AS THE END of the Legislature’s formal session nears, and the to-do list grows longer, some activists are anxious about the prospects of a climate change bill getting signed into law.
Claire-Karl B.W. Müller, a coordinator with the statewide coalition Mass Power Forward, painted a less-than-hopeful picture during a virtual meeting with fellow activists on Monday.
“There’ll be this mad dash in July and there will end up being issues that legislators can’t reconcile,” Müller said. “July 31 midnight will roll around and they’ll go, ‘Oh, we ran out of time, time to go on vacation,’ and we’ll all be like, excuse me, you didn’t finish your job.”
Müller is worried about the climate policies this session precisely because of how things played out last session – when the climate bill passed on the last day of the Legislature’s formal session and lawmakers were unable to override Gov. Charlie Baker’s subsequent veto. The bill was taken up quickly and signed into law in the next session.
Müller also expressed concern about how slowly this particular legislative session has moved.
Leaders of the Legislature’s energy committee have said that they are confident that lawmakers will pass another climate and energy bill this session.
Michael Barrett, the Senate chair of the Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy Committee, said this week he still remains cautiously optimistic. “It’s a big risk given the lateness of the hour, but I think we’re going to overcome the obstacles, nevertheless,” said Barrett, a Lexington Democrat.
Rep. Jeffrey Roy, the House chair of the Legislature’s Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy Committee, and Barrett have resolved a procedural impasse they’ve had since last fall with the intention of passing climate change and energy legislation in this session.
There isn’t certainty around what would be in omnibus climate bills from the two chambers. Based on legislation that has been reported out of committee, the bills may focus on the way that energy infrastructure projects are permitted, utility rates are structured, and how offshore wind is procured.
Mass Power Forward is prioritizing bills. The bills aim to improve air quality for neighborhoods particularly impacted by pollution, factor environmental justice analysis into where potentially polluting energy facilities are placed, establish a fund to decarbonize buildings across the state equitably, and end the expansion of gas systems.
Müller expressed optimism about the bill that would factor environmental justice into where energy facilities are placed and a bill that would curtail gas systems. Müller said that the policy to establish a fund for equitably decarbonizing buildings is in Healey’s $4.1 billion housing bond bill, which would set aside $150 million to decarbonize the public housing stock. The House version of the housing bond bill, released on Monday, also sets aside that amount.
Climate advocates hope to make a big push on their priorities in a final climate bill that bundles different policies.
Mass Power Forward and other climate groups have emphasized climate protections for historically marginalized and impacted groups in the state. They have also called for a rapid transition to 100 percent renewable energy for electricity by 2035.
“I do think we have champions in the Legislature who deeply care about climate policy, but we also have corporations that are lobbying deep and hard against progress,” said Müller. “Combine that with the slow-moving culture and it’s just really difficult for things to happen.”
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