Gov. Maura Healey gave her third State of the Commonwealth speech Thursday night, blending a focus on pocketbook issues with critiques of the Trump Administration.
Fresh into a campaign year that also marks the country’s 250th birthday, the Arlington Democrat leaned on revolutionary imagery and local cultural icons — Dropkick Murphys frontman Ken Casey was among her guests, and she previewed plans to dedicate an official “Bob Cousy Pass” in the Celtics’ legend hometown of Worcester.
“Today, while some turn their backs on liberty, Massachusetts stays free. In the face of efforts to divide us, Massachusetts stands united,” Healey said. “And because we stay true to who we are, I can tell you tonight that the state of the Commonwealth is strong.”
Here’s a look at some of the major points from Healey’s speech.
1. New social media rules are on the agenda
Healey said she’s planning to file a bill that would put new guardrails around social media use by kids and teens. She said the legislation will include parental consent and age verification requirements across social platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
“These platforms are built with addictive algorithms,” Healey said. “They exploit our insecurities, especially our young people.”
The idea earned a positive response from one of the top lawmakers whose buy-in Healey will need. State Senate President Karen Spilka said she sees youth social media restrictions as a complement to data privacy and school cellphone-ban bills the Senate has already passed.
“I think it’s our adult responsibility to take care of our children,” Spilka told reporters.
2. Affordability is the buzzword...
Technically, the State of the Commonwealth is one of the governor’s official duties, not a campaign event. But this year’s speech comes two days after Healey formally launched her reelection bid, and it mirrored many of the campaign announcement’s themes. Both center on a pledge to lower costs.
She teased new initiatives on Thursday aimed at keeping more money in Bay Staters’ wallets, from a bill to make it easier to cancel app and streaming service subscriptions to new regulations to keep medical debt from wrecking credit ratings.
“Everything’s more expensive — groceries, a cup of coffee, the new coat or boots you want, the hot-water heater that you need, sports fees for your kids, dinner out once in a while,” Healey said. It’s all so much harder now. I want you to know I get it.”
In the lead-up to her address, Healey announced a $180 million move to cut residential gas and electric billsin February and March, with utilities able to recoup some of the cost later in the year. Many in the crowd jumped to their feet to applaud when Healey hit that portion of her speech, but Republican lawmakers largely stayed seated. House Minority Leader Brad Jones, a North Reading Republican, said he’d prefer to see an approach where the savings would be permanent.
3. …but also a target for her opponents.
Healey isn’t the only one campaigning on affordability issues. The three Republicans vying to challenge her are each making the case she hasn’t done enough to keep the cost of living in line.
“As governor, what she should be focused on is making this state more affordable, retaining companies, retaining jobs,” Brian Shortsleeve, who oversaw the MBTA under Gov. Charlie Baker, told reporters at the State House. “I didn’t see from her a plan to do those things.”
Ahead of the event, medical device executive Mike Minogue released a video of Massachusetts residents sharing their stories of high energy and tax bills, along with concerns about government transparency and immigration policy.
Mike Kennealy, who served as Baker’s economic development chief, issued a statement that called for the state to go further on affordability, “not just with tax cuts, but with slashing regulations, stripping our budget of waste, fraud, and abuse, and unleashing the full potential of the people of Massachusetts and our economy.”
4. It’s Massachusetts vs. the feds
Healey used a large portion of her nearly hourlong speech to draw contrasts between Massachusetts’ state government and the Trump Administration. She pointed to the commonwealth’s break from the federal government on vaccine policy, touted state investments in scientific research and knocked President Donald Trump’s tariffs as price-raisers.
And Healey blasted the aggressive tactics used by federal immigration enforcement agents, referencing the death of a Minnesota woman and, closer to home, the Milford High School student detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while on his way to volleyball practice last year.
“This isn’t right. I was a prosecutor and attorney general, and I can tell you none of this makes us safer,” Healey said. “It doesn’t need to be this way. It needs to stop. Enough is enough.”
5. Healey’s looking ahead with hope, but sees challenges to come.
Massachusetts will play a big role in the celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary, and Healey closed her speech by looking back on the words of Samuel Adams in 1776, when Boston was under siege during the American Revolution. “Never despair ... and where there is a spark of patriotic fire, we will rekindle it,” he wrote in a letter to a friend.
“That’s a good message right now, because the year ahead is going to bring challenges,” Healey said.
She went on to add a line that wasn’t in her prepared remarks: “No doubt it may get worse before it gets better. OK? I’m being honest with you.”
Without elaborating on which challenges she sees worsening, the governor said the people of Massachusetts will stand strong, make the right decisions and “do what we have to do to make it better.”
