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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
UMASS ICY ON TUITION FREEZE — University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan tore into the Senate's newly-released budget proposal yesterday. The issue? Senate lawmakers proposed putting a freeze on UMass tuition as part of the fiscal 2020 spending bill.
UMass officials slammed the proposal as "unprecedented" and potentially "devastating" in a letter signed by Meehan and the chancellors of the five UMass campuses, which was addressed to Senate President Karen Spilka.
"This decision came with no warning or apparent effort to understand its impact on university finances. It is a severe departure from longstanding practice and inconsistent with the Senate's historic support for public higher education," Meehan said
The Senate budget proposes a $39 million increase in state funding for UMass, up 7 percent from the last fiscal year. UMass officials said yesterday they'd need $10.2 million more to guarantee a tuition freeze, and criticized Senate budget writers for proposing a freeze on UMass and not other public universities. Nearly 75,000 people were enrolled in the UMass system in the fall of 2017, and the university says 300,000 alumni live in Massachusetts.
New Senate Ways and Means chair Michael Rodrigues stood behind the funding proposal, saying the university should be able to "find a way" to avoid a tuition hike.
"I can't remember the last time we've invested this many new dollars in the UMass system," Rodrigues said yesterday. "There should be no need to increase tuition."
A tug-of-war between UMass officials and lawmakers for state funding during budget season is nothing new. And it's happening as the cost of higher education and the burden of student loan debt dominate the national conversation. In Massachusetts, 855,500 student loan borrowers have $33.3 billion in outstanding student loan debt, according to data analyzed by the Student Borrower Protection Center.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY — Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito chairs a weekly meeting of the Governor's Council. House Speaker Robert DeLeo is honored at a Triangle, Inc. awards ceremony. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is a guest on "NightSide" with Dan Rea. Drivers for Uber and Lyft go on strike. Boston-area seniors from 2Life Communities rally for affordable housing in Washington, D.C.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology hosts the Solve at MITconference. The House meets in formal session. The House and Senate meet for a Constitutional Convention. Officials from Brockton, New Bedford, and Worcester hold a briefing on education funding challenges facing Gateway Cities and a possible lawsuit.
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "Senate budget proposes more funds for education than House, governor," by Victoria McGrane and Matt Stout, Boston Globe:"The Massachusetts Senate upped the ante on K-12 education spending, unveiling a budget proposal Tuesday that would put tens of millions more dollars toward public elementary and secondary schools than either Governor Charlie Baker or House lawmakers have proposed. The $42.7 billion spending plan is the latest indication that Beacon Hill is serious about revamping the state's outdated education funding formula — and a sign that Senate lawmakers could push to commit more resources for struggling urban districts than their House colleagues."
- "Massachusetts therapist hit with a $28,000 bill from insurance company over retroactive claim denial," by Steph Solis, Springfield Republican: "Meg Arnould said she always took pride in her meticulous record keeping for her therapy sessions. Then the Easthampton therapist was hit with a letter from an insurance company demanding $28,000. The company, who had recently reviewed six years of Arnould's patient records, was issuing a retroactive claim denial. Arnould shared her story as she and other clinicians called for lawmakers to approve legislation that would limit certain claim denials, commonly called "claw backs." Bills S.589 and H.1078, would require insurance companies to submit claim denials within 12 months and only if they give clinicians treating mental health and substance use disorder a written explanation."
- "LAWMAKERS BEGIN VETTING HEALTH CARE SYSTEM CHANGES," by Colin A. Young, State House News Service: "As the Legislature gears up to take another run at making comprehensive reforms to health care, lawmakers and health care executives on Tuesday pitched a variety of ideas they said would help to control the cost of care in Massachusetts. Among the roughly 30 bills before the Committee on Health Care Financing on Tuesday were a series of bills related to community hospitals, which often serve as lower-cost alternatives to larger institutions. Stabilizing community hospitals was a central focus of the health care reform bill House and Senate lawmakers could not finalize before last session ended ."
