House Speaker Ronald Mariano was not coy about his plans for the week.
“One of the things we’re going to do is override the governor’s veto,” he mentioned, with Gov. Charlie Baker standing subsequent to him.
The House is gearing as much as overturn Baker’s veto of a invoice that might see these with out authorized standing granted driver’s licenses.
The House and Senate despatched the invoice to Baker final month, after which he returned it to them unsigned.
“I cannot sign this legislation because it requires the Registry of Motor Vehicles to issue state credentials to people without the ability to verify their identity. The Registry does not have the expertise or ability to verify the validity of many types of documents from other countries,” Baker mentioned in his veto letter.
Baker reiterated that time Monday, when he, Mariano and state Senate President Karen Spilka met for a management assembly.
The conferences, described as weekly, have been taking place with much less regularity because the Legislature works to wrap up its two-year session by July 31 and Baker marches towards his life as a civilian. Baker introduced in December he wouldn’t search a 3rd time period.
In May, Baker refused to signal House Bill 4805, “An Act relative to work and family mobility,” which might enable somebody to make use of identification issued by their house nation to determine their identification for the aim of getting a Massachusetts driver’s license.
Baker mentioned Monday, not for the primary time, that he doesn’t consider the registry is supplied to vet these paperwork.
He additionally acknowledged that his ideas on the matter are primarily moot at this level, as each the House and Senate handed the invoice by margins vast sufficient to beat his veto.
“I don’t see this the same way the House and Senate sees this. That’s democracy,” Baker mentioned.
Mariano’s workplace has indicated to reporters the difficulty will likely be taken up by the House Wednesday, when that chamber is scheduled to carry formal session. The Senate will take up the invoice if and when it clears the House by a two-thirds vote.
Spilka and Mariano will each must work onerous to squeeze the veto override into an already full less-than-two-month schedule.
The Legislature is at the moment engaged on the fiscal 2023 finances, almost $50 billion price, which can should be completed by the tip of July. It can also be contemplating a invoice that might legalize sports activities betting in Massachusetts.
Spilka mentioned her members are additionally engaged on a tax reduce proposal that they hope will see the sunshine of day earlier than the tip of session. Mariano has indicated he has his colleagues engaged on the identical challenge, however wouldn’t say Monday which sort of tax break they’d take into account.
Mariano mentioned even when tax reduction does come, it wouldn’t assist individuals till subsequent tax season whereas they want the help now. He mentioned that’s what he’s extra targeted on.
Spilka was clear a gasoline tax suspension would almost definitely not be provided. She mentioned there is no such thing as a manner for the Legislature to make sure that the tax, if suspended, would end in any form of financial savings for shoppers. The Legislature, she mentioned, lacks the facility to pressure fuel corporations to go that financial savings on to drivers.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”