THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE has a chance to get the Commonwealth on to a better track with climate change. Massachusetts is regularly ranked first in the nation in energy efficiency programs and we have okay renewable energy programs, but when it comes to climate change policy we have been resting on our laurels. Our current programs were […]
State Government
Posted inPolitics
Trump calls Baker a RINO
PRESIDENT TRUMP called Gov. Charlie Baker a Republican in name only in a Friday morning tweet responding to the governor’s rebuke of him for failing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power after the election. “RINO Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts is unsuccessfully trying to defend Mail In Ballots, when there is fraud being […]
Posted inState House News Service
Turco, public safety secretary, to retire
STATEHOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER TWO YEARS at the top of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and more than 30 years working in law enforcement and the justice system, Secretary of Public Safety Tom Turco plans to retire at the end of the year, he told employees Wednesday morning. “After more than 30 […]
Posted inPolitics
Baker weighs in on budget, eviction moratorium, Collins
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday said fiscal 2022, which begins in July next year, represents the biggest challenge facing state budget officials as they deal with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Baker said the state will shortly be able to close the books on fiscal 2020, which ended in June, and approve a budget […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Bill would bar state, county law officers at polls
RESPONDING TO RECENT comments by President Trump, Reps. Antonio Cabral of New Bedford and William Straus of Mattapoisett have filed legislation that would bar state and county law enforcement officials at polling places on Election Day. “Rep. Straus and I have filed this as a result of the Trump administration’s assertion that the president planned […]
Posted inPolitics
Groups urge ROE Act passage to honor Ginsburg
WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP widely expected to nominate a pro-life judge to replace Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a strong abortion rights voice on the court who died Friday at the age of 87, pro-choice advocates and some Democratic legislators have decided the best way to honor Ginsburg’s memory is to push for the passage of state legislation strengthening abortion access in Massachusetts. […]
Posted inOpinion
Gas worker union chief hails DPU’s new attitude
TWO YEARS AGO this month the Merrimack Valley was rocked by gas explosions that tragically killed one young man and destroyed dozens of houses and businesses, disrupting lives for months. For those of us who work in the industry, this disaster affirmed some of our concerns about gas safety, and pushed us to step up […]
Posted inOpinion
Time for Beacon Hill to act on campus sexual assault bill
FOUR YEARS AGO, a diverse coalition of student activists and victim service providers filed a bill with the Massachusetts Legislature to keep campus survivors safe given the impending threat of new federal Department of Education regulations under Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. As of August 14, 2020, those regulations have now taken effect, allowing full cross-examination […]
Posted inRace/Racism
SJC lobbies lawmakers on police reform
AS CONFERENCE COMMITTEE members negotiate a final version of a police reform bill, the committee’s senators just got a powerful ally: The Supreme Judicial Court. The SJC on Thursday, in an unusual move, explicitly urged the Legislature to pass a provision that the Senate included in its bill mandating the collection of more racial data […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Senate leader sees $5b revenue downturn
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE DESPITE SIGNS that the state’s finances have not completely cratered during the pandemic, the Senate’s top budget official said this week he anticipates tax collections in fiscal 2021 to be down $5 billion from last year, and said lawmakers will need to dip “deeply” into the state’s $3.5 billion “rainy day” […]