- "Senate budget stirs ire of MassBIO with drug pricing proposal," by Andy Metzger, CommonWealth Magazine: "SENATE LEADERS are proposing two ways to reduce the ballooning cost of pharmaceuticals used by Medicaid patients, but an industry group claims one of the ideas is "radical" and "unproven." "Over the past five years, MassHealth pharmacy spending has doubled from $1.1 billion to $2.2 billion - twice the growth of other MassHealth spending," Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairman Michael Rodrigues said Tuesday before the committee unanimously approved his spending bill. "In response, this budget recommends a balanced and comprehensive approach to curb the growth of high-cost drugs and produce savings." One part of the Senate Ways and Means budget bill would create a process for the secretary of health and human services to negotiate drug prices with manufacturers, and another provision would direct the state auditor to investigate pharmacy benefits managers."
- "To Curb Congestion, Mass. Political Leaders Propose To Make It More Expensive To Drive," by Jack Lepiarz, WBUR: "State Senate President Karen Spilka, an Ashland Democrat, recently floated the idea of introducing new tolls on some roads. Two Democratic lawmakers, from Winthrop and East Boston, have proposed congestion pricing that could raise or lower tolls depending on the time of day. Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu has proposed a $25 fee for resident parking permits, which are currently free of charge. All of these proposals would make it more expensive to drive — by design."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "B-3 commander Capt. Hosein placed on leave amid 'anti-corruption' probe," Dorchester Reporter: "Capt. Haseeb Hosein, who has commanded the Area B-3 police district in Dorchester and Mattapan since 2014, was placed on paid leave on Monday amid a BPD anti-corruption investigation. The acting commander at B-3 is Capt. James Fitzpatrick, according to Sgt. John Boyle, a BPD spokesman. "It's an active investigation, it's an open investigation, and it's an anti-corruption investigation," said BPD Commissioner William Gross, who said he could not comment further on the details on the probe, which is being led by the BPD's own Bureau of Internal Affairs."
- "Erin Murphy commutes 3 stops on the Red Line. Because an elevator is closed, it takes her 'close to an hour.'" by Dialynn Dwyer, Boston.com: "There were torrential downpours on a recent evening in April when Erin Murphy had to head back into Boston from her home in Central Square. Like she has done over the last year whenever she's needed to take the T downtown, she rolled herself in her wheelchair to Kendall Square where she could access a platform to take the train inbound. It's been the most reliable option for her since the elevator servicing the inbound track of the Red Line at the Central Square T station closed for repairs in April 2018. By the time she arrived at her destination that evening, she told Boston.com, she was soaked ."
- "Why Popular Map Apps Still Struggle 'Neath The Streets Of Boston," by Edgar B. Herwick III, WGBH News: "I — like most people — turn to my smartphone to get me from here to there. And like nearly three quarters of those people, according polling from the business guide The Manifest, my go-to app for turn by turn navigation is Google Maps. But there is an issue in the heart of Boston, where, thanks to a little $24 billion project back in the '90s, two major highways and crucial exits — not to mention the pathways to and from the airport — all exist underground, where GPS signals can't reach. Curiously, this problem already has a solution in place, thanks to an engineer for the navigation app Waze and a visit he made to Boston a few years back."
- "Ex-trooper reprimanded for CORI violations," by Colman M. Herman, CommonWealth Magazine: "MICHAEL SZYMANSKI, who was reprimanded this month by the state Board of Bar Overseers for improperly accessing criminal records when he was a state trooper, said many of his colleagues on the force did the same thing. "I was a trooper for a long time and it was a common practice for troopers to run someone's name through the CORI system for reasons besides law enforcement," Szymanski said, referring to the Criminal Offender Record Information system. "I can't tell you how many times I saw troopers run their next-door neighbor through CORI, run their old girlfriends' names, or run someone who they're having a dispute with," he said."
