Snow piles up, and State House leaders voice unhappiness with ballot initiatives and the auditor

Mass General Brigham’s partnership with the YMCA of Greater Boston and the City of Boston is expanding access to fresh, healthy food for families. The Greater Boston Collaborative Food Access Hub serves an average of 20,000 residents monthly, distributing more than 1.7 million pounds of food. It recovers food that would have otherwise gone to waste, supporting both community health and environmental sustainability.

The nearly 300,000 Bay State households snowed in and without power following the Blizzard of 2026 were probably too busy to keep tabs on the revamped House energy bill that passed Thursday night.

Ratepayers living on the South Coast and Cape Cod were after more instant relief — as more than three feet of snow and high winds toppled trees and thwarted the progress of work crews assigned with restoring power.

Mid-blizzard, Gov. Maura Healey declared from the MEMA bunker in Framingham a rare travel ban Monday afternoon for Plymouth, Bristol, Barnstable and Dukes counties. Violations were punishable by a $500 fine but the governor said the real intent was to expedite the cleanup. Healey said she couldn't compare this storm to the historic Blizzard of 1978, when she was just seven years old and her birthday party was canceled.

When she lifted the ban on Tuesday, she hit the road to check on storm recovery efforts on the Cape. She also tweeted a video of a convoy of Vermont plows coming to the rescue here; New York also sent equipment.

There's $35 million for snow and ice removal in this year's budget, according to MassDOT, and some of that was used up in the big January snowstorm. State law also gives MassDOT $50 million worth of "deficiency-spending authority." Annual budget hearings were on hiatus this week, but it looks like lawmakers may need to shovel out more cleanup cash, as they often budget light in that area with the hope that it will be a warm winter.

The storm forced the Legislature, which is required to convene at least every 72 hours, to be out of session for six days, its longest break since 2015.

Massachusetts has led on clean energy, and we can’t afford to fall behind. Staying on track with planned solar and storage expansion will deliver major customer savings, reduce dependence on expensive gas, and boost grid reliability — with 44% of the benefits coming during winter. See the latest data.

House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka broke free from the snow break at a downtown Boston forum hosted by MASSterList and State House News Service. The top Democrats spoke candidly about their ballot question concerns and took personal jabs at Auditor Diana DiZoglio.

MASSterList columnist Jon Keller asked Mariano, "You don't like referendum questions in general, correct?" Mariano offered a clear reply: "No."

The Quincy Democrat also took issue with DiZoglio and Secretary of State Bill Galvin for even being involved with two ballot campaigns. "There's something wrong with the system we have," Mariano said.

Spilka opposed the ballot measure to cut the income tax from 5% to 4%, saying the campaign is sponsored by millionaires. The Ashland Democrat also alleged that another question to set a new revenue collection cap to trigger taxpayer rebates would cost close to $2 billion, although her office wasn't able to explain how she reached that significant conclusion. 

Spilka and Mariano both indicated they don't trust DiZoglio, a former state rep and senator who's long sought to audit the Legislature under the 2024 voter law and before that clashed with legislative leaders on a range of topics. Spilka called DiZoglio a "headline hunter," serving up her own fresh headline in the long-running spat.

Attorney General Andrea Campbell last week attempted to strike the auditor's lawsuit against top lawmakers, which DiZoglio partly filed to secure representation with a special assistant attorney general. Campbell's motion to intervene makes her a defendant alongside Spilka and Mariano, and her office is defending the two powerful legislative leaders.

DiZoglio then filed a motion Wednesday, requesting more time to respond to the AG's "adversarial posture" and reiterating her call for a SAAG.

Jobs continue below the fold — post a job

With the elongated school break now officially over, both branches were back in action on Thursday.

The Senate passed the BRIGHT Act, a bill that dedicates income surtax revenue to finance $3.28 billion in long-term capital investments at public colleges and universities. The legislation, originally filed by Healey, now seems headed for conference committee to resolve differences with a version the House passed in November.

Senate Ways and Means Chairman Mike Rodrigues needed help from a legislative aide to make the trip to the State House from snowy Westport.

"I don't remember the last time I was so excited about coming into session," Rodrigues told reporters ahead of the vote. "I mean, I was waist-deep in snow when I left my house."

Eversource predicted nearly all of its customers would have power back by midnight Friday, with the utility deploying a "battalion of more than 2,500 utility crews, other personnel and resources" to places like the Cape and southeastern Mass.

A different energy discussion unfolded in the House, as representatives passed a bill 128-27 to slash Mass Save's budget by $1 billion and return utilities' alternative compliance payments to ratepayers. Environmental advocates are worried the Mass Save cut may "devastate" the energy efficiency program.

The Group Insurance Commission put the brakes on cost-shifting measures that would have raised members' copays and deductibles. The board voted 10-7 to eliminate coverage for GLP-1 weight loss drugs to save the cash-strapped agency roughly $46 million. The action hews to what Healey advocated for in a Monday letter.

Massachusetts teachers could face a new penalty under an anti-strike strategy offered by Education Board Vice Chair Matt Hills. He wants state officials to waive the 180-day school year requirement when illegal strikes are to blame for missed days, a tactic that would prevent teachers from recouping their pay on make-up days.

Looking ahead to warmer days when there might be rain instead of snow, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Board voted Wednesday to advance a draft plan that staff say would eliminate weather-induced combined sewer overflows into the Charles River, Mystic River and Alewife Brook, a spokesperson said. 

Frustration has not thawed from environmental advocates, who contend untreated sewage would still flow into the water bodies during intense rainfalls. Charles River Watershed Association Director Emily Norton said advocates are disappointed that the MWRA "voted to invest millions of ratepayer dollars in an outdated system."

@ ISSUE SIT DOWN: 9:30 a.m., NBC 10. Reporter Matt Prichard interviews Auditor Diana DiZoglio.

ON THE RECORD: 11 a.m., WCVB. The guest is Attorney General Andrea Campbell.

Do you have an open job you'd like to feature here? Click here to place a job board order, or email Dylan Rossiter at [email protected].

Campaign Manager, Committee to elect Matthew McLaughlin

Social Media & Narrative Director, Coalition for Healthy Democracy

President/CEO, The Genesis Foundation for Children

Enforcement Counsel, Massachusetts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission

Collections Assistant, Town of Easton

Digital Producer, CommonWealth Beacon

Assistant Clerk of the Council, City of Newton

Elections Supervisor, City of Newton

Chief Human Resources Officer, Seven Hills Foundation

VIEW ALL JOBS