UPDATE: The Senate conference committee members are Chairman Brewer and Senators Candaras and Humason.
On Thursday, the Massachusetts House of Representatives appointed three members to a conference committee that will review the economic development packages passed by both the House and the state Senate. Included in the Senate’s version, of course, is a provision that could afford the City of Boston 150 new liquor licenses over a three year span.
Because the Senate was in formal session Thursday, appointees have yet to be designated, though we’ll be sure to update this article once they’re named.
Assigned to the committee from the house is Representative Joseph Wagner, Chair, Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies; Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante, Vice Chair, Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies; and Representative Susan Williams Gifford, who also sits on the Joint Committee.
The House’s economic development bill passed by a margin of 125 to 32, according to State House News Service while the Senate’s economic measure passed by a more triumphant 37-1 vote.
The lone dissenter from the Senate was Senator Bob Hedlund and seeing as how he does not sit on the Joint Committee on Economic Development, it’s unlikely he’ll be assigned to the conference committee.
The conference committee is charged with examining both the House’s and the Senate’s economic bills to negotiate a final version to go before Governor Deval Patrick. Together members will weed out any redundancies or unfeasible measures between each package, as well as deliberate whether either bill contains any stipulations worth including on the final draft.
It’s likely that they’ll reach a final decision on the bill by the end of the month, a source close to the process told BostInno.
At the end of May, Senator Linda Dorcena Forry filed a budget amendment with the support of Mayor Marty Walsh that would allow for Boston restaurants and bars to stay open later. The Senate subsequently voted to include the amendment, though when it came time to consolidate best practices between both chambers, the amendment failed to be tacked on to the final budget proposal in June.
The Senate’s latest bill gives further details on one aspect that displeased some, like Representative Michael Moran – how the licenses will be awarded to Boston’s various neighborhoods if the bill passes. After all, the number of some neighborhoods’ liquor licenses pale in comparison to others.
Given that the Senate has overwhelming supported relocating Boston’s licensing power from the state to the city and such a measure still failed, I want to warn you now not to get your hopes up. It’s quite possible the new bill is still unsatisfactory in the eyes of the House and, when considering it from a political vantage point, keep in mind that few people ever want to relinquish power.
Stay tuned to BostInno for the appointments of the Senate’s conference committee members and the latest information on Boston’s liquor licensing endeavor.
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