by State House News Service | Jul 15, 2022
Senators will try to convince their House colleagues the time is right to make another pass at mandating a low-income fare program at the MBTA, reviving the specter of a gubernatorial veto during the coming late-session flurry.
by State House News Service | Jul 13, 2022
Without a last-minute agreement between the House and Senate, the authority for public bodies, agencies and commissions to hold their meetings remotely is due to expire at the end of this week, and affected groups are taking note.
by State House News Service | Jul 12, 2022
The House on Monday advanced a economic development bill that invests $350 million in hospitals, $100 million in port development, $175 million in housing development and more than $3 billion in other areas, all while rolling out a series of one-time tax rebates and permanent tax breaks.
by State House News Service | Jul 11, 2022
Democratic leaders of the House and Senate have agreed to a broad framework for up to $500 million in additional tax relief that would see credits for low-income earners, parents, renters and seniors expanded, and the “archaic elements” of the state’s estate tax reformed.
by State House News Service | Jul 5, 2022
The Massachusetts legislature’s Revenue Committee advanced a $600 million tax relief package on Friday, but the panel’s House chairman said the measure remains a work in progress.
by State House News Service | Jun 29, 2022
Having made what it said are “targeted changes” based on extensive public comment, the Department of Energy Resources has released draft language for state building code changes that it hopes will encourage builders to shift away from fossil fuel heating in favor of electrification.
by State House News Service | Jun 28, 2022
Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday while hinting he will pursue additional funding for the T as it rolls toward a budget cliff caused by the end of federal pandemic aid and emergency safety mandates brought on by years of disinvestment.
by State House News Service | Jun 27, 2022
Municipal leaders urged lawmakers on Friday to revive Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposal to allocate billions of dollars in federal pandemic relief to downtown revitalization and other projects in the next five weeks.
by State House News Service | Jun 23, 2022
The Supreme Judicial Court rejected business groups’ latest legal challenge to the blockbuster ballot question asking voters if they support a new surtax on household income above $1 million.
by State House News Service | Jun 22, 2022
The odds of estate tax reform appeared to improve Tuesday, and with it benefits for empty-nesters looking to downsize, Senate President Karen Spilka said Tuesday.
by State House News Service | Jun 22, 2022
Less than a week after federal overseers ordered immediate action to fix glaring safety deficiencies at the MBTA, lawmakers charted a response plan that pins blame on the Baker administration and puts hundreds of millions of dollars on the table.
by State House News Service | Jun 21, 2022
Massachusetts lawmakers are pointing the finger at the governor’s office for the latest MBTA problems and promising an oversight hearing, a day after the agency slashed subway frequencies in the wake of federal safety directives.
by State House News Service | Jun 20, 2022
Massachusetts employers added 5,500 jobs in May while the statewide unemployment rate ticked downward 0.2 percentage points to 3.9 percent, labor officials announced Friday.
by State House News Service | Jun 16, 2022
A command center where some train dispatchers get only four hours off after 20-hour shifts. Hundreds of workers with lapsed safety certifications. Tracks dangerously unmaintained. Federal officials are forcing the T to immediately fix these issues and more.
by State House News Service | Jun 16, 2022
Legislative action to create a new public authority that would oversee a western Massachusetts passenger rail expansion would be “very premature,” House Speaker Ronald Mariano said Wednesday.
by State House News Service | Jun 15, 2022
The Economic Development Committee on Monday sent forward in the legislative pipeline an updated jobs and downtowns bill that strips out all of the $2.3 billion in federal pandemic relief Baker sought to spend in his version and instead calls only for about $1.2 billion in borrowing.
by State House News Service | Jun 15, 2022
The proposed borrowing and spending bills that included Gov. Charlie Baker’s top priorities will now be advancing but without his long-held desire to redevelop Boston’s Hynes Convention Center.
by State House News Service | Jun 14, 2022
State lawmakers agreed Monday to set Aug. 13 and 14 as the dates for this year’s annual sales tax holiday, but legislative leaders wouldn’t say whether any sort of reduction in or expanded break from the 6.25 percent sales tax will feature into their relief plans.
by State House News Service | Jun 13, 2022
In so many of his public appearances these days, Gov. Charlie Baker faces questions about what he will do next when his second term ends in January and he hands the corner office to someone else.
by State House News Service | Jun 10, 2022
The MBTA’s leadership and rank-and-file staff have not done enough to ensure its public transit service operates safely, the head of the T’s governing board said Thursday while calling on those up and down the agency’s ranks to redouble their efforts.