IN A DRAMATIC turnabout, House and Senate negotiators working on climate legislation say they have resumed their talks and are now optimistic they will find common ground before the session ends.
The negotiations were deadlocked at the end of formal legislative sessions in early August and little progress has been made since. Gov. Maura Healey appeared to give up on the Legislature passing a comprehensive bill and opted instead to include a few provisions on permitting and siting of clean energy projects in a close-out spending bill she filed two weeks ago.
Since then, climate activists have pressed House and Senate officials to go further, and some have even chained themselves to gates outside the State House to draw attention to their efforts to curb the use of fossil fuels.
Now the House and Senate negotiators — Rep. Jeffrey Roy of Franklin and Sen. Michael Barrett of Lexington – say they have started meeting again and sound hopeful they can come to some sort of agreement.
“I think there’s a real interest in getting to yes,” said Barrett, who had all but given up hope for a larger bill after the governor filed her close-out spending bill. “Not everything is aligned quite yet, but I think we can emerge from all this chaos with a deal.”
Roy, who earlier seemed to be satisfied with what the governor included in her spending bill, sounded equally positive that a broader bill is now possible. “We’re talking. We’re continuing to talk,” he said. “Both of us are looking for some things.”
Roy indicated the governor’s decision to include just a few items from the menu of climate measures on the table played a factor. “That was a statement from the governor. Message received,” he said.
Roy suggested the governor’s proposal is now viewed as the starting point for negotiations. “I’m optimistic that we can get at a minimum what the governor put on the table,” he said.
Climate protesters from Extinction Rebellion have chained themselves to the entrance gate to the State House. (Photo by Bruce Mohl)
The resumption of the discussions follows intense pressure from climate activists and environmental groups who want to see the Legislature pass a more comprehensive bill than what Healey has put forward. Most of them have been backing language favored by the Senate that could begin to curb the expansion and use of natural gas. The Senate also previously pushed for expanding the bottle deposit law and shutting down retail electricity sellers, who have been accused of ripping off lower-income customers.
At a protest on the front steps of the State House Tuesday, activists from a number of climate groups demanded action from lawmakers. Several of them wore top hats and tags with the names of Roy, Healey, and House Speaker Ron Mariano on them. The Roy, Healey, and Mariano stand-ins then proceeded to literally kick cans down the State House steps as their fellow activists chanted support for a climate bill. None of the protesters portrayed themselves as Barret and Senate President Karen Spilka.
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