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By Credit search: State House News Service

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Despite a tightening state budget picture, the Senate this week plans to take up a pricey early education and child care bill aimed at expanding access to education for the state’s youngest learners and making it more affordable for families,...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey is touting that her economic development proposal “goes big” on the burgeoning climate tech field with a $1 billion state investment and said a study to be published later this week will show that it could result in a...

By Alison Kuznitz

BOSTON — Looking to sidestep controversy over the Cannabis Control Commission leadership, regulators highlighted the increasing profitability of the industry Thursday while discussing their work to implement a state law promoting diversity in the...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Senate Democrats plan this week to make a big push for reforms to the state’s motor vehicle “Lemon Law,” insurance coverage for home heating oil leaks and the controversial competitive electric supply industry.The Senate on Monday formally...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Moderate-income white students could gain the most under a proposal that top Senate Democrats are weighing to make community college free for all Massachusetts residents, according to a report, which urges lawmakers to make adjustments with...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — Massachusetts State Police have begun implementing a program to improve interactions with people on the autism spectrum, building upon legislation that won Senate approval in January and remains before a House committee.Participating drivers...

By SAM DORAN

BOSTON — The Governor’s Council unanimously approved Gov. Maura Healey’s mass pardon Wednesday that grants official forgiveness to anyone convicted of simple cannabis possession in Massachusetts.The courts must still work to identify people to whom...

By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON — In anticipation of a boom in clean energy projects needed to help the state meet its decarbonization targets, a group put together by the governor rolled out recommendations Monday for ways to streamline and accelerate the siting and...

By Chris Lisinski

BOSTON — This week’s dismal weather forecast might actually have a silver lining for some restaurateurs.After nearly four years with a streamlined system in place to permit outdoor dining and permission to sell takeout alcoholic drinks, both practices...

By Sam Drysdale

BOSTON — Lawmakers tasked with negotiating details of a major firearms bill left their work open to the public last week — a move that broke from opaque traditions on Beacon Hill. A week later, those negotiators moved to close their meetings to the...

By Chris Lisinski

BOSTON — Did anyone really expect Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s pitch to lawmakers about why she should be able to audit them to be dull?A cart overflowing with stacks of old books, no-holds-barred warnings about government overreach, and personal feuds...

By Sam Drysdale

HOLYOKE — Almost a decade after the state took control of Holyoke Public Schools through the controversial and rarely used receivership model, the district is now on the path back to local control.The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education...

By Alison Kuznitz

BOSTON — With funding for “vital” human services and early education programs running low, Gov. Maura Healey filed a nearly $535 million supplemental budget Monday afternoon to address the shortfalls and to shore up funding for safety-net...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — More Massachusetts families would become eligible for subsidized child care and “transformational” grants that kept the early education system afloat during the pandemic would be made permanent, under a bill the Senate unanimously passed late...

By Michael P. Norton

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey is adding to state government’s energy bureaucracy with a new Office of the Energy Transformation that the administration says will execute a “community-by-community decarbonization strategy.” Massachusetts has been...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — A Labor Advisory Council will be created to advise Gov. Maura Healey on matters related to organized labor, under an executive order the governor signed Tuesday.Healey also announced Roger Brunelle, former vice president of the Massachusetts...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Over more than three hours of discussion about a proposal to stop using MCAS exam scores as a high school graduation requirement, lawmakers kept returning to one specific question: If the ballot measure were passed, how would Massachusetts...

By Sam Doran

By Sam Doran The Governor’s Council on Wednesday confirmed Supreme Judicial Court nominee Gabrielle Wolohojian, approving Gov. Maura Healey’s second appointee to the state’s highest court. The council voted 6-1 to confirm the nomination, with...

By Chris Lisinski

BOSTON — Two more high-profile ballot questions could soon face the state’s highest court after opponents challenged the eligibility of measures seeking to eliminate the separate tipped minimum wage and to allow Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize.A...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Massachusetts voters may get the chance to cast ballots to legalize access to some psychedelic substances this fall. And though advocates say the Oregon psilocybin therapy program that would be used as a model for Massachusetts is beneficial...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley plans to step down on March 15 after six years leading Massachusetts’ K-12 school system, according to a letter he sent to the state’s education board on Thursday.Riley plans to...