By Bob Katzen

Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. Continue reading HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? →

By Bob Katzen

The Senate approved an amendment filed by Veterans and Federal Affairs Committee chair Sen. John Velis (D-Westfield) that would repeal a current law that restricts Gold Star spouses from receiving their annuity if they remarry. The amendment would also increase from $2,000 to $3,000 the annual annuity payment that Gold Star parents and spouses receive annually from the state. Continue reading GOLD STAR FAMILIES →

By Bob Katzen

The Senate gave final approval to and sent to Gov. Baker a bill that would prohibit any person or entity including educational institutions workplaces and public spaces from implementing any policy that would explicitly target someone who wears their natural hairstyle. The measure defines natural hairstyle as hair texture, hair type and protective hairstyles including braids, locks, twists and other formations. Continue reading PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION AGAINST A PERSON WITH A NATURAL HAIRSTYLE →

By Bob Katzen

The Senate 7-31, rejected an amendment that would reduce the short-term capital gains tax from 12 percent to 5 percent; increase the no-income tax status threshold from $8,000 to $12,500; and increase the rental deduction cap from $3,000 to $5,000, instead of just to $4,000 which the original bill provides. Continue reading MORE TAX RELIEF (S 3018) →

By Bob Katzen

The Senate 40-0, approved a $4.57 billion economic development and tax relief package.

The bill provides $500 million one-time tax rebates to an estimated 2 million eligible people. A $250 rebate would go, by September 30, to individual taxpayers and a $500 rebate to married taxpayers. Eligibility will be determined by annual income reported in 2021, with the minimum income required to be $38,000, and the maximum $100,000 for individual filers and $150,000 for joint filers. Continue reading ECONOMIC GROWTH AND TAX RELIEF →

By Bob Katzen

The House 120-33, approved an amendment that makes changes to the Bay State’s gun laws. The amendment was attached to a separate bond bill. The changes were proposed in response to a recent Supreme Court ruling in in New York Pistol and Riffle vs Bruen, that a state licensing authority could not ask applicants applying for a license to carry firearms to demonstrate they have a special need or proper cause to carry a firearm. The court also ruled that the licensing authority could not have unfettered discretion to decide whether that proper cause existed. Continue reading CHANGES TO GUN LAWS →

By Bob Katzen

The House 143-9, Senate 38-2, approved and sent to Gov. Baker legislation that would expand the clean energy industry and reduce emissions from the transportation and building sectors across the state with the goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. Continue reading CLEAN ENERGY AND REDUCED EMISSIONS →

By Bob Katzen

The House 126-27, Senate 36-3, approved a motion to suspend the rules so that the House-Senate conference committee version of a clean energy bill can be considered immediately. Under the Legislature’s rules, all conference committee bills must be filed by 8 p.m. the day before they are up for debate and a vote so that legislators have ample time to read the measure. This bill was not filed until 12:11 a.m. on Thursday morning so without suspending the rules, the bill could not be considered until Friday morning.
Continue reading SUSPEND RULES TO ALLOW IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION OF CLEAN ENERGY BILL (H 5060) →

By Bob Katzen

The House 152-0, Senate 40-0, approved and sent to Gov. Charlie Baker a $52.7 billion fiscal 2023 state budget for the fiscal year that began July 1, including $1.23 billion in unrestricted general government aid to cities and towns, an increase of $63.1 million over last year.
Continue reading $52.7 BILLION FISCAL 2023 STATE BUDGET (H 5050) →

By William Tauro

It looks like they are finally going to reopen the McGrath Highway Overpass offramp again after a long unexpected closure. The sudden closing of this offramp a few years ago was unexplained to this very day and was especially damaging to multiple local businesses in that area. Continue reading Letter from the Editor:McGrath Highway Overpass Offramp Apparently Being Groomed to Reopen →

First they took away our parking spaces, now they’re taking away the bus routes! Instead of making things better for the people, they are making it worse! It’s time for residents to speakup! It’s time for change!
Continue reading Letter from the Editor: Somerville Losing MBTA Routes →

BOSTON – Today the Office of State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump released an audit of the Juvenile Court Department (JCD) in which the time period of November 5, 2018 through March 15, 2020 was reviewed. The intended scope was to examine the JCD’s pretrial diversion program and use of restraints during juvenile court proceedings. However, the Office of the State Auditor’s (OSA) objectives could not be thoroughly examined as the JCD lacked data to review. Continue reading Audit Recommends Juvenile Court Department Improve Administrative Practices, Data Tracking →

By William Tauro

Former Somerville Resident Joe LoRusso co-hosted an successful annual Jimmy Fund event on July 16th. The organization raised over 10K for the Jimmy fund. Continue reading Former Somerville Resident Raises Money for Jimmy Fund →