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Mike Barrett

State Senator | Democrat | 3rd Middlesex District MA

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May 20, 2023 By Lily Barrett

Plan to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom sparks concerns about a surge in climate pollution – Boston Globe

“If the [hangar] project goes forward as the developers envision, we fear Massport’s sustainability efforts elsewhere will net out to very little in the way of reduced emissions, and possibly to nothing at all,” wrote Barrett, whose letter was co-signed by more than 30 other local residents and officials. “Pollution attributable to traffic at the new Hanscom hangars threatens to cancel out all the gains.”

Barrett urged Massport officials to reimagine the proposal and require all new hangers to house fossil fuel-free aircraft, such as the 75 electric airplanes that Cape Air ordered last year from a Washington company called Eviation.

“We urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to ensure that Massachusetts does not enable super-emitters,” he wrote.

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May 18, 2023 By Lily Barrett

House leaders pushing majority rule in joint committees – CommonWealth Magazine

Sen. Michael Barrett of Lexington, the Senate chair of the committee, said the senators won’t return to meeting with their House counterparts until the House members agree to rules recognizing parity between the two branches.

That means the House and Senate chairs have to agree jointly on which bills will be heard at hearings and which bills will get acted on in executive sessions. Without parity, Barrett said, the Senate will lose leverage and House members will prevail most of the time because House members on the committee outnumber Senate members by almost a 2-1 margin.

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May 16, 2023 By Lily Barrett

Inside the Legislature’s latest power struggle – Politico

State Sen. Michael Barrett on Monday accused his House co-chair on the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy of scheduling a hearing on energy bills for later this week without his consent. “There’s a small chance this is merely a serious error,” Barrett said in a statement. “Otherwise, I regret to say, the use of my name appears to be fraudulent.”

But Barrett isn’t just peeved about one listening session. He said state Rep. Jeffrey Roy’s “unilateral act” not only violates the rule that joint committee chairs agree on hearing schedules, but also breaks with broader governing practices designed to give the Senate an equal say on panels where their members are outnumbered. And he claimed other Senate chairs “are being pressed along similar lines.”

Barrett is giving voice to what some senators have been privately griping about for months. They say House chairs pushed boilerplate rules this session that would let them leverage their chamber’s numerical advantage on joint committees by using majority votes to call hearings and move bills without senators’ consent.

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May 15, 2023 By Lily Barrett

Mike Barrett: Climate goals may take longer, but we’ll get there – MIT News

Barrett, who is senate chair of the state’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, spoke on the topic of “Decarbonizing Massachusetts” at MIT’s Wong Auditorium as part of the Institute’s celebration of Earth Week. The event was accompanied by a poster session highlighting some of the work of MIT students and faculty aimed at tackling aspects of the climate issue.

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May 9, 2023 By Lily Barrett

Proposed bill would create new commission to oversee MBTA safety – WBUR.org

State Sen. Michael Barrett, sponsor of a bill that would remove transportation safety from the DPU, said his proposal would create a state agency that can solely focus on transportation.

“It’s not a matter of the people not doing their job, it’s a structural problem,” Sen. Barrett said. “Structurally, the DPU will always be distracted.”

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Filed Under: News-Posts

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Senator Mike Barrett

Senator Mike Barrett

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Senator Mike Barrett
2 weeks ago
Senator Mike Barrett

Climate policymaking comes out ahead when the two branches of the MA Legislature are equally balanced. But if the House view described in this Commonwealth article prevails, and simple majority rule replaces the delicate power-sharing embedded in the process up to now, the "joint committees" of the Legislature lose their jointness. The best recourse then: Splitting into separate but parallel Senate and House Committees. Climate policy needn't suffer, so long as each branch acknowledges the equality of the other. (So why not do this upfront, by agreeing to follow the current parliamentary rules -- obscure but of crucial importance -- that have ensured parity until now?) ... See MoreSee Less

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House leaders pushing majority rule in joint committees - CommonWealth Magazine

commonwealthmagazine.org

HOUSE LEADERS appear to be pushing majority rule in most of the Legislature’s joint committees, bu...
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Senator Mike Barrett
2 weeks ago
Senator Mike Barrett

