Karen Spilka

The top Democrat in the Massachusetts Senate on Friday dismissed a proposal by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker to expand the state’s annual two-day sales tax holiday to a two-month event this year — dealing a possible fatal blow to the plan. Consumers in Massachusetts are already eager to hit the stores as the state emerges from more than a year…

Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday continued to pitch his new idea for a two-month sales tax holiday in Massachusetts this summer even after the $900 million tax relief proposal landed with a bit of a thud on Beacon Hill where many Democrats panned the short-term tax break and supporters voiced skepticism about its chances. Baker filed legislation proposing to use…

State Sen. Eric Lesser, who has sponsored past sales tax holidays, says with packed malls and retail sales at record highs, this $900 million proposal does nothing to address the real problem of growing the economy long-term and getting more people back to work.

While this won’t be the first year Massachusetts has recognized Juneteenth as an important day in history for Black Americans, it will be the first year June 19 gets celebrated as an official state holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States.

With Massachusetts expecting to see its supply of COVID-19 vaccine increase over the coming weeks, Senate President Karen Spilka on Tuesday said Gov. Charlie Baker must let teachers get vaccinated this month and should set aside a percentage of doses for teachers and school staff. Spilka’s call on the Baker administration to prioritize teacher vaccination comes a week after...

There has been a long push to prioritize educators in the coronavirus vaccine rollout.

Now that President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. vaccine supply will be enough to vaccinate every adult by May, two months early, Massachusetts educators are reacting.

Educators are pushing for the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to get them back into the classroom safely.

Massachusetts lawmakers finished their work on a compromise police reform bill Monday, filing an updated version of the landmark legislation that Democratic leaders praised as “one of the most comprehensive approaches to police reform and racial justice” in the country. Details of the conference committee’s bill — crafted in closed-door negotiations over the last four months — were not immediately…

Massachusetts lawmakers finished their work on a compromise police reform bill Monday, filing an updated version of the landmark legislation that Democratic leaders praised as “one of the most comprehensive approaches to police reform and racial justice” in the country.

A bill moving through the Senate Ways and Means Committee would create a new Police Officer Standards and Accreditation Committee that would certify law enforcement and be able to revoke or modify that certification, along with investigating misconduct complaints. Officers would need to be re-certified every three years, under the bill, and the committee would have to maintain a publicly…

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker addressed calls for police reform with new legislation.

Massachusetts would eliminate carry-out plastic bags from retail stores around the state under a new bill set for debate this week in the State Senate. Released on Monday, the proposal would expand on measures already adopted in over 100 cities and towns across the commonwealth, according to the office of Senate President Karen Spilka.

Massachusetts residents can now have a non-binary gender designation on state driver’s licenses. The state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles says it now recognizes three gender designations: “male,” “female,” and “non-binary.” The change took effect Tuesday.

Flanked by pictures of a dozen Massachusetts residents killed or injured in distracted-driving crashes, residents demanded Thursday that the Legislature take up a simple handheld device ban as soon as possible if negotiators can’t reach a compromise Thursday on a bill that also includes language aimed at monitoring for racial profiling. Speakers told harrowing stories of loss, recounting loved ones...

The state’s two top Democratic legislative leaders say they’re sticking by their earlier endorsements of U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, who is facing a possible Democratic primary challenge from U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy. Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Robert DeLeo both said Monday they’re not wavering in their support of Markey.

Gov. Charlie Baker is saying he’ll take his cues from the state’s Cannabis Control Commission on any proposed changes to the state’s marijuana law. The Republican was asked Monday if any changes were needed after Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia was arrested last week on charges he conspired to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from companies seeking to operate...

The Massachusetts Legislature may renew a longstanding debate over whether the state should move to a graduated income tax.

Expanding road tolls across Massachusetts and to the state’s borders could be a way to generate new revenue to address growing transportation woes, Senate President Karen Spilka said Thursday. In remarks at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast Thursday, Spilka, an Ashland Democrat, told business leaders that tolls similar to those along Interstate 90 deserve consideration for other places.

The Massachusetts Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill Thursday to allow state residents to make a gender-neutral designation on their driver’s licenses and birth certificates. The bill, which passed by a 39-1 vote, would allow people to choose “X” rather than “M” or “F” on the state documents.