STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE TAX COLLECTIONS tumbled in April by more than $2.3 billion compared to last April, another sign of the damage inflicted on the economy and the state’s finances by forced business shutdowns aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19. Revenue Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder late Tuesday announced that collections last month totaled […]
Michael P. Norton // State House News Service
Posted inEnvironment
Net-zero target gets mixed reviews
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides used the occasion of Earth Day on Wednesday to finalize the state’s new net-zero greenhouse gas emissions limit, but some environmental groups and legislators were disappointed. The new policy, which was announced by Gov. Charlie Baker in his State of the Commonwealth address back […]
Posted inUncategorized
Spilka, DeLeo slam crisis care standards
VOWING LEGISLATIVE ACTION, the heads of the Massachusetts House and Senate on Thursday night said they agree with lawmakers who do not believe that Baker administration guidance on COVID-19 crisis care standards adequately accounts for health care disparities among communities of color. “We are committed to creating a response to this pandemic that protects all […]
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: Baker traces origins of crisis
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday traced in broad terms the origins of the coronavirus outbreak in Massachusetts and suggested the state’s recovery will be a long, slow process. With the state entering a period when COVID-19 hospitalizations are expected to surge, Baker said he had no inside knowledge on what exactly will happen over the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: Baker cabinet secretary tests positive
THE STATE’S PUBLIC SAFETY SECRETARY has tested positive for COVID-19, he announced Monday night, and is working from home. “This weekend, after experiencing mild symptoms, I was screened for COVID-19 and was notified late yesterday that I had tested positive,” Secretary Thomas Turco said in a statement. “I have notified my close contact colleagues and […]
Posted inTransportation
House OKs $18b transportation bond bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A DAY AFTER VOTING to raise taxes and fees by as much as $600 million per year, the Massachusetts House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a roughly $18 billion bond bill authorizing spending on transportation projects and infrastructure over 10 years. Before adopting the bill on a 150-1 vote, the House without […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
MTF projects $900m funding gap in FY21
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH A SLOWDOWN in tax revenues expected and spending pressures escalating, Gov. Charlie Baker and the Legislature will grapple with a gap between likely revenues and spending of nearly $900 million, according to a new report. The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation on Wednesday predicted the upcoming budget cycle will differ significantly from […]
Posted inPolitics
Lawmakers cram a lot in at the end
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS LAWMAKERS wrapped up work Wednesday on bills calling for long-term K-12 education investments, requiring motorists to use only hands-free technology while driving, and banning flavored tobacco products. Legislators tried to come up with a late-night deal allocating a more than $1 billion fiscal 2019 surplus, but House and Senate Democrats […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Baker proposes $175m of tax relief
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE REPUBLICAN GOV. CHARLIE BAKER is pushing a new tax relief proposal that his administration says will benefit 1 million taxpayers with dependents. In a $648 million spending bill that allocated surplus fiscal 2019 revenue, Baker is proposing to double the income tax exemption for dependents from $1,000 to $2,000. The tax break would […]
Posted inPolitics
Ranked-choice may be headed to ballot
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SUPPORTERS OF RANKED CHOICE VOTING plan to file an initiative petition by next week to put the voting reform on the 2020 ballot in case they are unable to advance it through the Legislature before then. “While we will continue advocating for the successful passage of two ranked choice voting bills […]