Beacon Hill

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is expected to vote Wednesday to override Republican Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto of a bill making immigrants without legal status eligible to seek state-issued driver’s licenses. The bill was approved by House and Senate Democrats last month, but Baker vetoed it, saying the Registry of Motor Vehicles, an agency that he oversees, doesn’t have...

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday vetoed a bill making immigrants without legal status eligible to seek state-issued driver’s licenses, saying the Registry of Motor Vehicles, an agency that he oversees, doesn’t have the ability to verify the identities of potential applicants. Following years of advocacy for the bill, House and Senate Democrats on Thursday enacted the legislation, which...

Massachusetts senators passed a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to receive drivers’ licenses.

A bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to apply for drivers’ licenses has passed the Massachusetts Senate.

The Massachusetts State Senate will debate whether undocumented immigrants should be able to get drivers’ licenses in formal session Thursday morning.

The Massachusetts State Senate on Thursday voted in favor of a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses. The Senate voted 32 to 8 in favor of the measure. A similar bill has already passed in that House with a veto-proof majority. Gov. Charlie Baker has expressed his opposition to the measure, which would allow Massachusetts residents…

A gas leak prompted a hazmat response and the evacuation of three buildings on Beacon Hill in Boston Tuesday morning. Gas leaked into a building on Grove Street from outside, causing elevated readings, Boston police said. Boston police and fire were on scene by 11 a.m. Tuesday. Police were awaiting response from Boston Water and Sewer. Crews were monitoring the…

The Massachusetts State House is the only state capitol in the country to remain closed to the public since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The push to make MBTA service free of fares to riders that Boston mayoral candidate Michelle Wu has made a campaign staple has yet to sway Beacon Hill leaders. Gov. Charlie Baker, asked about the city councilor’s calls to “free the T,” said Monday he does not support the idea of eliminating fares but believes “the T should work...

Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a bill (H 3999) prohibiting schools from punishing students with meal debts and requiring districts with large shares of low-income students to provide free breakfast and lunch.

Massachusetts lawmakers are considering changes to a 2016 animal welfare law that sets living standards for egg-laying hens and some livestock to avoid a possible egg shortage. The voter law sets standards for how much space is required to keep pigs, calves and egg-laying hens. For hens it requires enough room for the birds to be capable of “fully spreading…

Massachusetts lawmakers are considering changes to a 2016 animal welfare law that sets living standards for egg-laying hens and some livestock to avoid a possible egg shortage.

Lawmakers are taking up legislation Monday that would allow safe drug use sites to open in Massachusetts.

Lawmakers are taking up legislation Monday that would allow safe drug use sites to open in Massachusetts. Two bills decriminalizing possession of controlled substances (S 1277 and H 2119) and three bills calling for safe drug consumption sites (S 1258, H 2088, and S 1272) are on the agenda for a Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery virtual…

A major cleanup effort continued all day Tuesday after a water main break flooded parts of Beacon Hill.

A 30-inch water main burst and flooded the roads of Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood overnight.

A 30-inch water main burst and flooded the roads of Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood overnight.

A water main burst and flooded the roads of Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood overnight. The break, near Myrtle, Derne and Hancock streets, sent water rushing through Hancock Street to Cambridge Street. Some roads were closed Tuesday morning. Water got into some of the homes, but fire officials said the damage wasn’t as bad as expected. Some people were moved to...

With the Legislature on recess, COVID-19 cases rising, and many in Massachusetts waiting on the governor’s decision about 2022, Gov. Charlie Baker and first lady Lauren Baker are leaving Thursday on a week-long “family trip” to California, according the the governor’s office. Baker and his wife were planning to leave Thursday morning for the West Coast, and plan to...

The Massachusetts House and Senate will vote Friday on a budget for the fiscal year that began July 1 after the group negotiating a compromise spending plan struck a deal Thursday that is expected to increase spending beyond the $47.7 billion plans approved earlier this spring. Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and Sen. Michael Rodrigues announced the agreement on Thursday afternoon, and…