If you are reading this, you probably know that the Massachusetts legislature failed to produce a climate bill by the 2023/2024 session’s deadline of July 31. They even suspended their rules and went into August 1st but to no avail. The clock ran out, but it’s worth taking some time to understand how that happened and what it means for the near future.

Anatomy Of A Legislative Failure 

First and foremost, the legislature’s failure was not a 50/50 split between the House and Senate. On July 22nd, the two branches formed a conference committee with three members from each side to discuss ways of reconciling differences between climate bills passed in each chamber, the Senate on June 25 and the House on July 17. The Senate bill was superior in our assessment because it would have banned predatory and greenwashing third-party retail electricity suppliers and regulated gas utilities in alignment with the Commonwealth’s climate mandates.  

We knew going into the summer that the House was going to drive a hard bargain. On several occasions, House Speaker Ron Mariano and chairman of the energy committee Jeffrey Roy stated their position that the 2024 climate bill should focus almost entirely on reforming the process for siting clean energy infrastructure. On that particular issue – siting – there was consensus in both chambers. The Senate wants some new rules for the gas utilities and the House insists on none. Reportedly, the Senate also backed off on the ban and put forward a proposal to regulate, but not ban, retail suppliers. The Senate’s compromise would provide significant protection to ratepayers while allowing suppliers to operate. But apparently, again, the House was intransigent. 

This isn’t to blame all House members. Many know that Massachusetts needs to deal with the climate crisis and support pro-consumer energy policies. Unfortunately, power is concentrated in the hands of a few.  

Our View 

We are in a climate crisis. As we reported a month ago, emissions in Massachusetts are going up in the building and transportation sectors, rather than on a downward trajectory as required by state law.  The 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act and the 2021 Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy together set binding targets for greenhouse gas emission reduction. By 2030, emissions must be 50% below 1990. By 2040, 75%. And by 2050, the Commonwealth must be net-zero. But as we said in the Boston Globe recently, setting a target is very different from establishing laws that ensure the target is hit. Those targets are not self-executing. You need policies to make them happen. As of today, Massachusetts does not have all the policies we need to reach 50% by 2030, let alone the later targets. The most recent data from the state indicate that from 2021 to 2022, emissions from buildings and transportation in Massachusetts rose. We are moving in the wrong direction. 

With all this in mind, if a member of the House of Representatives had the opportunity to reduce emissions and protect ratepayers, wouldn’t you think they would jump at the chance? And isn’t failure to enact necessary measures now essentially an implicit repeal of the 2008 and 2021 climate laws? 

What’s Next For Legislators? 

Apparently, there is a possibility that the House and Senate might pass a siting bill this fall in an informal session. But will there be movement on the other big issues (gas policy, retail suppliers, electric vehicles, etc.)? That seems quite unlikely, meaning we will have to wait until the session of 2025/2026. One thing is for certain, the longer we wait to establish and implement policies that would bend the emissions curve, the greater the chances the Commonwealth will miss the targets and the more stringent our future policies will have to be. 

Will The Executive Branch Fill The Void? 

The circumstances call for new laws, that’s for sure. But the 2008 and 2021 laws already bestow upon the executive branch great authority to develop new programs and regulations directed at reducing emissions. We call upon the Healey administration and her departments of Energy Resources, Environmental Protection (DEP), and Public Utilities to use that authority to its fullest. Things worth keeping an eye on include the development of a Clean Heat Standard by DEP, strengthening the Clean Energy Standard (also by DEP), the acceptance (we hope) of offshore wind bids, and electricity rate reform. Watch this space for more information over the coming weeks.