By Lisa Kashinsky and Kelly Garrity

MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS — Cabloads of migrants arriving at motels virtually unannounced. Children showing up for the first day of school not properly enrolled. And few answers from a new administration struggling to keep up with the explosion of families in need of emergency shelter.

House and Senate lawmakers looking for a full accounting of the state’s overloaded emergency shelter system — and better communication from the corner office about it — were left wanting after a pair of private briefings with Healey administration officials including Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll and Housing Secretary Ed Augustus.

One month after Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency over the migrant influx, lawmakers who’ve been fielding complaints and concerns from municipal officials on the receiving end of the shelter system’s overflow funneled those frustrations up to the administration on Thursday.

“Communication has been less than desirable from all aspects down to the municipal level. So that’s the frustration that a lot of colleagues expressed,” House Majority Leader Mike Moran told reporters at the State House. “The administration took some ownership of that. And they’re committed to improving the communication lines, not just with the Legislature but also with the local municipal elected officials.”

State Rep. Mark Cusack, another Democrat and co-chair of the Revenue Committee, was even more blunt — lamenting to the Boston Herald that the Healey administration is just “planning on planning a plan” to deal with the migrant surge.

More than 6,200 families were in the emergency shelter system as of Thursday, and the state estimates more than a third of them are migrants. More than 2,500 of those families are spread across roughly 80 state-subsidized hotels and motels in more than 50 communities.

The growing stress on the system prompted Healey to activate up to 250 National Guard members to help connect families to basic services such as transportation and medical care. They’re expected to be on the ground next week.

“We’re a right-to-shelter state … and we are working to do all that we can to provide safe shelter for families,” Driscoll told reporters as she exited the House briefing. “We also have some pain points. So we're working together to try and address this.”

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll talks to reporters at the Massachusetts State House on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO

Despite those efforts, the migrant influx is putting Healey in an increasingly perilous political position just eight months into her tenure. The strain on the shelter system is straining Healey’s relationships from the local level on up — and, as evidenced by the reaction to Thursday’s briefings, within her own party.

But there’s a limit to how much the Democratic governor can lay into the federal government for more aid and expedited work permits, lest she damage her relationship with President Joe Biden and his administration. Nor can Healey, who’s on Biden’s national campaign advisory board, risk giving Republicans ammunition against him by speaking out too strongly.

Like Healey, state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle see the migrant surge as a federal issue. But with little action from the Biden administration — which continues to put the onus on Congress — it’s Healey who they’ll continue to turn to for the solutions that she in some cases doesn’t yet have. And she may in turn be turning to them for more money to help in the absence of adequate federal aid.

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. The Healey administration is also briefing congressional offices and municipal leaders on the state of the state's shelter system.

TODAY — Healey and Driscoll have no public events. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu hosts the Countdown to Kindergarten event at 10 a.m. at the East Boston BPL branch.

THIS WEEKEND — Regional EPA Administrator David Cash is on WBZ's "Keller @ Large" at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Boston City Council President Ed Flynn is on WCVB’s “On the Record” at 11 a.m. Sunday. Former Boston City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, Yawu Miller and Ed Burley of JP Progressives are on NBC10 Boston’s “At Issue” at 11:30 a.m. Sunday. Tom Brady returns to the Patriots.

Tips? Scoops? Patriots season predictions? Email us: [email protected] and [email protected].

DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO APP: Stay in the know with the POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.

— “Farmers find some relief from flooding in the form of donated funds,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “In July, the Healey Administration joined United Way of Central Massachusetts in soliciting fund donations to help farmers impacted by flooding or unexpected cold snaps. So far, the Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund has raised over $3 million. On Thursday, Tim Garvin, President and CEO of United Way of Central Massachusetts met Healey in Fitchburg to announce that donations from over 600 different people and businesses would be sent to 214 farms in the first of two rounds of fund distributions.”

— “Police group rips release of disciplined officer list,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “[The] Massachusetts Association of Professional Law Enforcement said the list — which it claims included ‘unconfirmed’ disciplinary records — ‘raises serious questions about the competence of the POST Commission’ and has ‘put the reputations of many hard-working honest police officers at risk.’”

— “Activists call for governor to weigh in against plan to close Leominster maternity unit,” by Tatum Goetting, Telegram & Gazette.

— “Former Lt. Gov. Polito relishes family time, watching kids play sports,” by Kinga Borondy, Telegram & Gazette: “After eight years in office as lieutenant governor, traveling around the state to visit all 351 Massachusetts municipalities, Karyn Polito has plans to be a sideline mom through the fall, watching her children play sports. … ‘I’m focused on work now. I’m happy with the balance,’ Polito said. ‘I had a full life of service. It was a blessing and an honor to serve my home area and the commonwealth of Massachusetts.’”

