Massachusetts Legislature

The legislation would allow for wagering on both professional and collegiate sports in the Bay State, according to Speaker Mariano’s tweet.

A 15-fold increase in annual state aid toward rural Massachusetts school districts headlines a legislative panel’s recommendations after more than a year of work, and one top senator said he plans to push for at least some funding in the end-of-term flurry over the next few weeks. Lawmakers, K-12 school leaders and academic experts voted unanimously Tuesday to send...

If opponents of the new law pursue a referendum — and are successful at gathering signatures — the timing could line up almost perfectly to put the question before voters at the Nov. 8 election.

The Massachusetts Senate voted Thursday to override Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto of a bill that would allow immigrants without legal status the right to obtain a driver’s license. The bill was approved Wednesday by the Massachusetts House over Gov. Baker’s veto, and Thursday’s 32-8 vote from the Senate made the override official. The bill won’t go into effect until...

Mass. Senate is expected to override Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto of a bill that would allow immigrants without legal status the right to obtain a driver’s license.

Supporters of the legislation call it historic and it will allow tens of thousands of people to get around legally.

A bill that would allow immigrants in the country illegally to obtain state driver’s licenses in Massachusetts was approved by the Massachusetts House on Wednesday over the veto of Republican Gov. Charlie Baker.

Warning that existing Massachusetts law leaves a dangerous “loophole” in place, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins pushed Tuesday for the Legislature to create a new criminal charge for adults who exploit positions of authority to engage in sexual acts with minors. Teachers, coaches, babysitters, mentors and other adults who misuse their standing to participate in sexual activity with a…

The majority of Bay State residents say they want sports betting to be legal, but a bill that would allow betting on professional and college sports still faces opposition.

The House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bill to legalize sports betting in Massachusetts, but even before the vote, the question of whether to allow wagers on college sports emerged as a major sticking point between the House and Senate.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed a $47.6 billion fiscal 2022 budget into law Friday afternoon, his office announced, vetoing $7.9 million in gross spending and an outside section that would delay implementation of a charitable giving tax deduction approved by voters in 2000. State lawmakers unanimously passed a $48.1 billion spending bill on July 9, approving a House-Senate deal that…

Massachusetts lawmakers gave final approval to a new state budget Friday after House and Senate negotiators reached a deal Thursday on a $48.1 billion spending plan. When it became clear lawmakers would not have a final budget deal in place for the beginning of the new 2022 fiscal year on July 1, lawmakers approved — and Republican Gov. Charlie Baker…

A state representative from Boston pitched a strategy Tuesday to repair some of the damage the pandemic has done for education: allow any student who will soon graduate to stay in school for an additional year.

The Massachusetts House continues to function in large part through remote operations, and one of its members, Rep. Patrick Kearney, is really remote. According to the Scituate Democrat’s office, Kearney, a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserve, is currently assisting with joint military exercises in North Africa. Specifically, he is serving as a tactical advisor aboard the heavy lift...

The Massachusetts Senate has approved legislation designed to create a more secure egg supply chain and raise the state’s farm animal welfare standards to be on a par with other states. Democratic Senate President Karen Spilka said the bill approved Thursday would upgrade Massachusetts’ egg production law — created by a successful 2016 ballot question — to create predictability and…

In an attempt to end the battle over who gets to spend Massachusetts’ nearly $5.2 billion in federal relief money, Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday pitched a plan that would see him cede much of his control over the aid to the Legislature, as long as lawmakers agree quickly to spend more than half on priorities such as home ownership…

Massachusetts lawmakers on Thursday agreed to schedule this year’s sales tax holiday for the weekend of Aug. 14 and 15. A 2018 law that put the state’s minimum hourly wage on a gradual path to $15 and created the paid family and medical leave program also made the holiday, when the 6.25% sales tax is waived for many purchases, an…

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law Wednesday a bill to restore pandemic-era policies including remote public meetings, to-go cocktail sales, eviction protections and more, according to Senate President Karen Spilka. Senate President Karen Spilka thanked the governor via Twitter Wednesday for signing a deal about 13 hours after the legislature sent Baker a partial compromise temporarily reinstating some policies…

The state of emergency in Massachusetts is over, but lawmakers are looking to keep some policies in effect.

The state of emergency that was in place in Massachusetts since March 10, 2020, ended at midnight, and with it, a batch of pandemic-era policies expired. The legislature failed to move legislation to Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk that would keeping in place authorization for remote public meetings, eviction protections, and restaurant relief before those measures expired. But the Massachusetts House…