Not for nuthin'…. But….. Beacon Hill just parked a $2.24 billion supplemental in Ways and Means, the gas-tax holiday is taking fire from Healey’s own left and from Marianos right, and tonights New England polls look like somebody shook the snow globe. Here’s MOAMs New England Political Roundup.
[MA] 1. House sends Healeys $2.24B supplemental to Ways & Means
Gov. Maura Healeys $2.24 billion fiscal 2026 supplemental filed Wednesday — was referred Thursday to the House Ways and Means Committee after a ten-minute House session, State House News Service reported. The package steers about $1.8 billion in gross funding to MassHealth (about $1.03 billion net after federal reimbursements), creates a new Health Care Stabilization Fund aimed at costs from recent federal policy changes, and sends $41.5 million to the Department of Transitional Assistance for SNAP caseworkers and tech. It also carries Healeys electricity basic-service overhaul, the two-month gas-tax pause, and a concert-ticket resale cap at 110% of face value. A redrafted closeout bill is still expected this fall; House Democrats decide whether to take it up before or after the Nov. 3 election. New Joint Rule 12A means a formal session may be called for late-session budget filings.
MOAM’s take: Another “closeout” bill that somehow still finds room for election-season goodies. When Beacon Hill says “promptly,” check your wallet and the calendar November’s closer than the bond counsel’s fine print.
Source: State House News Service, Sep 24, 2026; WBUR / State House News Service, Sep 24, 2026
[MA] 2. Gas-tax holiday: fire from the left, the Speaker, and Minogue
Healey’s two-month pause of the states 24-cent-per-gallon gas and diesel tax — pegged at about $120 million and backfilled with surplus Fair Share surtax revenue — is now taking hits from every direction. House Speaker Ron Mariano called a suspension “fiscally irresponsible. Progressive Sen. Jamie Eldridge told the Globe the timing looks “a bit gimmicky” in an election year. Boston City Councilor Sharon Durkan was the lone no on a council resolution backing the plan, calling it “extremely reactive. Republican nominee Mike Minogue says two months is too short and asks whether the clock is really about the election. Transportation advocates worry Fair Share dollars get diverted from roads and transit. Senate President Karen Spilka has only pledged to review the bill.
MOAM’s take: Nothing says election season like Democrats discovering the gas tax is optional six weeks out — then watching their own progressives call it a gimmick. If Speaker won’t move, drivers shouldn’t hold their breath at the pump.
Source: NewBostonPost, Sep 24, 2026; NBC Boston / State House News Service, Sep 23, 2026; WBUR, Sep 23, 2026
[MA] 3. Healey backs Question 7 the starter homes zoning override
Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll endorsed statewide Ballot Question 7, which would let single-family homes be built by right on residentially zoned lots of at least 5,000 square feet with public water/sewer and a 50-foot street frontage — overriding local large-lot rules. Tufts analysts have estimated roughly 350–1,200 extra homes a year if it passes. Healey has also backed Question 9 (upholding the 2024 gun law) and Question 6 (conservation funding). Minogue has not publicly taken a Q7 position as of recent coverage, while pledging to scrap enforcement of the MBTA Communities Act if elected.
MOAM’s take: Housing costs are crushing young families from Marblehead to the Berkshires — no argument there. Just remember: when Beacon Hill overrides local, somebodys Town Meeting loses a vote. Read the ballot text before you punch the card.
Source: WBUR, Sep 23, 2026; Banker & Tradesman
[NH] 4. NYT/Siena: Pappas leads Sununu 50–45 in the Senate race
A New York Times/Siena poll released Thursday (fielded Sept. 15–22 among 613 New Hampshire likely voters; ~±4.9 pt MoE) shows Democrat Chris Pappas at 50% and Republican John Sununu at 45%. Both candidates posted net-negative favorability (1), and independents leaned toward Pappas by about 10 points. A separate UNH Survey Center Granite State Poll (Sept. 17–21) put Trumps NH job approval at 32% approve / 67% disapprove — a series low — with most saying the Iran conflict is going poorly.
MOAM’s take: Five points inside a five-point margin is a coin flip with nicer graphics. Granite State independents still run the table — and they’re not exactly singing the White Houses praises right now.
Source: The Hill (NYT/Siena), Sep 24, 2026; InDepthNH / UNH Survey Center, Sep 23, 2026
[ME] 5. Maine Senate: three Thursday polls, one toss-up
Thursday dumped three Maine Senate polls that refuse to agree. A New York Times/Siena/Portland Press Herald survey put Sen. Susan Collins ahead of Democrat Troy Jackson 49%–46% (619 likely voters, Sept. 15–22; ~±4.9). The same day, UNH had Jackson up 51%47% and UMass Lowell/YouGov had Jackson up 48%–43% with 6% undecided. Decision Desk HQ rates the race roughly 50–50. None of the three fully captured reaction to this weeks ProPublica report on a shelved federal corruption inquiry involving donor Martin Kao / Navatek; Maine Democrats called it “corruption, while Collins’s office and an FBI statement said the allegations are false and prior probes found nothing implicating the senator or her campaign. ProPublica later disputed parts of Collins’s defense of the timeline.
MOAMs take: When three polls on the same Thursday point opposite ways inside the margin, that’s not a wave — that’s a coin flip with a donor scandal taped to it. Mainers will sort it at the ballot box, not on cable news.
Source: Bangor Daily News, Sep 24, 2026; Bangor Daily News (NYT/Siena), Sep 24, 2026; GBH / Maine Public, Sep 23, 2026
[VT] 6. UNH poll: Scott trails Janoo 43–49
A University of New Hampshire Survey Center Green Mountain State Poll released Thursday (fielded Sept. 17–21 among 835 respondents; ±3.3 pt MoE) shows Democrat Amanda Janoo leading five-term Republican Gov. Phil Scott 49%43%. Scotts overall favorability has slipped to about 47%, with Democratic support at its lowest in the Survey Center’s tracking after years of crossover wins. Scott’s campaign disputes the sample mix and notes its one poll. Separately, the same survey had Molly Gray leading Lt. Gov. John Rodgers 54%–40% and Rep. Becca Balint leading Gerald Malloy 66%–30%.
MOAM’s take: When the most popular moderate Republican governor in the Northeast is suddenly underwater with Democrats who used to cross over, that’s not noise — that’s a Trump-year turnout story hitting Montpelier. Six weeks is a long time in Vermont politics, but Scotts got a hill to climb he hasnt seen before.
Source: WCAX / UNH Survey Center, Sep 24, 2026
MOAM Out.
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