“Labor issues are still hindering employers, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the number of problems small business owners face in Massachusetts. It is not the time to put the brakes on tax relief for small businesses, as estate tax reform is long overdue in Massachusetts.”

— Christopher Carlozzi, the Massachusetts state director of the National Federation of Independent Business.

“The threat of tick-borne disease is not going away. In fact, Massachusetts has seen one of the fastest growing increases of tick-borne disease cases in the nation in the past 30 years. It is our duty as a Legislature to act. This bill would establish a special commission of field experts and legislators charged with leading the way in identifying the best practices for increasing Lyme Disease awareness, combatting its harmful spread and assisting those suffering from its long-term effects.”
—Sen Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth) testifying in favor of his bill creating a special commission to help combat Lyme disease.

“Massachusetts is a leader in public education on the cutting edge of student development and advancement. Despite these gains, many of our children attend school in older buildings, where outdated plumbing puts them at risk of lead ingestion. This cannot continue.”
—Sen. Joan Lovely (D-Salem) on the third edition of the MASSPIRG Education Fund report “Get The Lead Out” which gave Massachusetts a C- grade for its lack of a statewide requirement to prevent lead contamination of schools’ drinking water.

“If we give away hundreds of millions of dollars each year in new tax breaks for the ultra-rich and large corporations, we won’t be able to make the investments in housing, childcare and transportation that are needed to make Massachusetts truly affordable, equitable and competitive.”
—Andrew Farnitano, spokesperson for Raise Up Massachusetts in response to new data showing that state tax revenues plummeted last month, falling $2.2 billion below April 2022 collections.