STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICES THE ACTIONS OF the Massachusetts Gaming Commission almost a decade ago could be put under a new microscope after the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Monday that a lower court should look more closely at the “highly unusual character of the commission’s actions” related to the award of a casino license to […]
Colin A. Young
Posted inGambling
Senate passes sports betting on voice vote
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER YEARS OF DISCUSSION and pressure from both inside and outside the State House, the Massachusetts Senate voted Thursday to legalize sports wagering, but lawmakers will have to reconcile the many differences between the Senate’s bill and the one that passed the House last summer before any bets can be placed. […]
Posted inGambling
Senate plans to take up sports betting next week
THE SENATE IS POISED to debate legislation Thursday to legalize sports betting in Massachusetts, but the bill that emerged Friday afternoon from a Senate committee differs in several important ways from the sports betting bill that has already cleared the House. The long-awaited wagering bill was advanced favorably out of the Senate Ways and Means […]
Posted inGambling
Encore reports best month ever in March
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MARCH WAS A GOOD MONTH for the state’s three gambling centers and the state’s coffers. Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield, and Encore Boston Harbor cumulatively generated more than $102 million in gaming revenue, about $28.6 million of which will be due to the state. In terms of revenue, March was the […]
Posted inState House News Service
Baker administration offers UI overpayment relief
THE STATE’S DEPARTMENT of Unemployment Assistance will be in touch with Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Unemployment Insurance claimants in the coming days to detail state and federal relief options that the Baker administration said Thursday would resolve about $1.6 billion or roughly 71 percent of overpayments. There are about 353,000 outstanding cases of workers who […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Offshore wind bill sails through House
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE LEGISLATION THAT lawmakers hope will turbocharge the growing offshore wind industry in Massachusetts and help the state meet its climate commitments easily sailed through the House on Thursday, but Gov. Charlie Baker said he has “a bunch of concerns” with it and expects that it will serve as only a starting […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
2 senators say proposed building code comes up short
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS THE DEPARTMENT of Energy Resources launches hearings on its straw proposal for a stretch code update and a new municipal opt-in specialized stretch code, two key senators made clear to Commissioner Patrick Woodcock that they expect “substantial revisions” to the proposals before they take effect later this year. Sens. Michael […]
Posted inGambling
Lottery executive director leaving after 7 years
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR who has steered the Massachusetts Lottery through its most profitable years and pushed to modernize the agency is departing next month for a job in the private sector. Michael Sweeney, who has led the Lottery since 2015, informed Treasurer Deb Goldberg in a letter this week that he […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Meeting Mass. emission targets about to get bit tougher
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE ENERGY and environmental officials responsible for making sure Massachusetts meets its greenhouse gas emissions reductions commitments already had their work cut out for them and now a proposal to adjust the baseline that emissions are compared against could turn up the level of difficulty even further. The Department of […]
Posted inPolitics
Auditor says expanded voting hours will cost $2m
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE WILL OWE cities and towns more than $2 million to keep polling places open for additional mandated voting hours during the September 2022 state primary and November 2022 general elections, Auditor Suzanne Bump said Tuesday. Under the 1983 Uniform Polling Hours Law, cities and towns must keep polling locations […]