Proponents of Massachusetts rent control ballot question are scrambling to negotiate a legislative off ramp, after opposition from realtors and supporters are offering a watered-down local option compromise to avoid a costly campaign battle this November.
But not everyone is on board and top Beacon Hill lawmakers say they were completely left out of private negotiations. Alison Kuznitz of the State House News Service explains what's known about the status of this rent control compromise.
Alison Kuznitz, SHNS: Ballot question proponents say they are willing to back off of the ballot question if they get legislation passed by July 1st, and this legislation would instead of being like the ballot question on statewide rent stabilization, this would be a local option. And it would also have a higher cap on rent control. But as you mentioned, opponents of the ballot question say that there's no compromise yet.
Carrie Healy, NEPM: Local town clerks are in a race against the clock this week to certify tens of thousands of signatures for 11 high profile ballot questions, with a June 17th deadline. Breathing down their necks, these grassroots groups and big industry campaigns need these signatures to be approved so they can hand them in to the Secretary of State's office. Do you have a sense of which ballot questions are likely to survive this part of the signature process?
So there really are a raft of measures that could be before voters. Some of the measures, like we just discussed, there's rent control, [and] one that lawmakers find especially problematic is the question that would gradually reduce the income tax rate. And there's also a ballot question that could subject the legislature to the public records law.
The state Senate is likely moving forward this week with new child welfare legislation, combining a nearly unanimous passage of House Bill with a separate slate of Senate proposals. The sweeping measures will require more reporting by the Department of Children and Families and establish a Foster Child Bill of Rights. What are the key policy differences lawmakers will still need to iron out?
The big difference with the Senate Bill is that bill of rights for foster children, and this includes a litany of rights saying that the children have rights to safety, security, the right to their possessions, to gender affirming care, that the kids can maintain parental contact, [and] that they can be prioritized to be placed with their siblings and half siblings. So there's really a lot of symbolic additions within the Senate Bill.
And new rules for this session aim to make lawmaking more efficient and transparent. How much extra time will this buy lawmakers to iron out a deal if they get stuck?
So previously all legislation needed to be finalized by July 31. That's no longer the case. As we head into the tail end of the legislative season, lawmakers just need to get major bills into conference committee. So, a six-member panel, three House members and three Senate negotiators. However, the longer they drag out negotiations, the closer they're pushing it to election season.
