Lawmakers weigh statewide ban on plastic shopping ban
BOSTON (AP) — A legislative panel is considering a statewide ban on single-use plastic shopping bags in Massachusetts.
Under the legislation scheduled for a public hearing on Tuesday by the...
BOSTON -- Without dissent, the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed a broad package of criminal justice system reforms Wednesday that lawmakers said would begin to shift focus toward rehabilitation and substance use treatment and away from punishment in an effort to reduce recidivism.
BOSTON -- Refinancing and rates of return could join reading and 'rithmetic among the staples of a Bay State student's education, and lenders might be barred from sending unsolicited loan offers under a pair of bills passed Thursday by the Senate.
BOSTON -- The two Democrats behind a compromise that would allow for a limited amount of cooperation between local police and federal immigration agencies said Tuesday they're hopeful Gov. Charlie Baker will join them at the table to find a solution.
BOSTON -- The path to a compromise this session over state immigration enforcement legislation got a little narrower after the Baker administration told two key lawmakers over the weekend that it opposes a compromise they struck with local police groups.
BOSTON -- The lead sponsors of a bill that would limit the ability of state and local police to work with federal immigration officials say they've struck a compromise with law enforcement organizations on a redrafted version of the legislation and are calling on the Legislature to pass the re-written bill into law.
It's Tuesday, Feb. 20. Here is some of what Sun staffers and other news providers are working on for lowellsun.com and Wednesday's print edition.
Finally, the Pollard Memorial Library is preparing to reopen after
sustaining devastating water damage last month. Reporter Alana
Melanson, amelanson@lowellsun.com, has this story.
Lawmakers who say they've been targeted recently in their districts
by the right-leaning Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance plan to call on
By Michael P. Norton
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
BOSTON -- Lawmakers who say they've been targeted recently in their districts by the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance plan to call on state regulators Tuesday to force the non-profit group to register as a political committee and disclose its donors.
Senator calls for independent panel for harassment claims
BOSTON (AP) — The reluctance of harassment victims to come forward with complaints against the state Legislature demonstrates the need for an independent commission that could investigate any allegations, a senator said on Friday.
Sen. Jamie Eldridge, a Democrat from Acton, said he plans to file legislation establishing the permanent, nine-member commission in the coming days.
"There is a fear that if someone complains, they will be marginalized or retaliated against," Eldridge said.
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BOSTON -- Legislative leaders looking to fast track a bill that would guarantee women in Massachusetts access to free coverage for birth control received a cost analysis key to moving the measure forward that determined the benefit would add between 7 cents and 20 cents to monthly health insurance premiums.
BOSTON -- A Harvard Business School administrator plans to run for state Senate next year, framing herself as a Republican in the mold of Gov. Charlie Baker as she prepares to challenge one of the Legislature's more progressive Democrats.
Margaret Busse, a Republican of Acton, announced Monday that she will run for the Middlesex-Worcester District seat held by Sen. Jamie Eldridge, whom Busse refers to as "the self-styled Progressive incumbent."
BOSTON (AP) — With chants of "we are here to stay," immigrants and labor leaders are marking International Workers' Day with marches and rallies in the Boston area.
Some 200 people gathered in front of the Statehouse on Monday to call on state officials to designate Massachusetts a "sanctuary state." That would restrict state and local law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal immigration efforts.
Activists hope Massachusetts can go fossil fuel-free by 2050
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts environmentalists have long dreamed of a future 100 percent free of fossil fuels.
Now they have a date: 2050.
That's just three decades away, but backers of the effort, including dozens of Beacon Hill lawmakers, say it's realistic, provided the state starts carving out a path now.
Massachusetts lawmaker among those arrested at wage protest
BOSTON (AP) — A state senator was among nearly three dozen people arrested after they sat down on a Cambridge street during a demonstration in support of a $15 hourly minimum wage.