MassPort wants to be seen it as green. This proposal is its moment of truth. ... See MoreSee Less

Plan to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom sparks concerns about a surge in climate pollution - The Boston Globe

www.bostonglobe.com

Private jets are among the most polluting forms of transportation on the planet, catering mainly to ...
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Senator Mike Barrett Follow 3,222 4,203

State Senator for Bedford Carlisle Chelmsford Concord Lincoln Waltham Weston and a large part of Lexington. Senate Chair of the Committee on Energy.

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Senator Mike Barrett @senatorbarrett ·
21 May 1660294098660519940

Thanks, Larry. This proposal is the test of MassPort's avowed commitment to go green. If the jets stay dirty, greening the hangar buildings will be little more than greenwashing.

Larry Chretien @LarryChretien

Plan to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom sparks concerns about a surge in climate pollution - The Boston Globe https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/20/science/plan-expand-hangar-space-private-jets-hanscom-sparks-concerns-about-surge-climate-pollution/

Reply on Twitter 1660294098660519940 Retweet on Twitter 1660294098660519940 0 Like on Twitter 1660294098660519940 2 Twitter 1660294098660519940
Senator Mike Barrett @senatorbarrett ·
21 May 1660266198599073792

MassPort wants to go green? It starts by greening the jets. Compared to the jets, greening the hangars is a meaningless piffle. "Plan to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom sparks concerns about a surge in climate pollution" https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/20/science/plan-expand-hangar-space-private-jets-hanscom-sparks-concerns-about-surge-climate-pollution/?event=event25 via… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1660266198599073792

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Plan to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom sparks concerns about a surge in climate...

Private jets are among the most polluting forms of transportation on the planet, catering mainly to the wealthy an...

www.bostonglobe.com

Reply on Twitter 1660266198599073792 Retweet on Twitter 1660266198599073792 11 Like on Twitter 1660266198599073792 16 Twitter 1660266198599073792
Senator Mike Barrett @senatorbarrett ·
21 May 1660265067986690048

With ominous implications for climate policy, this risks upsetting the delicate balance of power between the branches: House leaders pushing majority rule in joint committees - CommonWealth Magazine

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House leaders pushing majority rule in joint committees - CommonWealth Magazine

HOUSE LEADERS appear to be pushing majority rule in most of the Legislature’s joint committees, but the effort h...

commonwealthmagazine.org

Reply on Twitter 1660265067986690048 Retweet on Twitter 1660265067986690048 3 Like on Twitter 1660265067986690048 7 Twitter 1660265067986690048
Senator Mike Barrett @senatorbarrett ·
21 May 1660259311451340801

We're green! says MassPort. This proposal is its moment of truth. David Abel and Boston Globe, thank you.

Sabrina Shankman @shankman

Must read from @davabel on plans to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom and concerns that it will cause a surge in climate pollution https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/20/science/plan-expand-hangar-space-private-jets-hanscom-sparks-concerns-about-surge-climate-pollution/?event=event25 via @BostonGlobe

Reply on Twitter 1660259311451340801 Retweet on Twitter 1660259311451340801 1 Like on Twitter 1660259311451340801 5 Twitter 1660259311451340801
Senator Mike Barrett @senatorbarrett ·
21 May 1660258634184511488

MassPort wants to be seen as green. This proposal is its moment of truth: Plan to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom sparks concerns about a surge in climate pollution

Image for twitter card

Plan to expand hangar space for private jets at Hanscom sparks concerns about a surge in climate...

Private jets are among the most polluting forms of transportation on the planet, catering mainly to the wealthy an...

www.bostonglobe.com

Reply on Twitter 1660258634184511488 Retweet on Twitter 1660258634184511488 3 Like on Twitter 1660258634184511488 5 Twitter 1660258634184511488
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Mike Barrett

State Senator | Democrat | 3rd Middlesex District MA

Bedford, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Lincoln,
Waltham, Weston, and a large part of Lexington

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