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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...

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,...