![Quentin Palfrey and Shannon Liss-Riordan, two of the three Democrats running for attorney general, sign a pact against using super PAC money for their campaigns at a news conference on the State House steps Monday. [Sam Doran/SHNS]](https://www.statehousenews.com/content/frontpage_photo/2022/05-23_Palfrey_Liss-Riordan_pledge.jpg "Quentin Palfrey and Shannon Liss-Riordan, two of the three Democrats running for attorney general, sign a pact against using super PAC money for their campaigns at a news conference on the State House steps Monday. [Sam Doran/SHNS]")
Democratic attorney general hopefuls Quentin Palfrey and Shannon Liss-Riordan on Monday signed a pledge aimed at keeping outside super PAC money out of their race, saying they hoped the move would encourage fellow candidate Andrea Campbell to do the same.
Boston Public Schools continues to fall short of an "acceptable minimum standard" in several critical areas, including transportation and special education, state education officials concluded in a withering new report that could reignite debate about potential state receivership of the largest pre-K-12 district in Massachusetts.
Top Democrats who control the House and Senate are almost always more than happy to glide past deadlines or give themselves more time to make decisions. But for Gov. Charlie Baker's $700 million tax relief proposal, the Legislature on Monday took an unusual step: moving up a committee's due date.
... The Massachusetts Teachers Association selected its next president, who will take over in July ... Former Boston Mayor Janey will take the top job at an organization supporting people living in poverty ... Action for Boston Community Development's chief operating officer will step into the top role next month ... UMass Dartmouth turned to Texas to select its new provost ... Boston Public Schools added two graduates to its communications team ... A local communications firm has a new account executive ... Mass. Municipal brought on three more legislative analysts ... A longtime Baker administration aide is headed to the private sector ... Axios added a second reporter as it prepares to launch its Boston newsletter ...
The independent state agency formed in a health care cost control law has decided against launching a formal cost and market impact review of a private transaction affecting patients northwest of Boston.
At Saturday's Republican Party convention, a common thread seemed to course through the comments of speakers backing the Chris Doughty-Kate Camapanale ticket for the corner office. Without mentioning him by name, those behind the Doughty-Campanale campaign seemed to be tweaking Geoff Diehl, a former state representative who has been defeated in both of his last two contested elections.
The actions of the Mass. Gaming Commission almost a decade ago could be put under a new microscope after the Supreme Judicial Court ruled Monday that a lower court should look more closely at the "highly unusual character of the commission's actions" related to the award of a casino license to Wynn Resorts and the casino company's purchase of land in Everett.
Before devoting its attention to the fiscal 2023 budget for the rest of the week, the Senate on Monday sent Gov. Charlie Baker bills establishing a women's rights history trail program and renaming Westborough's Board of Selectmen as a select board. The Senate also agreed to give a pair of committees until next Friday, June 3, to report on a dozen bills mostly involving municipal matters and veterans benefits.
The House approved an extension order that pushes the deadline for nearly every bill in the Revenue Committee -- including Gov. Charlie Baker's $700 million tax relief push -- into July. The House did not tee anything up for representatives to tackle in a formal session scheduled for Thursday. A conference committee report, filed last week, would allow undocumented immigrants to acquire Massachusetts driver's licenses and could emerge on Thursday.
Officials in the state's hospital industry have their eye on health insurance companies' financials and are tracking growth in income and statutory net worth during the COVID-19 emergency.
Opponents of the proposed surtax on household income over $1 million launched their campaign Monday morning to defeat the Constitutional amendment on November's ballot, focusing on the potential impact on small businesses and retirees as well as the possibility that the Legislature treats the estimated $1.3 billion in annual surtax revenue as a "blank check."
New Orange Line trains are rolling back into service Monday after the MBTA determined an improperly installed bolt disabled one vehicle late last week.
Drifting from their recent moderate roots, Massachusetts Republicans on Saturday opened a new chapter in their party's history, hosting a decidedly pro-Trump nominating convention that keyed off of anger about government mandates, pledges to oppose and fight the "radical left," and calls for a state government flush with cash to deliver relief from high gas prices and soaring inflation.
Republican delegates on Saturday qualified both of their candidates for Massachusetts governor - Geoff Diehl and Chris Doughty - for the September primary ballot, and gave Diehl the party's endorsement in the race. Delegates also gave enough support to both Leah Cole Allen and Kate Campanale, the two GOP lieutenant governor candidates, to ensure them ballot access.
The Massachusetts Senate on Tuesday launches debate on its $49.7 billion fiscal 2023 budget and senators are eager to make major changes to the bill authored by Senate budget chief Michael Rodrigues. According to a Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation analysis, the 1,178 budget amendments filed this year have a total fiscal impact of $3.5 billion, with 60 percent of amendments earmarking funds for local projects and totaling $280 million. If history is a judge, the vast majority of those spending proposals will fail, as senators usually agree to tens of millions of added spending. Senate Democrats, who hold 37 of the branch's 40 seats, are also determined to load the spending bill (S 4) with policy proposals, which are reflected in 260 amendments. Most of those will also likely fizzle out.
![Adjutant General Major Gen. Gary Keefe (center left) and Lt. Col. Hank Naughton (center right), a former state representative from Clinton, catch up with Rep. Steve Howitt (left) in Ashburton Park on Tuesday. The officers were on Beacon Hill to brief House Speaker Ron Mariano on recent National Guard activities. [Sam Doran/SHNS]](https://www.statehousenews.com/content/frontpage_photo/2022/05-17_Howitt_Keefe_Naughton.jpg "Adjutant General Major Gen. Gary Keefe (center left) and Lt. Col. Hank Naughton (center right), a former state representative from Clinton, catch up with Rep. Steve Howitt (left) in Ashburton Park on Tuesday. The officers were on Beacon Hill to brief House Speaker Ron Mariano on recent National Guard activities. [Sam Doran/SHNS]")
If you were wondering when the Legislature would lurch into the last leg of its two-year lawmaking session, the rapidly increasing number of bills in play is a pretty good indication that busy season has already arrived.
The unemployment rate in Massachusetts dropped slightly in April as employers added 10,500 jobs, state officials reported Friday.
The Massachusetts Senate on Tuesday launches debate on its $49.7 billion fiscal 2023 budget and senators are eager to make major changes to the bill authored by Senate budget chief Michael Rodrigues.
A bill that opening up access to Massachusetts driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants could reach Gov. Charlie Baker's desk as soon as next week after legislative negotiators struck a quick deal Thursday.
The House unanimously approved a roughly $5 billion borrowing bill (H 4790) that would fund improvements to government infrastructure while also ordering a five-year pause on any prison or jail construction in Massachusetts. The correctional facility construction moratorium, which the House Ways and Means Committee added into Gov. Charlie Baker's version of the so-called general government bond bill, could stall the Baker administration's consideration of a new women's prison in Norfolk.