STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE EMPLOYERS WOULD SEE their long-term obligation to replenish the state’s unemployment insurance fund cut by $1 billion under a proposal Gov. Charlie Baker made on Wednesday, suggesting use of a large piece of the state’s sizable surplus to reduce the burden on businesses. Baker filed legislation to spend almost $1.57 billion […]
Matt Murphy
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Emissions pact opponents predict fuel shortages by 2023
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE OPPONENTS OF THE regional effort to wring carbon emission reductions from cars, trucks and other forms of transportation predicted Thursday that Massachusetts residents could face fuel shortages as soon as 2025 unless the state can dramatically scale up the transition to electric vehicles. The claims, however, were quickly discounted by the […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
House overrides Baker veto on charitable giving deduction
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE TWENTY-ONE YEARS after voters approved a tax deduction for charitable donations, the House on Wednesday voted to override Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto and postpone for another year the tax break that non-profits said would help encourage residents to support an industry hurting from the COVID-19 pandemic. House Speaker Ron Mariano called […]
Posted inTransportation
Lawmakers add $150m to transportation infrastructure bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE LEGISLATURE passed an infrastructure bill on Thursday that had been under negotiation for several weeks, padding the traditional $200 million in annual financing for local road and bridge repairs with $150 million spread across six grant programs to pay for bus lanes, electric vehicles, and other municipal transportation projects. The […]
Posted inHealth Care
House overrides Baker veto on labor agreement
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOUSE DEMOCRATS ignored the warnings of Gov. Charlie Baker and overrode his veto Wednesday of legislation requiring a new Holyoke Soldiers’ Home to be built under a project labor agreement, a move designed to ensure that union labor will be used for the construction of the $400 million facility. Baker urged […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Baker proposes 2-month, not 2-day, sales tax holiday
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH MASSACHUSETTS on track to end the year with a multi-billion dollar surplus, Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday proposed a two-month sales tax holiday that would give consumers a break from the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax in August and September in an effort to drive shoppers to local businesses. The […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Baker pitches fed aid spending deal to lawmakers
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE 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 to the Legislature control over much of the aid as long as lawmakers agree quickly to spend more than […]
Posted inPolitics
MassGOP drops plan targeting elected Republicans
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH MASSGOP Chairman Jim Lyons under fire from elected officials in his own party, the State Committee on Wednesday will no longer consider a proposal that would have removed Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Republican leaders on Beacon Hill from the party’s executive committee. The proposed change to […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Senate passes spending plan unanimously
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE SENATE UNANIMOUSLY passed a $47.7 billion budget for next year after three days of debate over how best to invest state resources as Massachusetts looks to recover from the hardships of the past year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Senate President Karen Spilka said the budget that passed 40-0 would put […]
Posted inPolitics
Auditor Bump will not seek reelection
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AUDITOR SUZANNE BUMP, a Democrat who began her Beacon Hill career in the 1980s and has worked in various public roles, said Tuesday she would not seek a fourth term, creating a rare opening in one of the six statewide offices and becoming the first domino of the 2022 election cycle […]