GOV. CHARLIE BAKER has seen House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s offer of a barebones closeout budget deal to break a logjam on Beacon Hill and, like any confident poker player, raised […]
Robert DeLeo
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo and Spilka on different pages
THE HOUSE AND Senate are circulating proposals for a compromise on an overdue spending bill, and the one idea that has had a public airing would leave out a $50 […]
Posted inPolitics
Lawmakers botch budget bill negotiations
BY FAILING TO reach agreement on a major spending bill before the winter break, legislative leaders have squandered much of their control over what goes into it, and they have […]
Posted inTransportation
Concerns on police bias linger after distracted driving vote
OVERWHELMING VOTES IN the House and Senate to enact driver safety legislation belie enduring disagreements within the Legislature over how best to monitor and tamp down racial bias by police. […]
Posted inTransportation
DeLeo calls off transpo tax debate – for now
HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO is putting off a debate over tax legislation to fund transportation improvements until next year, throwing into doubt whether anything will happen in an area that […]
Posted inPolitics
Kaufman: ‘No diversity of opinion’ in DeLeo’s inner circle
FORMER REP. JAY KAUFMAN continued his recent lambasting of House Speaker Robert DeLeo during a panel discussion Wednesday about the lack of racial and gender diversity in Massachusetts government. The […]
Posted inTransportation
DeLeo unsure about tax bill timeline
HOUSE SPEAKER Robert DeLeo expressed some uncertainty Wednesday afternoon about whether the House will be able to advance a tax package before the end of the year. “Right now we’re […]
Posted inOpinion
House hit as authoritarian, top-down organization
WE HAVE WORKED in and around the Massachusetts State House for years. As legislative staffers, lobbyists, and grassroots advocates, we’ve collectively attended thousands of meetings with members of the Massachusetts […]
Posted inPolitics
Senate chair knocks House handling of tax break
AT A STANDSTILL over a corporate tax break, the Legislature on Thursday recessed for the remainder of the week without completing work on a bill wrapping up budgetary matters for […]
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo to seek yet another term as speaker
HOUSE SPEAKER Robert DeLeo, who four years ago oversaw the scuttling of term limits on his reign, said he doesn’t plan to leave anytime soon and intends to seek another […]
Posted inEducation
House unveils education bill — minus controversial Senate amendment
TWO WEEKS AFTER the Senate approved a sweeping education funding bill, but stripped out language giving the state authority to oversee how the money is spent, the House appears poised […]
Posted inHealth Care
Lawmakers: Baker’s health care bill a good start
LAST SESSION, Beacon Hill’s big three – the governor, the House speaker, and the Senate president — each had fundamentally different ideas about how to reform the state’s health care […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
DeLeo eyes comprehensive vaping legislation
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ON THE HEELS of the state’s new temporary ban on the sale of all vaping products, a legislative committee on Wednesday endorsed a bill prohibiting the […]
Posted inPolitics
From insurgent to incumbent
TO SECURE A victory in last September’s Democratic primary against one of the most powerful members of the Legislature, Nika Elugardo ran a blistering campaign excoriating the entire House establishment, […]
Posted inHealth Care
House readies wellness bill before August break
BEFORE BREAKING FOR their unofficial August recess, House lawmakers will take up legislation aimed at finding answers for young people and parents in greatest need of medical care, including mental […]
Posted inTransportation
House leaders parlay on transpo legislation
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE House Speaker Robert DeLeo met with the House chairs of the ways and means, revenue and transportation committees for about two hours Wednesday morning to sketch […]
Posted inUncategorized
DeLeo: There will be no budget filed Tuesday
THERE WILL BE no budget agreement filed Tuesday, two days into fiscal 2020, but House and Senate negotiators haven’t reached an impasse and are trading proposals back and forth, according […]
Posted inPolitics
Unions look for another win with Janus bill
HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DeLEO will bring a bill to the floor for a vote this week that would allow unions to charge non-members fees for certain services, a response to […]
Posted inPolitics
DeLeo sidestepping Baker on bonds
HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO is using a novel funding approach for his climate change legislation, authorizing the issuance of $1 billion in state general obligation bonds that would be exempt […]
Posted inPolitics
Betting notes: DeLeo wants floor vote on sports bill
THERE ARE SCORES of variables for lawmakers to consider as they put together a regulatory scheme to legalize sports betting, but Speaker Robert DeLeo has already made up his mind […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
McMurtry cleared in backside touch charge
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A SPECIAL COMMITTEE investigating whether Rep. Paul McMurtry violated the House sexual harassment policy concluded in a report Wednesday that there was “insufficient evidence” to support […]
Posted inUncategorized
Senator accuses DeLeo of propagandizing non-disclosure debate
BEACON HILL INFIGHTING over non-disclosure agreements isn’t going away, as Sen. Diana DiZoglio accused House Speaker Robert DeLeo of using “propaganda” to manipulate the debate while the speaker’s office obliquely […]
Posted inTransportation
T notes: DeLeo open to tax hikes
OPENING THE DOOR for a near-term debate over transportation and transportation financing on Beacon Hill, House Speaker Robert DeLeo said on Tuesday that he is open to tax hikes or […]
Posted inPolitics
Rules debate spirited, but almost nothing changes
AN INFLUX OF NEW MEMBERS is changing the atmosphere of the House chamber, but in the first deliberations of the 2019-2020 session on Wednesday, Speaker Robert DeLeo and his Democratic […]
