THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE passed climate change legislation on Monday by an overwhelming vote of 39-1, signaling the Legislature is unwilling to go along with several amendments sought by Gov. Charlie Baker. The bill approved by the Senate includes a number of tweaks sought by the governor, but on several key provisions – a 50 percent […]
Massachusetts Legislature
Posted inEnvironment
Republican delays action on climate change bill
THE SENATE REPUBLICAN leader, raising concerns about an attempt by Democrats to push climate change legislation through the chamber quickly on Thursday, used a parliamentary maneuver to delay action until next week. The move triggered a strong reaction from Senate Democrats, who accused Sen. Bruce Tarr of Gloucester of unnecessarily delaying action on climate change […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker: We could do 2m doses a month but getting only half that
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Wednesday that the state has the capacity to administer 2 million inoculations a month, but the federal government and d vaccine manufacturers are providing only half that amount. At a press conference at a West Bridgewater manufacturer of hospital-grade masks, Baker said the state could easily administer 1 million doses […]
Posted inOpinion
The state shouldn’t tax forgiven PPP loans
THE LAST YEAR has been devastating on many levels, but many of our small businesses are still standing because of the support from our communities and yes, because of the support of our local, state, and federal governments. In Massachusetts alone, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) helped retain countless amounts of jobs and saved thousands of […]
Posted inThe Download
Lawmaking by press release
Sometimes it’s the little things – a phrasing of a sentence or the timing of an announcement — that reveal a lot about the way the Legislature operates. On Monday afternoon, Senate President Karen Spilka, House Speaker Ron Mariano, and the chairs of the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees issued a statement about […]
Posted inUncategorized
Lawmaking by press release
SOMETIMES IT’S the little things – a phrasing of a sentence or the timing of an announcement — that reveal a lot about the way the Legislature operates. On Monday afternoon, Senate President Karen Spilka, House Speaker Ron Mariano, and the chairs of the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees issued a statement about […]
Posted inThe Download
Sneak peak of this year’s transportation debate
The House and Senate chairs of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee engaged in a back-and-forth debate about legislative priorities on transportation this year, with Sen. Joseph Boncore of Winthrop calling for a dramatic paradigm shift and Rep. William Straus of Mattapoisett questioning whether that shift has too big of a price tag. The two lawmakers appeared […]
Posted inTransportation
Sneak peak of this year’s transportation debate
THE HOUSE AND SENATE chairs of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee engaged in a back-and-forth debate about legislative priorities on transportation this year, with Sen. Joseph Boncore of Winthrop calling for a dramatic paradigm shift and Rep. William Straus of Mattapoisett questioning whether that shift has too big of a price tag. The two lawmakers appeared […]
Posted inUncategorized
Catching up with Majority Leader Claire Cronin
HOUSE MAJORITY Leader Claire Cronin, a Democrat from Easton, has become a key player in the House this session as the newly elevated majority leader – the number two job in the House, and the role now-House Speaker Ron Mariano previously held before he became speaker. CommonWealth spoke to Cronin by phone about her new […]
Posted inHealth Care
2017 birth control provision fell through the cracks
IN 2017, amid growing concern that Congress and the Trump administration were moving to limit free access to contraceptives, the Massachusetts Legislature passed and Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law a bill guaranteeing access to birth control without copays. One of the provisions in that legislation, dubbed the ACCESS law (for Advancing Contraceptive Coverage and Economic Security in our […]