The Senate’s economic development bill, which lawmakers have teed up for a vote next week, includes a provision that would require municipalities to allow duplexes as-of-right on all residentially zoned lots.
State Government
Posted inEnergy
A Mass Save reform generating consensus among lawmakers is drawing blowback from advocates
The change under consideration by the Legislature would impose new income verification requirements on only the moderate-income customers in the state’s 21 designated equity communities.
Posted inEducation
Healey seeks $100 million in additional school funding as districts confront mounting financial strain
Deploying a somewhat novel approach to budgeting “Fair Share” dollars, Gov. Maura Healey wants to give K-12 districts another funding injection amid rising economic pressures.
Posted inState Government
House counteroffer to primary care may focus on prescription drugs
Pressed about aspects of a potential health care bill, House Speaker Ron Mariano said, “I know the committee, health care policy, has done an awful lot of work in prescription drug stuff, so we’ll start probably with that, and see where that takes us.”
Posted inCourts
SJC sides with solar developer in dispute with Petersham officials
The case before the justices laid bare the rising tensions over local control between solar developers and small communities across the state that are potential prime spots for large solar arrays thanks to their relatively cheap and abundant land.
Posted inState Government
Healey rolls out $75M loan funds for municipal infrastructure
The new infrastructure lending program would provide cities and towns with flexible, low-interest financing to address funding gaps, advance priority projects, and maximize access to federal resources.
Posted inState Government
Complicated decisions ahead as lawmakers crystallize Big Tech response
With a bevy of bills in play, legislators need to figure out not just which policies they want to advance to protect user data and shield minors from addictive feeds, but which vehicles will host the proposed reforms.
Posted inOpinion
Before cutting solar credits, Massachusetts should do the math MIT didn’t
A study filed with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities could be used to cut what homeowners are paid for their solar power, but its conclusion only holds up if you don’t account for the full costs of residential vs. large utility-scale solar.
Posted inState Government
SJC upholds Walsh’s spot on ballot; Manning Martin case still pending
On Monday, SJC Justice Frank Gaziano denied the State Ballot Law Commission’s appeal of an Essex County Superior Court ruling that overturned the commission’s decision and reinstated Walsh’s name onto the ballot.
Posted inState Government
Walsh back on ballot after judge faults process, despite fraud evidence
The commission plans to appeal the decision to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, according to a spokesperson for MassDems.
Posted inBallot Questions
The tricky calculus of designing a ballot with nine questions
While law sets clear patterns for most of the ballot, officials need to lean more on the skills used by magazine or newspaper layout editors when it comes to statewide questions.
Posted inBallot Questions
Pot advocate looks to boot marijuana question from ballot
The campaign only qualified for the ballot by a margin of 122 signatures in the most recent, final round, leaving little room for error should regulators find that the claims carry weight.
Posted inState Government
Healey signs $63.4 billion budget with no vetoes
With election season heating up, the governor did not make any vetoes to the package, according to a Healey spokesperson.
Posted inEnergy
Ten communities in Massachusetts went ‘fossil fuel free.’ Then utilities spent $100M on natural gas infrastructure there.
As these municipalities are quickly finding out, moving off gas for new buildings doesn’t preclude the utilities from needing to spend tens of millions of dollars each year upgrading the existing gas system.
Posted inState Government
Housing, AI, and labor issues up for debate in House economic development package
Legislators have proposed 688 ways to change an economic development bill the House plans to pass Wednesday. Some amendments carry statewide implications as representatives look to squeeze as many of their priorities as possible into the late-session legislation.
Posted inState Government
New error rate highlights risks for Massachusetts SNAP program
The Commonwealth’s error rate exceeded the national rate of 10.6 percent as well as the 6 percent threshold that Congress approved as part of a law intended to force states to be more vigilant about oversight.
Posted inState Government
Lawmakers send Healey $63.4 billion annual budget bill
The compromise features an increase of $2.37 billion or 3.9 percent over the budget Healey signed last July and roughly $54.3 million larger than the fiscal year 2027 budget she proposed in January.
Posted inState Government
July is here, and that means it’s busy season again on Beacon Hill
An even-year July 31 is always a critical crossroads for the House and Senate, but rules changes this time around mean it will look different than it has for the past two decades. And as the House budget chief put it, “it can’t go worse” than last term.
Posted inOpinion
Haverhill sewage spill underscores urgent need to fund climate-related infrastructure
Massachusetts has spent decades investing in cleaning up our waterways, but we have not invested enough in maintaining and modernizing the infrastructure that keeps them clean.
Posted inState Government
Healey slams brakes on data center tax incentives
Healey said the hold on applications for the 20-year sales and use tax exemption for qualified data centers will remain in effect “until we have strong protections in place for our residents and communities against higher gas and electric bills.”
Posted inState Government
Healey’s ‘serious’ look at health care also a confidential effort
Bay Staters are increasingly unable to afford care, with many forgoing doctor’s visits and other health care services due to escalating cost concerns that are exacerbated by rising premiums and the prevalence of high deductible plans
Posted inEnergy
Senate energy bill seeks to end contentious gas pipe replacement program
The bill reveals just how deep a chasm has formed between the Legislature’s two Democratic-controlled branches over energy policy after the House passed its version in February
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.
