Budget battles ahead

Presented by

CUE THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE — Beacon Hill Democrats agree on the broad strokes of their budgets but disagree on signature spending priorities, setting the stage for closed-door clashes over everything from college aid to Chapter 62F.

We’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves here. Senators are just starting to file amendments to their $55.85 billion fiscal year 2024 budget plan, which doesn’t hit the floor until the week of May 22. Then comes the inevitable conference committee to hash out differences between the chambers’ plans, etc., etc.

But the starting offer from top Senate Democrats makes it clear: Beacon Hill’s Big Three may all belong to the same party, but they’re not going to back down from a policy fight — even when the new governor’s reputation is on the line.

Here are some key differences between the three budget plans:

— MUCH ADO ABOUT HIGHER ED: Gov. Maura Healey’s “MassReconnect” program looks like a go after the House and Senate matched the $20 million she proposed to make community college tuition free for those over 25 who lack degrees. But both chambers chucked her $59 million tuition lock for incoming UMass students.

The House and Senate offered their own plans for boosting higher-education enrollment and growing the workforce. But neither are reflected in the other’s budget. The House called to increase targeted scholarships for high-demand disciplines. The Senate bypassed that in favor of putting money toward covering the costs of attending community college nursing programs and toward Senate President Karen Spilka’s goal of making community college free for all by the fall of 2024.

Senators also proposed offering undocumented immigrants in-state tuition rates at state colleges and universities if they’ve lived here for at least three years and have a high school degree or GED. The move puts new momentum behind an old issue on Beacon Hill and would bring Massachusetts in line with 23 other states and Washington, D.C. Healey said through a spokesperson that she’s “supportive of efforts to provide in-state tuition to students who are living in Massachusetts and going to high school here.”

— TO CHANGE OR NOT TO CHANGE 62F: The Big Three all agree that money from the millionaires tax should be left out of the revenue calculations that trigger Chapter 62F. But the House is alone in wanting to change those rebates from income-based to equal for all taxpayers.

— NO UNIVERSAL AGREEMENT ON FREE SCHOOL MEALS: The House included $161 million in its budget to make universal free school meals permanent. Healey and the Senate say they would rather re-up the program through supplemental spending plans.

— FREE THE (R)T(As): Top Democrats are all on board with putting $5 million toward studying means-tested MBTA fares. But the Senate added $15 million for a six-month fare-free pilot program for regional transit authorities, at least two of which are already running free buses.

— TAX TIFF: The Senate is reserving $575 million for a tax-relief proposal that Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues said would come “soon after we put the FY ‘24 budget to bed.” But it’s likely to differ in cost and scope from the House and Healey’s.

— DON’T BET ON IT YET: The Senate isn’t on board with the House’s push to legalize online lottery sales, even though Healey is. Rodrigues said Senate leaders — who’ve historically been more hesitant than others on Beacon Hill to embrace gambling matters — think the idea “needs more time to be vetted.”

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation has a handy overview of the differences in how Healey, the House and the Senate want to spend the $1 billion they’ve budgeted in millionaires surtax revenues. Dive deeper into the Senate budget with the Boston Globe’s Samantha J. Gross and CommonWealth Magazine’s CommonWealth Magazine’s Bruce Mohl.

TODAY — Healey has no public events. Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll attends a Gateway Cities Legislative Caucus meeting at 10 a.m. at the State House. Spilka addresses the Associated Industries of Massachusetts at 9 a.m. at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts in Boston. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attends a South Boston coffee hour at 9:30 a.m.

Tips? Transitions? Want to commiserate over the Celtics and/or the Christmas Tree Shops closing its iconic windmill store in Sagamore? Send your scoops to cheer me up: [email protected].

PARTY POLITICS

— BAKER’S BACK: Former Gov. Charlie Baker is slated to headline a MassGOP fundraiser in June, according to an invite obtained by Playbook. It looks to be his first appearance at a major political event in Massachusetts since leaving office.

It also marks a return to the party fold for Baker now that a friendlier face, Amy Carnevale, has taken over as state GOP chair from Jim Lyons.

Tickets range from $100 to $5,000 for the June 22 Lincoln-Reagan Reception at the Lenox Hotel in Boston. Carnevale and her finance chair, Baker administration Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy, are bringing both Baker and the fundraising event back as they look for ways to get the cash-strapped state party on stronger financial footing.

— In other Baker news: “NCAA President Charlie Baker Continues to Push for NIL Legislation With Lawmakers,” by Ross Dellenger, Sports Illustrated.

FROM THE HUB

— REDISTRICTING DRAMA: A federal judge did more than just send city councilors back to the drawing board when she barred Boston from using its new district map — she threw this year’s council elections into chaos.

With just two weeks until nomination papers are due and some candidates now uncertain about what district they’re running in, city officials are scrambling to figure out what to do.

There’s precedent here: Boston’s 1983 municipal elections were delayed — the preliminary by two weeks, the general election by one week — after a federal judge blocked the city’s redistricting map.

But nomination papers are where it gets tricky. The only way to extend the May 23 deadline, which is dictated by the city charter, would be through a court order or a home-rule petition that would have to be run up Beacon Hill, the secretary of state’s office told Playbook.

