Climate deal reached; Sen. Barrett and Rep. Roy statement
Senators want Mass Pike EV chargers at Natick, Charlton rest stops fixed
MetroWest Daily News
Frustrated by a pair of Mass Pike electric vehicle charger stations that have been inoperable for more than a year, two state senators pressed Transportation Secretary Jamey Tesler to fix the problem by next month and make clear how the administration will expand EV infrastructure.
Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem and Sen. Michael Barrett, who co-chairs the Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee, wrote to Tesler this week voicing “disappointment” that vehicle charging stations at I-90 rest stops have been broken for a year-plus.
Understanding the role Massachusetts played in both developing and resisting eugenics
Boston Globe
Beacon Hill now has the opportunity to take steps that will make it possible for educators, students, and the general public to understand the role Massachusetts played in both developing and resisting that idea.
The Senate has passed a budget amendment based on legislation put forward by Senator Mike Barrett and Representative Sean Garballey to fund a first-of-its kind commission that will study the history of state institutions for those with disabilities. If created, this commission, which would be led by disabled people, will undertake historical human rights work, including identifying the names of thousands of people buried anonymously in institutional graves.
Senators blast Baker administration over broken EV chargers on Mass. Pike
Boston Globe
On Monday, in a letter to Secretary of Transportation Jamey Tesler, state Senators Cynthia Creem and Michael Barrett demanded that the broken chargers be fixed by July 1 and asked for information about who was responsible for their operation and maintenance.
“The continued inoperability of these chargers hampers the Commonwealth’s ability to reach its EV goals, not only because it makes it more difficult for EV drivers to travel across the Commonwealth, but also because it feeds into an inaccurate yet prevalent narrative that EVs are not reliable for long-distance travel,” the pair wrote to Tesler.
As blades get longer, Charlestown testing center seeks to expand
CommonWealth Magazine
State Sen. Michael Barrett, Senate chair of the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, said having the testing center gives Massachusetts a competitive advantage in becoming a national center for offshore wind. Already, Charlestown is the premier testing site for the East Coast offshore wind industry, and he said the expansion is necessary to maintain that advantage. “We’ve got to have a facility here in Massachusetts that can accommodate the largest products out there,” Barrett said. “You’ve got to keep modernizing just to keep pace.”
Baker, negotiators eye path to energy bill compromise
GBH
During a State House News Service event in Boston on Thursday morning, Roy and Sen. Michael Barrett, the Senate chairman of TUE, each pitched their chamber’s bill and looked ahead to how the two approaches might be reconciled. The House bill is essentially a deep dive on offshore wind policy while the Senate’s legislation is a more broad climate and energy bill that touches upon offshore wind but also deals with topics like climate resilience, solar policy and electric vehicles.
“Despite the significant difference in emphasis, there’s much that Jeff and I agree with … we’re going to have no difficulty discussing all of these things,” Barrett said. “But this is going to be hard, all kidding aside, because the Senate has views … on solar, on the relative importance of offshore wind, on how to approach transmission … so this isn’t going to be a simple matter of everything the Senate wants to do on electric vehicles being traded for an important offshore wind piece and everything we hope to do for cities on clean buses being traded for another offshore wind piece.”
Senate passes climate bill to advance net-zero efforts
The Daily Free Press
The bill — titled “An Act Driving Climate Policy Forward” — includes 45 amendments such as putting $50 million toward electric vehicle charging stations, banning non-electric vehicle sales by 2035, increasing off-shore wind energy to 5,600 MW by June 2027 and investing $100 million toward renewable energy, among other policies.
The climate action bill comes as a follow-up to last year’s law, introduced by Senator Michael Barrett, that outlined short-term climate goals and authorized 1,600 MW of offshore wind energy less than the current goal for mid-2027.
Massachusetts behind on efforts to shift to electric cars
The Suffolk Journal
According to The Boston Globe, cars make up for about one-fifth of carbon emissions in the state. Cutting down on the reliance of gas powered cars would greatly reduce emissions in the state, and if instituted more broadly could play a major role in fighting climate change.
While the State House has passed a few climate bills, experts feel that the government is not doing enough to solve this issue.
“The state is not trying hard enough,” said Senator Mike Barrett, lead author of the state’s landmark climate law. “Nobody has chosen to own this.”
Senate OKs climate change bill over objections
The Eagle Tribune
In remarks ahead of the vote, state Sen. Mike Barrett, D-Lexington, co-chair of the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy and the bill’s primary architect, acknowledged that the proposal includes “tough decisions” to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the impacts of climate change.
“We’ve reduced our options as a world in dealing with climate change, and we all know that our choices are narrower and more difficult,” Barrett said.