Mass. lawmakers keep trying to find way to pass supplemental budget bill

The clock is ticking for lawmakers on Beacon Hill to find compromise on a nearly $3 billion supplemental budget bill.

After failing to reach an agreement by Nov. 15, the legislature is now in informal session, creating an even more difficult lift for Democrats in the majority.

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"The legislature didn't do their job in a timely fashion, they're now in the scenario where they have to get all Republican votes," said UMass Boston Professor Erin O'Brien.

Stuck in the middle is $250 million dollars in migrant shelter funding. The Senate bill gives the Healey administration more leeway, while the House bill wants more oversight on spending.

"They're supposed to be the number one branch, legislative supremacy," O'Brien said. "I think the House is performing that duty and the Senate is not."

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Meanwhile, pre-negotiated wage increases for union workers and disaster relief can't move forward without a final agreement.

Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr tells NBC10 Boston he believes a piece-by-piece solution may get some of these issues moving.

"That allows collective bargaining agreements to be funded right away, disaster relief funded right away and allows us to move forward on a number of items that are in both versions of the bill," said Tarr.

But even if that isn't a viable option, Tarr says informal session requires Democrats to work with Republicans to get a deal done.

"Any member can object to whatever agreement is reached, if it is reached, even being taken up," Tarr said. "So we are not in a good situation."

Adding to the overall urgency for lawmakers is a Jan. 2 deadline. If they can't find agreement by that date, both bills would be scraped and the entire process would have to start from scratch.