STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A BILL THAT WOULD open access to Massachusetts driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants could reach Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk as soon as next week after legislative […]
Chris Lisinski I State House News Service
Posted inTransportation
State to seek (more) fed funding for I-90 Allston project
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE PUBLIC SECTOR is feeling the strain of soaring inflation, too: officials now expect that a once-in-a-generation infrastructure overhaul in Allston will cost $300 million more […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service, Transportation
East-West rail authority not in transpo bond bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE $9.75 BILLION infrastructure bond bill that cleared the Transportation Committee does not include any language creating a new rail authority to oversee a passenger train […]
Posted inThe Download
Toll, gas tax revenues at 95% of pre-COVID levels
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE ROBUST RETURN of crunching highway traffic to the greater Boston area might have made drivers miserable, but there’s a silver lining for transportation officials: many […]
Posted inTransportation
Poftak confirms FTA safety investigation at MBTA
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FEDERAL TRANSIT officials will meet with T leaders this week to kick off a safety investigation into the agency, MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said Tuesday, […]
Posted inEducation
UMass Lowell promotes Chen from within
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CONCLUDING AN EXTENSIVE search process that floated dozens of candidates and two finalists from other states, University of Massachusetts Lowell overseers decided once again Monday that […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Senate passes license bill with veto-proof majority
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A LONG-DEBATED PROPOSAL to expand driver’s license access to undocumented immigrants took a major step toward becoming law on Thursday, clearing the Senate with a strong […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
US Senate committee deadlocks on Robinson
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A US SENATE COMMITTEE split evenly along party lines on whether to advance Massachusetts Rep. Maria Robinson’s nomination for a federal energy job, teeing up another […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
House Democrats refuse to budge on tax relief
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOUSE DEMOCRATS kicked off debate Monday on a nearly $50 billion state budget bill by rejecting Republican-led efforts to weave tax relief into the annual spending […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Senate passes climate bill, adds offshore wind boost
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENATORS TOOK a major step Thursday toward achieving the net-zero emissions target they already set for Massachusetts by approving a policy-heavy bill aimed at expanding the […]
Posted inTransportation
Quincy mayor skeptical on fare-free buses
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE LEADERS IN SEVERAL CITIES and towns around the region have been placing calls to explore their own fare-free bus options since Boston officials launched a high-profile […]
Posted inTransportation
Different fare payment approach at new GLX stops
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WHEN MBTA riders begin Monday to hop onto Green Line trolleys at a pair of brand-new stations, they will also experience another first: a different way […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker proposes $9.7b infrastructure bond bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE EFFORTS TO REPLACE the MBTA’s entire Green Line trolley fleet, a statewide move toward electric vehicle adoption, and projects to make infrastructure more resilient in the […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service, Transportation
Senate seeks fixed date for bus electrification
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WARNING THAT the pace of electrification underway for the MBTA’s bus fleet is “too slow for the Legislature,” a top senator is newly forecasting that his […]
Posted inTransportation
Poftak says show me the money
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A GROWING CHORUS of officials and activists have been pushing for the MBTA to roll out a reduced-price option for low-income riders, but launching that kind […]
Posted inTransportation
MBTA nearing a financial cliff
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MBTA might inch to the edge of a financial “cliff” as soon as fiscal year 2024, when the agency will have exhausted all of the […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Masks no longer mandated on school buses
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A DAY AFTER K-12 students returned to classrooms with a statewide mask mandate no longer in place, the Baker administration announced that children no longer need […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
State seeks OK to forgive UI overpayments
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION on Thursday asked US Labor Secretary Marty Walsh to intervene and grant Massachusetts permission to forgive wide swaths of overpaid unemployment benefits, warning […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
New link to improve access to SNAP benefits
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AN IMPENDING CHANGE to link MassHealth applicants to a food assistance program will serve as an “important step” toward removing barriers that limit hundreds of thousands […]
Posted inTransportation
Senator demands answers on Mattapan trolleys
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A MILTON SENATOR wants legislators to wield their oversight authority and examine delays in upgrades to the MBTA’s Mattapan Line. Sen. Walt Timilty has asked the […]
Posted inTransportation
License bill heads to House floor on 14-3 vote
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT session, a legislative committee advanced legislation with 14 votes in favor that would allow undocumented immigrants to acquire driver’s licenses. This time, […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Lawmakers urge pause on pursuing collections
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A PAIR OF TOP legislators on Friday urged the Baker administration to halt pursuing overpaid unemployment benefits for the next five-plus months, calling for more time […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Koonce, seeking commutation, takes full responsibility for killing
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FACING THE PROSPECT of a commutation that would make him eligible for parole after three decades behind bars, convicted murderer Thomas Koonce said Wednesday that he […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Municipal officials slam Polito local aid projection
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH STATE TAX REVENUES continuing to blow past projections, municipal leaders said Friday they are disappointed in Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito’s forecast that cities and towns […]
