STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE STATE’S TOP prosecutor wants legislators to do more to curb the rising presence of “ghost guns,” and her office warns that it can be difficult under existing law to nail down cases against people assembling their own untraceable firearms at home. Ghost guns, which refer to weapons that do not […]
State House News Service
Posted inGuns
Another House-Senate squabble, this time over gun legislation
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH THE UNFINISHED fiscal 2024 budget, a road and bridge funding bill, and even their internal rules still tied up in slow-moving backroom negotiations, House and Senate Democrats found another area in which they disagreed Monday. Lawmakers from both branches say firearm law reforms are a priority, but when a newly-filed […]
Posted inState Government, State House News Service
Healey withholds records on abortion pill plan
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A FEDERAL JUDGE hadn’t even ruled yet on suspending approval of the abortion pill mifepristone in April when Gov. Maura Healey orchestrated a major reserve shipment of the drug through the state’s flagship university. But despite pledges of public records transparency, any paper trail of how that response came together is […]
Posted inEducation
MTA gearing up to push for new ballot questions
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS in 2024 could be asked to settle two major education debates, but retailers may pass on bringing tax cuts to next year’s ballot. The state’s largest teacher’s union is considering ballot questions that would eliminate the graduation requirement associated with statewide standardized testing and create a “debt free college […]
Posted inTransportation
Healey backtracks on Green Line extension closure
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE GREEN LINE’S Union Square stop will remain open this summer after all. State officials on Wednesday announced they will postpone a Somerville bridge construction project until September, in the process scrapping plans to shut down trolley service between Union Square and Lechmere for 42 days. Gov. Maura Healey’s office announced […]
Posted inState Government
Healey proposes state spending targets for LGBT businesses
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE AGENCIES should aim to spend $18 million with LGBT-owned businesses and $18 million with disability-owned businesses in the new fiscal year that starts Saturday, Gov. Maura Healey announced on the final day of Pride Month. The Supplier Diversity Office began recognizing those business certification categories in 2015 without setting spending […]
Posted inCourts, Education, State House News Service
Supreme Court strikes down use of race in admissions
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE NATION’S HIGHEST COURT on Thursday declared that two major colleges violated the Constitution by considering a student’s race as a factor in admissions, a landmark decision that sent shockwaves through the higher education industry and generated condemnation, disappointment, and criticism from many corners. The US Supreme Court’s conservative majority restricted […]
Posted inHealth Care
DiZoglio’s MassHealth audit disputed by Healey administration
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSHEALTH ERRANTLY paid more than $84 million related to care for residents who were living in other states, Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s office concluded in a new report that the executive branch criticized as “overly broad” and “misleading.” State law requires members of MassHealth, which combines Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance […]
Posted inThe Download
Riley rips Boston schools – againÂ
Call it the double-secret probation of Massachusetts public schooling. State education commissioner Jeff Riley is livid at leaders of the Boston Public Schools, from the mayor on down, and he’s letting everyone know it. But he’s made it clear, so far at least, that he has no interest in exercising his ultimate authority and taking […]
Posted inGovernment, State House News Service
Arroyo pays $3,000 in ethics case
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BOSTON CITY Councilor Ricardo Arroyo has paid a $3,000 civil penalty and admitted to violating the conflict of interest law by continuing to represent his brother in a civil lawsuit against his brother and the city of Boston after he became a city councilor, according to ethics law regulators. The State […]