As spring transitions into summer in New England and emergency restrictions come to an end, the news has been trending to less urgent matters. However, that’s not saying much considering how ultra-urgent things have seemed for the past year. On another timeline where the road was less rocky, this week’s news might feel more urgent than it does today.
Is a millionaire’s tax urgent when the state is rolling in billions of dollars in federal economic relief? Is the fact that businesses are scrambling to hire enough employees urgent if you’re being paid to stay home? Is the building of a fossil fuel-powered peaker plant urgent when a bank of batteries might suffice just fine? Is the Transportation Climate Initiative (aka TCI) urgent? Apparently not to Connecticut and ten other states that signed on and then off. We debrief on all these topics below.
In a bright spot in this week’s news, two cities in the Bay State topped Safewise’s list of the 100 safest cities in the U.S. That’s something!
Read all about the topics below and then charm your cronies with your clever conversance on current crises in Mass. politics.
Politics
“Millionaire Tax” will be on the Ballot in 2022
A constitutional amendment that would raise the income tax on wealthy Massachusetts residents passed the Constitutional Convention, and the so-called “millionaire’s tax” will be included on the 2022 ballot.
The proposal calls for an additional 4% tax on all household income above $1 million. This is in addition to the current flat income tax rate of 5%. The Department of Revenue estimated that the measure could generate as much as $1.9 billion in additional taxes.
Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ron Marian defended the proposal in a joint statement.
“As Massachusetts recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, and as we prepare for our future, we have a unique opportunity to move towards a Commonwealth that truly works for all residents... We stand with the residents of Massachusetts in exploring new ways to increase revenue for the state as we envision and invest in an equitable and hopeful future for the Commonwealth.”
The proposal has the backing of the Raise Up Coalition, a group of labor, faith, and community organizations, who said in a statement:
“Long before the pandemic, Massachusetts needed new investments in our transportation and public education systems. These investments are needed now more than ever to lift up our economy for everyone and to ensure Massachusetts remains a great place to live, work, and raise a family. Massachusetts needs sustainable, long-term revenue for these investments that doesn’t require low- and middle-income families to pay more.”
The proposal is getting some fierce blowback from business leaders who point to the fact that tax revenues are more than $1.8 billion ahead of projections through April and that the state is collecting another $5.3 billion in federal COVID-19 relief aid.
Read all about it at Boston Business Journal.
More Politics
Tami Gouveia announces campaign for Massachusetts lieutenant governor
An inspiration and mentor for women in politics, Betty Taymor dies at 100
Battenfeld: Biden sets low bar for Irish ambassador, reportedly picking obscure Massachusetts Rep
Business
Bay State Businesses “Scrambling” To Hire Workers, Pony Up Higher Pay
As the state opens for business, Massachusetts employers are “scrambling to hire enough workers to meet their reopening needs and the pent-up demand from patrons who want to go out again,” according to a story in the Boston Globe.
Some businesses in the state are increasing wages and adding hiring bonuses to attract applicants. Also being offered are deep employee discounts on products and services for new hires.
According to the report, this comes at a time when weekly unemployment claims in the Bay State have fallen to their lowest levels since the pandemic-forced lockdowns. The shortage of workers could hamper economic recovery while increased wages are likely to lead to rising prices on some goods and services in Mass.
Meanwhile, according to the US Labor Department, employers added 559,000 jobs in May.
Here’s the full report: These companies are raising wages and offering bonuses to attract more workers in Mass.
More Business
Remote Workers Face Uncertainty About Returning To 'Normal' As Offices And Businesses Reopen
Business owners fear long-term impact of COVID on Mass. unemployment insurance fund, poll finds
Mass Fintech Hub launches, with backing of MassMutual, Fidelity, others
Energy
Is Proposed “Peaker Plant” Already Obsolete?
A proposal for a 55-megawatt natural gas-powered “peaker plant” has come into question as environmental activists and local residents express concern over unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions and ground-level pollution. The group claims that future regulations will make fossil fuel burners non-competitive and leave consumers on the hook for the $85 million plant.
