For months now, pressure has been building on Beacon Hill lawmakers to provide some form of tax relief to residents. Republicans pushed repeatedly for a gas tax holiday as prices […]
Massachusetts Legislature
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
Momentum building for some form of tax relief
FOR MONTHS NOW, pressure has been building on Beacon Hill lawmakers to provide some form of tax relief to residents. Republicans pushed repeatedly for a gas tax holiday as prices […]
Posted inMarijuana
Lawmakers move closer to addressing nagging cannabis questions
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE took a major step Wednesday toward improving equity in the cannabis industry, passing a bill similar to one previously passed by the Senate that would create a […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service, Transportation
East-West rail authority not in transpo bond bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE $9.75 BILLION infrastructure bond bill that cleared the Transportation Committee does not include any language creating a new rail authority to oversee a passenger train […]
Posted inThe Download
Some tidbits on Senate’s sports betting non-vote
In what may be the ultimate inside story on Beacon Hill, new details are starting to emerge on why the Senate dispensed with a final roll call vote on sports […]
Posted inUncategorized
Some tidbits on Senate’s sports betting non-vote
IN WHAT MAY BE the ultimate inside story on Beacon Hill, new details are starting to emerge on why the Senate dispensed with a final roll call vote on sports […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. should retain free meals for all at schools
PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, more than 120,000 children in Massachusetts didn’t know where their next meal was coming from. Since COVID-19 arrived in the US, food insecurity rates in our […]
Posted inUncategorized
Legislature preparing for post-Roe v Wade world
THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE is starting to prepare for a post-Roe v Wade world, providing state tax dollars to organizations that help women pay for abortions and investing in security and […]
Posted inUncategorized
With tax revenues soaring, Spilka calls for relief package
MASSACHUSETTS TAX revenues continued to soar in April, astonishing experts who track the numbers and prompting Senate President Karen Spilka to announce that she intends to push for some sort […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
US Senate committee deadlocks on Robinson
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A US SENATE COMMITTEE split evenly along party lines on whether to advance Massachusetts Rep. Maria Robinson’s nomination for a federal energy job, teeing up another […]
Posted inOpinion
Online notarization makes sense in today’s world
BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, we spent years talking about the future of the internet and what the world would look like when everything we needed was online. Then the pandemic hit, […]
Posted inGambling
Senate passes sports betting on voice vote
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER YEARS OF DISCUSSION and pressure from both inside and outside the State House, the Massachusetts Senate voted Thursday to legalize sports wagering, but lawmakers will […]
Posted inUncategorized
Representative apologizes after drunk driving arrest
THE STATE REPRESENTATIVE arrested Tuesday for drunk driving apologized on Thursday and pledged to seek treatment for his addiction. Rep. David LeBoeuf, a Worcester Democrat, wrote in a public statement on […]
Posted inHealth Care
House floats UMass health sciences school at Mount Ida campus
FACED WITH a staffing crisis throughout the health care industry, the House’s leading policymaker on health care has an idea: build a new public school for health sciences education, located […]
Posted inEnvironment
Senate climate bill goes granular, ups electric vehicle rebates
SENATE LEADERSHIP unveiled a very prescriptive $250 million climate change bill on Thursday that would direct Gov. Charlie Baker and his successor to boost rebates for zero emission vehicles, allow […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Republican accuses Dems of flipflopping on staff unionization
DURING A DEBATE on House rules in January 2019, Rep. Shawn Dooley, a Norfolk Republican, introduced an amendment that would allow House employees to unionize. The amendment was overwhelmingly rejected, […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Mass. Senate staff seek to unionize
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE employees are hoping to become the second unionized state legislative staff in the country, announcing on Monday night their intent to unionize with Quincy-based […]
Posted inTransportation
Our legislation expands transit tax benefits
IN EXPLORING legislation to expand commuter transit benefits, we sought to save Massachusetts residents money and improve our environment. Then a global pandemic changed the entire transportation landscape. Presently, use […]
Posted inOpinion
The T should not be playing fiscal musical chairs
WE ARE HEADING for a massive MBTA operating budget deficit next year, and no one in power on Beacon Hill is doing anything about it. This is not a theory […]
Posted inTransportation
T needs to step up its game on ‘diversions’
TWO WEEKENDS AGO the MBTA did something previously unthinkable. It closed half of a major subway line, through downtown Boston, on a game day, with shuttle buses running from Back […]
Posted inOpinion
Protecting the state’s protected lands
WE OFTEN THINK of floods, hurricanes, snowstorms and the like as threats to our normal way of life, but the Covid pandemic has shown us a unique threat that affects […]
Posted inRace/Racism
House votes to ban hairstyle discrimination
IN 2017, Mya and Deanna Cook, 15-year-old twins, were disciplined because they wore box braids to school at Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in Malden. Box braids and other protective […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
House leader questions implementation of criminal justice law
THE TOP HOUSE lawmaker on criminal justice issues is accusing the Baker administration of “outright resistance” to implementing the state’s criminal justice reform law. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Michael Day, […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
State House dropping mask, vaccine requirements
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH THE COVID-19 pandemic’s two-year anniversary approaching, legislative leaders lifted the mask mandate and proof-of-vaccination-or-negative-test requirement for entry into the State House, starting on Monday. House […]