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 […]
Massachusetts Legislature
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 […]
Posted inUncategorized
Senate passes ‘period poverty’ bill
VIRTUALLY EVERY WOMAN of child-bearing age has had that panicked moment: she gets her period unexpectedly in a public bathroom and doesn’t have menstrual products. For low-income women and girls […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Offshore wind bill sails through House
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE LEGISLATION THAT lawmakers hope will turbocharge the growing offshore wind industry in Massachusetts and help the state meet its climate commitments easily sailed through the House […]
Posted inEnvironment
New offshore wind bill drops electric bill charges
HOUSE LEADERS on Tuesday abandoned a proposal to hike electric ratepayer bills as they pulled together the votes needed to pass legislation offering significant financial incentives to the offshore wind […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker: Tax breaks affordable, needed to make state competitive
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER told lawmakers on Tuesday that Massachusetts can easily afford his package of $700 million in tax cuts, and the state needs some of the changes benefitting higher-income […]
Posted inEnvironment
Two soundings from Somerset
IT WAS FITTING that Rep. Patricia Haddad would take a bow at a gathering on Thursday in Somerset celebrating the purchase of 47 acres at Brayton Point by an Italian […]
Posted inUncategorized
State House, closed nearly 2 years, to reopen next week
THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE HOUSE, closed to the public since March 2020, is going to reopen next Tuesday. State House leaders said legislative business will see little change initially. Committee hearings […]
Posted inHealth Care
Friedman, Senate push transparency in pharmaceutical drug costs
MASSACHUSETTS HAS taken lots of steps to rein in runaway spending on healthcare, but one area has largely avoided state regulation: prescription drugs. “If we’re really going to have a […]
Posted inThe Download
Friedman, Senate push transparency in pharmaceutical drug costs
Massachusetts has taken lots of steps to rein in runaway spending on healthcare, but one area has largely avoided state regulation: prescription drugs. “If we’re really going to have a […]
Posted inHealth Care
Senate misfires with prescription drug bill
ON THURSDAY, the Massachusetts Senate passed another ill-considered piece of legislation, Senate Bill 2651, that would impose price controls on one of Massachusetts most important economic sectors, biopharmaceuticals. The bill […]
Posted inUncategorized
State sending $500 checks to 500,000 low-income workers
APPROXIMATELY 500,000 low-income individuals in Massachusetts who worked during the pandemic will receive $500 bonus payments in the mail this March. Lt. Governor Karyn Polito said in a statement that […]
Posted inHealth Care
Senate taking another shot at drug pricing legislation
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A BILL TARGETING drug costs that the Senate plans to take up next week would cap the cost of insulin at $25 a month for consumers, […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
COVID spending bill grows to $101m, passes within hours
A $55 MILLION COVID-related spending bill ballooned into a $101 million bill under an agreement reached between House and Senate negotiators, which lawmakers sent to Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk just […]
Posted inPolitics
Ex-Trump aide Lewandowski joins Diehl campaign
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE LOWELL NATIVE and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has joined Republican Geoff Diehl’s campaign for governor as a senior advisor, the GOP candidate announced Wednesday, […]
Posted inPolitics
House stands firm against same-day voter registration
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE’S MOSTLY successful experiment with voting-by-mail during the COVID-19 pandemic would become a permanent option for voters in future elections, but House lawmakers on Thursday […]
Posted inUncategorized
Marijuana industry ‘fixes’ moving in the Legislature
A COMPREHENSIVE BILL that would address several major problems that marijuana regulators and industry experts have pinpointed in the legal cannabis industry is starting to move in the Legislature. The Joint Committee on […]
Posted inThe Download
House, Senate differ on COVID spending, voting rights
The House and Senate may agree on broad contours of policy, but when it comes to actually passing bills, the devil’s in the details. That truism is on full display […]
Posted inPolitics
House, Senate differ on COVID spending, voting rights
THE HOUSE AND SENATE may agree on broad contours of policy, but when it comes to actually passing bills, the devil’s in the details. That truism is on full display […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker budget includes $700m tax break proposal
IN HIS FINAL budget proposal before leaving office, Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday included nearly $700 million worth of tax cuts for Massachusetts residents, setting up a debate over tax policy with […]
Posted inPolitics
Same-day voter registration could be sticking point
SAME-DAY VOTER REGISTRATION could become a sticking point between the two branches as the House this week prepares to take up a voting reform bill that passed the Senate last […]
Posted inUncategorized
Spilka says State House likely to reopen in Feb.
LEGISLATIVE LEADERS say they are optimistic the State House will begin reopening to the public in February. Senate President Karen Spilka made the announcement following a State House meeting between […]
Posted inEducation
House releases $55m bill for COVID testing, school masks
THE HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS Committee on Tuesday released a bill that would allocate another $55 million to expanding COVID testing sites, buying masks for schools, and doing vaccine outreach, even as Gov. […]