“I mean, you guys have an obligation to write what’s really gonna happen,” House Speaker Ron Mariano huffed.
Massachusetts Legislature
Posted inBy The Numbers
Poll indicates growing frustration with Legislature
A new poll points to growing public dissatisfaction with the Legislature, with 47 percent of likely Massachusetts voters disapproving of the job lawmakers are doing and only 42 percent approving.
Posted inBallot Questions
Ballot question fundraising and spending largely hidden from public view
In contrast to state election laws governing candidates for office, which require regular reporting throughout the year on campaign donations and expenditures, ballot question committees operate under relatively lax reporting requirements.
Posted inState Government
Much ado about the multibillion dollar housing bond bill
Major bond bills set the widest parameters for possible spending. But there’s little to no chance that $6 billion in bonding power actually gets pointed at the housing crisis.
Posted inMarijuana
Lawmakers punt on issue of intoxicating hemp products
Lawmakers stressed the urgency of dealing with the issue of intoxicating hemp-based products but said that they’re unlikely to do anything before the next legislative session begins next year.
Posted inEconomy
Lawmakers from Lowell, Springfield say cities would welcome economic jolt
Two Democrats who have a chance to stamp their mark on Gov. Maura Healey’s plan to reinvigorate the state’s business climate want the benefits to stretch beyond the Boston metropolitan area.
Posted inGuns
Rare public conference committee closes its doors
Sen. Joan Lovely of Salem, a member of the conference committee, said her family was stalked after her prior participation on a committee dealing with gun regulations and that person has resurfaced.
Posted inState Government
House looks poised to punt again on sex ed bill
Proponents have expressed mystification, and frustration, about the House’s continued resistance to the bill. Former Senate president Harriette Chandler, who supported the bill during her time in office, repeatedly called the long delay “a disgrace” last month on a local cable show she hosts while talking with bill sponsor Rep. Jim O’Day.
Posted inPolitics
Fifth time’s the charm for sex ed law?
Supporters of the Healthy Youth Act are taking a fifth swing at passing the legislation, which has made it through the state Senate four times only to fizzle in the House.
Posted inState Government
Short takes: The House departure lounge fills up
Several of the lawmakers hold leadership positions and committee chairmanships, prompting some musing inside the building, and out, about what the departures mean in the context of House Speaker Ron Mariano’s future.
Posted inHealth Care
House leaders not interested in Steward bailout
“I’ve been so close to this because Ralph was at Quincy when Quincy closed. I’ve been dealing with Ralph [de la Torre] for a long time and I am suspect of everything he tells me,” the speaker said.
Posted inPolitics
Donors to DiZoglio ballot campaign mostly hail from business sector
The ballot question is championed by state Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who is in effect launching another statewide campaign after jumping from a state Senate seat to the auditor’s office in 2022.
Posted inState Government
Two lawmakers made key decisions on closeout spending bill
This concentration of power in the hands of a few people is commonplace in the Legislature, so much so that it is largely taken for granted.
Posted inState Government
Short takes: Will ‘quorum sessions’ become a go-to option on Beacon Hill?
In a history-making move, the House and Senate passed a $3.1 billion spending bill over the objections of many Republican lawmakers. The branches pulled it off by bringing in enough legislators to establish a quorum – 81 in the House and 21 in the Senate.
Posted inOpinion
Backroom deal for Everett soccer stadium in works again
THE BUNKER HILL monument in Charlestown is a symbol of democracy’s promise, but it may soon be overshadowed – literally — by a colossal monument in nearby Everett to democracy’s […]
Posted inState Government
Mariano to seek reelection to another term
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS HE WORKS DEEPER into his fourth decade on Beacon Hill, House Speaker Ron Mariano confirmed Tuesday that he plans to run for reelection in 2024 […]
Posted inOpinion
End the discriminatory treatment of farmworkers
THIS SEASON’S TORRENTIAL, climate-driven rain and floods devastated the Massachusetts farm economy, damaging over 110 farms, 2700 acres and causing millions in crop losses. Fortunately, the state and federal governments, […]
Posted inGuns
House leaders take hands-on approach with latest gun bill
GUN CONTROL legislation moved back on to Beacon Hill’s front burner on Thursday, as House leaders unveiled a revised bill that they hope to send directly to the Senate later […]
Posted inOpinion
Tax relief makes Mass. more affordable
LAST WEEK, the Legislature passed the Commonwealth’s largest tax relief bill in a generation – and today Gov. Maura Healey will sign the bill into law. The culmination of more than […]
Posted inState Government
Tax relief bill alters refunds under tax cap law
THE TAX RELIEF BILL released by legislative leaders on Tuesday significantly changes a law approved by voters in 1986, requiring that excess tax collections be returned in equal amounts to […]
Posted inState Government
Legislative leaders roll out ‘generational’ tax package
LEGISLATIVE LEADERS unveiled a tax relief package on Tuesday that includes every provision of the House and Senate proposals but fits within the budget number for this year by paring […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
Senate appealed to AG on DiZoglio’s legislative audit petition
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AUDITOR DIANA DIZOGLIO’S proposed ballot-box appeal to crack open the Legislature’s books for her inspection cleared a key hurdle last Wednesday. And it turns out that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
We spearheaded state’s 2014 gun law; new legislation can build on it
FOR NEARLY 10 years Massachusetts has been one of the states with the lowest rates of firearm deaths. Firearm deaths include homicides and suicides by firearm and firearm accidents. Most […]
Posted inState Government
With Democrats united, Healey signs $56b budget
GOV. MAURA HEALEY on Wednesday signed into law her first state budget, setting a different tone than the Republican who held the corner office for the previous eight years. She […]