Quintupling the estate tax threshold and slashing the capital gains tax rate led the tax reform ideas embraced Wednesday by one of the region’s leading business groups. But House Speaker Ron Mariano remained noncommittal about any tax cuts, citing changing economic conditions.
There was never much doubt that House and Senate Democrats would return Ron Mariano and Karen Spilka to the top posts in the legislaure, but Wednesday’s swearing-in speeches did produce glimpses into where each veteran legislative leader will attempt to wield their supermajorities in the coming months.
To hear Gov. Charlie Baker tell it, the House and Senate are about ready to dive into “end of year” activities, like passing a spending bill to close out the books on the fiscal year that ended more than three months ago. But legislative leaders gave no such indications Monday.
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.
As Gov. Charlie Baker revs up to make another attempt at selling the Hynes Convention Center more than two years after his first effort fell flat, legislative leaders said Monday they still do not know where they stand.
The Massachusetts legislature is not on track to have an egg-celent New Year.
State and local officials have been kind to us this year, producing a bumper crop of overcooked ideas, from sitting on billions of federal relief dollars to pushing for a return of rent control.
As hotel owners and operators across Massachusetts struggle to stay afloat, it’s a fair question to ask whether the top legislative brass on Beacon Hill care all that much about the industry and the vital tourism sector it supports.
As candidates start to shift into campaign mode for 2022, House Speaker Ronald Mariano said Monday that he intends to stick around for another term in one of the most powerful posts in state government.
Boston Mayor-elect Michelle Wu’s push for a fare-free T has generated a lot of buzz on Beacon Hill, and now House Speaker Ronald Mariano wants his concerns about MBTA maintenance to catch her attention.
Gov. Charlie Baker once had the foresight to tackle the T’s problems head-on. Where is that energy, now that a derailment, a bloody escalator malfunction and a report predicting “fiscal calamity” have Thrust the MBTA’s true state of slow decay back into public view?
Speaker Ronald Mariano said Thursday that he is open to discussing a reversal of the state’s ban on happy hour drink promotions, but he stopped short of either supporting or opposing the idea.
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker must be congratulating himself after successfully outmaneuvering the top Democratic legislative leaders on the issue of when and how to spend billions in federal stimulus cash.
It is disappointing that House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka aren’t jumping on board with Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposal to plow $1 billion into first-time homebuyer assistance and affordable housing construction.
In an attempt to end the battle over who gets to spend nearly $5.2 billion in federal relief money, Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday pitched a plan that would see him cede much of his control over the aid to the legislature.
The kind of small-bore politics and insider political jockeying that have dominated the state political scene for decades – as we’ll see unfold as the gubernatorial race gets going – come at the expense of any real effort to tackle the ongoing housing crisis.
Almost a month after Gov. Charlie Baker returned sweeping climate legislation to lawmakers with a series of recommended amendments, House Speaker Ronald Mariano said he’s willing to work with the governor on some technical changes but will “not back down on our ambitious emissions reduction targets.”
House Speaker Ronald Mariano is sending a message about tax policy ahead of budget season on Beacon Hill.
A long-sought Gov. Charlie Baker proposal to lower the voting threshold for local zoning changes remains mired in conference committee with just days to go.
One day after House Speaker Robert DeLeo resigned, the Speaker Ronald Mariano era began.
