Abortion-rights advocates lay out their next move

From: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook - Monday Jan 23,2023 12:14 pm

Jan 23, 2023

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‘A BITTERSWEET ANNIVERSARY’ — Fifty years after Roe v. Wade guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion and seven months after the Supreme Court stripped that away, reproductive rights issues are squarely back with states. With that in mind, abortion-rights advocates are preparing for their next legislative push on Beacon Hill — and looking to the new occupant of the corner office for help.

Abortion-rights advocates lauded the Legislature last year for passing a post-Roe law, signed by Republican then-Gov. Charlie Baker, bolstering protections for patients and providers and expanding access to the procedure after 24 weeks of pregnancy. But they later dinged Baker for vetoing $1 million for a public education campaign on so-called crisis pregnancy centers, operations that seek to dissuade people from getting abortions.

Securing that money is now a focal point of Reproductive Equity Now’s sweeping legislative agenda for the new session, pieces of which are included in several bills lawmakers filed last week:

— Requiring health insurance plans to cover the full spectrum of pregnancy care, from prenatal to postpartum.

— Mandating Medicaid coverage of doula services.

— Expanding BIPOC access to abortion by advancing recommendations laid out last year by the legislatively created Special Commission on Racial Inequalities in Maternal Health.

— Establishing a five-year pathway to universal, affordable and high-quality early education and child care beginning at birth.

As for that public awareness campaign, Reproductive Equity Now is looking to Gov. Maura Healey and legislative leaders to fund it in their upcoming budget proposals.

Healey has been an “extraordinary partner” as attorney general, Rebecca Hart Holder, Reproductive Equity Now’s executive director and a member of Healey’s transition team, told Playbook.

“I am hopeful about having that kind of partnership in the executive branch," Hart Holder said, adding that post-Roe, “it’s really incumbent on [blue states] like Massachusetts, New York and California to be normalizing and mainstreaming abortion care” in the face of red-state restrictions.

Healey was supportive but noncommittal on REN’s agenda in her interview with Playbook last week. “I need to look more closely at certain proposals and learn more,” she said. “But as a general matter I am going to, as governor, make sure I’m doing everything I can to protect women’s access to abortion, to protect women’s access to health care and to make sure that we are addressing racial and ethnic disparities that have persisted for far too long.”

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. For a hot second over the weekend, it looked like Labor Secretary Marty Walsh was in the running to be President Joe Biden’s next chief of staff.

But less than 24 hours after The New York Times floated the former Boston mayor as a potential replacement for the departing Ron Klain, The Washington Post scooped that the high-profile job would instead be going to Jeff Zients, the administration’s former Covid czar. It was a fun Twitter reaction cycle while it lasted.

TODAY — Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll speaks at the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce’s annual mayors and town managers breakfast at 7:30 a.m. in Andover. Democratic Whip Katherine Clark highlights federal funding at 10 a.m. in Waltham and 1:30 p.m. in Watertown. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is on WBUR’s “Radio Boston” at 11 a.m. Rep. Seth Moulton holds a constituent town hall at 6 p.m. at Andover’s Old Town Hall.

Tips? Scoops? New bills I should highlight? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com.

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THE CLARK CAUCUS

— ‘A VERY DIFFICULT TIME’: House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark’s daughter has been charged with assault after an altercation with a police officer who was trying to arrest her for allegedly spray painting anti-cop messages on the Boston Common bandstand. “This will be evaluated by the legal system, and I am confident in that process,” Clark tweeted Sunday ahead of Riley Dowell’s expected arraignment in Boston Municipal Court. More from POLITICO.

JOIN POLITICO ON 2/9 TO HEAR FROM AMERICA’S GOVERNORS: In a divided Congress, more legislative and policy enforcement will shift to the states, meaning governors will take a leading role in setting the agenda for the nation. Join POLITICO on Thursday, Feb. 9 at World Wide Technology's D.C. Innovation Center for The Fifty: America's Governors, where we will examine where innovations are taking shape and new regulatory red lines, the future of reproductive health, and how climate change is being addressed across a series of one-on-one interviews. REGISTER HERE.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— CAUTION SIGNS: Treasurer Deb Goldberg used her latest appearance on WCVB's "On the Record" to warn budget writers against touching the state's $7 billion rainy day fund as they craft their spending plans for the upcoming fiscal year, noting that federal lawmakers' squabbling over the national debt limit could create "volatile" economic conditions.

