House Republicans indicated on Wednesday that they intend to block Democrats if they try to ram through a $2.8 billion closeout budget containing money for the state’s emergency shelter program during informal sessions between now and the beginning of January.
State Government
Posted inCourts
SJC Justice Lowy to leave bench, take post as UMass counsel
Supreme Judicial Court Justice David Lowy will leave the bench on February 3 – well before the required retirement age of 70 – to serve as general counsel of the University of Massachusetts system.
Posted inEnvironment
A statewide strategy for coastal resilience is on the way
A new regional coastal resiliency initiative launched on Wednesday, called “ResilientCoasts,” will coordinate with the state’s 78 coastal communities to develop “tailored” resiliency strategies.
Posted inState Government
Goldberg indicates meeting with O’Brien to be private
A spokesperson for the treasurer said the meeting would be private, suggesting the public will most likely remain in the dark about what led to O’Brien’s suspension more than two months ago.
Posted inState Government
We’re increasing access to child care for low-income Massachusetts families
The state and federal government have launched initiatives that will significantly improve child care financial assistance for low-income Massachusetts families.
Posted inTransportation
Healey: T will ‘take care of business’ in short term, TBD on revenues
Bringing the MBTA up to state of good repair comes with a hefty price tag – $24.5 billion, according to a stunning announcement in mid-November – but Gov. Maura Healey says she’s confident in the agency’s assessment that riders won’t need to wait for an allocation of that size to see improvements.
Posted inState Government
Digging into fine print of salary range legislation
Different versions of the salary range bill have passed the House and Senate. If the bill becomes law, Massachusetts would join a small cohort of states with pay transparency rules, including Maryland, Colorado, Connecticut, Nevada, California, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington.
Posted inState Government
Spilka, Senate exit Musk’s X
The Mass. Senate and President Karen Spilka joined a growing exodus Tuesday from X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter that has reportedly been shedding advertisers and users amid owner Elon Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
Posted inState Government
DiZoglio claims to have signatures for ballot question to audit Legislature
State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s ballot initiative asking voters to weigh in on auditing the Legislature appeared to clear a significant hurdle on Tuesday, when she said the campaign gathered more than the number of signatures required.
Posted inPolitics
Mass Fiscal takes stock of past, future ballot Qs
Leaders of the conservative Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance weigh in on ballot questions that were recently scuttled as well as those may be heading to the 2024 ballot.