A national anti-pot organization allowed to hide its donors is bankrolling an effort to eliminate recreational marijuana use in Massachusetts, representing a fraction of the more than $11 million raised so far on a record-breaking set of ballot questions.
Chris Lisinski
Chris Lisinski covers Beacon Hill, transportation and more for CommonWealth Beacon.
After growing up in New York and then graduating from Boston University, Chris settled in Massachusetts and spent three years covering the Merrimack Valley for the Lowell Sun. He then worked at State House News Service for more than six years, reporting on everything from legislative action to MBTA slow zones to the 2022 gubernatorial election. His stories, photographs and data visualizations have appeared in outlets across the state, including the Boston Globe, WBUR and the Worcester Telegram.
Chris has also been a regular guest on radio, television and podcast programs to discuss politics and policy in the Bay State, including Keller @ Large, NEPM's Beacon Hill in 5 and The Horse Race.
Posted inState Government
Massachusetts set out to modernize its unemployment insurance system. Then it hit a new low.
Massachusetts was the slowest state in issuing initial unemployment payments in the country between June and October.
Posted inTransportation
Keolis was once on thin ice over commuter rail concerns. Now, it’s a finalist for another lucrative MBTA contract.
Better on-time performance and major ridership milestones have boosted the outlook for commuter rail operator Keolis, which early in its tenure faced major scrutiny from Beacon Hill.
Posted inGovernment
Boston tax relief response, ballot question reform emerge for Senate action
As political fallout from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s ill-fated property tax plan continues, the Senate prepares to vote on a relief plan of its own, plus a measure to impose new scrutiny on ballot question electioneering.
Posted inState Government
Boston rep sanctioned for spending campaign dollars on personal uses
Campaign finance regulators say Rep. Chynah Tyler of Boston misspent campaign funds on personal uses such as Uber Eats orders, and failed to document details behind about $4,500 in other spending.
Posted inState Government
What to expect when you’re expecting (legislative action)
Major policy issues like housing affordability, primary care access, and utility bills loom over Beacon Hill in 2026, when voters could also decide a dozen ballot questions and pick statewide elected officials.
Posted inState Government
Our top five Beacon Hill stories of 2025
The Democrats who control the levers of power in Massachusetts spent most of the year fretting about upheaval from the federal government and preparing for more expansive action down the line.
Posted inTransportation
Talk of new transportation dollars? Bring it on, says Senate chair
Brendan Crighton, the Senate’s point person on transportation issues, wants his colleagues to have hard conversations about new transportation-related levies even if the topic might be politically fraught.
Posted inState Government
Amid shaky economy, tax cut proposal draws heightened scrutiny
Already buffeted by economic pressures and federal funding cuts, top Democrats are beginning to warn that major financial upheaval would follow if voters approve a pair of tax-reform measures en route to the 2026 ballot.
Posted inLocal Government
Cities and towns desperately need boost in state aid, group says
The Massachusetts Municipal Association rolled out a suite of requests for Beacon Hill, led by a $351 million increase in unrestricted aid the state pays to cities and towns, as communities navigate an increasingly bleak fiscal picture.
Posted inHealth Care
Primary care spending proposal sets the stage for legislative action in 2026
Pressure will rise on the Legislature to take action after a panel created to review primary care reforms coalesced around a “fundamental rebalancing” of how the state spends money on health.
Posted inTransportation
Phil Eng earns rave reviews for simultaneous MBTA, transportation chief jobs
The Healey administration seems content to have Phil Eng continue to work as both T general manager and interim transportation secretary for the foreseeable future, and Eng himself is warming up to the idea of holding both roles for a longer period of time.
Posted inTransportation
The T will soon roll out Green Line trolleys with anti-collision tech
More than 16 years after federal overseers recommended it, the MBTA is on the verge of deploying anti-collision technology on the Green Line, even though the timeline has slipped later than officials last promised.
Posted inHousing
Beacon Hill clears hurdle for Weymouth naval air base redevelopment
After a series of stops and starts stretching back 15-plus years, Beacon Hill is on the verge of removing one of the last remaining obstacles to redevelopment of the former naval air base in Weymouth.
Posted inState Government
Legislature downshifts into holiday mode after short burst of activity
What reached Gov. Maura Healey’s desk, and what’s still on hold until 2026 now that the Legislature is done with major business for the year?
Posted inBallot Questions
Cutting taxes, recriminalizing recreational pot, scrutinizing Beacon Hill: record number of ballot questions in the mix for 2026
Voters could have up to a dozen statewide ballot questions to decide in 2026, ranging from legislative transparency to marijuana policy to gun safety, following the latest big hurdle in the biennial process.
Posted inPolitics
‘They’re making a huge bet’: Rent control referendum splits progressives
If a campaign to instate rent control across the Commonwealth makes it to the ballot, voters will need to weigh whether every municipality should adopt a measure more stringent than earlier attempts by Boston, Brookline, and Somerville.
Posted inEnergy
House punts on sweeping energy bill that would dial back state climate commitments
After intense blowback to a draft House bill to weaken the state’s 2030 clean energy target, the chamber’s budget chief says the topic is on hold until next year.
Posted inPublic Records
DiZoglio’s effort to audit the Legislature remains stalled. So she wants voters to change the law, again.
The nascent ballot question campaign seeking to subject the Legislature and the governor’s office to the public records law has a new leader: Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who views the measure as a way to circumvent opposition to her effort to audit the House and Senate.
Posted inHealth Care
‘Potential devastation’: At health industry’s annual checkup, federal changes shift the diagnosis from bad to worse
It’s been nine months since a top senator warned that the state’s health care system is “falling apart,” and the slew of federal policy changes since then have only made the outlook darker — in the process amplifying calls for policymakers to act.
Posted inState Government
Unions: Buyout talks could affect 2,000+ state workers
Labor leaders say the Healey administration approached them to begin conversations about a buyout program that could reduce the state workforce by roughly 2,000 positions, the latest attempt at belt-tightening amid upheaval from the federal shutdown and funding cuts.
Posted inEconomy
Survey: Mass. business confidence stuck in longest rut since pandemic
Federal policy changes and high costs within Massachusetts continue to squeeze businesses, and by one metric, Bay State employers have not felt this negative about the economic outlook since the first year of the COVID pandemic.
Posted inGovernment
Looming federal food aid cuts put state Democrats in the hot seat
Massachusetts Democrats are unwilling to tap into the state’s significant savings balance to replace food aid, previewing difficult decisions that loom on the horizon.
Posted inTransportation
Drawbridge, Green Line investments top narrower MBTA capital plan
Boxed in by prior commitments, inflation, and federal uncertainty, the MBTA is narrowing its approach to its five-year capital plan to focus on projects such as replacement of the North Station Draw One bridge.