In contrast to state election laws governing candidates for office, which require regular reporting throughout the year on campaign donations and expenditures, ballot question committees operate under relatively lax reporting requirements.
Massachusetts Legislature
Posted inState Government
Much ado about the multibillion dollar housing bond bill
Major bond bills set the widest parameters for possible spending. But there’s little to no chance that $6 billion in bonding power actually gets pointed at the housing crisis.
Posted inMarijuana
Lawmakers punt on issue of intoxicating hemp products
Lawmakers stressed the urgency of dealing with the issue of intoxicating hemp-based products but said that they’re unlikely to do anything before the next legislative session begins next year.
Posted inEconomy
Lawmakers from Lowell, Springfield say cities would welcome economic jolt
Two Democrats who have a chance to stamp their mark on Gov. Maura Healey’s plan to reinvigorate the state’s business climate want the benefits to stretch beyond the Boston metropolitan area.
Posted inGuns
Rare public conference committee closes its doors
Sen. Joan Lovely of Salem, a member of the conference committee, said her family was stalked after her prior participation on a committee dealing with gun regulations and that person has resurfaced.
Posted inState Government
House looks poised to punt again on sex ed bill
Proponents have expressed mystification, and frustration, about the House’s continued resistance to the bill. Former Senate president Harriette Chandler, who supported the bill during her time in office, repeatedly called the long delay “a disgrace” last month on a local cable show she hosts while talking with bill sponsor Rep. Jim O’Day.
Posted inPolitics
Fifth time’s the charm for sex ed law?
Supporters of the Healthy Youth Act are taking a fifth swing at passing the legislation, which has made it through the state Senate four times only to fizzle in the House.
Posted inState Government
Short takes: The House departure lounge fills up
Several of the lawmakers hold leadership positions and committee chairmanships, prompting some musing inside the building, and out, about what the departures mean in the context of House Speaker Ron Mariano’s future.
Posted inHealth Care
House leaders not interested in Steward bailout
“I’ve been so close to this because Ralph was at Quincy when Quincy closed. I’ve been dealing with Ralph [de la Torre] for a long time and I am suspect of everything he tells me,” the speaker said.
Posted inPolitics
Donors to DiZoglio ballot campaign mostly hail from business sector
The ballot question is championed by state Auditor Diana DiZoglio, who is in effect launching another statewide campaign after jumping from a state Senate seat to the auditor’s office in 2022.