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Senate leaders say a “major” bill that addresses clean energy, clean vehicles and buildings will “probably” come before the state Senate in January of next year.
Their comments come as Sen. Marc Pacheco, chair of the Senate Global Warming Committee, dialed up the pressure on his colleagues on Thursday to act on climate legislation in the next two weeks. Thirty six of 40 state senators signed a “New Year’s Resolution” almost a year ago pledging to support a variety of climate solutions in 2019.
Telecommunications, Energy and Utilities Committee Co-Chair Michael Barrett, a Lexington Democrat who said he did not sign the pledge because he was “nervous” about adhering to a strict timeline, said the bill would be a “major one.”
But Pacheco, who has multiple times this fall during Senate sessions lamented the lack of action this year on climate legislation, said his colleagues must prioritize the issue and act before they recess for the rest of the calendar year on Nov. 20.
“You’ve got to be kidding me, like we can’t do this in the next 13 days?” Pacheco said, addressing his colleagues as they were about to adjourn for the week after a passing a campaign finance reform bill.
“What if we did something, like, extraordinary, like what if we actually came in next week and worked for two full days? Wouldn’t that be something? That would be amazing,” he said. “We could come in and work for two days, and maybe we could take one full day, make this a priority and get it done. That’s what we should do, for the environment, for our collective public health, for the future of this commonwealth, for stimulating economic development, the likes of which will be significant if we move forward with a clean energy bill this year.”
Like the House, the Senate typically holds one formal session per week, with committee hearings, legislative briefings, district events and lightly attended informal sessions also on the calendar. The Senate plans to debate a drug pricing bill this Thursday, and Senate President Karen Spilka has said the branch is also looking at vaping legislation.
Asked after the session about Pacheco’s comments, Spilka said climate issues have “been a priority for the Senate from day one, and I think Sen. Pacheco knows that.”
“Sen. Barrett, as he stated, is working very hard on it, working with many other colleagues,” she told the News Service. “Sen. Pacheco is just one of them. There are a lot of issues, it’s complex, and we’re looking forward to getting a bill on the Senate floor soon after the first of the year.”
Barrett said Pacheco is “right to crack the whip,” but said that working through the moving parts has required “a lot of due diligence.” He said the forthcoming bill will raise issues that have not been raised before.