Goldberg also cautioned that upcoming sports betting revenues could be “a lot less" than what people are anticipating. "I've heard numbers between $35 million and $50 million," she said, calling that a "drop in the bucket" compared to what operators will pocket. She also remains concerned about how sports betting will impact the state lottery, which her office oversees and which is seeing declining profits on scratch tickets.

And Goldberg wants to see lawmakers’ proposed changes to Chapter 62F. “We need to look at the fairness of it,” the treasurer, who doesn’t have any direct input on the law, said on OTR. “Given how infrequently [it’s triggered] I’m thinking that probably we might have wanted to think about how we could have helped people who were truly in need and particularly who had not yet recovered from the pandemic.”

— “Healey urges ‘aggressive’ approach to the housing crisis,” by Katie Lannan, GBH News: “In her talk at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center, [Gov. Maura] Healey told local leaders that housing and economic development will be a major focal point to her administration. She’s previously said she plans to file legislation within her first 100 days to create a dedicated housing secretariat in her cabinet, and on Friday she said she would convene a working group to help her envision how the housing office will be structured.”

— MIGRANTS IN MASSACHUSETTS: Healey also said at the Massachusetts Municipal Association meeting Friday that she plans to file a supplemental spending bill to ensure migrant families “have access to the education and support they need to learn and thrive.” Former Gov. Charlie Baker's $139 million request didn't make it through the Legislature last session.

— “Baker tapped nearly 170 for state boards and panels during his final weeks in office,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “In the weeks before he left Beacon Hill, former governor Charlie Baker installed nearly 170 people on state boards and commissions, moves that could extend the Republican’s influence for years even as his Democratic successor seeks to make her imprint on the state’s bureaucracy. The slew of 11th-hour appointees — Baker named dozens in his final three days alone — featured members of Baker’s staff, including his former chief of staff who scored a board seat the day of Governor Maura Healey‘s inauguration.”

— “I-Team: Mass. taxpayers footing the bill for former Gov. Baker's continued security,” by Cheryl Fiandaca, WBZ: “Day and night for more than two weeks, Massachusetts State Police troopers on overtime have been providing security outside former Governor Charlie Baker's Swampscott home. … The Massachusetts State Police in a statement told the I-Team: ‘As part of our executive protection mission, we determine on a case-by-case basis the duration of protective services provided to principals after the conclusion of their elected term. For security reasons, we have no further comment.’"

— “Lawmakers file legislation to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms, other plants,” by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: “Two bills have been filed at the State House to end arrests for psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, mescaline and ibogaine in the Bay State. This push for decriminalization at the state level comes after some cities, including Somerville and Cambridge, voted to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms and other entheogenic plants.”

— IN MEMORIAM: “Thomas F. Birmingham, former state Senate president, dies at 73,” by Bryan Marquard, Boston Globe.

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FROM THE HUB

— “Michelle Wu state legislative agenda includes Boston MBTA board seat, rent control,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “Several of the items are retreads of issues that Boston officials have long sought but never quite got over the hill on the hill, such as a Boston-specific seat on the MBTA board, legislation to allow the city to impose and a transfer fee of 2% on real-estate sales over $2 million and ‘fare equity’ changes for the T’s Commuter Rail, which essentially means making it so rides from some of the farther-flung-yet-still-in-Boston stops don’t cost more, like they do now. Wu’s list also includes legislation that would ban the door-to-door ‘predatory competitive electric supply companies’ and another bill that makes it easier for people to continue to receive childcare vouchers if they become homeless.

"Two pieces that aren’t yet filed are Wu’s impending rent-control bill that will come as a home-rule petition from her and to the council. … And the final item, which the release left vague, is that ‘the Wu administration will seek to amend the decades-old state law that governs Urban Renewal in Boston to remove and modernize antiquated structures which would allow Boston to better meet the needs of current and future Boston residents.’”

— “Facing early pushback, Michelle Wu says her rent control proposal strikes proper balance,” by Emma Platoff, Boston Globe

— “Protesters mark 50th anniversary of Roe after repeal,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald.

