Search Results

Keyword search: Legislature

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — The climate crisis is fueling a steady growth in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather, and Massachusetts cities and towns face an increasingly common conundrum trying to respond to those emergencies.Many of the disasters that have...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Amid a historic surge in book challenges in schools and public libraries across the state, some lawmakers are hoping to codify protections to prevent books from being removed from public spaces.Sen. Julian Cyr of Truro and Rep. John Moran of...

By Bob Katzen

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators’ votes from the week of January 1-5. There were no roll calls in the House last week.WHEELCHAIR WARRANTY AND REPAIRS (S 2541): Senate 39-0, approved and sent to the House a bill that...

By SAM DORAN

BOSTON — As towns and cities see a rise in natural disasters that require greater emergency response than their local resources can support alone, two western Massachusetts lawmakers renewed their call Tuesday to divert a portion of excess capital...

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 number of times in the 2023 session each senator sided with Democratic Gov. Maureen Healey and voted to sustain/support...

By Sam Drysdale

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed three bills during its first formal session of 2024 on Thursday, including the one dubbed “blue envelope” filed by Sen. Jo Comerford that would require new guidance on how police officers should...

By Colin A. Young

BOSTON — A judge has cleared the way for Treasurer Deborah Goldberg to hold a hearing on the potential termination of Cannabis Control Commission Chair Shannon O’Brien, but the scheduling of that meeting is now tied to an open investigation that...

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...