Two key state lawmakers are urging Gov. Maura Healey to set in motion now the process for selecting the next operator of the state’s commuter rail system even though the contract with the current operator has another three years to run.

In a letter sent to Healey on Monday, the House and Senate chairs of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee said the next contract is likely to be much longer in length, give much more responsibility to the operator, and deal with important transportation, climate change, and housing challenges. The contracting process, they said, will be lengthy and involved and require years of work.

“We view the next commuter rail contract as an opportunity for your administration to accomplish multiple critical initiatives for the next 10 to 20 years,” said the letter from Rep. William Straus of Mattapoisett and Sen. Brendan Crighton of Lynn.

The current commuter rail operator is Keolis Commuter Services, a division of a French company. Keolis won an eight-year contract in 2014 that was scheduled to end in 2022. Even though Baker administration officials were unhappy with Keolis and vowed in 2017 not to extend the company’s contract, a four-year extension was granted in 2020 (through June 2026) when COVID knocked the commuter rail system on its back, with ridership plummeting to all-time lows.

“I don’t think anyone was happy with that,” said Straus in a phone interview. “But there really was no alternative given COVID.”

Now the system is one of the brighter spots of the state transportation system, with on-time performance strong and ridership back to 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels despite the emergence of widespread hybrid work schedules.

In their letter, Straus and Crighton didn’t set out a specific course of action for the next contract, but they embraced the view that the agreement should allow the state and the commuter rail operator to form more of a partnership than a traditional company-vendor relationship with a focus on electrification, energy efficiency, and expansion.

“In the past, commuter rail contracts entered into by the state have been for relatively short duration with a renewal option as occurred with the current agreement with Keolis,” the lawmakers wrote. “We suggest that something different should be considered in the next contract for commuter rail service. Significant capital equipment changes are going to be required if you agree that climate-related improvements are appropriately part of this process and that will mean a longer contract timeline is likely a part of what is offered for bidding. In that way, the expected investment for any successful bidder will allow a compensation schedule to the operator which is fair to both them and the Commonwealth.”

BRUCE MOHL

FROM COMMONWEALTH

Hobson’s choice: A top regulator in Rhode Island says policymakers across the region are facing a “Hobson’s choice” as offshore wind farms struggling with rising interest rates, inflation, supply chain disruption, and the war in Ukraine seek to tear up signed contracts and negotiate better deals.

– Ronald Gerwatowski, who chairs the Public Utilities Commission and the Energy Facilities Siting Board in Rhode Island, said regulators have to choose between protecting ratepayers from sharply higher electricity prices or stand their ground and run the risk of losing wind farms considered critical to state efforts to address climate change.

– “The system works but only when competition is real and contracts are honored,” he said at a hearing with officials from SouthCoast Wind, which is seeking to walk away from a contract it signed last year with Massachusetts utilities and rebid the project at higher prices in a procurement slated for next year. Southcoast was appearing before the Gerwatowski’s siting board because the wind farm developer is seeking permission to build a transmission line to Massachusetts by crossing part of Rhode Island. Read more.

Cypher retiring: Supreme Judicial Court Justice Elspeth Cypher is stepping down years before her mandatory retirement date, giving Gov. Maura Healey a chance to appoint her first SJC judge. Read more.

OPINION

State seal must go: Brian Boyles and Brittney Peauwe Wunnepog Walley, who head a special state commission, explain why Massachusetts needs a new state seal and motto. Read more.

FROM AROUND THE WEB

MUNICIPAL MATTERS  

Worcester’s landmark Slater Building, built in 1907, might be redeveloped into a mixed-use apartment building. (Worcester Telegram)

HEALTH/HEALTH CARE

Health disparities among communities of color cost the state about $5.9 billion per year, according to a new study commissioned by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation. (Boston Herald)

A study by researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear found that millions of Americans who have had COVID have yet to regain all of their sense of smell and taste. (Boston Herald)

More than 1,200 patients are stuck in Massachusetts hospitals on any given day, tying up beds because they are unable to access space in crowded post-acute-care facilities, according to a new report. (Eagle-Tribune)

WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Former president Donald Trump was still trying to assemble his legal defense team last night on the eve of his scheduled court appearance in Miami following his federal indictment on charges related to mishandling classified documents. (Washington Post)

The city of New Haven, Connecticut, reached a $45 million settlement with a man who was paralyzed last year while in police custody, the largest police misconduct settlement in US history. (Connecticut Public Radio)

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Researchers and technicians at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard are looking to form a union. (Boston Globe)

EDUCATION

The Easthampton School Committee, which has had a difficult time finding a new superintendent, is offering the job on an interim basis to Maureen Binienda, who currently leads the Quaboag Regional School District and worked six years with the Worcester school system. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)

TRANSPORTATION

A MBTA Green Line trolley carrying 30 passengers derailed in Allston on Monday. There were no injuries. (Boston Herald)

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

Eversource, the state’s largest utility, shows off early work on the development of a geothermal network to provide eco-friendly heating and cooling for 37 buildings in Framingham. (WBUR)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS

The Boston police officer who was shot and wounded on Friday night was released from Boston Medical Center on Sunday night. Meanwhile, the alleged gunman was ordered held without bail during a court appearance at which more than 50 officers packed the courtroom in a show of support for the wounded officer. (Boston Globe)

A Brockton convenience store worker pleaded not guilty to charges that he and a co-worker tried to claim a winning $3 million Mega Millions ticket a customer mistakenly left behind. (MassLive)