The Trump administration opened up another front in its campaign to crack down on immigrant communities by asking a federal judge to scrap a Massachusetts law that lets high school graduates without legal status attend public colleges and universities without paying higher, out-of-state tuition.
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
How the House’s sausage-making put transparency groups in a tough spot
A trio of good-government and transparency organizations backed the House’s proposal to craft a new public records framework for the Legislature, but they’re straining to avoid the riptide of the audit-the-Legislature debate that representatives tied to the same bill.
Posted inBallot Questions
Mass. high court strikes rent control question from ballot
The decision averts a months-long season of aggressive campaigning that seemed sure to generate tens of millions of dollars in spending on attack ads and dire warnings about economic upheaval.
Posted inBallot Questions
Mass. primary election overhaul eligible for November ballot, SJC rules
Should Massachusetts run its elections more like California? That question is cleared to appear on the ballot, according to the state’s highest court, possibly teeing up a major shift in our notoriously uncompetitive races.
Posted inBallot Questions
SJC blocks high-stakes income tax cut question from the November ballot
In a blockbuster ruling just as ballot measure campaigns submit their final signatures, Massachusetts’s highest court cut the fuse of a revenue bomb that was set to blow $5 billion out of the state budget. An initiative aiming to cut income taxes is blocked from the ballot because of errors in the attorney general’s summary.
Posted inBallot Questions
Powerful real estate group says it’s open to rent control compromise
With just two weeks until a controversial rent control ballot measure could be locked in, a flurry of negotiations — and pockets of sustained resistance — puts Beacon Hill in a tricky position.
Posted inCourts
SJC keeps recreational marijuana repeal in the mix for November
The first of four expected rulings about ballot question eligibility went in favor of the campaign, with justices deciding that a push to reverse the 2016 statewide pot vote was properly certified and summarized.
Posted inHealth Care
Senate ready to force more money toward primary care — and away from specialists
Inviting a political fight with influential hospital systems, the Senate plans to approve legislation that would more than double the share of health care dollars that go toward the ailing primary care sector.
Posted inTransportation
MBTA eyes another spending boost as ‘austerity’ approach fades
Transit agency leaders will seek approval Thursday on a $3.4 billion budget that would add another 550 positions, embracing an eager-to-spend approach that supporters say has improved service and safety.
Posted inState Government
Transparency fight escalates as House votes to limit its exposure to audit, public records requests
The House’s top Republican described the controversial bill as an “[expletive] sandwich with extra pickles.”
Posted inHousing
Rent control backers scrambling to find legislative road away from the ballot
Organizers then went public Tuesday afternoon with what they touted as a compromise: limiting rent increases to no more than 10 percent per year, only in cities and towns that opt in.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Mass. inspector general faults sheriffs for using private bank accounts
Punctuating a months-long political feud, Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro said lawmakers, the executive branch, and sheriffs alike need to make changes to leave behind the “chaos” that consumed budgeting at the county law enforcement offices.
Posted inState Government
Senate’s new audit compliance raises more questions than it answers
Another series of twists arrived in the audit-the-Legislature saga as the Senate voted to provide some documents while insisting that their move in no way concedes that Diana DiZoglio has a constitutional right to probe lawmakers.
Posted inPolitics
Yet again, legislative competition in Massachusetts will be woeful
Even as voters prepare for a historic number of ballot questions with enormous stakes, most will have no options other than the incumbent when it comes to picking their representatives and senators.
Posted inPolitics
A cakewalk for Bill Galvin
For the first time since he was elected secretary of state in 1994, Bill Galvin will not face either a Democrat or a Republican opponent this fall.
Posted inHealth Care
Health insurers seek double-digit premium hikes on small businesses, again
A year after Gov. Maura Healey dubbed health insurance premium increases “simply unsustainable,” carriers are once again pursuing sizable rate changes that will fuel ongoing debate about the state’s affordability.
Posted inState Government
SJC ruling opens a path for legislative audit without ending the bitter dispute
Don’t expect a tidy resolution now that the state’s highest court has stamped an initial mark on the auditor’s long-running crusade to probe the House and Senate.
Posted inPolitics
Political Notebook: Healey underwater in new poll
A new MassINC Polling Group survey finds the incumbent governor with a net unfavorable rating among voters, but don’t overread the significance of one snapshot this far out from the election.
Posted inMiddle class
It’s hard work making it in the middle class
If there’s a single unifying theme to the Massachusetts middle-class outlook in 2026, it’s contradiction: We have more than ever, and in many cases, that’s not enough to enjoy the stability of prior generations.
Posted inCourts
High court justices weigh deadline for Campbell-DiZoglio resolution
During oral arguments, the Supreme Judicial Court signaled it might order Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Auditor Diana DiZoglio to agree on a narrow scope of issues by a certain date, in an attempt to force forward movement in the long-running fight about auditing the Legislature.
Posted inTransportation
Anxious Cape leaders worried about funding for Bourne Bridge replacement
The Sagamore Bridge replacement project is fully funded, but barely any money has been committed to its partner, and some local officials think it’s time for Beacon Hill to start committing additional resources to guarantee success.
Posted inLocal Government
Political Notebook: South Hadley voters reject controversial Proposition 2½ override
The proposals sparked a heated local debate as sluggish state aid growth and strict limits on local tax increases continue to trap many local governments in a difficult position with few options to manage rising costs.
Posted inCourts
In first ruling of its kind, Mass. high court says Meta not shielded from lawsuits over addictive features
The Supreme Judicial Court became the first statewide high court to decide that a 1996 federal law shielding internet platforms from liability over user-posted content does not render Meta immune to allegations that its design exploited young users.
Posted inBallot Questions
Lawmakers offer mixed messages on income tax ballot question
The House and Senate took different approaches toward conditioning tax relief on the fate of a ballot question, and legislative leaders continue to fling criticism about the process even as they open the door for negotiations.
