Special Treatment

Much of the wheeling and dealing in Bay State politics takes place in state legislature committees. Those committees sent thousands of bills to the floor of the house Wednesday--including two that attempt to limit Harvard's freedom.

The first, approved by the Local Affairs Committee, would simply extend Cambridge's regulatory power to cover Harvard's expansion into surrounding communities.

Cambridge won the right to control the growth of every other non-profit institution in the city last year, but the legislature exempted Harvard because of an antiquated passage in the state's constitution protecting the University.

The second bill reported out this week may endanger that protection. The House Judiciary Committee recommended the deletion of the passage defending Harvard in the constitution, a move observers said is designed to force the passage of the other bill.

"If Harvard lobbies against the first one, this is phase two," one Beacon Hill source said yesterday.

Two state legislatures would have to pass the constitutional amendment and Bay State voters would have to ratify the move before it could go into effect.