House punts on sweeping energy bill that would dial back state climate commitments

 

New from CommonWealth Beacon NEW CODCAST: Paul Hattis and John McDonough host Health Law Advocates executive director Matt Selig, who warned of the “devastating” impact federal policy changes will have on his group’s work to provide legal services in health care cases free of charge.  OPINION: Solidarity among communities of color, write state Sen. Lydia Edwards and civic leader Leverett Wing, is more important than ever amid the recent backsliding in progress on racial issues that was set in motion five years ago following the murder of George Floyd.

House punts on sweeping energy bill that would dial back state climate commitments   November 18, 2025 By Jordan Wolman and Chris Lisinski

The House this week will not take up a contentious energy policy bill that would weaken the state’s 2030 climate mandate, punting a major debate until after the Legislature’s extended holiday break that begins Thursday.

Ten days after CommonWealth Beacon first reported on the proposal, House budget chief Aaron Michlewitz on Monday said more conversations need to take place about whether or how to defang the state’s next major emissions-reduction target.

He described the bill as “still something that we’re working on,” and added he does not “foresee us necessarily getting to it before the end of the week.”

It’s a significant balking from House leadership after state Rep. Mark Cusack, a Democrat from Braintree who is the chamber’s point person on energy policy, fast-tracked the reform bill through committee last week.

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“Some of the rollback pieces on the 2030 numbers have gotten a lot of interest, a lot of energy behind it, no pun intended there,” Michlewitz said of the blowback to the early House plan. “We are certainly wanting to focus on affordability and not necessarily on things of that nature,” he said, referring to the emissions deadlines.

Under Cusack’s measure, the state’s legal goal to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared with 1990 levels could become merely “advisory.” The bill would also trim the energy efficiency program known as Mass Save by $500 million and cut the amount of clean energy utilities here must purchase from a 3 percent annual increase to 1 percent.

But those dramatic changes are on ice, at least for the next few months, and Cusack’s proposal now looks more like a trial balloon whose journey quickly hit a tempest than a plan with the full backing of House Democrats.

“We are probably going to have to have to have a conversation at some point related to whether we can meet our goals for 2030,” Michlewitz told reporters. “I think that’s a real challenge that we’re facing, particularly when you have a federal government that is trying to thwart us at every possible turn in relation to trying to get to those goals. Having that conversation is certainly coming to a head at some point, but I do not think it will be in this vehicle as we move forward.”

“We still have a lot of work to do on that particular piece,” he added.

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The delay will give House Democrats time to forge a position more palatable to climate groups. It also pushes any action on Gov. Maura Healey’s energy-affordability legislation, which she filed in May, until into or after the winter with high utility bills again looming.

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ADDED:  STATE REP. MARK CUSACK'S VOTING HISTORY IS OFFERED & WORTH REVIEWING:  Massachusetts Legislative  Scorecard FREEDOM INDEX More Context Sweeping energy bill to weaken 2030 climate goals clears key House committee (November 2025)  Healey unveils new energy affordability legislation (May 2025)

More from CommonWealth Beacon CLIMATE CASH: State Rep. Mark Cusack, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, received $4,100 in contributions on Wednesday – much of which came from lobbyists representing the state’s energy interests – around when his sweeping energy bill advanced through one legislative panel. Jordan Wolman has more.  OPINION: The proposed energy bill “is essentially a fossil fuel industry wish list,” write Cindy Luppi, the national field director for Clean Water Action; Kyle Murray, director of state program implementation at Acadia Center; Caitlin Peale Sloan, the Conservation Law Foundation’s vice president for Massachusetts; and John Walkey, director of climate justice and waterfront initiatives at GreenRoots. We still have five years to hit our 2030 targets, they say, and legislators must reject this proposal and recommit to a future built on affordability, innovation, and climate responsibility.

What We're Reading CONSTITUTION: State lawmakers are moving closer to action aimed at preventing a federal Constitutional Convention from taking place amid concerns about how the Trump administration and Republicans might exploit it. (Newburyport Daily News – paywall)  SETTLEMENT: Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux announced an $800,000 settlement in a civil rights lawsuit — filed before Heroux took office — alleging mistreatment and excessive use of force against immigration detainees. (WBUR)  ZAC SEGAL made wild, unsubstantiated allegations & then bragged about his actions.  ICE: The heads of the state Democratic and Republican parties are divided on the actions by the head of the Boston University College Republicans, who publicly claimed that he called ICE repeatedly asking them to detain employees of an Allston car wash. (GBH News)  3 Allston Car Wash workers ordered to be released, while owners say BU student was 'reckless' for calling ICE excerpts:  Zac Segal, the head of the BU College Republicans, posted on social media that he had made many calls to ICE, asking them to “detain those criminals.” Nine workers were detained earlier this month, and their attorney told Boston.com that they all had work permits. Segal is junior at BU and from England. In his recent post, he said he was "born in Florida, raised abroad." Segal is a volunteer intern for Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve. A spokesperson for Shortsleeve told WBUR on Thursday the campaign doesn't "answer for anyone else's social media." "It is absolutely abhorrent that anyone would intentionally target hard working mothers and fathers and members of our community like this,” party Chair Steve Kerrigan said in a statement on Nov. 14. "It’s even worse to brag about it afterwards. This is yet another insight into how the future leaders of the Republican Party think and act." WBUR RECORDS: The Healey administration refused to fulfill a Boston Globe request for records about former aide LaMar Cook’s entries and exits from the Springfield state office building where police allege eight kilograms of cocaine were delivered. (The Boston Globe – paywall)  FOOD: Although the federal government shutdown that upended SNAP access has ended, food bank leaders and anti-hunger activists are worried the crisis revealed deeper strain. (NBC Boston)

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