Mass. House

A bill that would require drivers in Massachusetts to put down their cellphones while behind the wheel has won approval in the state Senate. The legislation says motorists could still have cellphone conversations but only while using hands-free technology, with exceptions for certain emergency situations...

The Massachusetts Senate has joined the House in approving a bill aimed at cracking down on fentanyl, a powerful narcotic often added to heroin. Senators passed the bill unanimously on Wednesday as part of an effort to fight a deadly opioid abuse epidemic in Massachusetts...

(Associated Press) - The Massachusetts House has approved a bill designed to crack down on a powerful narcotic often added to heroin. Lawmakers passed the legislation targeting fentanyl Wednesday as part of an effort to fight the state's opioid abuse epidemic...

House Speaker Robert DeLeo is planning to run for another term as head of the Massachusetts House. A spokesman for the Winthrop Democrat confirmed that DeLeo will seek reelection to the House next year and will also seek another term as speaker...

Massachusetts appears on track for another sales tax holiday. The House on Wednesday voted 136-20 and the Senate 27-11 to suspend the state's 6.25 percent sales tax on most items during the weekend of Aug. 15-16. Gov. Charlie Baker has indicated his willingness to sign the bill when it reaches his desk, noting the holiday is something consumers have come to expect...

Legislation has cleared the State Senate that would create more financial incentives for the use of solar power.  On Tuesday, a citizens environmental group, Environment Massachusetts, was in Fall River urging passage of the bill in the Mass...

Massachusetts House and Senate budget negotiators have reached a deal on a final version of the state spending plan for the fiscal year that began last week. The six-member conference committee has been meeting behind closed doors for several weeks to resolve differences over the $38 billion budget...

A day after the Massachusetts House approved a bill to close a projected $768 million state budget shortfall, the Massachusetts Senate quickly followed suit.

Partisan politics did not surface in the Mass. House on Wednesday, when lawmakers, mostly all Democrats, gave near-unanimous support to a budget shortfall plan offered by Republican Governor Charlie Baker. Baker's financial team says this year's state budget is about $768-million in the red...

Budget negotiators in Gov. Charlie Baker's office and the Massachusetts House and Senate have estimated how much the state is expected to collect in revenue during the next fiscal year that begins July 1. They've pegged the number at just under $25...