New England Public Radio

The Week Ahead On Beacon Hill

Tomorrow is Election Day, and in Massachusetts, much of the state-level focus has been on the four ballot questions. Spending on the ballot initiatives has been “massive,” according to reporter Matt Murphy of the State House News Service in Boston.

NEPR’s 2016 Voter Guide

In non-election news, a deadline is approaching for state employees to take a voluntary buyout or early retirement offer. It’s one possible fix as the Baker administration grapples with a budget deficit.

Click the audio player above to hear NEPR’s Henry Epp speak with Matt Murphy of the State House News Service. Henry asked Matt about the short-term changes that could happen if voters approve recreational marijuana in Massachusetts.

Biggest Money In Massachusetts Elections: Two Ballot Questions

Groups opposing and supporting a ballot question in Massachusetts to increase the number of charter schools have raised more than $22 million dollars.

Charter school supporters, with significant backing from the New York-based Families For Excellent Schools Advocacy, have raised more than $15 million. Charter opponents have raised less than half that, relying on Massachusetts and national teachers unions.

This ballot question has attracted by far the most cash out of the four that will appear on ballots statewide.

In second place, but well behind, is the question on recreational marijuana. Out of the $4.3 million raised, 85 percent has gone to groups hoping to legalize the drug. Of that, about 90 percent has come from out of state. The biggest chunk comes from New Approach PAC, a DC-based group that’s funded similar campaigns across the country.

Travel writer and PBS personality Rick Steves, a Washington state resident, chipped in another $100,000 and will campaign the next 10 days in Massachusetts and Maine, which also votes on marijuana next month.

“I know people in Massachusetts might be saying, ‘Why is a guy from Washington [state] care about this?'” Steves said in a phone interview Monday. “Well, this is an American issue. We have a federal prohibition against marijuana. And we learned from the prohibition against alcohol that, in a lot of cases, the law can be causing more harm than the drug it’s trying to protect us from, and it takes states to take down a federal prohibition.”

Massachusetts’ anti-marijuana groups have raised far less money, but most of it has come from inside the state. Top contributors include Partners Healthcare and the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts. Each donated $100,000.

New England Public Radio’s Henry Epp contributed to this report.

Correction: This story contained a confusing typo. Charter school supporters — not opponents — have raised more than $15 million.

The Short List: Morse On Marijuana, Mass. Gets Zika Funding And This Week’s Overlooked Stories

NEPR'S WEEK IN REVIEW

What made The Short List this week?

  • Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse supports the marijuana legalization ballot question.
  • We look at Zika, and the opioid crisis, in terms of funding.
  • And we put a spotlight on some overlooked stories of the week.

Click the audio player above to hear New England Public Radio’s Carrie Healy explore these issues with Cynthia Simison, managing editor of the Springfield Republican newspaper and with Western Mass Politics and Insight editor Matt Szafranski.

This Week On Beacon Hill

The Massachusetts Legislature restored millions in spending to the state budget during a rare Saturday session, over the objections of Governor Charlie Baker. State House News Service reporter, Matt Murphy tells New England Public Radio’s Carrie Healy, lawmakers squeezed in some work over the weekend in-between national party conventions…as they face a July 31st deadline to wrap up formal sessions.

The Week Ahead On Beacon Hill

State senators are not dissuaded by tax collections that are running well short of estimates for the current fiscal year and the one that begins on July 1. In a little over 48 hours culminating last Thursday afternoon, 39 senators filed 1,167 amendments to the $39.497 billion fiscal 2017 budget produced by the 18-member Senate Ways and Means Committee. The bill’s primary author, chairwoman Sen. Karen Spilka, filed one fairly lengthy “corrective amendment.”

With the House budget loaded up with earmarked spending that could be adopted by a conference committee, the Senate may use this year’s budget bill to tack on policy matters that have failed to emerge from House-controlled committees. Asked about policy changes in the Senate budget already, Spilka told reporters there were “a lot of policy issues.” Without explaining any, she added, “There’s like eighty outside sections. Again, it’s great reading.”

Packing the budget with policy would add more complexity to conference talks in June, but would give legislative negotiators a robust menu of policy and spending options to choose from as they deliver Gov. Charlie Baker an election year budget that Senate President Stanley Rosenberg says includes business-friendly investments in education, transportation and housing.

Click the audio player to hear Matt Murphy of the State House News Service talk about the week ahead in Massachusetts politics with NEPR’s Henry Epp.

 

 

Greenfield, Mass. Board To Vote On A Proposed Needle Exchange

In the middle of a fight against heroin abuse, Greenfield, Massachusetts, is one step closer to hosting a needle exchange. Residents requested the Board of Health look into the service last fall. Greenfield’s Public Health Director Nicole Zabko says there’s been no vocal opposition to the plan. And she says, town officials were well aware of legal issues facing another needle exchange in the region:

One of the main priorities of going through this process and taking the time that they did, was to not have a Holyoke situation on our hands; was to gain community consensus, was to make this a smooth process, should the approval be in the direction of wanting this type of program for Greenfield.

A judge has ordered Holyoke’s program to close late this summer because the city council had not approved it. In Greenfield, the Board of Health will vote on the needle exchange at their next meeting — in early June. The measure would also require approval by the town council. Massachusetts has committed to funding up to ten needle exchange programs, and currently four slots remain.