Legislature agrees to back Pike finances
Reaches a compromise as session ticks to a close
House and Senate lawmakers reached a last-minute compromise at nearly 1:30 this morning to extend a financial lifeline to the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority that is intended to protect the quasi-public agency from financial collapse.
Although lawmakers disagreed over how risky the various plans would be for taxpayers, even critics said they had to do something to avoid reconvening in special session to prevent the Pike from insolvency.
Lawmakers - with advice from lawyers, financial advisers, and bankers - spent days in rooms negotiating the final measure. It changed hour to hour in the final days of the session as advocates weighed the risks to taxpayers and toll payers.
Under the approved legislation, lawmakers insured more than $1 billion in Turnpike Authority debt and investment obligations, which was less than the governor's more aggressive proposal to back the Pike's entire $2.4 billion debt. The state's backing will allow the turnpike to refinance $800 million in debt using the state's superior credit rating.
The Legislature, capping the end of its 2008 session in dramatic fashion, used every minute until its midnight deadline last night - and then blew past the deadline to meet until about 1:30 this morning. In its marathon session, lawmakers approved several major proposals, including overriding nearly half of Governor Deval Patrick's $122.5 million in budget vetoes, and approving a sweeping proposal to curb soaring healthcare costs.
Major items that lawmakers neglected to take up included whether to allow residents to register to vote on election days, whether the state should ban trans fat oils in restaurants, and whether Massachusetts should join a movement to decide presidential elections using a national popular vote instead of the Electoral College.
"We're getting a little punchy and sleep-deprived tonight," Representative Patricia A. Walrath, Democrat of Stow, said at a 6 p.m. news conference. "But we'll try."
Yesterday was a day of ceremonial bill signings, as well as a bit of whimsy - the House welcomed Miss Massachusetts 2008, Alicia Zitka, into its hallowed chamber, and lawmakers buzzed about the Red Sox trading Manny Ramírez, carrying printouts of ESPN articles along with stacks of legislative documents.
Everywhere the governor went well-wishers burst into rounds of "Happy Birthday" to note his 52d, and during a morning news conference attended by a dozen squirming kindergartners, he gave them a brief lesson on state politics.
"In this building, we make laws, and the laws are made by the Senate and the House," he said. "It's insane down there right now."
Lawmakers waded through mounds of unfinished business last night, and the pace was frantic as votes were cast in flurries and aides ran documents between the House and Senate to keep each chamber updated on what the other was doing. Late yesterday afternoon, House and Senate lawmakers reached a compromise on a broad proposal that seeks to contain the state's rising healthcare costs. The new law includes a contentious provision to clamp down on drug companies' gifts and meals provided to physicians.
Although the legislation does not include an outright ban on drug company gifts, it requires the companies to report to the state Department of Public Health any payment or subsidy over $50 made to a healthcare professional. It also requires that the department post that information on a public website.
"We fought for this bill until the very end, which was 15 minutes ago," said Senate President Therese Murray, who spearheaded the legislation, which has dozens of other provisions aimed at improving healthcare and lowering costs. "It was a dynamic and collaborative process."
The bill also sets a statewide goal for adopting electronic health records by 2015 and would set a standard for uniform billing and coding among healthcare providers and insurance companies.
Yesterday completed a busy two-year session that was full of political maneuverings as, for the first time in 16 years, Democrats adjusted to controlling both legislative chambers and the governor's office - and Republicans rarely had a significant seat at the negotiating table. The governor's proposal to license three casinos in Massachusetts took most of the oxygen out of the State House this year and led to fierce clashes between Patrick and House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, before the speaker ensured its dramatic defeat in March.
Lawmakers also approved a $1 billion package to bolster the state's life-sciences industry. They backed a plan to tighten corporate income tax codes and approved a series of laws that promote environmental policies and combat global warming.
One of the biggest issues to dominate the session was preserving the legality of same-sex marriage, and the topic stayed on the agenda yesterday as Patrick signed into law a bill allowing gay couples from other states to marry in Massachusetts.
For the ceremonial bill-signing, DiMasi walked down the grand staircase and greeted Patrick. They both smiled widely before praising each other in front of a crowd of hundreds. It allowed DiMasi a brief reprieve from the palace intrigue over whether he will leave his position and who will take his gavel. It gave the governor an opportunity to revel in a successful issue in the final hours of the session.
"I ask you to applaud today and every day you can for . . . the leadership shown by my friend and yours, the speaker of the House, Sal DiMasi," Patrick said.
"I am so proud to stand next to the governor," DiMasi said.
Later in the day, the state Republican Party sent out a legislative scorecard, measuring the performance of the Democrat-controlled State House on ethics, property tax relief, and state pension reform. Predictably - given the hand-picked nature of the list from a party that holds just 24 seats in the Legislature - the grade on every issue was an F.
Kay Lazar and Noah Bierman of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com. 