— “Kendra Lara releases report saying she was driving the speed limit at time of crash,” by Sarah Raza, Boston Globe: “District 6 City Councilor Kendra Lara on Thursday presented the findings of a report she commissioned that showed she was not speeding when she crashed her car into a home in Jamaica Plain in June. The report by The Crash Lab, an accident reconstructionist company hired by Lara, used data from the car’s black box to find that Lara was only driving 27 miles per hour, about half of the 53 miles per hour alleged in the police report, Lara said at a press conference.”

— “Long Island Bridge fight continues as Quincy fights license. What the city's appeal says,” by Peter Blandino, The Patriot Ledger: “The city has appealed the state Department of Environmental Protection's decision to grant a license for a proposal to rebuild the Long Island Bridge, calling Boston's license application ‘egregiously deficient.’"

— “4 in 10 Boston school buses were late for the first day of school,” by Hannah Reale, GBH News: “Figures from Boston Public Schools show that 61% of school buses arrived on time for the first day, up from 50% last year.”

JOIN US ON 9/12 FOR A TALK ON THE NEW AGE OF TRAVELING: In this new era of American travel, trending preferences like wellness tourism, alternative lodging and work-from-anywhere culture provide new but challenging opportunities for industry and policy leaders alike. Join POLITICO on Sept. 12 for an expert discussion examining how the resilience of the tourism and travel industries is driving post-pandemic recovery. REGISTER HERE.

— “Reports find systemwide breakdown in MBTA track repair efforts,” by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: “Two new reports trace the eruption of slow zones on the MBTA to a systemwide breakdown in track repair efforts brought about by poor communication between engineers identifying rail defects and the employees assigned to fix them. Phillip Eng, the T’s general manager, said policies and procedures have been put in place to address the problems since they first surfaced in March, but the percent of track with slow zone restrictions has not declined dramatically.”

— “SJC says Rotenberg Center can continue electric skin shock therapy; legal battle began decades ago in Attleboro,” by David Linton, The Sun Chronicle: “In a legal battle that began almost 40 years ago in Attleboro, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a Canton-based school for developmentally delayed clients can continue to use electric skin shock therapy, though its use can be challenged by state agencies on a case-by-case basis.”

— “'Definition of the smoke-filled room': Brockton School Committee broke law, expert says,” by Cody Shepard, Brockton Enterprise: “The Brockton School Committee likely violated the state's open meeting law during a special meeting held on the night the mayor revealed a $14.4 million budget ‘deficit,’ according to a leading expert.”

— NOT-SO GRANITE STATE OF MIND: Kelly Ayotte says she worries that New Hampshire is “one election away from becoming Massachusetts.” But the first campaign ad of the Republican’s gubernatorial bid appears to feature footage from an even more distant location: Estonia.

As Ayotte talks about New Hampshire having "the best education system in the country,” stock footage of students writing in spiral notebooks flashes across the screen. It’s not from a New Hampshire school, but was instead filmed by Estonian-based production company Gorodenkoff in the European country, the company confirmed. Ayotte’s campaign declined comment.

Ayotte’s ad is just the latest example of foreign imagery creeping into campaign videos produced by candidates or outside political groups, an error POLITICO's Matt Berg reported earlier this year typically comes when organizations pull stock footage. Still, flashing a few seconds of a generic video of students scribbling into a notebook is different than a super PAC touting “American values” by showing an Italian Air Force fighter jet or Donald Trump’s presidential campaign being accused of using footage from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to depict Americans suffering under President Joe Biden.

— EYES EMOJI: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu hasn't endorsed in the nascent GOP primary to succeed him. But he is appearing alongside Ayotte at a Common Sense Conservative PAC fundraiser for municipal candidates in Manchester later this month.

TRANSITIONS — Kennedy Avery will join Boston City Councilor Sharon Durkan’s office as chief of staff. Avery served as chief of staff to former Councilor Kenzie Bok.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Jillian Fennimore, communications director for Gov. Maura Healey; Jess Tocco of A10 Associates, Lenore Cho and Andrei Berman.

HAPPY BIRTHWEEKEND — to Michael Greenwald, Andrew Crane, Jason Denoncourt, Diedtra Henderson and Daniel Pipes, who celebrate Saturday; and to Sunday birthday-ers Healey press secretary Karissa Hand, the Boston Globe’s Martin Finucane, Meg Wheeler and Annika Jensen.

NEW HORSE RACE ALERT: PRELIMANIA — Hosts Steve Koczela and Jennifer Smith break down preliminary elections around Massachusetts, including Springfield’s mayoral race, with the help of Western Mass Politics & Insight’s Matt Szafranski. Smith and host Lisa Kashinsky run down which ballot questions are off to the signature-gathering races. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud.

Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: [email protected].

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