Massachusetts State House

Massachusetts lawmakers are running out of time to move on a renewed push to ban nondisclosure agreements, which proponents of the legislation say can be used to silence victims of workplace misconduct with taxpayer dollars. State Sen. Diana DiZoglio has pushed the issue for nearly five years, leading the Massachusetts Senate in January 2019 to unanimously ban NDAs. The legally…

More workers across Massachusetts are fighting to unionize, whether they work at a coffee shop, a grocery store or the State House.

Legislative staff have waited around four months to learn whether Senate President Karen Spilka would recognize their unionization effort with IBEW Local 2222, and on Thursday Spilka seemed to shut the door on that possibility — with an invitation for staff to attend a briefing from Senate lawyers on Friday. Senators were cloistered in a lengthy private caucus Thursday afternoon…

Massachusetts lawmakers approved a sweeping abortion bill Tuesday aimed in part at building a firewall to protect access to the procedure after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month. The bill would protect abortion providers and people seeking abortions from actions taken by other states, including blocking the governor from extraditing anyone charged in another state...

Massachusetts lawmakers are debating this week whether to offer tax relief and rebates to residents amid the highest inflation rates seen in decades.

Massachusetts lawmakers are debating this week whether to offer tax relief and rebates to residents amid the highest inflation rates seen in decades. A $3.8 billion dollar spending bill was given initial approval by the Massachusetts House of Representatives on Monday, which calls for roughly one $1 billion in combined tax relief. About half of that relief would come in…

With problems mounting and federal officials calling for immediate change, the MBTA is discussing safety.

The MBTA’s board of directors is meeting Thursday for the first time since the release of a scathing federal report. The virtual meeting was scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m. The Federal Transit Administration demanded immediate changes to address glaring safety issues in a report released last week. Those issues included a pattern of crashes, derailments, speeding and...

The MBTA Board of Directors is scheduled to meet virtually on Thursday for the first time since the Federal Transit Administration ordered the agency to make immediate changes related to safety issues.

Lawmakers intend to hold an oversight hearing on the MBTA as issues continue to stack up.

Massachusetts lawmakers are pointing the finger at the governor’s office for the latest MBTA problems. On Tuesday morning, as riders adjusted to less frequent weekday subway service to help the agency comply with Federal Transportation Administration safety directives, House and Senate leaders released a statement announcing plans for a hearing at some point to learn more about the T’s...

Massachusetts mechanics and lawmakers are engaged in a battle over how much can be charged hourly for labor.

Auto body shop owners and employees converged on the Massachusetts State House on Wednesday demanding relief from collision repair rates that they say have not been increased in 11 years. Event organizers at The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers of Massachusetts blame insurance companies for setting “unsustainably low rates” and made their point with a large crowd of attendees and…

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…

Massachusetts Senate staffers attempting to unionize their ranks are still waiting for a reply from Senate President Karen Spilka and looking ahead to a law change that could be necessary to unionize a group of legislative employees. The group of Senate aides announced their intent to unionize with IBEW Local 2222 on Monday, after IBEW delivered a letter to Spilka’s…

The state house has been closed for nearly two years because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The State House has been closed for more than 700 days, and when the doors reopen, there will be COVID-19 protocols in place.