above.