HE WAS NOT on last week’s primary ballot, but Charlie Baker – or at least his brand of more middle-of-the-road pragmatism – had a good day at the polls, at […]
State Government
Posted inState Government
Opposing camps evenly matched on millionaire tax fight
IT’S UNIONS VERSUS businesses in a high-stakes and so far evenly matched battle to raise the tax rate on high-income earners. This November, Massachusetts voters will decide whether to pass […]
Posted inOpinion
End-of-session cram is no way to conduct legislative business
THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE passed more substantive legislation in the last 18 days of its two-year session than it had in the previous 550. In those 18 days of July, it […]
Posted inPolitics
SJC hears Sal DiMasi lobbying case
FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER Sal DiMasi is a convicted felon. But can he become a lobbyist? State law prohibits someone convicted of a felony under certain state laws from lobbying for […]
Posted inEconomy, State Government
Big money and unfinished Beacon Hill business
THE LEGISLATURE PASSED a slew of bills at the end of the session, but there was still a lot of unfinished business, according to two Massachusetts policy analysts who compared […]
Posted inMarijuana, State Government
New CCC chair consulted for cannabis companies
SHANNON O’BRIEN, the former state treasurer and newly appointed chair of the Cannabis Control Commission, is not a novice to cannabis. O’Brien worked as a consultant for two marijuana companies […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
Baker administration puts tax cap excess at $2.9b
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday filed a $1.6 billion supplemental budget to close the books on fiscal year 2022, proposing another $200 million in aid for […]
Posted inMarijuana, State Government
Former treasurer Shannon O’Brien picked to lead cannabis board
FORMER STATE TREASURER Shannon O’Brien, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2002, will be the next chair of the Cannabis Control Commission. Treasurer Deborah Goldberg announced the appointment Tuesday. […]
Posted inState Government
SJC says Legislature has broad powers on voting
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT on Tuesday dismissed the major constitutional challenge that has been levied against the new state law allowing voting by mail, formally addressing a legal question that […]
Posted inOpinion, State Government
Ready to sue to protect tax cap giveback
NEARLY 40 YEARS AGO, the esteemed taxpayer watchdog group Citizens for Limited Taxation (CLT) and the Massachusetts High Tech Council (MHTC) had the foresight to fight and win the passage […]
Posted inPolitics, State Government
Edwards cuts an independent path
IN THE WEE HOURS of their final legislative session earlier this month, the state Senate took up a proposal from Gov. Charlie Baker to expand the list of charges under […]
Posted inState Government
Bump dismisses claim of tax cap pressure on her office
STATE AUDITOR Suzanne Bump on Monday strongly denied suggestions that she was under any pressure to delay calculating how much money should be returned to taxpayers under the tax cap […]
Posted inPolitics, State Government
The non-race for Massachusetts governor
MASSACHUSETTS, A PLACE long associated with spirited political contests, is sleepwalking its way through the state’s first open race for governor in eight years. “It’s August and we pretty much […]
Posted inPolitics, State Government
It’s Peake performance vs. reform agenda in Cape Cod race
THE OUTER REACHES of Cape Cod may be best known for the unspoiled beauty of the Cape Cod National Seashore and the freewheeling ways of Provincetown tea dances, but Sarah […]
Posted inGambling
A loud lament over the latest gambling embrace by state leaders
THERE WERE WHOOPS AND HOLLERS from DraftKings, the state’s casinos, and lawmakers as the state legalized sports betting earlier this month. For Les Bernal, it was not a moment to […]
Posted inState Government
Mariano tapping brakes on economic development bill
HOUSE SPEAKER Ron Mariano raised concerns on Tuesday about whether the state can afford a $3 billion tax cap giveback and the $3.5 billion in spending contained in the economic […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
New public data sheds light on prison population decline
THE NUMBER OF people incarcerated in Massachusetts has dropped significantly over the last five years, from more than 17,000 in 2017 to 11,200 this year. That’s just one a many […]
Posted inState Government
Baker changing rules on tax cap giveback
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION is preparing to change the rules for returning roughly $3 billion in excess tax collections so the governor can send out checks to Massachusetts taxpayers before he […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Baker signs bill bringing equity to cannabis industry
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday signed a bill aimed at giving minority cannabis entrepreneurs easier access into the industry, and also paving the way for municipalities to allow marijuana cafes. […]
Posted inPolitics
In secretary of state race, it’s experience vs. lived experience
SECRETARY OF STATE William Galvin and Tanisha Sullivan engaged in a lively debate on Wednesday at which the incumbent urged voters to trust the knowledge and experience he has gained […]
Posted inPolitics, State Government
Here’s what Baker signed, amended, and vetoed
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday took a slew of legislative actions, clearing his desk of many of the major bills that were sent to him in the final days of […]
Posted inPolitics, State Government
A liberal showdown in Brookline
IN MICHAEL DUKAKIS’S hometown, a place that delivered 88 percent of its vote to Joe Biden two years ago, it’s not a question of whether to elect a left-leaning Democrat […]
Posted inPolitics
Lawmakers, advocates hit Baker’s opt-in approach to public health
A BILL OVERHAULING the state’s fractured public health system appears to have become a casualty of the last-minute legislative rush to pass bills in the final days of the legislative […]
Posted inEnergy, Environment, State Government
Baker says climate change bill is giving him agita
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER indicated on Tuesday he is having difficulty reaching a decision on whether to sign the climate change/energy bill the Legislature sent him. At a press availability, Baker […]
