STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CLEAR IN HIS AIM to reframe substance abuse as a public health crisis that can’t be solved by law enforcement alone, Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday […]
Matt Murphy
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service
Sentencing reform takes over Beacon Hill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE’S TOP JUDGE AND PROSECUTORS, who are sparring over sentencing reform proposals, brought their battle to Beacon Hill on Tuesday as activists flooded the capitol […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service, Transportation
Senate approves tweaked T control board
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE late Thursday night agreed to put the MBTA under the management of a fiscal control board, tucking that measure into a $38.1 billion […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Senate backs boost in EITC, exemption
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE on Tuesday approved a package of tax cuts aimed at helping the working poor and middle class, dismissing objections from Republicans and some […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Rosenberg and DeLeo at odds — again
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ANOTHER RIFT has opened between the House and Senate, this time over whether senators can consider changes in tax policy when they debate their annual state […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Baker puts convention center expansion on hold
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE PLANNED $1 BILLION expansion of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center has been frozen indefinitely by Gov. Charlie Baker, whose administration on Wednesday expressed deep […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Poll: Baker is state’s most popular pol
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER SPENDING THE WINTER managing state budget shortfalls and snow emergencies, Gov. Charlie Baker weathered his first 100 days in office remarkably well, according to a […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
$5m offered as compensation for poor transit service
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE PUBLIC TRANSIT RIDERS will see free access to the MBTA and the commuter rail for one day, while corporate and other passholders will see a 15 […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Bump pays $115,000 to settle suit
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE AUDITOR SUZANNE BUMP has settled a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by a former top aide who alleged that the Democrat fired her after she voiced […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service
Lottery cuts will decrease local aid
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE LOTTERY OFFICIALS say budget cuts ordered by Gov. Charlie Baker and the Legislature to close a mid-year budget shortfall will cut gambling profits by $35 […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
MBTA chief steps down
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott submitted her resignation on Wednesday amid widespread service problems on the transit system in the wake of record snowfall, catching transportation […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
MBTA still unsure when it can resume operations
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH ITS RAIL service shut down, MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott on Tuesday defended the transit system’s response to historic snow amounts and said she would […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
DeLeo reportedly wants longer Speaker term
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DeLeo will push his caucus on Thursday to approve new internal rules eliminating term limits on the speakership, allowing the Winthrop Democrat to […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
New Senate rules proposed
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENATE PRESIDENT STANLEY Rosenberg, looking to put his early mark on the Senate, has proposed a number of rules changes that he said are designed to […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Budget, pot, opioids top Baker priorities
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE If Sen. Elizabeth Warren breaks from her firm public stance and runs for president, she will have the backing of Congressman Michael Capuano, who said Monday […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Patrick “lone walk” to take place a day early
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Gov. Deval Patrick plans to take the “lone walk” down the front stairs of the State House a day before Governor-elect Charlie Baker’s inauguration in an […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker, Patrick differ on pay raise report
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Outgoing Gov. Deval Patrick on Monday quickly signaled his support for major increases in the salaries of eight top state officials, as recommended by a special […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Politics, State House News Service
Panel: End mandatory minimum drug sentences
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Tackling an issue that could re-emerge in the Legislature over the next two years, a special commission studying the state’s criminal justice system recommended eliminating mandatory […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Chinese firm to build rail cars in Springfield
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A Chinese-owned railroad car manufacturer being recommended for a $556.6 million state contract plans to build a 150,000 square-foot facility in Springfield to assemble new Orange […]
Posted inGambling, State House News Service
Suffolk Downs challenges casino award to Wynn
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Suffolk Downs on Wednesday asked the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to reconsider its decision to award a casino license to Wynn Resorts, filing a detailed letter with […]
Posted inHealth Care, Politics, State House News Service
Health spending slows; Patrick sees ‘mixed story’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE While consumers saw their health insurance premiums and benefit levels stabilize in 2013, overall state spending on health care in Massachusetts climbed to over $50 billion […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Grossman and Berwick target Coakley at debate
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Democrat Martha Coakley, with just one full week of campaigning left before the primary election, is attempting to do what she could not in her 2010 […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
DeLeo flattered by term limit talk
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE House Speaker Robert DeLeo, who has helmed the chamber since 2009 and is staring at a term-limited departure from the speaker’s office in just over two […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care, Politics, State House News Service
Mass. prison spending ranked 7th in US
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Massachusetts trailed only six states in per-inmate spending on prison health care in 2011 as an aging population contributed to the growing cost of care for […]
