Rent control splits progressives and four more stories

 

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The Saturday Send

Welcome back to the Saturday Send, a weekly digest of stories from CommonWealth Beacon that you may have missed.  This week, Chris Lisinski and Jennifer Smith delve into the politics of the divisive rent control ballot question splitting progressive supporters. Plus: the House presses pause on its contentious energy policy bill, 11 ballot campaigns move ahead, new documents reveal state agencies never followed a 2017 rule to cut emissions, and Chris Lisinski breaks down how lawmakers concluded their final formal sessions for the year. Check out those stories below, and, as always, thanks for reading. — The CommonWealth Beacon team

‘They’re making a huge bet’: Rent control referendum splits progressives By Chris Lisinski and Jennifer Smith If a campaign to instate rent control across the Commonwealth makes it to the ballot, voters will need to weigh whether every municipality should adopt a measure more stringent than earlier attempts by Boston, Brookline, and Somerville. READ MORE

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THE 11/20/2025 ISSUE OF COMMONWEALTH BEACON FEATURED REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE MIKE KENNEALLY'S PUBLISHED RESPONSE.  IN ANY DISCUSSION REGARDING THE ENERGY BILL, NEEDS TO BE INFORM WITH FACTS!  BECAUSE MIKE KENNEALY'S POST WAS SO WARPED, IT IS UNFAIR TO POST WITHOUT FACTS... MIKE KENNEALY : JUST ANOTHER REPUBLICAN HACK IGNORING FACTS TO JUSTIFY CRITICISM! POSTED HERE:  MIDDLEBORO REVIEW AND SO ON MUST READ FOR MIKE KENNEALY'S WARP & DISINFORMATION!  #1 GAS = METHANE!  There's more than enough information available about the environmental consequences of FRACKING, the contamination of DRINKING WATER & massive use of WATER, as well as the ADVERSE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES of GAS in homes.  excerpt:  On September 13, 2018, a series of gas explosions and fires occurred in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts, primarily affecting the towns of Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover. The incident was caused by over-pressurized gas lines owned by Columbia Gas, resulting in one death, numerous injuries, and extensive property damage, leading to costs exceeding $1 billion. #2  This is an issue that SHOULD NOT be addressed with careful consideration & FACTS, clearly something MIKE KENNEALLY lacks!  OPINION: Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy, who served as housing and economic development secretary under Gov. Charlie Baker, criticizes House Democrats for postponing debate on an energy bill that had drawn massive pushback from environmental groups over its language weakening 2030 climate targets.  In 2023 alone, Massachusetts consumers spent $20 billion on energy in their homes and businesses. Programs like Mass Save delivered over $34 billion in savings between 2012 and 2023 and generated more than $3 for every $1 invested. The program is the only tool we have that actively reduces energy burden for all of us, including low- and moderate-income households that are hardest hit by rising energy costs.  Mass Save has weatherized 350,000 homes (including 70,000 low-income homes), created nearly 76,000 jobs, and saved the equivalent output of five power plants. Even if you’ve never used it directly, you’ve benefited from lower wholesale energy prices because your neighbors did. These are real savings in people’s wallets.   Only a year earlier, when the region’s peak electricity demand reached 18,300 megawatts on January 17, 2024, emissions averaged about 85 metric tons per minute most of the day. Why? Because natural gas was available. In a single year, a 10 percent increase in electricity usage drove up emissions by 60 percent.   With ratepayer-funded rebates encouraging installation of up to 500,000 heat pumps—which cost between $20,000 to $30,000 apiece—adding stress to our already overburdened electricity grid, the problem will only get worse and more expensive.   House punts on sweeping energy bill that would dial back state climate commitments By Jordan Wolman and Chris Lisinski After intense blowback to a draft House bill to weaken the state’s 2030 clean energy target, the chamber’s budget chief says the topic is on hold until next year. READ MORE

Cutting taxes, recriminalizing recreational pot, scrutinizing Beacon Hill: record number of ballot questions in the mix for 2026 By Chris Lisinski Voters could have up to a dozen statewide ballot questions to decide in 2026, ranging from legislative transparency to marijuana policy to gun safety, following the latest big hurdle in the biennial process. READ MORE

MUST READ! Massachusetts agencies never followed a 2017 rule to cut emissions from state vehicles, court documents show  By Jordan Wolman The rule was issued under Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and followed a landmark court ruling that found the state needed to issue more specific and stringent regulations in order to meet the 2050 climate commitment. excerpt:  NO AGENCY SUBMITTED reports to comply with a 2017 rule requiring cuts to the emissions produced by state-owned vehicles — and environmental regulators didn’t aggressively enforce the rule, either, according to new court documents filed last week.  Massachusetts agencies that own or lease at least 30 passenger vehicles, from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to the Department of Transportation, are compelled to reduce the pollution stemming from that vehicle fleet each year by specific amounts and submit reports to the Department of Environmental Protection in order to show compliance.   But MassDEP has no records of these reports and didn’t follow up with the relevant agencies to receive that data for each year going back to 2019, when the reports were first due, according to the court documents that are in connection to a lawsuit the state brought against oil giant Exxon Mobil.   The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, which oversees MassDEP, declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.  The rule was issued under Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and followed a landmark court ruling that found the state needed to issue more specific and stringent regulations in order to meet the 2050 climate commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent compared to 1990 levels. That 2016 ruling prompted an executive order from Baker directing DEP to issue additional regulations to help Massachusetts achieve those emissions reductions.  A suite of six regulations emerged, one of which was the state passenger vehicle emissions reduction rule. But that regulation appears to have been ignored since it took effect in the wake of the 2016 litigation that was spurred by groups like the Conservation Law Foundation.   DEP made the admission, ironically, in a court proceeding tied to a lawsuit the state filed against Exxon, accusing the company of deceiving the public and investors about the risks of climate change and its role in contributing to it. That litigation, initiated in 2019 by then-Attorney General Maura Healey, has now raised questions about the state’s own efforts to reduce emissions.   READ MORE

Legislature downshifts into holiday mode after short burst of activity By Chris Lisinski What reached Gov. Maura Healey’s desk, and what’s still on hold until 2026 now that the Legislature is done with major business for the year? READ MORE

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When health care access is a legal puzzle On the monthly Health or Consequences episode of The Codcast, John McDonough of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Paul Hattis of the Lown Institute talk with Matt Selig, the executive director of Health Law Advocates. They discuss the blur between medical and legal access issues, the group’s history and capacity, and their current litigation focuses. LISTEN NOW

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