Tag: bill (law)

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey wants state lawmakers to return to Beacon Hill to take up a multibillion-dollar economic development bill that failed to pass before the end of formal sessions last week.

Lawmakers recessed early Thursday after concluding the formal session and pushing through bills dealing with housing, veterans and parental rights, but left dozens of major proposals on the table as they headed out the door to focus on their reelection campaigns.

Healey said the economic development bond money and legislation are “extremely important” to supporting the state’s business industry and boosting its competitiveness. She urged lawmakers to “return as soon as possible” to take up the plan before the Dec. 31 end of the two-year session.

”This is absolutely essential for economic growth and development, to support critical economic sectors, and to protect our economy and businesses in the face of increasing competition from other states,” Healey, a first-term Democrat, said in a statement. “The people of Massachusetts deserve it and are counting on us.”

The bill, a key plank of Healey’s legislative agenda, would set aside hundreds of millions of dollars in bonding and tax credits to boost the state’s competitiveness. It also would reauthorize the state’s life sciences initiative for another decade and make a parallel investment in climate technology.

Responding to the governor’s demands, Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, issued a statement saying the Senate “is ready to return to work and pass this critical economic development bond authorization—and we are prepared to call a special formal session to get it done.”

Last week, House Speaker Ron Mariano, a Quincy Democrat, said he hopes to revisit a stalled prescription drug bill after those measures failed to make it across the finish line last week.

Other major pieces of legislation that failed to pass before the end of formal sessions included bills dealing with plans to improve hospital oversight and blunt the impact of climate change.

Massachusetts was also the last state to adopt a budget, sending the $58 billion spending plan to Healey nearly a month after the July 1 beginning of the fiscal year.

The bottleneck of major bills has led to finger-pointing and criticism of the Legislature’s Democratic leadership, whom Republicans and pundits say waited until the July 31 end of formal sessions to rush through major pieces of legislation.

Lawmakers can still vote on bills during informal sessions after July 31, but they lack sufficient numbers to challenge any vetoes or amendments. What’s more, debate on legislation taken up during informal sessions can be blocked by objections from any lawmaker.

But proposals that involve spending or borrowing money require roll call votes, where lawmakers register their individual votes. Those votes can only be held in a formal session.

Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com