Senate President

Rodrigues, 59, will step into one of the most prominent positions on Beacon Hill.

BOSTON (AP) _ Unions have spent decades cultivating ties on Beacon Hill and now Massachusetts lawmakers are looking for ways to help unions as they weigh a recent Supreme Court decision. The court ruled last month public employees can't be forced to pay fees to labor unions that represent them in collective bargaining...

BOSTON (AP) _ State senators are struggling to stay focused on major legislation amid the latest twists and turns in the wide open Senate president race. Democratic Sen. John Keenan, of Quincy, is the latest member to signal his interest...

Senate President Stan Rosenberg says he's planning to vote for a ballot question that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana in Massachusetts. The Amherst Democrat said during an interview Thursday on WGBH-FM that he will vote for Question 4 and then try to make improvements to the measure...

BOSTON (AP) _ An emotional Gov. Charlie Baker has signed what he calls the most comprehensive law in the nation to combat opioid addiction that has claimed thousands of lives in Massachusetts in recent years. Baker struggled to keep his composure Monday as he spoke about families he has encountered who have lost loved ones to addiction, or are trying to help a family member recover...

A state senator whose law office was raided by federal agents says he won't seek re-election. Sen. Brian Joyce, a Milton Democrat, said on his Twitter account Tuesday that he would continue to work for the district but not seek another two-year term in November...

Democratic Senate President Stan Rosenberg says Beacon Hill hasn't done a good enough job connecting with the state's young citizens. Rosenberg on Wednesday launched what he's calling a ``Millennial Engagement Initiative'' to reach out to young people on a range of issues, from student debt and social media privacy to the ``gig'' economy that has allowed freelancers to flourish...

Prospects for another sales tax holiday in Massachusetts are looking up. House Speaker Robert DeLeo said Monday that he expects lawmakers to act ``relatively soon'' on a bill that would suspend the state's 6.25 percent sales tax for one weekend during the summer...