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The House passed a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package early Saturday that includes $1,400 checks for most Americans and billions of dollars for schools, state and local governments and businesses

Six months after George Floyd died under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, state lawmakers on Tuesday night sent Gov. Charlie Baker a policing tactics reform and oversight bill, shifting the focus to the Republican governor whose views on qualified immunity and other thorny details of the legislation remain unclear. The House and Senate both voted Tuesday to accept…

Lawmakers on Beacon Hill are working to pass a police reform bill that would change the way police officers are certified in Massachusetts.

Adults in Massachusetts would be able to bet on professional and Division I college sports in person and through web or mobile apps under legislation released Friday by a legislative panel that’s been studying sports betting for a year. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission would be given the discretion to write the actual rules for sports wagering, but the Joint...

Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson took her fight to the Massachusetts State House Monday, calling on lawmakers to end taxpayer-funded non-disclosure agreements. Carlson, who was at the center of the Fox News sexual harassment scandal, said NDAs keep victims quiet and perpetuate predatory behavior. Carlson still can’t share her own story due to the NDA she was forced...

A New Hampshire state senator has introduced a bill that would proclaim Jan. 24 as “Granny D Day.” Doris “Granny D” Haddock, of Dublin, New Hampshire, was a political activist who drew attention to the need for campaign finance reform by walking cross-country in her 80s. She died at age 100 in 2010. Her 110th birthday would have been Jan….

A bill aimed to revamp the current sex education course in Massachusetts is drawing criticism as lawmakers consider it.

The Massachusetts House has unanimously approved a bill that would create a state registry identifying individuals credibly accused of abusing people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Wednesday’s debate follows unanimous approval of the bill by the state Senate in October. The bill requires the state’s Disabled Persons Protections Commission to establish the registry. The registry is intended to prevent...

Maine Sen. Susan Collins and New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan have introduced a bill that would help rural students reach their higher education goals and connect with employment in their hometowns. The bill is called The Success for Rural Students and Communities Act.  The bill would create a demonstration program to encourage rural community stakeholders to partner together to...

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley is pushing legislation aimed at confronting what she described as punitive disciplinary actions taken disproportionately against girls of color in school.

National Grid and its workers reach an agreement that will end a six-month lockout.

The Bay State is one step closer to banning flavored tobacco products as the bill awaits the governor’s signature.

Gov. Chris Sununu, who earlier this year signed legislation that expands protections for juvenile victims of sex trafficking, is supportive of a bill that enhances penalties for people who exploit trafficked children.

The parents of the youngest victim of the Boston Marathon bombings were honored Wednesday night. Martin Richard was just 8 when his life was taken in the 2013 terrorist attack near the marathon finish line. To that horrific violence, his parents, Bill and Denise, responded with peace.

New Hampshire lawmakers considered more than a dozen bills related to marijuana this year, but fewer than half of them became law. A push to have New Hampshire join others that have legalized recreational use of the drug fizzled, as did efforts to expand the qualifying conditions for the state’s medical marijuana program and to allow patients to grow their...

Almost two weeks into the state’s new fiscal year, Massachusetts is still without a budget. The six members of a House-Senate conference committee have been meeting behind closed doors for more than a month to try to iron out differences over the $42.7 billion spending plan.

The final bill in a package of gun control legislation has been sent to Republican Gov. Chris Sununu.

Bills covering a range of kindergarten and early education issues are coming up for a public hearing at the Massachusetts Statehouse.

Bills covering a range of kindergarten and early education issues are coming up for a public hearing at the Massachusetts Statehouse.

New Hampshire would join more than a dozen other states requiring insurance coverage of fertility treatments under a bill that passed the House. Supporters of the bill said the requirement would help the state attract young families as its population ages. They said they heard from many couples who said they work in Massachusetts in order to obtain coverage.