City officials are reviewing options for extending filing deadlines. Council President Ed Flynn, who helped bankroll the lawsuit that led to the overturned map, said he’s spoken to state and local officials about next steps, but didn’t share any specifics in statements to the Globe and Herald. Watch today’s council meeting at noon.

— “Son of late Mission Hill lawmaker jumps into District 3 race,” by Gintautas Dumcius, Dorchester Reporter: “Dorchester resident John FitzGerald, the 41-year-old son of a legendary state lawmaker and a veteran of City Hall, has joined the race to succeed District 3 Councillor Frank Baker.”

DATELINE BEACON HILL

— “Advocates Call for Mass. Lawmakers to Close Wage Gap,” by Mary Markos, NBC10 Boston: “The legislation would require employers to post salary ranges and release aggregated wage data by race, gender and employment category. … Wage gaps in Greater Boston have gotten worse over the last decade, jumping from 23 to 30 cents for all women — meaning they make 70 cents on the dollar — according to the Boston Women’s Workforce Council. The disparity is even worse for Black and Latina women, who make just 49 and 45 cents on the dollar, respectively. Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell pointed to those statistics in her testimony, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic set women back by 30 years.”

VAX-ACHUSETTS

— “‘In a better place’: As COVID emergency ends, Mass. officials say state is prepared to deal with future surges,” by Felice J. Freyer and Sonel Cutler, Boston Globe: “The state is well equipped to track the virus and respond to any surges, and the controversial decision to lift the requirement for masks in health care settings was grounded in science and data, [new DPH Commissioner Robbie] Goldstein asserted Tuesday at the Department of Public Health offices.”

DAY IN COURT

— “Brighton man accused of plotting with Chinese government to identify prodemocracy activists in Boston area,” by Shelley Murphy, Boston Globe: “A Brighton man was arrested Tuesday on charges that he was secretly working with the Chinese government to compile a ‘blacklist’ of Chinese activists and organizations in the United States who participated in protests supporting prodemocracy dissidents.”

— “Mass. high court awards $37 million in cancer suit against tobacco maker Philip Morris,” by Yasmin Amer, WBUR.

BIDEN TIME

— NEW THIS AM: Gov. Maura Healey and Sen. Elizabeth Warren have been named to the National Advisory Board for President Joe Biden‘s reelection campaign. They’re part of the inaugural group of 50 “leading voices in the Democratic Party who will take a leadership role in helping deliver” Biden’s message through media interviews, fundraising events and more.

TRUMPACHUSETTS

— “Trump’s defeat in Carroll case presages more legal peril,” by Kyle Cheney, POLITICO: “A federal jury’s finding that Donald Trump sexually abused E. Jean Carroll in the mid 1990s is a historic rebuke of a former president and frontrunner for the 2024 GOP nomination. But it’s also a prologue. Legal threats in Washington, Manhattan and Atlanta — both criminal and civil — are crystallizing in ways Trump has skirted for his entire political life.”

Trump is in New Hampshire tonight for a CNN town hall at 8 p.m. Planning to go? Let me know.

THE LOWELL CONNECTOR

— “Feds investigating cyberattack of Lowell network,” by Melanie Gilbert, Lowell Sun: “As the cyberattack of Lowell’s municipal network enters its third week, the city confirmed that the online group ‘Play’ has claimed responsibility for the breached network that has disrupted operations since April 24. The Sun also confirmed that the FBI and other federal agencies are involved in the forensic investigation of the attack.”

FROM THE 413

— “MCLA will not move forward with plan to put a homeless shelter on campus,” by Sten Spinella and Greta Jochem, Berkshire Eagle: “In a letter emailed to the MCLA community on Tuesday, College President James Birge announced that the college would not go forward with the plan after ‘extensive consideration.’ Since late last year, the college has been discussing an offer to take part in a state-run program that would relocate homeless families to the Berkshire Towers dormitory, which is currently vacant.”

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “Influx of migrants in Massachusetts continues to overwhelm state resources — and more may be on the way,” by Mike Damiano, Boston Globe: “After a brief winter respite, a new surge of migrants is overwhelming the state’s aid network, and even more could arrive in the coming months after the United States ends a pandemic policy that made it easy to quickly expel unauthorized border crossers.”

— “IRS targets local fishermen in tax crackdown,” by Will Sennott, New Bedford Light: “Federal authorities are cracking down on New England fishermen evading income taxes, charging eight in the last three months in a set of investigations that have sent tremors through the New Bedford waterfront.”

— “Koch to run for seventh term as Quincy mayor: ‘There’s more to do’,” by Mary Whitfill, Patriot Ledger.

MEDIA MATTERS

— “Radio talk show host Howie Carr recovering after fainting on air: ‘I’ll be back in a couple days’,” by Kate Armanini, Boston Globe.

HEARD ‘ROUND THE BUBBLAH

SPOTTED — Gov. Maura Healey and Supreme Judicial Court Justice David Lowy at the Celtics game, per a Playbook tipster.

TRANSITIONS — State climate chief Melissa Hoffer and EEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper have joined the Boston Green Ribbon Commission.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Andrew Card, Carter Foxgrover, Linnea Walsh and Chloe Gotsis of the Healey administration; Amy Russes, NYT’s Jaclyn Reiss, Alex Milne, Elise Italiano, Brad Bannon, the Boston Herald’s Bruce Castleberry and Boston.com’s Gary Dzen.

Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: [email protected].