Environment/ Politics

Mariano, Spilka take defiant tone on climate change

Baker still hasn’t provided source for $6b cost claim

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HOUSE SPEAKER Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka on Tuesday set in motion passage of the same climate change bill that passed the Legislature last session and was vetoed by Gov. Charlie Baker.

The two leaders issued a statement with a defiant tone, taking issue with several of the points Baker made in his veto message. The statement said the Legislature’s bill “rejects the false choice between economic growth and addressing climate change. We must combat climate change while also maintaining a thriving economy and expanding the housing stock that will ensure future, sustainable growth. The legislation sent to the governor showed how it can be done.”

In his veto message, Baker said the Legislature’s climate change bill, and particularly its proposal for a net zero energy stretch code, would jeopardize the production of affordable housing. He noted in the veto message that his own administration is developing an energy stretch code, but implied it would not impact the production of affordable housing because it would include public input from stakeholders.

Sen. Michael Barrett of Lexington, the Senate’s point person on climate change legislation, was very dismissive of the governor’s veto message during an appearance on The Codcast. He suggested Baker vetoed the bill because it requires his administration to start setting in motion policies to reduce emissions now rather than years down the road.

Barrett also questioned the governor’s claim that the Legislature’s decision to set a goal of a 50 percent reduction in emissions below 1990 levels by 2030 would cause harm to the economy, while the 45 percent reduction favored by the administration would not.

Barrett said the governor’s estimate of a $6 billion impact on Massachusetts residents by going to 50 percent was something he had never heard before.

Baker administration officials were asked for the source of the $6 billion number on Friday and didn’t produce it. They did not respond again on Tuesday.

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About Bruce Mohl

Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.

About Bruce Mohl

Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.

In their statement, Spilka and Mariano said they were confident the House and Senate “will again act with urgency by swiftly sending this bill back to Gov. Baker’s desk.”

The Legislature is just starting its new term, with no committee appointments made yet. Even so, the new climate change bill, which is identical to the old bill, was referred to the temporary Senate Ways and Means Committee. The petitioners listed on the bill are Barrett and his House counterpart, Rep. Thomas Golden Jr. of Lowell.

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