STATE HOUSE NEWS A federal judge ruled the state’s 1998 assault weapons ban did not violate the Second Amendment and also upheld Attorney General Maura Healey’s 2016 decision to notify gun owners that “copycat” assault weapons were also subject to the ban. In his  47-page order, US District Court Judge William Young said the AR-15 “and its […]
Michael P. Norton I State House News Service
Posted inCriminal Justice
State Police cite overtime discrepancies
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A REVIEW INITIALLY LAUNCHED to look at overtime payments made to a handful of State Police members has uncovered possibly more malfeasance, as audit results have been turned over to the attorney general and 19 members of the force are facing hearings to address discrepancies between patrols they said they worked […]
Posted inPolitics
Chandler elected acting Senate president
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE SENATE INITIATED an Ethics Committee investigation on Monday night into its now former president Sen. Stanley Rosenberg in a dramatic day of upheaval that saw Worcester Democrat Harriette Chandler installed as the new acting Senate president pending the outcome of an investigation into sexual harassment and Senate interference by Rosenberg’s […]
Posted inTransportation
Baker in shift on distracted driving bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A RISE IN FATAL ACCIDENTS caused by distracted driving and advances in technology prompted Gov. Charlie Baker to throw his support on Tuesday behind a ban on using handheld devices while driving, giving a boost to an initiative debated for years by policy leaders and increasing pressure on the House to […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
Baker refuses to disavow new pipeline capacity
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE DEFENDING HIS ADMINISTRATION’S COMMITMENT to developing clean energy sources, Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday responded to activists who are aggressively pressing him to take steps to halt new fossil fuel infrastructure, saying all options should remain on the table and that he doesn’t “take a backseat to anybody” on renewable energy. […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Warren rips Baker ‘flip-flop’
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S new bill targeting drug dealers make him a flip-flopper, according to gubernatorial candidate Setti Warren, who appears to be taking a stance against the governor’s proposal to hit deaWlers of lethal drugs with mandatory minimum prison sentences. On Wednesday, the governor proposed legislation (S 2158) defining the illegal […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Sanchez named House Ways & Means chairman
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BOSTON DEMOCRAT REP. JEFFREY SANCHEZ will succeed outgoing Rep. Brian Dempsey as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, a pivotal fiscal affairs and policymaking post in state government. The state representative from Jamaica Plain currently helms the Health Care Financing Committee and previously co-chaired the Legislature’s Joint Committee on […]
Posted inEconomy, Health Care, Politics, State House News Service
Lawmakers rush overdue budget to Baker
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE LARGELY DISCARDING SPENDING plans they approved in the spring, the House and Senate on Friday sent Gov. Charlie Baker a $40.2 billion state budget that holds state spending flat, includes higher employer health care assessments, and, according to some Democrats, underscores the need for higher taxes and new revenues. The bill […]
Posted inEconomy, State House News Service, Transportation
Where the food deserts are
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CHELSEA, SPRINGFIELD, AND TAUNTON top a new list of cities with the highest percentage of low-income residents lacking access to grocery stores, a problem with nutrition ramifications that is most acute in rural areas and so-called Gateway Cities, according to new data. In low-income areas where there is limited grocery store […]
Posted inEnvironment, State House News Service
MA emissions continue decline
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS in Massachusetts decreased from 2013 to 2014, continuing a decade-long trend, according to the latest state data. State law requires emissions by 2020 that are 25 percent lower than 1990 levels, and emissions in 2014 were 21 percent below 1990 levels, according to the Department of Environmental Protection […]