POLITICS
CommonWealth Beacon takes the pulse of Massachusetts politics by examining the policies, personalities, and pressing issues shaping moves in local governance, on Beacon Hill, and among the state’s congressional delegation in Washington.
Backers of primary election overhaul say the proposal is ‘Massachusetts-grown.’ For years, its top donors funded similar efforts across the country.
Campaign finance records paint a more nuanced picture of who’s backing the measure, and color the Bay State as the next front in a national debate over systemic reforms intended to fix persistent electoral problems.
Ballotmania: Inside the flurry of measures upending Massachusetts politics
The record-tying number of initiatives on the ballot next week put Beacon Hill on the defensive, and it’s resurfaced thorny questions about the powers and pitfalls of lawmaking by statewide vote.
No clear signs that Legislature will act swiftly on child sexual abuse amendment
Pollsters asked about the proposed law to eliminate the time limit for filing civil lawsuits related to child sexual abuse. Respondents overwhelmingly said they would strongly (60 percent) or somewhat (24 percent) support this change, and 79 percent said they would like their state legislators to vote for it.
Mass. spent nearly $400K on an energy study. Three years after its completion, the state hasn’t released the results.
Even before Gov. Maura Healey entered the heart of campaign season — one that has been defined by skyrocketing energy costs and affordability issues — her administration has seemed sensitive to the price tag attached to the tens or hundreds of billions of dollars likely needed to support a sweeping green transition.
State says resident data is safe with state AI tool. Advocates have concerns.
Given recent AI hacking incidents, CommonWealth Beacon checked back in with state officials to see how they’re protecting resident data flowing through an AI assistant. Here’s what you need to know.
Mass. upgraded from least competitive elections in the country to second-worst
For the first time since Barack Obama was president, Massachusetts did not land in dead last in Ballotpedia’s biennial assessment of state legislative competition across the country.
Senators decry ‘disastrous,’ ‘flabbergasting’ Census changes
The change, if implemented, would “dramatically and inaccurately favor southern states where many northern residents, sometimes called snowbirds, spend some or all of the months of December through March, despite spending a majority of their time voting in and paying taxes to northern states like Massachusetts,” Jessie Partride Guerrero, director of data services at the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission, testified.
Eversource CEO tells industry conference he expects Healey to turn down the ‘volume’ on utility criticism post-election
Nolan’s comments that Healey will tone down her rhetoric after the election stand in stark contrast to Healey’s pitch to voters that Massachusetts will take on utility profits and go to bat for ratepayers.
Trump is the elephant in the room during first Healey-Minogue debate
Voters in the deep-blue state are sometimes open to a gesture toward bipartisanship through a Republican governor that could, at least in theory, square off against a Democratic supermajority in the Legislature. But Minogue’s odds look long.
Healey touts Wu endorsement to start October push
The governor and mayor, both Democrats and each the first woman elected to the chief executive positions in the state and city, are not known to have a close political connection.
Healey asks Trump administration to speed up review of planned gas expansion in latest sign of shifting energy politics
As Healey hunts for ways to bring down soaring costs and campaigns for reelection in a race defined by the affordability crisis gripping the state, the governor sees an opportunity to appeal to the Trump administration to bring more gas into the state.
Republican voters split with party on gun law; Dems want more access to public records from Democrat-dominated offices
“It’s a very difficult sell to make to anybody that the Legislature and governor shouldn’t be subject to the public records law,” said Jonathan Cohn, policy director of Progressive Massachusetts. “Straightforward good government questions will always resonate with voters.”
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