Massachusetts Democrats refile climate bill after Charlie Baker veto, set stage for veto showdown

Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday made good on their promise to forge ahead with wide-ranging climate legislation, refiling an identical bill to one vetoed by Gov. Charlie Baker last week.

Lawmakers sent an eleventh-hour compromise version of the 57-page bill to Baker’s desk earlier this month just two days before the formal session ended, leaving them with no mechanism to override the governor’s decision.

“Months of work was exhaustively studied by members of the conference committee, and the result was a bill that 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,” Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ronald Mariano said in a joint statement.

Baker last week said he “reluctantly” vetoed the bill over concerns its implementation of stringent new building codes would cripple housing construction.

The bill, dubbed the Next Generation Roadmap, would require the state to become carbon neutral by 2050 and establishes some of the strictest benchmarks in the nation.

On face value, the plan largely aligns with policies laid out by Baker’s own administration, but pushback from the construction industry on the aspect of net-zero building codes was enough to derail the legislation. In a letter to legislators, Baker also pushed back on an incremental benchmark that would have required the state to cut emissions drastically by 2030.

Climate advocates have widely supported the bill.

Stacy Thompson of the Liveable Streets Alliance this week told the Herald the Baker administration has a “disconnect where the rubber meets the proverbial road.”

“When the time comes for action, they put up roadblocks,” she said.

“Massachusetts legislators raised the bar on efforts to tackle the climate crisis and fast track the transition to a more equitable and sustainable economy. Given the severity of the crisis, it is critical that we get this legislation across the finish line,” said Alli Gold Roberts, director of state policy at the sustainability nonprofit Ceres.

Spilka and Mariano both highlighted a sense of “urgency” but outlined no specific timeline for taking up the bill.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3qNVLsn