Now that the House took concrete steps to rein in competitive suppliers through the current energy legislation under debate, there could be a path forward this year to taking action.
State Government
Posted inEnergy
Shifting politics around data centers scramble Healey AI push
A backlash to data centers is scrambling whether and how the AI industry takes hold in Massachusetts, how it plays politically for Democrats in a deep-blue state, and how state officials manage the tradeoffs.
Posted inBallot Questions
More than paychecks at stake in legislative stipend ballot question
A ballot question aiming to reform the Legislature’s controversial system of stipends would reach beyond capping the value or number available. It would also require legislative committees to follow new review and voting procedures as a prerequisite to earning bigger paychecks.
Posted inCourts
Supreme Judicial Court says it’s up to Legislature, not judiciary, to set pay for court-appointed lawyers
Justices were wary of overstepping the “separation of powers” in a bid for courts to increase pay for attorneys who represent indigent defendants.
Posted inBallot Questions
Mass. Senate asks top state court to examine constitutionality of legislative reform ballot questions
For the first time in a decade, lawmakers exercised their authority to seek an advisory opinion from the state’s highest court, asking justices whether a pair of ballot questions on course to reach voters in November raise constitutional concerns.
Posted inState House News Service
Doula certification effort set for launch this spring
“The Department of Public Health is working with MassHealth to implement more than 20 provisions within the 2024 maternal health law designed to bolster access to services and tackle racial disparities in care outcomes.”
Posted inEnvironment
Ratepayer revolt: Has the affordability debate soured Mass. on climate commitments?
Fighting climate change was once a badge of honor in Massachusetts, embraced by virtually all Democrats and even a lot of Republicans. But as households grapple with soaring energy bills, elected officials have become much more squeamish about the topic.
Posted inEnergy
Healey’s shift toward nuclear energy raises affordability, feasibility questions
The argument for nuclear is, in some ways, simple. It doesn’t generate greenhouse gas emissions and reliably produces power. But it’s no slam dunk either. Building new nuclear facilities is notoriously expensive and time-consuming.
Posted inState Government
Competitiveness fears weave through budget hearings
“There is almost perfect correlation between expensive states and outmigration, and we are a very expensive state,” testified Eric Paley, Gov. Maura Healey’s secretary of economic development, at a budget hearing in in Barnstable.
Posted inState Government
‘Frustration’ remains among lawmakers despite shrinking unemployment delays
Although a legislative response appears not to be a priority, some lawmakers used Labor Secretary Lauren Jones’s appearance at a budget hearing to prod the Healey administration on the unemployment payment delays that plunged the system to worst-in-the-nation performance last year.
Posted inState Government
Mariano weighs in on energy bill savings, audit preferences
“Mariano described the House energy bill as an attempt to strip away some of the public policy charges that have accumulated on electric and gas bills over the last two decades as Massachusetts sought to incentivize a transition away from fossil fuels.”
Posted inOpinion
Why Massachusetts needs a climate bank
It is a fiscally responsible path to achieve three critical goals: address affordability challenges, strengthen the economy, and remain a leader in addressing the challenges of a changing climate.
Posted inGateway Cities
Salem, Quincy receiving millions in tax credits for Gateway Cities despite no longer qualifying for the designation
Massachusetts has awarded more than $10 million in tax credits to market-rate housing developers in Salem and Quincy based on their status as Gateway Cities even though the two communities no longer met the criteria for that designation, according to funding records obtained by CommonWealth Beacon.
Posted inOpinion
Holding the line on Gateway Cities designation
There should be no hasty changes to the pool of Gateway Cities . Any future consideration of adjustments should be based on good data, a coherent framework, and involve collaboration with Gateway City leaders.
Posted inBallot Questions
Lawmakers and DiZoglio clash again – this time over public records reform
Auditor Diana DiZoglio showed up ready to fight, and some lawmakers indulged her, at a hearing about a ballot question that would subject the Legislature and governor’s office to the public records law.
Posted inOpinion
Massachusetts has an elder care crisis – and it’s about to get a lot worse
A dangerous demographic cliff lies just ahead: There’s been a lot of chatter about the vast demographic bulge that we call “baby boomers” passing 65; but the real news is that the oldest baby boomers will begin celebrating their 85th birthdays in 2031.
Posted inEnergy
House passes landmark energy bill with deep cuts to Mass Save, sending it to Senate
The legislation reflects the larger tradeoffs around energy policy as Beacon Hill grapples with rising power demand, soaring costs, and quickly approaching climate commitments.
Posted inPolitics
Often at odds, Mariano and Spilka united by ballot question frustration
As the Legislature prepares to review 11 ballot questions with major policymaking implications, the top two Democrats came together to complain that the process is “fraught with peril.”
Posted inEducation
Massachusetts is poised to shake up literacy instruction — and some educators don’t like it
The Bay State is poised to enact what its supporters call some of the strongest reading legislation in the nation — and some educators worry it goes too far in imposing new standards that override teacher control of classrooms.
Posted inEnergy
House tees up sprawling energy package that would cut $1B from Mass Save
The legislation thrust Beacon Hill’s Democratic supermajority into a fierce debate when an earlier version of the bill that would have weakened the state’s 2030 climate targets advanced out of committee.
Posted inOpinion
DiZoglio strikes back, but is she firing blanks?
Absent extraordinary circumstances, it is not for unelected judges to decide whenand how litigation should be pursued in the name of the Commonwealth’s citizens.
Posted inPolitics
Healey won’t attend White House events with governors
“‘For years, Governors of both parties met with Presidents of both parties annually,” Healey said in a statement released after 4 p.m. Thursday. ‘This has always been an important opportunity for us to discuss the most pressing issues facing our country and how we can work together on solutions. But it should come as no surprise to anyone that President Trump has completely politicized this.'”
Posted inHousing
Ed Augustus becomes eighth member of Healey’s Cabinet to depart
Housing Secretary Ed Augustus will step down next week to take over a Central Massachusetts bank, and the governor picked former HUD official — and onetime MassINC chief operating officer — Juana Matias to succeed him.
