By Bob Katzen

“An Act to end child marriage in Massachusetts is a great step forward that now protects young women and girls from entering into a marriage contract before the age of 18, the age of majority.”

—Rep. Kay Khan (D-Newton) at a ceremonial signing of the measure banning marriage of anyone under age 18. Prior law allowed minors to get married if they have parental consent.

“While recent precipitation across the state has brought some improvements to streamflow and local water supplies, we still have a ways to go. The commonwealth continues to experience widespread drought in every region of the state. To avoid overstressing water systems, we all must adhere to local water use requirements and practice water conservation methods in an effort to ensure essential needs, including drinking water, fire suppression and habitat, continue to be met.”
—Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Beth Card.

“The next governor of Massachusetts needs to make reducing waste a top priority. Disposing of waste that could be reused or recycled harms our environment and health, adds to climate change and is literally throwing away our tax dollars which subsidize disposal. We need enforcement of these bans, and we need a more ambitious plan to make Massachusetts a zero-waste state.”
— Janet Domenitz of MASSPIRG on a report by Zero Waste Massachusetts that two million tons of materials banned from the state’s landfills and incinerators end up there each year.

“We know that the NFL kicks off tonight. And that, due to the nature of sports wagering, interest is piqued. We are rooting for the Pats. Our process will play out as it would have whenever this law came to the Gaming Commission to regulate and we will not compromise getting this right for anything. With that said, we also are aware of the importance of timing.”
— Mass. Gaming Commission sports Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein on the commission’s progress in drafting regulations to oversee the state’s new law legalizing sports betting.