- "Boston schools achievement gap remains wide along racial lines — a 'troubling sign,'" by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: "A deep and persistent minority achievement gap is one of the most urgent problems facing Boston Public Schools, as the city welcomes a school superintendent who oversaw Minnesota schools plagued by chronic poor academic performance. In Boston, only 24% of black and 26% of Hispanic students in grades 3 though 8 scored above grade-level proficiency in MCAS reading last year, compared to 63% of white and 62% of Asian students — disparities that top school and city officials have declined to discuss."
- "Immigration has transformed Greater Boston over the last three decades," by Meghan E. Irons, Boston Globe: "Cities and towns outside of Boston have undergone a seismic demographic shift since 1990, adding thousands of foreign-born residents and transforming the region, research released on Wednesday shows. Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants have changed the face of Quincy. Guatemalans have made Waltham their home. And in Brockton, foreign-born black residents from Haiti, Cape Verde, and other countries in Africa have settled in a city that was once predominantly white."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "'Outrageous': ACLU Mass. Executive Director Says Indictment Of Newton Judge Was Political," by Arjun Singh, WGBH News:"ACLU Massachusetts Executive Director Carol Rose is infuriated by Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling's decision to pursue charges against Newton Judge Shelley Joseph for conspiracy to obstruct justice. Lelling's office asserts that Joseph obstructed justice when she ordered an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, who arrived at the courthouse to arrest an individual who faced a fugitive warrant for drunk driving in Pennsylvania and an ICE detainer, to wait outside the courtroom. After consulting with the state prosecutor and defense attorney, Joseph asked the court officer to escort the suspect downstairs and outside of the building, after releasing him from custody."
- "SJC weighing whether to make records public for thousands of criminal court hearings," by Todd Wallack, Boston Globe: "The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments Tuesday about whether the courts should release records from thousands of hearings where clerks decided to dismiss criminal cases behind closed doors, even after finding there was enough evidence to issue charges. Last fall, The Boston Globe sued the heads of the trial courts, arguing the public has a right to access the records of these hearings under both common law and the US and state constitutions. The move came after a Globe Spotlight Team report last year found Massachusetts is the only state in the nation to hold such proceedings out of public view, and keep much of the documents secret."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Elizabeth Warren reshaped our view of the middle class. But some see an angle." by Annie Linskey, Washington Post: "The episode is revealing as Warren builds a candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination that frequently cites her early bankruptcy work as central to her populist identity. Newly obtained information shows the bitterness of the exchanges with Shuchman, including frustration from him and dismissiveness from Warren and her co-authors. It also foreshadowed a recurring dynamic in Warren's career as professor, then politician: She introduced pioneering ideas that reshaped views of the middle class, drew criticism that she was overstating her findings to make ideological points, and seemed to relish punching back."
- "McConnell says 'case closed' on Mueller probe; Warren rebuts: 'Wishing won't make it so,'" by Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro, Associated Press: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is declaring ''case closed'' on the Russia probe and potential obstruction by President Trump. Senator Elizabeth Warren offered a rebuttal a short time later, saying that "wishing won't make it so." The Republican leader, in his most significant public comments yet on the investigation, opened the Senate Tuesday with a speech discussing how special counsel Robert Mueller's ''exhaustive'' probe went on for two years and is now complete. The remarks, which are certain to please the president, are being billed as his final thoughts on the topic.
- "ELIZABETH WARREN PRAISES ALEX CORA FOR TRUMP BOYCOTT," TMZ. Link.
- "Elizabeth Warren ripped Joe Biden's big Philly fund-raiser. Last year, she did an event with some of the same rich donors," by Jonathan Tamari, Philly.com: "When Joe Biden went to Philadelphia late last month for a high-dollar fund-raiser with powerful lawyers and executives on the first day of his presidential campaign, Sen. Elizabeth Warren blasted him. "How did Joe Biden raise so much money in one day? Well, it helps that he hosted a swanky private fund-raiser for wealthy donors at the home of the guy who runs Comcast's lobbying shop," Warren wrote in an email to supporters the next day, April 26. Some of Biden's top donors have bristled at the criticism, because they remember attending expensive private events for Warren in Philadelphia as recently as last year."
