The move kicks the already-high tension around energy issues in Massachusetts up a notch and offers somewhat of a finer point on the political fallout from Cusack’s proposal last year.
State Government
Posted inState Government
Healey comes out swinging against Trump in election-year address
Gov. Maura Healey’s final State of the Commonwealth before she’s up for reelection featured plenty of criticism of the Trump administration, plus hints of modest new action to rein in costs of living.
Posted inTransportation
Another MBTA deficit is on the horizon. Did the state miss its chance for a more permanent fix?
The T is once again warning of a financial shortfall on the horizon, but this time around, its push for more state funding will bump up against a tighter economic environment and a series of federal cuts affecting every corner.
Posted inEnergy
Next up on Beacon Hill: House leaders plan closed-door meetings on Healey’s energy affordability bill
The political pressure to lower energy prices in the Bay State, home to the third-highest electricity costs in the country and rising gas bills, has intensified and will likely continue to escalate in an election year for both Healey and the Legislature.
Posted inState Government
Massachusetts set out to modernize its unemployment insurance system. Then it hit a new low.
Massachusetts was the slowest state in issuing initial unemployment payments in the country between June and October.
Posted inTransportation
Keolis was once on thin ice over commuter rail concerns. Now, it’s a finalist for another lucrative MBTA contract.
Better on-time performance and major ridership milestones have boosted the outlook for commuter rail operator Keolis, which early in its tenure faced major scrutiny from Beacon Hill.
Posted inGovernment
Boston tax relief response, ballot question reform emerge for Senate action
As political fallout from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s ill-fated property tax plan continues, the Senate prepares to vote on a relief plan of its own, plus a measure to impose new scrutiny on ballot question electioneering.
Posted inHousing
Inclusionary zoning takes fire from developers, gets side-eye from YIMBYs
The legal and legislative moves set up a clash over rules governing housing development at a time when there’s broad consensus that the state needs to build more units across communities.
Posted inState Government
Boston rep sanctioned for spending campaign dollars on personal uses
Campaign finance regulators say Rep. Chynah Tyler of Boston misspent campaign funds on personal uses such as Uber Eats orders, and failed to document details behind about $4,500 in other spending.
Posted inState Government
What to expect when you’re expecting (legislative action)
Major policy issues like housing affordability, primary care access, and utility bills loom over Beacon Hill in 2026, when voters could also decide a dozen ballot questions and pick statewide elected officials.
Posted inState Government
Our top five Beacon Hill stories of 2025
The Democrats who control the levers of power in Massachusetts spent most of the year fretting about upheaval from the federal government and preparing for more expansive action down the line.
Posted inHealth Care
Healey explores options to cover Mass. residents losing health insurance
Healey said Tuesday that the loss of subsidies will translate into “upwards of 350,000” Mass. residents losing their health insurance.
Posted inTransportation
Talk of new transportation dollars? Bring it on, says Senate chair
Brendan Crighton, the Senate’s point person on transportation issues, wants his colleagues to have hard conversations about new transportation-related levies even if the topic might be politically fraught.
Posted inState Government
Amid shaky economy, tax cut proposal draws heightened scrutiny
Already buffeted by economic pressures and federal funding cuts, top Democrats are beginning to warn that major financial upheaval would follow if voters approve a pair of tax-reform measures en route to the 2026 ballot.
Posted inTransportation
Phil Eng earns rave reviews for simultaneous MBTA, transportation chief jobs
The Healey administration seems content to have Phil Eng continue to work as both T general manager and interim transportation secretary for the foreseeable future, and Eng himself is warming up to the idea of holding both roles for a longer period of time.
Posted inEnergy
‘Rate shock’: Healey’s affordability push meets a dramatic proposed gas bill hike
Liberty Utilities, which services a small southeastern pocket of Massachusetts, filed its rate hike request in June and is asking the Department of Public Utilities for permission to raise gas rates by about 55 percent on average.
Posted inHousing
Beacon Hill clears hurdle for Weymouth naval air base redevelopment
After a series of stops and starts stretching back 15-plus years, Beacon Hill is on the verge of removing one of the last remaining obstacles to redevelopment of the former naval air base in Weymouth.
Posted inState Government
Legislature downshifts into holiday mode after short burst of activity
What reached Gov. Maura Healey’s desk, and what’s still on hold until 2026 now that the Legislature is done with major business for the year?
Posted inEnvironment
Massachusetts agencies never followed a 2017 rule to cut emissions from state vehicles, court documents show
The rule was issued under Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and followed a landmark court ruling that found the state needed to issue more specific and stringent regulations in order to meet the 2050 climate commitment.
Posted inBallot Questions
Cutting taxes, recriminalizing recreational pot, scrutinizing Beacon Hill: record number of ballot questions in the mix for 2026
Voters could have up to a dozen statewide ballot questions to decide in 2026, ranging from legislative transparency to marijuana policy to gun safety, following the latest big hurdle in the biennial process.
Posted inPolitics
‘They’re making a huge bet’: Rent control referendum splits progressives
If a campaign to instate rent control across the Commonwealth makes it to the ballot, voters will need to weigh whether every municipality should adopt a measure more stringent than earlier attempts by Boston, Brookline, and Somerville.
Posted inEnergy
House punts on sweeping energy bill that would dial back state climate commitments
After intense blowback to a draft House bill to weaken the state’s 2030 clean energy target, the chamber’s budget chief says the topic is on hold until next year.
Posted inEnergy
Energy industry pads key lawmaker’s campaign coffers as major bill advances
Cusack’s legislation would lower the amount of renewable energy the utilities would be required to purchase and cut the state’s energy efficiency initiative, which is funded through the utilities’ ratepayers, by $500 million.
