Mass. State Senate

State senators on Tuesday approved a bill that would make juveniles convicted of first-degree murder eligible for parole after serving between 20 and 30 years in prison. Amendments that would have raised the minimum threshold for parole to 35 years or to 25 years were defeated, the latter by a single vote...

The state Senate has approved a bill that would increase the state's minimum wage while also offering business-friendly changes in the state's unemployment insurance. Thursday's action by the Senate was largely an attempt by Democratic leaders to break a procedural logjam with the House and allow negotiations to begin over an increase in the $8 per hour minimum wage, which has not changed in the p

The Massachusetts Senate will consider a bill, backed by Senate President Therese Murray, to raise the state's hourly minimum wage from $8 to $11 by 2016.  An aide to Murray says the bill would also tie future increases in the minimum wage to inflation and assure that the state's minimum wage is always at least 50 cents higher than the federal rate. ...

Senate leaders are proposing a sweeping overhaul of the state's welfare system that seeks to put more welfare recipients back in the workforce while reducing fraud and waste.  Under the bill outlined on Monday, able-bodied people would be required to seek work _ first on their own and later with the help of state-sponsored job training programs _ before they can collect benefits...