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| TRUMPACHUSETTS |
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- "Why Don't White Athletes Understand What's Wrong With Trump?" by Jemele Hill, The Atlantic: "So far, the conversation about the upcoming Boston Red Sox visit to Donald Trump's White House has centered around the people of color who are skipping the event. The manager Alex Cora, a critic of the Trump administration's inexcusable treatment of Puerto Rico amid the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017, cited his home island's continuing troubles as his reason for opting out. Black and Hispanic players and coaches are expected to justify their reasons for not going to Trump's White House. But the real question is: Why have so many of the white players on the Red Sox chosen not to support their black and brown teammates?"
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| ALL ABOARD |
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- "You can now pick up a CharlieCard at Boston City Hall and other public buildings," by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: "It can be hard for MBTA riders to get their hands on a new CharlieCard, especially bus riders who rarely make it to any of the 17 MBTA stations and one major bus hub, Dudley Square, where they are sometimes available. That means those riders are missing out on a pretty good deal: MBTA subway rides are 50 cents less using the plastic payment card, and bus fares are reduced by 30 cents, compared with using cash or a paper ticket."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "PARKED!" "CREDIBILITY GAP," — Globe: "Immigration transforming the region," "Trump's tax figures show huge losses." |
| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Columbia Gas settles on road repairs," by Jessica Valeriani, Eagle-Tribune: "Officials in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover announced an $80 million settlement with Columbia Gas Tuesday afternoon to compensate the communities for road restoration and municipal claims and costs resulting from the Sept. 13 gas disasters. At the Public Safety Center, Andover Town Manager Andrew Flanagan was joined by Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera and Lyne Savage, North Andover's interim town manager, as well as Mark Kempic, newly appointed Columbia Gas of Massachusetts president."
- "Elder services agencies to merge," by Paul Leighton, The Salem News: "Two agencies responsible for helping thousands of older residents across the North Shore and the Merrimack Valley are planning to merge. North Shore Elder Services and Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley announced on Tuesday that they will merge on July 1. The private, nonprofit organizations are among 26 agencies designated by the state to provide services to seniors and their caregivers. The newly formed organization will be led by Joan Hatem-Roy, the current CEO of Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley, which is based in Lawrence. But North Shore Elder Services will retain its name and continue to provide services out of its Danvers location."
- "Massachusetts to spend $8.5 million to create 145 housing units for veterans, parents who need child care, domestic violence survivors, homeless and others," by Aviva Luttrell, MassLive.com: "With the goal of increasing affordable housing options for veterans, survivors of domestic violence and other at-risk populations, the state has announced $8.5 million in funding to create 145 units of supportive housing across the state. "They key piece of this housing is it's called 'supportive housing,'" Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said while announcing the grant at the Worcester YWCA Tuesday."
- "Lobstermen to rally in Plymouth over Cape Cod Bay closures," by Mary Ann Bragg, Cape Cod Times: "After a period of bad weather, surveyors of North Atlantic right whales were able to fly on Tuesday over Cape Cod Bay, where the continuing presence of the animals has led state officials to extend seasonal bans on high boating speeds and lobstering through May 14. But commercial lobstermen are beginning to bristle at the closures, citing the impact on their livelihood. South Shore lobstermen are planning a rally Thursday morning in Plymouth to protest the extended ban. "There's a lot of people that are suffering with this closure," said rally organizer Sheryl Holmes, whose husband, Roscoe "Stoney" Holmes, is a commercial lobsterman who owns the F/V Haley's Comet out of Plymouth."
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| MEDIA MATTERS |
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- Janice Page joins The Washington Post as arts editor. Page leaves the Boston Globe, where she served as deputy managing editor for arts and newsroom innovation. Link.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to David Brade, regional director for Sen. Ed Markey, and Kelley Greenman, program manager and research fellow at United Way of Greater Los Angeles and an OFA alum.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Red Sox beat the Orioles 8-5.
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