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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. $2.5 MILLION HOME AND HEALTHY...

By Alison Kuznitz

BOSTON — People could be paid to act as caregivers to spouses with disabilities under proposals promoted at a legislative hearing Monday to address the state’s shortage of personal care attendants.A slew of family members — including children,...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Framing her new legislation as “historic” and “urgent,” Gov. Maura Healey detailed a wide-ranging $4 billion-plus housing bill Wednesday at several stops throughout the state, including Springfield, and speculated that its passage could...

By Sam Drysdale

BOSTON — As the state moves into a “new phase” of its ongoing emergency shelter crisis, Gov. Maura Healey is turning to a Southampton resident for help.The governor announced Monday that she has appointed Lt. General Leon Scott Rice, former director...

By EDEN MOR

Two Pioneer Valley lawmakers are seeking a more concrete plan — including the creation of a “watchdog group” — to improve the health of public school buildings and reduce their environmental impact throughout the commonwealth.Sen. Jo Comerford,...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

With Massachusetts straining under an overburdened emergency shelter system and staring down a shortfall of workers, a group of more than 60 Bay State lawmakers is sending a letter urging the White House and Congress to work with haste to find a...

By Chris Lisinski

BOSTON — Lawmakers have given no indication they are any closer to compromise on the tax relief they promised more than a year ago, and they continue to be buffeted by competing affordability crosswinds.Beacon Hill received another pair of pitches in...

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 Sept. 1. The...

By SAM DORAN

BOSTON — There’s been a rash of late-summer gun violence in Massachusetts, but in the Legislature the situation around proposed gun law reforms hasn’t changed and Democrats, who have been away from Beacon Hill since late July, remain stuck in a...

By Alison Kuznitz

Pioneer Valley farms that were flooded out during July will soon receive $10,000 checks from a fundraising campaign launched by the Healey administration and United Way of Central Massachusetts last month.About 100 farms will be awarded money from the...

By Bob Katzen

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll call votes in the House or Senate the week of Aug. 14. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports local representatives’ roll call attendance records for the 2023 session through Aug. 18. The House has held 32...

By Chris Lisinski

One of the Legislature’s point people on veterans’ affairs threw his support behind a campaign to give service members a bigger role in Massachusetts Democratic Party conventions. Sen. John Velis of Westfield, who co-chairs the Veterans and Federal...

By Chris Lisinski

BOSTON — Exactly 30 years after Massachusetts voters narrowly prohibited rent control across the state, a long-running debate about whether to reverse or uphold the ban might once again be settled at the ballot box.A small group of local officials,...

By Bob Katzen

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ and senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of July 24-28. $375 MILLION FOR ROADS AND BRIDGES (S 2375): House 157-0, Senate 39-0, approved and sent to Gov. Maura Healey...

By Bob Katzen

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators’ votes on roll calls from the recent debate on the Senate’s version of a $55.9 billion fiscal 2024 state budget. Sen. Becca Rausch (D-Needham) filed and gained approval for several...

By Bob Katzen

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ votes on roll calls from the week of July 10-14. There were no roll calls in the Senate last week. $693 MILLION FISCAL 2023 SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET (H 3982): House 154-0, approved...

By CHRIS LARABEE

Legislators, education association representatives, and school and town officials were briefed late last week on bills proposing to codify numerous recommendations to ensure the long-term sustain ability of rural schools.Bills H.3567 and S.2388,...

By Sam Drysdale

BOSTON — Technology’s new frontiers present unique regulatory challenges for government systems that often lag behind the rates of change in fast-developing tech sectors.But some in the Legislature are trying to help orchestrate a response. Several...

By CHRIS LISINSKI and ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — Representatives will gather in closed-door meetings next week to hold “candid discussions” about a 140-page gun reform bill that Speaker Ron Mariano wants to win House approval by the end of the month.With the omnibus bill idling amid a...

By SAM DRYSDALE and CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Massachusetts voters could be asked to settle two major education debates in 2024, but retailers may pass on bringing tax cuts to next year’s ballot, the News Service has learned.The state’s largest teachers union is considering ballot...