GOV. MAURA HEALEY said she plans to issue an executive order later this week barring state agencies from purchasing single-use plastic bottles, a move that gives new life to a long-simmering debate on Beacon Hill about the best ways to reduce and recycle waste materials. At a conference in New York on Monday hosted by […]
State Government
Posted inHousing, State Government
Reckoning looms over ‘home equity theft’
IN LATE MAY, the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of 94-year-old Geraldine Tyler, a Minnesota woman who did not get the surplus back after her condo was foreclosed on and sold off for $40,000 — $25,000 more than what she owed. By keeping the excess, the court held the Minnesota county where Tyler lived […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
Treasurer suspends cannabis commission chair
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CANNABIS CONTROL Commission Chairwoman Shannon O’Brien was suspended from her position by Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who chose her for the job a year ago, as upheaval continues to collide with the CCC’s hefty regulatory and policy responsibilities. Goldberg’s office did not say why the treasurer put the O’Brien on a paid […]
Posted inState Government
Revved-up tax growth comes to an end
AFTER TWO YEARS of revved-up tax revenue growth that helped fund a massive tax cut, a new report indicates the state’s ledger shifted into neutral during the fiscal year that came to an end on June 30. Fiscal 2023 tax revenues came in just short of downsized projections, leaving the state with what appears to […]
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 invited Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano to join her at the signing ceremony, signaling a united front among the top three […]
Posted inHealth, State Government, State House News Service
State Police union claims victory over ‘tyranny’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE PRESIDENT of the State Police union took a victory lap on Monday after an arbitrator ruled in favor of seven troopers who had remained on unpaid leave after claiming a religious exemption from mandated COVID-19 vaccination two years ago. Against a backdrop of the State House with the governor’s office […]
Posted inOpinion
Maybe the Globe should take a look at itself
“IT’S BEEN YEARS since legislative democracy truly flourished at the State House,” the Boston Globe editorial board sighed in exasperation a few weeks ago. For more than a decade, Globe editorials have been denouncing the Legislature’s m.o., which was fashioned by Democratic supermajorities in both House and Senate: consolidate power within a small group of […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
Budget filed, headed for a vote
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE LEGISLATIVE NEGOTIATORS filed a compromise $56.2 billion annual state budget Sunday night, packing major education, transportation, and health care policy measures and spending into an overdue fiscal 2024 accord that is expected to win House and Senate approval on Monday. [Read the conference committee budget: Spending | Municipal and Regional Aid | Outside Sections] A tax […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
Still no budget, but it’s coming
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE TOP HOUSE AND SENATE Democrats negotiating the fiscal 2024 state budget, which is now four weeks overdue, announced Friday afternoon they had “reached an agreement in principle” paving the way for final votes at the formal sessions already scheduled for Monday. Lead conferees Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and Sen. Michael Rodrigues announced […]
Posted inState Government
DiZoglio seeks AG’s help in audit fight with Legislature
STATE AUDITOR Diana DiZoglio is pressing ahead with her bid to conduct a “performance audit” of the Legislature, urging Attorney General Andrea Campbell to lend a hand by litigating the issue. DiZoglio said she talked to Campbell Wednesday morning and sent her a legal memo making the case for her authority to audit the Legislature. […]