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By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Top Democrats needed a few extra months to reach agreements on major laws this session, but wrapped up business for the term with almost a day to spare and New Year’s Eve plans intact.The House and Senate adjourned their last meetings of the...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — “Electronic cocaine.” “A youth behavioral health crisis on steroids.” “Nothing’s more aggravating to me as a parent.”

By CHRIS LISINSKI

Representatives on one legislative committee are not ready to decide whether one of the most controversial proposals on their plate should move forward early in the lawmaking term.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — House and Senate negotiators tasked with producing a final fiscal 2026 budget will also need to decide whether it’s time to begin rethinking how the state and municipalities split education costs, a response to a fiscal climate that one lawmaker said is “as bad as I’ve probably seen it.”

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — The Senate agreed last week to add a major prescription drug price control measure to their fiscal year 2026 budget, drawing the ire of the influential life sciences sector and adding another major topic to House-Senate negotiations on the horizon.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — While Senate Democrats do not have much legislative action ready to launch in response to President Donald Trump, they spent more than two hours Monday ripping into the administration’s immigration crackdown and warning about damage to the rule of law.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Congressional Democrats warned Tuesday that rising wait times for assistance at the Social Security Administration and the prospect of delayed checks amount to a “backdoor cut” to benefits.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Progressive activists are growing impatient with what they view as a slow start on Beacon Hill, while the top House Democrat said lawmakers are “shooting in the dark” as they grapple with uncertainty from the federal government.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — A pair of western Massachusetts lawmakers made an urgent plea to their colleagues Tuesday to allow smaller farms to access property tax benefits currently available only to their larger peers.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — The Healey administration hopes to save residents billions of dollars in energy costs over the next five years by pulling a host of executive-branch levers, including redirection of some clean energy development funding to shave $50 off electricity bills in April.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Two years after policymakers enacted mental health care reforms designed to mitigate the problem, the share of patients experiencing long waits in Massachusetts emergency departments remains elevated, according to new state research.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON – A federal judge on Tuesday tossed the remainder of a legal challenge automakers brought against a motor vehicle repair law Massachusetts voters approved more than four years ago.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON – The opioid epidemic has affected tens of thousands of people across Massachusetts, and later this year, vehicles on the state’s roadways will be able to offer reminders that survivors and grieving families are all around us.

By CHRIS LISINSKI

Running consistent passenger rail service for 140 miles through northern Massachusetts communities to connect North Adams and Boston could attract hundreds of riders per day, but would also require hundreds of millions of dollars in up-front capital...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Consumer groups are worried that Massachusetts event-goers will face “fewer protections and higher fees” after Gov. Maura Healey signed into law new restrictions on ticket sales and transfers, which backers instead contend will help prevent...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey spent months clamoring for lawmakers to finish work on a sweeping jobs package she filed in March, and she wound up needing only about 60% of the time allotted for her review before making it law.Healey on Wednesday signed...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — The House on Thursday moved to overhaul audits of the chamber’s business after voters overwhelmingly said the state auditor has the power to audit the Legislature. Representatives voted 135-10 to adopt a House rule change that provides...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Bay Staters should conserve water and avoid burning anything outdoors amid an “unprecedented” wildfire season that likely will not abate until significant rain — or seasonal frost — arrives, state and local fire officials said this...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Auditor Diana DiZoglio on Monday escalated her long fight with the Legislature, publishing a report slamming lawmakers for a lack of transparency that the top House Democrat derided as “pure political self-promotion and...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

Ten years ago, Sara Guttierez dropped out of college because she could not make the finances work.It was a hard, stressful decision, she recalled Wednesday, one that left her feeling “lost and uncertain” about the future. But today, Guttierez is back...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

The Healey administration’s budget chief is “cautiously optimistic” about the economic outlook for the year ahead, even though he expects lackluster tax collections to continue and sees “unavoidable deficiencies” on the horizon.Administration and...