Last week, State Auditor Diana DiZoglio announced her supporters had gathered enough signatures to put a question on next year’s ballot that would let her audit the legislature. The was a massive boost to her campaign promise to increase scrutiny of the legislature, her onetime
To fulfill a campaign promise, Massachusetts State Auditor Diana Dizoglio will have to go to voters to change the law. Fellow statewider, Attorney General Andrea Campbell, announced Friday that existing law does not authorize an audit of the legislature, a key plank of Dizoglio’s platform.
Springfield Senator Adam Gomez unveiled new State House staff, formally filling several key posts that had become vacant. The sophomore lawmaker in Beacon Hill’s upper chamber represents nearly all of his hometown as well as parts of Chicopee. Consequently, he has a legislative agenda as large as his constituent services docket, underscoring the role of his staff in Boston.
It is all but certain that the annual spending plan will be the most significant piece of legislation of the 193rd General Court of Massachusetts. When compared to Democratic trifectas in that took office in some Midwest states, that record is, at best, modest.
The Massachusetts state budget, which both legislative chambers on Beacon Hill passed Monday, was late. It passed 31 days after the last budget expired on June 30. A 10-day period for Governor Maura Healey has begun when she will review the document and issue any vetoes.
Not even a month ago, the Ludlow School Committee faced a controversial proposal to remove several titles from school libraries. Ultimately, it failed without a vote last month. On Monday, Ludlow’s legislators introduced bills to blunt the national book-banning movement before it takes root in the commonwealth.
SPRINGFIELD—Tucked between passage of the House’s budget and the Senate’s introduction of its version was a briefing on Beacon Hill happenings from the legislative delegation for the commonwealth’s third city. Last Tuesday, Springfield’s five reps, one senator and staff for the other, took turns describing their priorities.
With Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka’s release of committee assignments, the upper house on Beacon Hill can now get down to legislating. Lawmaking will soon begin in earnest with full Democratic control of Beacon Hill for the first time in nearly a decade.
BOSTON—There was no outdoor swearing-in ceremony in the cold. No members received admonitions to stay away. There was a feast in the Great Hall and cake in the Senate reading room at the inaugural festivities of the 193rd General Court that formally installed the House and Senate.
Less than a day before 2022 closed, Ludlow Senator-elect Jake Oliveira announced his staff for his upcoming term, signaling both continuity and his priorities. Devin Sheehan will be his chief of staff, among other hires.