State House

Massachusetts lawmakers will consider proposals for new regulations on automatic license plate reader systems Thursday, among a host of other transportation bills. Massachusetts ended the use of a controversial license plate surveillance system in December 2020, after discovering a glitch that caused inaccurate data to be recorded for more than five years. Inaccurate dates and time stamps were found in…

Massachusetts lawmakers will consider proposals for new regulations on automatic license plate reader systems Thursday, among a host of other transportation bills.o

Arguing that app-based companies such as Uber and Lyft shift costly burdens onto taxpayers by denying drivers employee status, a new coalition of labor, civil rights and racial justice groups launched an effort Tuesday to oppose the tech giants in their effort to rewrite state labor laws. Dozens of activists with the Coalition to Protect Workers’ Rights kicked off their…

A new coalition of organized labor leaders, workers rights advocates and app-based drivers will rally at the State House at 10 a.m. Tuesday to launch its campaign pushing for gig economy businesses such as Uber, Lyft and DoorDash to classify drivers as workers rather than independent contractors.

A Truro Democrat on Friday pushed members of a new commission studying qualified immunity to reach out and listen to a diverse set of voices, saying the group’s primarily white makeup needs to recognize the topic they are studying disproportionately impacts people of color. “I do really want to note the composition of this commission, at least in the...

The Massachusetts Fire Marshal released photos of a person of interest in multiple “intentionally set” fires and a burglary in Brockton early Wednesday morning. Authorities believe the incidents are connected. The old State House at the Brockton Fairgrounds was destroyed in a five-alarm blaze overnight, according to Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey’s office. “It was good back in the 80s —…

The Baker administration has been quietly planning for a permanent “hybrid” work model for as much as half of the state workforce, and over the course of 2021 will be redesigning office space and equipping employees with the technology they need to be able to continue to work remotely after the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Charlie Baker last week sent an…

All streets near the Massachusetts State House have been reopened Sunday, Boston police announced, several hours after saying they would be closed effective immediately and with no set end date. A Boston police representative said the officers helped Massachusetts State Police secure the State House “out of an abundance of caution,” but didn’t give more information. The roughly five-hour...

Massachusetts State Police say they’ve received no specific threats at the State House, or any other public venue in Massachusetts, after the FBI sent an alert to law enforcement agencies warning of calls for “peaceful armed protest” planned at all 50 states’ capitols. Additionally, a representative of the FBI’s Boston office told NBC News on Monday that it “is...

The FBI sent a warning that armed protests may be planned for all state capitols in the U.S. Jan. 16-20.

The Vermont Legislature gaveled in for the start of the session Wednesday, with most operations happening remotely during the pandemic. This year, women will be increasingly playing major leadership roles. “It means so, so much to me personally,” said Sen. Becca Balint, a Democrat from Windham County who is the first woman and first openly gay person to ever serve…

The Vermont legislature stated its session Wednesday with most operations happening remotely due to the pandemic. This year, more women will be playing major leadership roles.

A third House lawmaker in as many days has tested positive for COVID-19 and three more legislative employees contracted the virus, including two who were at the State House last week, according to an email sent by Speaker Robert DeLeo Sunday night to legislators and staff. DeLeo alerted the House on Sunday evening that he had been informed on Saturday…

The bronze statue of President John Kennedy on a little-used corner of the State House lawn is taking a stroll back into the limelight. Portrayed in mid-stride with one hand at his jacket pocket, Kennedy has stood since 1990 on the plaza in front of the State House’s West Wing entrance. But that entrance was closed after the 2001 terrorist…

Days after Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker called President Donald Trump “incredibly irresponsible” for downplaying the seriousness of COVID-19, the governor met at the State House with one of the White House’s senior coronavirus response leaders, who was in the state to hear from university presidents about college testing. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, visited Boston...

Victims were remembered at the Massachusetts State House Friday on the 19th anniversary of the tragedy.

Family members of three men who were killed by police over the last several years are calling on Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker to help them re-open their cases.

There was a protest outside the Massachusetts State House on Sunday against the flu vaccine mandate recently announced by state leaders.

In a call to end systemic racism, organizers, activists and social justice groups will march from the Parkman Bandstand in Boston Common to the State House steps Friday.

Gov. Phil Scott on Wednesday said he would extend Vermont’s state-of-emergency order later this week as the number of novel coronavirus cases in the state surpassed 600. In a press conference, Scott said he would announce the extension and provide further details Friday. Scott said social distancing measures had helped slow the spread of COVID-19, adding that data showed over…