STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A MAJORITY of Massachusetts residents believe that if the MBTA sharply cuts back on services to balance its budget next year those commuting options will not return after the state’s economy fully reopens, according to a new MassINC poll. The MBTA has proposed a variety of service cuts as part of […]
Matt Murphy
Posted inEconomy
Added unemployment benefits pass swiftly
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS MANY AS 17,000 unemployed Massachusetts residents could become eligible for thousands of dollars in additional unemployment benefits under legislation that swept through the House and Senate and was signed by Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday to provide relief to residents who didn’t initially qualify for the federal Lost Wages Assistance […]
Posted inPolitics
State GOP leaders form PAC to back local candidates
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH VOTING SET to end in Massachusetts in 22 days, three prominent state Republicans announced on Tuesday that they had formed a political action committee to support GOP candidates for state, local, and county offices. Republican National Committee Treasurer Ron Kaufman and Janet Fogarty, the state’s other RNC member, said that […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Senate leader sees $5b revenue downturn
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE DESPITE SIGNS that the state’s finances have not completely cratered during the pandemic, the Senate’s top budget official said this week he anticipates tax collections in fiscal 2021 to be down $5 billion from last year, and said lawmakers will need to dip “deeply” into the state’s $3.5 billion “rainy day” […]
Posted inPolitics
Anonymous email stirs emotions in Senate race
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ON A TUESDAY EVENING two weeks ago, a lengthy email landed in the inboxes of Democratic Party officials around the state from someone claiming to be Stephen Acab, a concerned citizen from Natick who insisted he had no ties to US Sen. Edward Markey’s reelection campaign. The email writer said he felt that […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Craft brewers, wholesalers strike distribution deal
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CRAFT BREWERS AND the state’s beer wholesalers have reached a deal that would resolve a decade-long dispute over distribution rights centered around when a brewer can sever ties with their distributor, paving the way for the state’s smaller beer brands to free themselves from relationships that they feel are inhibiting their growth. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Senate passes police reform bill in marathon session
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE SENATE OVERCAME a difficult rollout and several false starts to pass a far-reaching reform of policing in Massachusetts on Tuesday that would ban chokeholds, limit the use of tear gas, license all law enforcement officers and train them in the history of racism. The vote in the upper chamber now […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Senate deliberations on policing reform bill stall
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A FAR-REACHING proposal to enhance oversight of police officers and ban the use of certain types of force hit a bump on Thursday when Senate Republicans blocked a vote on the reform bill, delaying action on an issue that has become a priority for Democratic leaders and Gov. Charlie Baker. The […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Judge rules DiMasi can work as lobbyist
FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER Sal DiMasi was cleared on Thursday to register as a lobbyist by a Superior Court judge who overturned Secretary of State William Galvin’s decision to reject DiMasi’s application based on his past convictions on federal corruption and extortion charges. The ruling could return to the State House a man who once wielded […]
Posted inState House News Service, Uncategorized
Baker files interim state budget
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH THE STATE’S FINANCES in disarray and the COVID-19 pandemic making it extremely difficult to predict the next 12 months, Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday filed a $5.25 billion interim spending bill that would keep government running beyond June 30 through July. The new fiscal year is set to begin in less than […]