Maura Healey

Despite injections of aid, school budgets haven't been able to keep up with inflation, the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents and Massachusetts Association of School Committees told lawmakers at a recent budget hearing.

Criminal justice reform activists joined a handful of state lawmakers Wednesday to fight against Gov. Maura Healey's budget pitch to slash funding for some reentry programs, arguing the cuts would unravel the success of a landmark 2018 law.

The last time tax collections came in at or above the administration's monthly benchmark was June 2023, nine months ago.

Tutwiler said the field is already flooded with "misinformation" about the proposal, stressing that it would not eliminate the MCAS altogether but would instead decouple results from high school graduation requirements.

Healey highlighted parts of her planned legislation, which she dubbed the "Mass Leads Act," at Somerville-based Form Energy, an energy storage technology and manufacturing company.

The governor's plans to let cities and towns raise local taxes on hotel rooms and restaurant meals surprised some this year, after Healey touted a major tax relief law last year as the landmark accomplishment of her first year in office.

Healey’s speech will outline her administration’s plan to bolster economic growth in the commonwealth, according to the chamber.

"No offense to you guys, this is completely anecdotal, I haven't seen a single package store in my hometown shut down, but I've seen restaurants shut down left and right," Oliveira, a Ludlow Democrat, told package store owners at the hearing.

Minutes after that deadline passed, Healey's office said that Steward on Thursday communicated to the state that it does not have the audited financial statements officials had sought.

The first five turbines of the 62 planned for the project are "operating at full capacity," the Healey administration said, creating 68 megawatts of power.