New England Public Radio

The Week Ahead On Beacon Hill: Taxes, Budget And Marijuana Lobbying

Key budget leaders in the Massachusetts House have said no new “broad-based” taxes are needed for the next state budget, even though tax revenues for the current fiscal year keep coming up short.

Like most Mondays, we checked in with Matt Murphy, a reporter for the State House News Service in Boston. He explained when lawmakers say they’re not raising “broad-based” taxes, that doesn’t mean no new taxes at all.

Click the audio player above to hear Henry Epp’s conversation with Matt Murphy about the week ahead on Beacon Hill.

The Week Ahead On Beacon Hill

This week, a state commission in Massachusetts will meet to set the official health care cost benchmark. This system was put into place a number of years ago to keep a close watch on rising health care costs. For more, we checked in with State House News Service reporter Matt Murphy, as we do most Mondays.

Also this week:

  • The legislature’s transportation committee takes up road construction funds.
  • Governor Charlie Baker’s $40.5 billion state budget proposal gets its first public hearing on Thursday.

Click the audio player above to hear Carrie Healy’s conversation with Matt Murphy about the week ahead on Beacon Hill.

Study: Emails To Legislators Often Don’t Work

The arrival of the Trump Administration in Washington brought with it a huge volume of phone calls and emails. Congressional offices have said they’ve never seen so much correspondence from constituents — many who’re opposed to President Trump’s cabinet nominees and early policy announcements.

But new research finds this might not be the best way to influence your representatives — at least in state legislatures.

Click the audio player above to hear New England Public Radio’s Carrie Healy interview with UMass Lowell political scientist John Cluverius.

The Week Ahead On Beacon Hill: Slow Start To New Session, No Marijuana Committee (Yet)

Beacon Hill lawmakers are five weeks into a new two-year session, and things are off to a pretty slow start. Leaders in the Massachusetts legislature haven’t yet assigned members to committees, including a new panel that will examine the state’s new recreational marijuana law. Top Democrats in the legislature, as well as Governor Charlie Baker, have said they’d like to change parts of the voter-passed law in the next few months.

For more, we spoke to Matt Murphy of the State House News Service in Boston. He said the slow start to the marijuana committee could complicate efforts to change the new law.

Click the audio player above to hear Henry Epp’s conversation with Matt Murphy about the week ahead on Beacon Hill.

 

Conn. Legislature Starts New Session With A Senate Tie And A Big Budget Deficit

New legislative sessions begin Wednesday in both Massachusetts and Connecticut. In Connecticut, the action begins with the State of the State address from Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy.

The session will likely be dominated by a steep budget deficit for the next fiscal year — more than $1 billion.

For more, we spoke to Chris Keating, the Capitol Bureau Chief for the Hartford Courant. He said legislative leaders and Governor Malloy are likely to fix the budget problem through cuts, not taxes.

Click the audio player above to listen to Henry Epp’s interview with Chris Keating of the Hartford Courant.

Springfield’s Bud Williams Weighs Dual Role As State Rep. And City Councilor

A Springfield city councilor is on track to juggle two elected positions in the new year, as he begins a term in the Massachusetts state legislature.

Councilor Bud Williams, a Democrat, will be sworn in as a state representative next week, but he’ll still be an at-large city councilor in Springfield.

Williams did not respond to a request for comment for this story, but he told the Springfield Republican newspaper this week that he hasn’t yet decided whether to give up his council seat.

Holyoke State Representative Aaron Vega was in a similar spot in 2013, and kept both positions. Vega said being a City Councilor is a part-time job.

“Every city councilor has another job, right? A full-time job,” Vega said. “In essence, you could say, ‘Listen, state rep. is my full-time job, and just like you, City Council’s my part-time job.'”

Vega said he was busy that year, but believed he fully represented his constituents in both roles.

If Bud Williams chooses to stay on the Springfield City Council, his current term will end in January of 2018. If he steps down, the next highest vote-getter from the 2015 election would take his place. According to Springfield Election Commissioner Gladys Oyola, that would be Jesse Lederman.