Government & Politics

The regulatory updates touch different types of businesses, including grocery stores, ski areas, barber shops, retail stores, banks and credit unions, telecommunications and electric companies, and others.

Opponents, including Equitable Opportunities Now and the Massachusetts Cannabis Equity Council, have warned that multistate operators are able to spend heavily to increase their market share and that allowing them to grow even more will hurt small and equity-owned businesses.

Nine Central Massachusetts nonprofits have received a total of nearly $1 million in grant funding for their efforts to provide small businesses with technical assistance training and access to financing.

Hundreds of private attorneys who represent indigent defendants across Massachusetts announced Tuesday that they will stop accepting new court-appointed cases until the Legislature raises their pay to match rates in neighboring states.

While the impacts of the U.S. House GOP's tax and funding cuts legislation come into focus, the group that represents the state's hospitals said this week it is closely monitoring provider tax policy for potential changes that could make it even harder to finance care for patients on MassHealth.

Restaurant owners scrambling to turn profits amid rising food, labor and energy costs again turned to the Legislature Tuesday for some reprieve as they lobby to pass credit card surcharges onto their customers. Meanwhile, economic development groups that support minority businesses aired their worries on Beacon Hill about how the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies and tariffs are impeding their supply chain and customer base.

Supporters of the centers say closing them will undermine workforce readiness and leave nearly 500 residential students at the sites without a clear future. 

With a planned start in June and completion expected by the end of September 2026, the study seeks to find ways to reconnect neighborhoods divided by the construction of the highway in the mid-20th century.

On the same day the U.S. House approved a sweeping package of tax relief and funding cuts that could impact state finances, the Massachusetts Senate approved an annual state budget that presses ahead with a sizable spending increase.

DPH’s request comes after the state agency deemed Framingham Union’s NICU an essential service following the hospital’s April announcement that it planned to shutter its 12-bassinet unit by June 10.