Dem state senators squeeze fundraiser into final day of legislative session

Organizers of the Committee for a Democratic Senate fundraiser were asking for $200 or $500 contributions when they opened the doors for a 90-minute fundraiser set to begin at 9:30 am. at a restaurant that's a short walk down Beacon Street from the State House.

The fundraiser was squeezed in between a pair of high stakes formal legislative sessions where top House and Senate Democrats hope to make final financial and policy decisions on most of the major bills in play during this two-year session.

Before heading up to the State House to make those decisions, some senators gathered at Carrie Nation, located at 11 Beacon Street. The fundraiser invitation, obtained by the News Service, listed Senate President Karen Spilka of Ashland as the special guest.

Most Senate Democrats are running uncontested in this year's elections and Republicans hold just four seats in the 40-seat Senate.

The fundraiser invitation listed Democratic state Sen. Nick Collins of South Boston as among the expected attendees. Efforts to reach Collins on Wednesday morning were unsuccessful but the News Service spotted him inside Carrie Nation.

"We're here to support our colleagues," Spilka told the News Service as she arrived at Carrie Nation just after 9:50 a.m.

Spilka's chief of staff, Mary Anne Padien, called the event more of a "coffee break," saying senators were working late Tuesday night.

Democratic state Sen. John Cronin exited Carrie Nation at around 10:25 a.m. and was walking toward the State House.

"So we go into formal sessions at 11, and this is about helping our colleagues out," Cronin told the News Service when asked about the optics of attending a fundraiser in the thick of final formal sessions.

Before the Senate recessed its session Tuesday night, Democratic state Sen. Marc Pacheco of Taunton questioned why the Senate wasn't staying in session longer to take up more bills and suggested the Senate should start its Wednesday session earlier given the volume of unfinished work. He warned the Senate was on the verge of leaving major problems such as climate change and hospital closures unaddressed.

Belmont Democrat and Senate President Pro Tempore Will Brownsberger responded by saying most State House business happens off the Senate floor, a nod to the frequent private meetings where legislators, who are not subject to the open meeting law, gather information and make decisions.

Office of Campaign and Political Finance reports indicate the Committee for a Democratic Senate PAC had more than $27,600 in cash on hand at the end of June, following $23,200 in May receipts from a range of lobbyists, consultants and other government-relations professionals representing clients at the State House and a $10,000 contribution from the William N. Brownsberger Committee.

A small sampling of bills in play for final decisions Wednesday range from the state's approach to its housing affordability crisis and hospital sector oversight, to an expansion of the bottle redemption law, a path for a professional soccer stadium in Everett, the future of clean energy expansion, new checks on prescription drug and long-term care sectors, and more.