THIS END-OF-SESSION season is when the Legislature’s aversion to transparency and penchant for back-room deals become the mortar and pestle of terrible policy decisions at the expense of the public […]
Massachusetts Legislature
Posted inState Government
State budget is a lot more than just a spending plan
FRAIDY REISS, who leads the New Jersey-based advocacy group Unchained At Last, has been fighting to end child marriage in Massachusetts for six years, lobbying lawmakers and testifying at hearings.  […]
Posted inState Government
Senate’s $4B economic development bill provides faster tax relief
THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE released a $4 billion economic development bill on Monday that includes some key spending differences from a House bill in areas like education, human services, and housing. […]
Posted inState Government
Abortion bill nears finish line, with one hurdle left
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS LAWMAKERS can get to work crafting a final reproductive rights bill following the Senate’s unanimous vote Wednesday, and distance between the branches on an approach […]
Posted inState Government
Money for crime victim services in budget limbo
WHEN IT IS fully staffed, the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center employs 50 people who run its hotline for sexual assault victims, provide referrals, offer counseling, support survivors in the […]
Posted inPolitics, State Government
House proposes $1b in short and long-term tax relief
HOUSE LEADERS rolled out a $523.5 million package of permanent tax breaks on Monday that, when combined with $510 million in one-time payments to middle-income residents proposed last week, would […]
Posted inThe Download
Lawmakers eye expanding juvenile diversion to some violent offenses
In January, nearly four years after the idea was first conceived, the state launched its first state-run, state-funded juvenile diversion programs. The idea was to keep teenagers out of detention […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Lawmakers eye expanding juvenile diversion to some violent offenses
IN JANUARY, nearly four years after the idea was first conceived, the state launched its first state-run, state-funded juvenile diversion programs. The idea was to keep teenagers out of detention […]
Posted inThe Download
Senate staff get raises and pay scale changes – but no union
Massachusetts Senate staff seeking to unionize have gotten a big portion of what they want – minus the union. Senate President Karen Spilka on Wednesday announced a new compensation system […]
Posted inTransportation
Biden, Baker aligned on gas tax holiday
PRESIDENT BIDEN’S call for gas tax suspensions at the federal and state level is changing the rhetoric around tax relief in Massachusetts, but not Democratic opposition on Beacon Hill. Initially, […]
Posted inCourts, State House News Service
SJC agrees to hear moot DiMasi case
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A YEAR AND A DAY after the case was rendered moot by the calendar, the Supreme Judicial Court last week decided that it will nonetheless rule […]
Posted inTransportation
Lawmakers eye $250m for East-West rail
A TRANSPORTATION BOND BILL headed for a vote this week in the House includes language authorizing $250 million in spending on East-West rail, but nothing about the creation of a […]
Posted inTransportation
Lawmakers plan T safety hearings, call for $400m in extra aid
LEGISLATIVE LEADERS jumped into the fray over MBTA safety on Tuesday, announcing plans to hold oversight hearings on the transit authority in the coming weeks and to pass legislation appropriating […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Lawmakers in agreement on prison construction moratorium
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE LEGISLATURE and Gov. Charlie Baker appear headed for another showdown, this time over the next half-decade of facilities management decisions for the state’s prisons and […]
Posted inHealth Care
House plans vote on mental health bill
THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE on Thursday plans to vote on a mental health bill that would improve access to mental health care, particularly for children, while ensuring that the health care […]
Posted inHealth Care
Speaker Mariano says health care regulation needs updates
IT”S BEEN A DECADE since the Legislature revamped the way the state regulates health care, passing legislation establishing the Health Policy Commission and instituting a cost control benchmark. House Speaker […]
Posted inThe Download
Speaker Mariano says health care regulation needs updates
It’s been a decade since the Legislature revamped the way the state regulates health care, passing legislation establishing the Health Policy Commission and instituting a cost control benchmark. House Speaker […]
Posted inOpinion
Roadmap to go on sports betting
MAY 14 MARKED the four-year anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s decision that struck down the federal ban on state-authorized sports betting. For four years, Massachusetts – home to one […]
Posted inUncategorized
Omnibus DCF bill still in the works
WITH LESS THAN two months left to the legislative session, the House’s lead lawmaker on child welfare policy is continuing work on an omnibus bill that he says would make […]
Posted inPolitics
More than half of lawmakers face no challenger this year
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MOST MASSACHUSETTS state lawmakers will stroll into another term in office unopposed, poised to face no declared opponents in both the September 6 primary and November […]
Posted inTransportation
East-West rail ‘elephant in the room’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A PASSENGER RAIL extension into western Massachusetts looms as one of the most impactful projects on the table now that Gov. Charlie Baker and federal officials […]
Posted inPolitics
Mariano outlines legislative priorities, mentions tax relief
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH THE END of the legislative session within sight, House Speaker Ronald Mariano pitched business leaders Thursday on the central pieces of the agenda he hopes […]
Posted inThe Download
Senate, Somerville eye protections for abortion, gender-affirming care
The state Senate on Wednesday adopted an amendment to the state budget protecting anyone who receives or provides gender-affirming care or abortion care against other states’ attempts to prosecute them. […]
Posted inState Government
Senate, Somerville eye protections for abortion, gender-affirming care
THE STATE SENATE on Wednesday adopted an amendment to the state budget protecting anyone who receives or provides gender-affirming care or abortion care against other states’ attempts to prosecute them. […]