A new report from the Massachusetts Municipal Association could put more pressure on Beacon Hill to reconsider stalled reforms amid bigger-picture economic uncertainty and a persistent “affordability” debate.
State Government
Posted inPolitics
Mass. begins 2030 Census prep amid national redistricting fights
With mid-decade redistricting fights erupting elsewhere, Massachusetts officials are ramping up their preparations for the 2030 Census as they grapple with new housing development and concerns about community trust.
Posted inEducation
State school building program favors wealthier districts, leaving lower-income urban students in aging, dilapidated buildings, according to new study
Despite efforts by the Legislature aimed at adequately funding school building projects, “students in Boston and the Gateway Cities continue to learn in buildings that are deteriorating, lacking in basic features, and often cramped and overcrowded,” according to a new report by the MassINC Policy Center.
Posted inTechnology
Local businesses, not just Big Tech, push back on data-privacy legislation
It’s not just Silicon Valley versus the Legislature. An influential constellation of local business groups is pushing lawmakers to scale back the Senate’s sweeping data-privacy proposal, which one Democrat pitched as the strongest in the nation.
Posted inEnergy
Healey convenes solar leaders in search of energy answers
Gov. Maura Healey heard from solar industry officials at a Monday summit pleading to cut red tape and costs associated with installing more of the green energy source in Massachusetts.
Posted inHealth Care
Massachusetts braces for ‘gut punch’ of health insurance costs if Congress fails to act
Elected officials, marketplace administrators, and health care advocates are ramping up pressure on Congress to extend Biden-era federal tax credits that help Americans pay for health insurance. Without action, they warn, out-of-pocket costs could increase dramatically.
Posted inHealth Care
‘The gaps have become too big for too many’
Physicians, policymakers, and advocates hope to make a breakthrough this term on legislation that would boost the share of health care dollars that go toward primary care amid provider burnout and growing wait times for appointments.
Posted inTechnology
Senate moves to crack down on ‘Wild West’ of data collection
Consumers would gain more control over their data under a new bill set for Senate approval that would also ban targeted advertising to minors.
Posted inState Government
Beacon Hill lobbying still buoyed by health care interests
New data shows that lobbying remained a lucrative industry in the first half of 2025, especially for firms that count health care companies among their clients.
Posted inState Government
SNAP changes will affect an estimated 40,000 in Greater Boston
A new report estimates about 40,000 adults in Greater Boston could face stricter work rules that now extend to age 65 and narrow exemptions for parents.
Posted inState Government
Mass. could join states that ban concealed license plates
Motorists would be banned from installing tinted license plate covers on their cars that distort or block key information under a bill that secured initial approval in the House this week.
Posted inMarijuana
Back for another term: Bruce Stebbins on his reappointment to the cannabis commission and his vision for the coming five years
“We continue to be a place that people want to come and work,” said Bruce Stebbins, acting chair of the Cannabis Control Commission in a Q&A about his reappointment to the board.
Posted inOpinion
Without a watchdog, T operating costs spiral
But making T finances more sustainable by bringing them in line with other large urban transit agencies takes more than just capital improvements. It will require legislative leaders and Gov. Healey to reinstate and empower an entity like the Fiscal and Management Control Board to explicitly focus on operating cost control.
Posted inHealth Care
Healey signs bill expanding reproductive, transgender care protections
SURROUNDED BY HEALTH CARE advocates and curious tourists peering into Nurses Hall, Gov. Maura Healey signed an expanded shield law giving patients and providers in Massachusetts a new layer of defense against out-of-state intrusion into reproductive and transgender care.
Posted inThe Download
Flashback Friday: Threading the needle
In “Threading the needle,” which appeared in the magazine’s Spring 2014 issue, Paul McMorrow sized up the approach being taken by another Republican gubernatorial hopeful, this one back for a second bite at the apple after taking a drubbing four years earlier in his first run for the corner office.
Posted inState Government
Despite widespread support, ‘menstrual equity’ bill has stalled for two sessions in the House
Despite seeming widespread support and no public opposition, Massachusetts’s menstrual equity bill has stalled over two sessions in the House Ways and Means.
