A ballot question aiming to reform the Legislature’s controversial system of stipends would reach beyond capping the value or number available. It would also require legislative committees to follow new review and voting procedures as a prerequisite to earning bigger paychecks.
Massachusetts Legislature
Posted inCourts
Supreme Judicial Court says it’s up to Legislature, not judiciary, to set pay for court-appointed lawyers
Justices were wary of overstepping the “separation of powers” in a bid for courts to increase pay for attorneys who represent indigent defendants.
Posted inBallot Questions
Mass. Senate asks top state court to examine constitutionality of legislative reform ballot questions
For the first time in a decade, lawmakers exercised their authority to seek an advisory opinion from the state’s highest court, asking justices whether a pair of ballot questions on course to reach voters in November raise constitutional concerns.
Posted inEnvironment
Ratepayer revolt: Has the affordability debate soured Mass. on climate commitments?
Fighting climate change was once a badge of honor in Massachusetts, embraced by virtually all Democrats and even a lot of Republicans. But as households grapple with soaring energy bills, elected officials have become much more squeamish about the topic.
Posted inEnergy
Healey’s shift toward nuclear energy raises affordability, feasibility questions
The argument for nuclear is, in some ways, simple. It doesn’t generate greenhouse gas emissions and reliably produces power. But it’s no slam dunk either. Building new nuclear facilities is notoriously expensive and time-consuming.
Posted inState Government
‘Frustration’ remains among lawmakers despite shrinking unemployment delays
Although a legislative response appears not to be a priority, some lawmakers used Labor Secretary Lauren Jones’s appearance at a budget hearing to prod the Healey administration on the unemployment payment delays that plunged the system to worst-in-the-nation performance last year.
Posted inThe Codcast
How energy affordability in Massachusetts reached crisis mode
This week on The Codcast, we unpack how increasingly expensive utility bills are shaping the energy debate in Massachusetts and reaching a fever pitch on Beacon Hill. With energy costs now the top household concern in the Bay State, how should policymakers respond to the affordability crisis as power demand is expected to rise and with the due date on ambitious climate commitments creeping closer? Our guests, Kyle Murray, director of state program implementation in Massachusetts at the environmental nonprofit Acadia Center, and Dan Dolan, president of the New England Power Generators Association, hash it all out.
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 inThe Codcast
How ‘universal’ is universal pre-K?
This week on The Codcast, we dive into Gov. Maura Healey’s “Gateway to Pre-K” agenda. By the end of 2026, her administration declared that every family of a 4-year-old in the state’s 26 Gateway Cities would have the opportunity – at low or no cost – to enroll their child in a preschool program that prepares them for kindergarten. But local providers say they won’t get there.
Posted inEnergy
House passes landmark energy bill with deep cuts to Mass Save, sending it to Senate
The legislation reflects the larger tradeoffs around energy policy as Beacon Hill grapples with rising power demand, soaring costs, and quickly approaching climate commitments.
Posted inPolitics
Often at odds, Mariano and Spilka united by ballot question frustration
As the Legislature prepares to review 11 ballot questions with major policymaking implications, the top two Democrats came together to complain that the process is “fraught with peril.”
Posted inEnergy
House tees up sprawling energy package that would cut $1B from Mass Save
The legislation thrust Beacon Hill’s Democratic supermajority into a fierce debate when an earlier version of the bill that would have weakened the state’s 2030 climate targets advanced out of committee.
Posted inThe Codcast
‘Administrative fat’ or ‘amnesia’: How much should we spend on the MBTA?
This week on The Codcast, we dive into a long-running debate: is the significant growth in state funding for the T an acknowledgment that good public transit requires big public investment, or is it a reflection of out-of-control spending? CommonWealth Beacon senior reporter Chris Lisinski moderates a discussion with former Transportation Secretary Jim Aloisi and Pioneer Institute senior fellow Charlie Chieppo.
Posted inPolitics
Political Notebook: Wu and Rooney on collision course, again
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce chief Jim Rooney are cruising toward another political fight that could strain their sometimes-friendly, sometimes-cool relationship. Over the course of the past week, Wu came out in support of a rent control ballot question, while Rooney’s organization joined the real estate-led campaign seeking to defeat the measure.
Posted inImmigration
It’s anyone’s guess when Beacon Hill will agree on an immigration response
Three weeks after both Gov. Maura Healey and the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus offered separate roadmaps for action, it’s still unclear how or when House and Senate Democrats will proceed amid national pressure to respond to ICE raids.
Posted inThe Codcast
Big tech is watching
This week on the Codcast – what does online surveillance look like in 2026? CommonWealth Beacon reporter Jennifer Smith talks with Kade Crockford, director of technology and justice programs at the ACLU of Massachusetts. They discuss the biggest misconceptions about data privacy online, why your information is valuable and vulnerable, and legislation proposed at the state level to limit who can see and sell user data.
Posted inEnvironment
Mass. falling short of key climate targets, with some bright spots, after one year of Trump attacks
The state’s self-assessment comes as it races to reduce its carbon pollution to 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and produce no new net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 — all while confronting a hostile federal government and an affordability crisis sweeping the state.
Posted inState Government
With auditor’s office funding on the line, DiZoglio and Legislature play nice for an hour
A day after Diana DiZoglio sued the Legislature over her stalled audit attempt, both she and lawmakers avoided the topic during a routine budget hearing.
Posted inState Government
‘It just requires people to be destitute’: Healey draws criticism over push to tighten eligibility for safety-net program
Five years after lawmakers scrapped the asset limit attached to the Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children program, Gov. Maura Healey wants to bring it back at a higher threshold — a move that advocates say will impose unnecessary burdens on at-risk recipients.
Posted inEducation
From T support to school aid, surtax emerges as crutch for state budgeting
Gov. Maura Healey’s spending proposals has reopened debate about whether voters intended for the surtax on high earners to fund only new investments or anything related to transportation and education.
Posted inState Government
Despite improvement, Mass. unemployment system remains one of the worst in the country by some measures
The Bay State boosted its rate of timely unemployment payments in November and December, but it still ranked in the bottom three states in that span, and legislative leaders are mostly silent on the issue.
Posted inThe Codcast
Unpacking the governor’s state budget proposal
This week on The Codcast, CommonWealth Beacon senior reporter Chris Lisinski hosts Viviana Abreu-Hernandez of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center and Jim Stergios of the Pioneer Institute for a discussion about Gov. Maura Healey’s fiscal year 2027 state budget proposal.
