Deadlocked Democrats still holding out hope for deals on major bills as time runs out

The final formal legislative meetings of the Legislature’s two-year session were set to run into the evening hours Wednesday as deals on at least nine major proposals ranging from housing to clean energy remained hung up in secretive deliberations.

Hours remained before lawmakers were set to end formal lawmaking for the year and enter into a months-long period where the Democratic supermajorities in the House and Senate cede their ability to muscle through their proposals over potential objections.

Top Democrats were still holding out hope that compromises could be reached on high-profile matters like a multi-billion borrowing bill focused on addressing affordable housing in Massachusetts and tackling the root causes of the Steward Health Care crisis.

Senate President Karen Spilka said she is “always optimistic” deals could be reached.

“I can tell you the senators are working really hard. I know that they’ve been preparing and sending proposals and giving responses and trying to talk with their House counterparts. So I think that as long as we can continue working together collaboratively, we should, I’m hopeful that we get it done,” she told the Herald on her way into the Senate Chamber just after 1 p.m.

Lawmakers have until 12 a.m. Thursday but have historically ignored the clock and worked well past midnight. Legislators worked for 23 hours as they ended formal lawmaking two years ago, ending around 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 1, 2022.

In the mix this year are at least nine major bills that have managed to find their way into negotiating panels of six politicians.

Many other proposals, like a Boston-backed effort to raise the city’s commercial tax rate and rework its planning and development agency, have been acted on by one branch but not the other.

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Rep. Michael Moran, a Brighton Democrat who is heading up talks on an effort to expand the number of liquor licenses in Boston, declined to answer a reporter’s questions as he walked by the House Chamber around 5 p.m.

None of the negotiating groups had picked up the necessary paperwork from the House or Senate Clerk’s office to file accords on any of the many bills stuck in private talks as of 5:15 p.m.

Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr said the Legislature was dealing with many complex matters that take time “to be properly considered and understood.”

“So even if we get them across the goal line, the question will be, at what price? At what price did we move things that could not be fully vetted, that the public didn’t have a chance to fully understand, and that the members have not had an opportunity to fully deal with,” he told the Herald just before 1:30 p.m.

As of 5:15 p.m., the House was in an extended recess and the Senate was actively debating legislation that eliminated the statute of limitations in child sexual abuse cases.

Though most legislative action on the high-profile bills was occurring behind closed doors, the State House hallways were packed with lobbyists, who like the public and press, were hoping to find out any information on proposals they were working on.

This is a developing story…

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