WHEN A HIGH-PROFILE tragedy occurs, the survivors are often barraged by requests for comment from the media. Reporters may struggle to figure out how to contact the surviving family. Public relations guru David Guarino announced Thursday that he is forming a new nonprofit, Survivors Say, that will provide free communications services to victims of high-profile […]
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House set to debate rules, extend emergency
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ALL HOUSE SESSIONS would permanently be livestreamed, committee chairs would have discretion to hold hybrid-format hearings, and published committee votes would not require the disclosure of how any individual lawmakers voted, under a proposed House rules package teed up Tuesday for debate in less than 24 hours. Some representatives were hurrying […]
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Continuing an annual tradition: The late state budget
IT MAY BE an unusual year, but one annual Beacon Hill tradition is continuing: getting the state budget done late. July 1 marks the start of the 2022 fiscal year, but a final budget bill is nowhere in sight. Last year, amid COVID-19-related economic uncertainty, lawmakers intentionally delayed passing a budget for months as they […]
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Lawmakers cool to Baker spending plans
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE A PLAN TO SWEEP about $5 billion in federal relief money into a fund controlled by the Legislature is back on Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk Thursday, returned to him by lawmakers who rebuffed his suggestion to spend more than half of the money now and let them determine how to use […]
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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 […]
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Recovery from ‘she-cession’ requires strengthened family supports
THERE’S FINALLY A light at the end of the tunnel as the economy slowly rebuilds from the COVID-19 pandemic, but we can’t ignore this lingering casualty: the devastating impact on the female workforce, or what many are calling a “she-cession.” The pandemic has been hard on all families but the brunt of the hardship has […]
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State tax revenue surges amid tax hike push
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE DEPARTMENT of Revenue collected more than twice as much money from taxpayers last month than it had anticipated and Massachusetts is now on pace to emerge from the pandemic-plagued fiscal year 2021 having collected more tax revenue than state officials projected before anyone here had heard of COVID-19. DOR announced […]
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Aid for 4 cities tied up in budget spat on Beacon Hill
LEGISLATIVE LEADERS, members of Congress, and Gov. Charlie Baker appear to be in agreement that $100 million in federal funding should be released quickly to Chelsea, Everett, Methuen, and Randolph, even as the money has become part of an ongoing spat over who should control the process of releasing it. The four cities with large minority communities were […]
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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 […]
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Film tax credit headed for showdown
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER INITIALLY encountering bipartisan opposition, the Senate Ways and Means Committee’s plan to overhaul the state’s film tax credit program is poised to sail through the chamber into a conference committee showdown with the House. The Senate on Wednesday afternoon rejected a batch of budget amendments from Minority Leader Bruce Tarr […]