PARTY POLITICS

— DRIP DRIP: The latest document dump from MassGOP Treasurer Pat Crowley ahead of the party’s Jan. 31 leadership election shows Chair Jim Lyons paid $1,800 for opposition research into two of his state committee colleagues. Lyons paid the Stirm Group to investigate Lindsay Valanzola, who he has been trying to remove from the state committee by claiming she no longer lives in Massachusetts but in Tennessee, where she frequently travels for work. He also paid for a “background investigation” into Matt Sisk and records from probate court, which deals with family matters.The MassGOP owes the Stirm Group more than $52,000 for opposition research Lyons requested into now-Gov. Maura Healey, according to documents obtained by Playbook. The Boston Globe’s Emma Platoff has more.

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PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES

— "Allston still in limbo after feds reject $1.2 billion request to help fund Pike realignment," by Jon Chesto, Boston Globe.

— "More Massachusetts districts are switching to electric school buses," by Carrie Jung, WBUR.

FROM THE DELEGATION

— FROM THE OPINION PAGES: Sen. Elizabeth Warren is out with a Boston Globe op-ed slamming House Republicans for threatening to tie raising the debt limit to spending cuts. Warren also says her Democratic colleagues have to “stiffen their spines and say enough is enough. Every lawmaker should flat out refuse to cut a single dollar of support for hardworking families and small businesses while billionaire corporations and the ultra-wealthy escape paying taxes.”

— WATCH: Rep. Stephen Lynch tell WBZ’s Jon Keller that he believes Republicans and Democrats can compromise on the debt limit.

— “Cape Cod bridge replacement still possible with a new price, Stephen Lynch says,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “It is estimated replacing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owned bridges will cost about $3.98 billion, a figure that Lynch told Keller is directly responsible for holding up the project and, more to the point, entirely wrong. ‘As someone who used to build bridges for a living, I think those (estimates) are far in excess of what it would take to build those two bridges,’ Lynch, a former iron worker, said.”

— Related: “Sagamore, Bourne bridges: Bourne feels out of the loop with planning,” by Paul Gately, Cape Cod Times: “Town officials feel out of the loop, and bypassed, to a point where they cannot adequately decide how to make recommendations of their own as wider planning continues."

FROM THE 413

— MAYOR’S RACE SHAPING UP: Longtime Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno hasn’t publicly said whether he’s running for reelection. But two other people say they’re vying for his seat. City Councilor Justin Hurst jumped in back in November. Now the Springfield Republican’s Jonah Snowden reports that David Ciampi, a counselor and psychotherapist, is running on a platform that includes bringing an “extravagant, annual Carnival parade” to the city.

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— "Sam Trabucco, a Roxbury Latin and MIT grad, got rich trading crypto. Now he’s the odd man out in the FTX saga," by Anissa Gardizy, Boston Globe: "Like other entrepreneurs who reach success at a young age, Sam Trabucco got a taste of the high life. He bought a yacht and a multimillion-dollar condo overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, and partied with his friends in Las Vegas and the Bahamas last year.. Then, just ahead of his 30th birthday, he walked away from his high-level job at Alameda Research, the trading firm associated with crypto exchange FTX — right before the whole thing collapsed behind him."

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HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

MELT YOUR HEART — Need a road plowed? Sled-Zeppelin is on its way. Or maybe the Plower Ranger. Or Luke Snowalker. You get the drift. MassDOT announced the winners of its name-a-snowplow contest for students. It’s Snow Big Deal — or is it?

OVERHEARD AT LOGAN AIRPORT — Gov. Maura Healey’s new greeting playing. Listen.

SPOTTED — Kim Kardashian at Harvard. Watch.

TRANSITIONS — CommonWealth Magazine alum Shira Schoenberg joins the Boston Globe as an editorial writer.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Dan Koh, deputy cabinet secretary at the White House and a Labor Department alum, and Amy Sennett, general counsel of software company Karat, on Friday welcomed John “Jack” Kwang Lim Koh, who came in at 8 lbs, 11.5 oz, and joins big sister Theodora. Pics.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Kristen Lepore, former chief of staff to former Gov. Charlie Baker, and Harvard Institute of Politics’ Amy Howell.

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