The proposals sparked a heated local debate as sluggish state aid growth and strict limits on local tax increases continue to trap many local governments in a difficult position with few options to manage rising costs.
Public Records
Posted inEducation
Charter schools are subject to public records law, SJC rules
Excluding charter schools would frustrate the “core transparency mandate” of the law, wrote Justice Serge Georges, Jr. for a unanimous court on Tuesday, given that they are “public schools funded with public money and charged with performing a quintessential public function.”
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 inPublic Records
DiZoglio’s effort to audit the Legislature remains stalled. So she wants voters to change the law, again.
The nascent ballot question campaign seeking to subject the Legislature and the governor’s office to the public records law has a new leader: Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who views the measure as a way to circumvent opposition to her effort to audit the House and Senate.
Posted inPolitics
Massachusetts donors, businesses sent millions to Trump’s 2025 inauguration fund
Trump’s inaugural committee reported the names and figures earlier this month in a filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Posted inPolitics
Political Notebook: An ad campaign’s cutting room floor
History, as the aphorism goes, is written by the winners. So are the tourism ads celebrating the victories 250 years later.
Posted inPublic Records
Court orders DiZoglio to remove audit redactions
A judge ordered state Auditor Diana DiZoglio to release unredacted reports on two Massachusetts sheriffs’ departments, ruling that public disclosure of the information that had been blocked would not pose a risk to public safety or cybersecurity.
Posted inOpinion
It’s past time to move Bridgewater State Hospital out of the Department of Correction
THE REPORT RELEASED in March condemning Bridgewater State Hospital —Massachusetts’s state psychiatric facility — felt more like a broken record than a revelation. The 87-page document outlined issues that have […]
Posted inGovernment, Politics, Public Records
Wu got use of MGM Music Hall at no charge
BOSTON MAYOR Michelle Wu spent $62,000 on her State of the City address at the end of January, but there was no cost to actually rent the venue where she […]
Posted inPolitics
A digital push for more legislative participation
ONE OF THE most well-worn complaints among political watchers in Massachusetts is that the government can be, well, hard to watch. The state Legislature is one of the least transparent […]
Posted inPublic Records
DAs ignore many requests for public records
A correction has been added to this story. THE STATE’S DISTRICT attorneys are sworn to uphold the law, but when it comes to one particular law – the Massachusetts Public Records […]
Posted inPublic Records, State Government
Healey won’t file legislation subjecting her office to records law
GOV. MAURA HEALEY said on Monday that she will not introduce legislation that would make her office subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. ”I don’t think I need to […]
Posted inPublic Records
Healey unveils new public records policy
GOV. MAURA HEALEY unveiled a new public records policy on her office’s website on Monday, but the wording leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Previous governors going all the way […]
Posted inEducation
Boston Public Schools withholds 2d part of Mission Hill School investigation
TWO INDEPENDENT reports commissioned by Boston Public Schools figured prominently in the decision to shut down the Mission Hill K-8 Pilot School in Jamaica Plain this summer, but officials are […]
Posted inPolitics, Public Records, State Government
Tanisha Sullivan, Bill Galvin go head to head in testy debate
THE TWO DEMOCRATS running for secretary of the Commonwealth met in a testy debate Monday, which highlighted a fundamental disagreement over the nature of the job itself. Tanisha Sullivan, the […]
Posted inGovernment, Public Records
Wu not always living up to transparency promises
BOSTON MAYOR Michelle Wu took office promising greater transparency in her administration, but one barometer of her performance indicates she still has some work to do. Aides say the city […]