House Speaker Ron Mariano was having a bit of fun with the press corps Wednesday when he named “fortune-telling” as part of his own personal “fun agenda,” a phrase senators have been deploying to describe their host of policies aimed at energizing nightlife and socialization.
His other comments in the same scrum seemed to showcase his divination skills.
Earlier in the week, Sen. Jason Lewis appeared to have the votes on paper to eliminate a voter-approved tax cap law that in 2022 forced Beacon Hill to return nearly $3 billion to taxpayers. The Lewis proposal would have effectively mooted a question on the November ballot that seeks to reshape the rebate system.
CommonWealth asked Mariano if that was something he’d like to do, too.
“Of course I’d love to be able to do that,” Mariano said of axing Chapter 62F.
Top legislative Democrats have made no secret over the years of their disdain for the law and its potential to upend government spending plans. Describing the massive rebates Beacon Hill owed four years ago, Mariano said, “We got hit with an unexpected bill in a very difficult financial time.”
But because the topic is a live political issue this fall, with a question further tweaking the tax cap already locked on the ballot, Mariano said he is not sure whether the House would embrace a repeal, especially with lawmakers facing reelection on the same November ballot.
“It’s controversial for voters, so that’s why I want to talk to the membership,” he said. “Folks who have races are going to be questioned directly about their position on this.”
But as it turned out, Lewis and his allies in the Senate decided that going all-out to repeal the law wasn’t the right move after all, likely after considering the same electoral factors that the often blunt-talking Speaker showed no hesitation to float publicly.
More Context
- Lawmakers offer mixed messages on income tax ballot question (April 2026)
- Long-forgotten tax cap about to be triggered (July 2022)
Published by MassINC