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By Bob Katzen

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports on the percentage of times local representatives voted with their party’s leadership in the 2023 session through Dec. 22. The...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — Seeking to remove more barriers to voting, the House approved legislation last week allowing employees to take paid time off on Election Day to cast their ballots in person.Without discussion, lawmakers passed the bill (H 4217) during an...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — The state’s drug overdose crisis is persisting at record high levels, exacerbated by a “poisoned drug supply” that isn’t just affecting those who use opioids anymore.There were 2,323 confirmed and estimated fatal opioid-related overdoses...

By STELLA TANNENBAUM

BOSTON — Massachusetts would become the second state in the nation to ban discrimination based on body size under a proposal aired at a recent hearing of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.During a seven-hour hearing in which over 230 people...

By Alison Kuznitz

BOSTON — Denouncing the scourge of hate fueled by the Israel-Hamas war, elected officials including Gov. Maura Healey and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu stood in solidarity with the Jewish community for the first night of Hanukkah, and helped to bring a...

By Colin A. Young

BOSTON — After more than three years of considering the future of the natural gas industry in Massachusetts and what role it can play in the state’s efforts to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions over the next three decades, the...

By Bob Katzen

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators’ votes from recent sessions. There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. CREATE COMMISSION TO EXAMINE CURRENT EMERGENCY SHELTER SYSTEM (S 5250): Senate 39-0,...

By Sam Drysdale

Massachusetts’ public colleges and universities need to submit a medication abortion readiness plan this week, and Gov. Maura Healey has released a new resource to help college administrators make abortion care more accessible for students.In July...

By Lindsay Shachnow

Laura Kleiman was running a research center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute when her mother was diagnosed with cancer.In exploring potential treatment options, Kleiman said she discovered that repurposing drugs — particularly generic ones that are...

By Bob Katzen

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ and senators’ votes from the week of Nov. 13-17.LONG TERM CARE CHANGES (H 4178): House 158-0, approved and sent to the Senate legislation that supporters say will “take a...

By Bob Katzen

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ votes from the week of Nov. 6-10. There were no roll calls in the Senate last week.FREE PHONE CALLS FOR PRISONERS (H 4051): House 132-26, (Senate on a voice vote without a...

By LIESEL NYGARD

As a way to help cities and towns retain police and firefighters longer, a local lawmaker has filed a bill that would allow them to work in public safety roles until age 72.Under state law, emergency services personnel such as police officers and...

By Bob Katzen

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ and senators’ votes from recent roll calls on overriding Gov. Maura Healey’s veto of several items in the $56.2 billion fiscal 2024 budget.$774,000 FOR HOUSING SERVICES (H...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Patients would pay no more than $25 for certain name-brand medications to treat some chronic illnesses and face no costs whatsoever for similar generic options under the latest prescription drug legislation set to emerge in the Senate.Senate...

By Chris Lisinski and Sam Drysdale

BOSTON — With the state’s emergency shelters on the verge of hitting a new capacity limit, House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a new plan to create an “overflow” option that would support families for whom space is not immediately available.Venturing...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — While voters may have the final say, top House and Senate Democrats said a new decision from Attorney General Andrea Campbell reinforces their opinion that the state auditor lacks the “statutory or constitutional authority to audit any other...

By Alison Kuznitz

BOSTON — A redrafted bill to expand access to e-books and digital audiobooks in Massachusetts would not violate federal law, librarians said Monday, as they sought to quash concerns about a similar law in Maryland that was deemed unconstitutional last...

By CHRIS LISINSKI and SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Shortly before a court hearing challenging the Healey administration’s allegedly “rushed” changes to the shelter system, officials filed new emergency regulations seeking to enable a temporary hard cap on the number of families that can be...

By Bob Katzen

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ and senators’ votes from the week of Oct. 16-20.GUN BILL (H 4135): House 120-38, approved and sent to the Senate a bill that changes some of the state’s gun laws. Provisions...

By EDEN MOR

BOSTON — New Village, a nonprofit early education community in Northampton, has long faced the brutal reality of the early child care crisis. The school, which offers progressive and social justice-minded education for families across western...