STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKERÂ signed a $38.92 billion annual budget on Friday, slashing $256 million in spending from a plan approved by the Legislature last week as part of a menu of actions taken to solve for declining revenue projections that have severely limited the state’s ability to invest. The second annual budget […]
Matt Murphy
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Deal reached on transgender legislation
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A deal to protect transgender individuals in places of public accommodation, such as restaurants, locker room,s and pools, was struck Wednesday between House and Senate negotiators. The compromise (S 2407) would allow transgender individuals to use the facilities that match their gender identity, and not necessarily their anatomical sex. While opponents […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Lawmakers speed leaner budget along
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Responding to instability in the stock market that has shredded revenue estimates for next year, House and Senate leaders on Thursday will seek passage of a $39.15 billion budget accord for the fiscal year beginning Friday that slashes $750 million in projected revenue and $413 million in proposed spending from budget […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service
Baker ups tax shortfall by $200m
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE APPARENTLY WORSENING TAX REVENUE shortfall facing state budget writers just days before the start of the new fiscal year will be adjusted on Monday by the Baker administration to a range of $650 million to $950 million, in part because of the economic uncertainty caused by Great Britain’s vote to […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
David Martin, former MassINC staffer and Democratic consultant, remembered
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE OFTEN THE UNSEEN hand behind politicians seeking to keep their campaigns on track and above board, David Martin passed away Saturday after a battle with cancer. He was 52. Martin, a Colorado native who along with his wife Gemma Martin founded the consulting firm Chick Montana Group, carved a niche for himself […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Senate bill more Uber friendly
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE More than three months after the House passed legislation regulating ride-for-hire companies like Uber and Lyft, Senate leaders on Thursday will release a new version of the bill that abandons restrictions on operation at Logan Airport and the South Boston convention center as well as state-run background checks of drivers. The […]
Posted inPolitics
Panel gives Baker’s economic development bill a haircut
STATE HOUSE NEWS A scaled-down version of Gov. Charlie Baker’s economic development bill cleared a key House-Senate committee on Wednesday and included a new provision that would allow families to claim a tax deduction on college savings. The bill authorizes $593.9 million in capital investments over the next three years, a significant revision from […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
State budget hole grows larger
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE DEALING A SEVERE BLOW to legislative negotiators charged with reaching a state budget accord this month, the Baker administration disclosed Tuesday this year’s state budget hole has grown larger and estimates of revenues available for next year’s budget might be off by as much as $750 million. The administration filed an […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, State House News Service
House OKs hydro, offshore wind bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE House lawmakers voted near unanimously on Wednesday to diversify the state’s state energy mix by requiring utilities to solicit and enter into long-term contracts for large-scale hydroelectric and offshore wind power as part of a strategy to reduce the state’s reliance on natural gas and meet its carbon emission reduction mandates. […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
House backs transgender bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IN A MAJOR VICTORY for equal rights activists, legislation aimed at preventing discrimination against transgender individuals in all public places, including bathrooms, passed the House on Wednesday, clearing one of the last remaining hurdles for the decade-old policy proposal. The House voted 116-36 in favor of the bill (H 4343) that […]