Government & Politics

Massachusetts could become the first state to ban future generations from buying tobacco or nicotine products, a move that some say will finally end addiction to the harmful products, but others argue removes adult choices and freedom and would hurt small businesses. 

House Democrats are moving toward a vote on legislation that would update the 2022 state law shielding reproductive and transgender care from out-of-state legal action.

After a more than two-year tenure in which she charted the state's path through the tumultuous Steward Health Care collapse, Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh will step down, the Healey administration announced Friday.

Leaders at the Cannabis Control Commission have been busy meeting with senators, including Senate President Karen Spilka, as a House-approved bill overhauling the CCC awaits Senate action.

The offering came as part of Avidia Bank’s efforts to go public, which it began in March with a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Massachusetts experienced a more than 36% decrease in opioid-related overdose deaths in 2024, the state Substance Addiction Services Bureau reported Wednesday.

While workers at UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester once again made up the largest percentage of the state’s highest-paid state employees in 2024, UMass men’s basketball Head Coach Frank Martin once again topped the list.

"For people living paycheck to paycheck, this policy turns poverty into a crime," Diana Williams, legislative policy counsel for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, said. "When someone loses their licenses due to unpaid debt, they face an impossible choice: stop driving and risk losing their job and ability to get around, or keep driving and risk arrest. A civil fine can quickly spiral into a criminal record."

New low-cost academic housing will be coming to Framingham State University as the school has received $6.6 million to renovate an underutilized residence hall into apartment.

Cities and towns would have the option to offer happy hour promotions for alcoholic beverages during specific time windows under proposals from Cyr and Rep. Samantha Montaño (S 217 / H 443). Happy hour has been banned in Massachusetts since 1984, as officials sought to alleviate drunk driving.