The top House Democrat said Thursday he believes the town of Milton had a “legitimate complaint” about a controversial mandatory zoning-reform law, but added that he is not considering any legislative action to let the community off the hook.
Maybe not so surprisingly, growing displays of open defiance by a handful of towns opposed to the MBTA Communities law are making lawmakers at the State House a bit nervous.
Republicans thought Gov. Maura Healey’s annual address “presented a rosy picture” that “fell short of reality;” while top Democrats in the Legislature said they were glad she highlighted past successes, but didn’t jump on board with every one of her outlined future priorities.
After one of his first public appearances at the State House since formal sessions ended on July 31, House Speaker Ron Mariano defended the Legislature’s right to make laws throughout the two-year session, telling reporters that it doesn’t matter to him whether major bills get done before or after November’s election.
Tying land use regulations to local sewer and water infrastructure can be narrowly targeted, and won’t require spending up to $3 billion and won’t take 30 years to be implemented.
House Democrats will seek a vote this week on a bill that combines $6.2 billion in state borrowing and tax credits with policy reforms designed to unlock new housing production, including allowing accessory dwelling units by-right statewide.
It likely feels like “Groundhog Day” for the coalition seeking a transfer tax on higher-end sales after running into a brick wall in the House of Representatives.
Chairman Aaron Michlewitz, one of the most powerful people in the state legislature, sidestepped a question Wednesday about Mayor Michelle Wu’s controversial proposal to change Boston’s property tax code.
After saying he was open to considering a local-option tax on high-value property sales to fund affordable housing, House Speaker Ron Mariano said he doesn’t know if the policy is a solution to the state’s housing woes.
House Democrats want to inject hundreds of millions of new dollars into the MBTA, calling for a sharp increase in operating budget support and funding for new initiatives such as a hiring and training program.
Money for a sewer and water connection isn’t headline news – unless it means unlocking 6,000 long-anticipated housing units near a commuter rail station.
House Speaker Ron Mariano on Thursday voiced an openness to considering a local-option real estate transfer tax to boost the affordable housing supply and indicated he would use water and sewer infrastructure to unlock a long-stalled development site.
Continuing to fund a record level of emergency shelter services “becomes harder and harder to support” while tax collections lag expectations, the top House Democrat said Wednesday while suggesting he’s out of the loop on the governor’s spending plans.
A certain speaker of the house is in the doghouse for letting the formal legislative session end without passing a big budget bill to pay state workers’ salaries and fund extra homeless shelters.
Ever mindful of not risking being seen as lame ducks, legislative leaders over the years have often said they intend to stick around, but then suddenly departed.
While it’s right-to-shelter law will remain in place, Massachusetts may not be able to guarantee shelter for immigrant families as soon as the end of this month as the state’s shelter system reaches capacity, Gov. Maura Healey said Monday.
Top House Democrats think newly available money from a tax on the state’s highest earners should be used to make school meals free for all students, invest in clean energy updates to aging schools and fix crumbling infrastructure on the MBTA.
House Democrats have come around on the idea of slashing the state’s short-term capital gains tax rate after opposing it under Gov. Charlie Baker.
Top House Democrats plan to unveil and debate a “comprehensive” tax relief package in the next few weeks designed to make Massachusetts more affordable for its residents and “more competitive with other states,” according to Speaker Ronald Mariano, who pledged Thursday to deliver relief to people across the income spectrum.