In May, a group of 87 health care professionals sent plant operator Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC) a letter urging them to consider battery storage rather than continuing with the current plan.
A “peaker plant” runs only at times of peak demand — estimated to be no more than 250 hours per year. And many feel the plan is obsolete given advances in clean energy storage over the past six years since the plan was first proposed. The cost of utility-scale storage has fallen nearly 70% between 2015 and 2018, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. And it has fallen even further since.
The MMWEC last month paused the plan for at least 30 days to address community concerns and reevaluate possible alternatives. The group contends that the facility’s emissions would be lower than those of 94% of fossil-fueled peaker plants in New England. Since then, two of fourteen municipal utilities that signed on to the project have filed paperwork asking to be released from the agreements.
Energy News has more on this story.
More Energy News
OTR: Rep. Lori Trahan taking patient approach with green energy
State “Green Team” award recognizes student efforts in environmental stewardship
NH offshore wind power: develop renewable energy Gulf of Maine project
Transportation
Massachusetts & Rhode Island Only Two States Left in TCI Agreement
Connecticut is the latest state to drop out of the Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI) agreement as Gov. Ned Lamont abandoned the program amid state budget negotiations on Friday. Only Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C. are left.
TCI, a regional collaboration originally consisting of 13 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia was developed to promote clean energy transportation. Under the plan, transportation fuel suppliers, or wholesalers bringing fuel into Massachusetts, would be required to purchase “allowances” (aka carbon credits) for any carbon dioxide their fuel produces.
According to original estimates, CTI could bring in about $500 million a year in new revenue for Massachusetts alone, to be invested in clean transportation solutions.
Visit the Boston Herald for more info.
More Transportation News
Gas prices rising in Massachusetts; Here's how much they rose in the past year - masslive.com
Massachusetts Looks to Electrify Ridesharing, Increase E-bike Access
Local startup hopes to revolutionize coastal transportation - Boston, Massachusetts
MBTA looks at cars, tracks as cause of derailment that sidelined Springfield-built CRRC cars
Evaluating the competition between autonomous vehicles and public transit
Connecting Subway Lines Could Cost $850 Million, Take Nearly 10 Years
Real Estate
Two Mass. Cities Top List of 100 Safest
Home prices in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and Franklin, Massachusetts are about to go up. The two cities have topped Safewise’s list of the top 100 safest cities in the country.
More than two-thirds of the cities that made the list are in New England and the Mid-Atlantic region. And Massachusetts has the second-highest number of cities on the list with 17.
Hopkinton, which is east of Worcester has a population of just over 18,500 and a median income of over $95,000. Franklin, just west of Foxboro, is home to more than 33,000 residents with a median income of just under $102,000.
“These crime-curbing communities have cause to celebrate,” writes Safewise. “The 100 cities in our roundup boast a collective violent crime rate that’s 92% lower than the national average. And, when it comes to property crime, our top 100 locales report 79% fewer property crimes per 1,000 people than most of the US.”
The full report can be found here.
More Real Estate
Needham: May real estate deals topped by $40 million hotel transaction
Nantucket Voters Reject Proposal to Limit Short-Term Rentals
Cannabis
Indoor Cannabis Cultivators Using 10% Of All Industrial Energy Use in the Bay State
According to estimates by the Northeast Sustainable Cannabis Project, indoor cannabis cultivation is responsible for about 10% of all industrial electricity consumption in Massachusetts. That’s pretty high.
According to Cannabis Business Times, the 10% estimate “is based on current indoor cultivation lighting standards and the assumption that half of the growing canopy square footage authorized for use is currently in use.”
Back in 2018, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources estimated that the energy required to power grow lights for 660,000 square feet of canopy would negate the entire energy savings of $11 million from DOER's program to convert more than 130,000 streetlights statewide to LEDs.
Since then, the Cannabis Control Commission has authorized more than 1.1 million square feet of indoor marijuana cultivation. That’s about four times the area of outdoor cultivation facilities in the state. Moreover, the cannabis sector in Mass. is expected to triple in size by the time supply and demand level out.