SENATE PRESIDENT STANLEY ROSENBERG said the recreational marijuana law will continue to evolve and he foresees the Legislature making several changes a year. “We created a joint standing committee because we know additional questions are going to come back to us over time and we know that because that’s what happened in Colorado,” Rosenberg said […]
Stan Rosenberg
Posted inPolitics
New pot czar has inhaled
DESPITE VOTING AGAINST the referendum to legalize marijuana last November, Steven Hoffman, the chairman of the new state board charged with regulating the nascent retail pot industry, said he thinks the drug is “harmless” and will cause no more problems than alcohol. “I personally believe marijuana is a harmless drug,” Hoffman said in an interview […]
Posted inEconomy, Health Care, Politics, State House News Service
Lawmakers rush overdue budget to Baker
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE LARGELY DISCARDING SPENDING plans they approved in the spring, the House and Senate on Friday sent Gov. Charlie Baker a $40.2 billion state budget that holds state spending flat, includes higher employer health care assessments, and, according to some Democrats, underscores the need for higher taxes and new revenues. The bill […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Top House leader unaware of budget, pot links
THE HOUSE’S TOP POT negotiator said on Thursday he’s not aware of anyone from either the Senate or House who has tried to link the negotiations over the budget and marijuana bills. “We’re the last people that would want to tie this together,” said Rep. Ronald Mariano of Quincy, the House majority leader. “We have […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
DeLeo puts pot talks on hold until budget done
HOUSE SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO said Wednesday evening that he asked House members of the committee negotiating marijuana legislation to pull out of talks with the Senate until an agreement is reached on the fiscal 2018 budget. DeLeo released a statement at 6:16 p.m., shortly after the State House News Service reported that the pot and […]
Posted inPolitics
House reneged on pot agreement, say sources
HOUSE LEADERS ABRUPTLY walked away from an agreement between Gov. Charlie Baker, Speaker Robert DeLeo, and Senate President Stan Rosenberg that would have kept oversight of the emerging legal pot industry with the state treasurer and sources indicated it may be connected to anger from the House chair of the marijuana committee over a potential […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Budget uncertainty
There is one certainty with the fiscal 2018 budget: For the first time ever, Massachusetts will have a spending plan exceeding $40 billion to run state government. After that, there are lots of questions about where all the money will come from to pay the bills. The Senate Ways and Means Committee approved its budget […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Senate budget pinned on shaky revenue projections
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE SENATE WAYS AND MEANS Committee members on Tuesday unanimously approved a $40.3 billion spending plan for fiscal 2018 that they said recognizes the state does not have as much revenue as it needs to pay for desired programs and service. With approximately $400 million in new revenues proposed, the budget tries […]
Posted inPolitics
Senators leave money on the table
PUBLIC PRESSURE APPEARS to have won out as no Massachusetts state senator opted to receive three stipends for leadership positions as they could have under the rules and three Democratic lawmakers eschewed any increase in their pay. The increases are part of a broad package of pay raises for lawmakers, constitutional officers, and judges that was […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service
Sentencing commission backs repeal of mandatory minimums
IN ANOTHER SIGN of support for broad criminal justice reform, the Massachusetts Sentencing Commission voted to recommend abolition of mandatory minimum sentences for all crimes except murder. The move comes as state leaders are split on the best way to revamp criminal justice policies. At a Jan. 18 meeting of the sentencing commission, members voted […]