Short-lived windfall? Republicans target pandemic aid | Waiting for the T to hit bottom | Passing the baton | Talk but still no action on sports betting | Quick hits | About Contrarian Boston
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With MBTA safety meltdown, it’s déjà vu all over again
Like an alcoholic in the slammer after yet another bender, the T is pledging to finally get its act together.
Federal regulators lowered the boom last month after a seemingly never-ending series of MBTA mishaps and serious accidents, including the tragic death of a Red Line passenger dragged to his death after the door of a subway car closed on his arm.
But a statement Friday from mayors across the Boston area offered a timely reminder that we’ve been here before and that, if anything, things have only gotten worse.
In particular, the Metropolitan Mayors Coalition contends many of the deficiencies the Federal Transit Administration is now demanding the MBTA correct were detailed in a scorching report three years ago. The MBTA brought in independent safety experts in 2019 do a top to bottom review of the agency following a horrific collision on the Green Line that hurt dozens of passengers.
That report found that the MBTA did indeed have a “safety culture,” but it was not the kind that anyone in their right mind would want, characterized by “poor operational performance and neglect of infrastructure assets.”
Responding to CB, an MBTA spokesperson stated the agency has “almost doubled the size of its safety department” since 2019, while “training thousands of employees to help foster a culture in which safety is prioritized and integrated into the MBTA's core mission.”
At this point, though, the only thing that matters are results, and those have been lacking.
Beacon Hill to the rescue?
Ok, let’s not get carried away here.
But speaking of the T, the Legislature has been all too happy over the past nearly eight years to let Republican Gov. Charlie Baker do all the heavy lifting when it comes to the transit system’s chronic safety and performance failures.
But that appears to be changing, if for no other reason than things have gotten so bad that there is no longer any way for Beacon Hill to dodge the issue.
A legislative hearing on the T’s safety challenges is now in the works, while House and Senate leaders have agreed to a $250 million one-time injection into the beleaguered agency to help it get back on track, State House News reports.
With Baker heading out the door, the Democratic-controlled Legislature - and fellow Democrat, and soon to be governor, Maura Healey as well - are going to completely own the disaster formerly known as the MBTA.
It can’t be a prospect either House Speaker Ron Mariano or Senate President Karen Spilka are particularly relishing.
Use it or lose it: Billions in federal pandemic relief could be in danger come November
A Republican takeover of Congress in the upcoming mid-term elections could spell big trouble for Massachusetts and other states, which are sitting on more than $100 billion in unspent federal pandemic aid cash.
If Republicans take the House and possibly the Senate as well in the mid-term elections, you can count on Mitch McConnell and Co. to take aim at the hundreds of billions in federal pandemic aid awarded to the states.
In fact, Senate Republicans tried earlier this year to do so-called ‘clawbacks’ of $7 billion in pandemic aid to 30 states, to no avail given they are still in the minority on Capitol Hill.
But that’s likely just a taste of things to come. At a recent convention in Austin, the head lobbyist for the Government Finance Officers Association warned that House Republicans, if they win the majority, are likely to get in on the act as well and go after unspent pandemic aid, the Bond Buyer reports.
Meanwhile, here in Massachusetts, Eric Shupin, director of public policy for the Citizens Housing and Planning Association, is raising similar concerns.
The Legislature is currently sitting on a stockpile of more than $2 billion in federal pandemic cash, and, as we noted here earlier this week, there are no signs state lawmakers plan to dole it out before they break for the year at the end of the month.
CHAPA and other housing groups had been hoping to snag several hundred million dollars in pandemic relief money for affordable housing initiatives.
But the less than urgent approach by the Legislature to parceling out this money is concerning for a number of reasons, including the potential for a big Republican win in the upcoming mid-terms, Shupin tells CB.
Leading Congressional Republicans are questioning whether it is appropriate for states like Massachusetts to be using pandemic funds on all sorts of new initiatives and projects, while also trying to blame the money, much of it not spent yet, for driving up inflation.
Go figure.
“If Congress changes parties, there is a real threat that Republicans would claw back any unspent ARPA funds from the states,” Shupin said. “If we wait, there is a real threat that they take this.”
As they say, forewarned is forearmed.
The real thing or just more hollow words on sports betting?
That’s the question following remarks Friday by state Rep. Jerry Parisella, head of a key committee overseeing talks on long-stalled sports betting legislation.
The Beverly Democrat gave the opening remarks at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States, which held its summer meeting at the Westin Copley Place in Boston.
House chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, Parisella said he’s “hopeful” he can help get a bill on Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk before month’s end, when state lawmakers head for the exits, MassLive reports.
As much as $35 million in potential tax revenue is at stake, though that’s probably on the high side.
“We’re losing out to our neighbors. New Hampshire has it, Rhode Island has it, New York has it,” Parisella said. “So we’re really working hard to make this happen.”
We’ve been here before, with Beacon Hill having spent the last four years debating whether to legalize sports betting.
The House and Senate currently have dueling bills, with the Senate having pushed to keep college sports off-limits while allowing wagers on pro sports.
Call us when you have a deal. Until then, it just more hot air.
Quick hits:
We’d say he got cold feet, but was he ever serious in the first place? “Musk informs Twitter deal is off” LinkedIn News
Great, but couldn’t he have said this when he was president? “Obama Blames Liberal NIMBYs for the Housing Crisis Too” Curbed
More tax relief coming? “Baker says he would sign Legislature’s no-strings $250 rebate to taxpayers. But he hopes to see way more relief.” Boston Globe
Amid investigation, scandal plagued charity calls it quits: “Monica Cannon-Grant’s charity, Violence in Boston, shuts down” Boston Herald
What happened to the family newspaper? “Great white shark bites seal in half off Maine coast: ‘Be prepared, graphic content’” Boston Herald
The evidence keeps piling up: “Alleged Oath Keeper accused of bringing explosives to D.C. on Jan. 6”
Warning, another big rate hike ahead: “Strong Wage and Jobs Growth Keeps Fed on Track for Big Rate Increase” New York Times
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