Latest news with #BayStaters
Axios
02-07-2025
- Automotive
- Axios
The long, long road to taxing mileage in Mass.
Lawmakers are looking for the state to get closer to its climate-friendly emissions goal by targeting how many miles residents drive. Why it matters: Transportation accounts for 37% of all Massachusetts emissions, yet the state consistently trails behind its own goals to reduce greenhouse gases. Factoring miles driven into state policy — and possibly taxing them down the road — would be a sea change in the way Bay Staters move around the commonwealth. Driving the news: A bill in the Legislature would explore ways to reduce vehicle miles and meet climate objectives by urging residents to drive less and use transit more. Between the lines: The " Freedom to Move Act" just takes the first step toward establishing a policy governing vehicle miles traveled. It would establish an interagency council to develop strategies to reduce car dependency and enhance biking, walking infrastructure and public transit. The measure would be part of the state's mandate to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Eventually, the bill says the state "may facilitate reductions in vehicle miles traveled." Bill sponsors emphasize that the legislation only creates planning frameworks for reducing carbon emissions, not new prohibitions. Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem said the bill "doesn't impose restrictions on how much Massachusetts residents can drive," but focuses on expanding other options. The other side: Opponents are concerned about government overreach and economic impact. What they're saying: Tracking mileage would be "behavioral control disguised as environmental policy," Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance executive director Paul Craney told the Herald. Conservatives worry about potential restrictions on mobility for individuals and businesses if mileage becomes a factor. Rural legislators are worried such a policy would have unequal impacts on communities that require longer drives to work and services. Senate energy committee chair Michael Barrett expressed concern over a "subtle bias against rural Massachusetts" during a legislative hearing. The bottom line: It's early days yet, but if the bill advances, it would put mileage measurements in play on Beacon Hill for the first time.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Healey calls for Job Corps reopening
BOSTON (WWLP) – The Trump administration is halting operations at Job Corps, a program that provides job training and housing to young people, and Governor Healey is calling for the program to be reinstated. Tax collections far higher than last year's The mission of the Job Corps is to provide at-risk youth with the tools they need to start a successful career and be financially independent. The Job Corps program enrolls 900 Bay Staters aged 16-24, including over 300 students at their Chicopee location. The Department of Labor announced the program pause, saying it was due to their 38% graduation rate and $80,000 per student yearly cost, but Job Corps' national branch says neither of these statistics is correct. According to Job Corps, their graduation rate is historically above 60%, and the cost per enrollee sits at less than $50,000 per year. The governor says losing Job Corps will affect not only the young people in the program, but employers as well. 'Now, hundreds of young people are without the training and housing they were relying on, hundreds of employees are facing layoffs, and Massachusetts employers are being left without the talent they need,' said the governor. Staff at the Chicopee Job Corps center say they are not sure what will happen to their students, but they are certain all staff will be laid off. A New York judge temporarily stopped the Job Corps elimination on Thursday morning, as both Democrats and Republicans have denounced the Trump Administration's efforts to shutter Job Corps centers. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Should I buy a home or have a baby amid tariffs? MA residents say no, says new poll
Should you choose now to buy a home, have a child or look for a new job? Massachusetts residents say no, according to a new poll from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released Friday. The poll found that Massachusetts residents are very pessimistic about the U.S. economy and about making expensive life decisions. Based on the recent poll ,64%, including a majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents, think it's a bad time to buy a home. Majorities also think it's a bad time to buy a car (54%) or have a child (51%). Few think it's a good time to buy a major household item (17%) or look for a new job (19%). The only action surveyed that Bay Staters are less pessimistic about is investing in the stock market: 27% think it's a good time to do so (with Republicans more likely to say so), 34% say it's a bad time and 39% are neutral. The poll also looked at how Massachusetts's residents feel about their current finances, their expectations for the economy in the coming year and their thoughts on tariffs. The Bay State Poll surveyed 907 Massachusetts residents online between May 22 and May 26. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.3%. Currently, 38% of Massachusetts residents say they are worse off financially than a year ago. 46% say they are about the same, and 16% say they are better off. When looking ahead, 46% say they expect to be worse off a year from now, compared to 27% who expect to be the same or better off. Those who expect to be worse off cite higher prices, increasing inflation, and a government who they expect will handle the economy poorly. More than half (55%) also expect the U.S. economy to experience bad times in the next year, and 68% think tariffs will hurt the U.S. economy. That includes 97% of Democrats, 72% of Independents and 17% of Republicans. 75% of Republicans expect tariffs to have a positive impact on the U.S. economy. This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Should I buy a home right now? New poll shows MA residents say no
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Industry pushes back on Senate-backed Rx price cap idea
BOSTON (SHNS) – Less than two weeks after the Senate moved to create a new prescription drug price cap system in Massachusetts, an industry official warned against legislative 'leapfrog' that could complicate the most recent round of reforms. A top pharmaceutical industry lobbyist urged lawmakers to hit the brakes on an attempt to impose upper price limits on certain medications, arguing that the new regulations would come while another cost control law is still being implemented. Both a 23-page amendment added to the Senate's fiscal year 2026 budget and a much broader, 118-page standalone bill (S 868) would allow the Health Policy Commission to impose upper price limits on some prescription drugs to cap what patients, providers and pharmacies pay. Kelly Ryan, deputy vice president for state policy at the influential industry group PhRMA, told legislators Monday the proposal would 'leapfrog substantial legislation enacted here in Massachusetts just this past December,' referring to a new prescription drug price control law. That law limited patient costs to no more than $25 for certain name-brand medications to treat chronic illnesses and eliminated those costs for similar generic options. It also created a new licensure process for pharmacy benefit managers, and stood up an Office for Pharmaceutical Policy and Analysis within the HPC. 'Where the bill before you focuses primarily on manufacturers when we're looking at pricing, the office is tasked with looking at the broader supply chain, providing detailed analysis, reports and policy recommendations,' Ryan told the Health Care Financing Committee at a hearing about the new bill. 'We urge the committee to let that work proceed before taking any next steps.' The Senate has not embraced the industry call to slow down. In late May, before lawmakers heard testimony on the larger bill at a public hearing, the Senate adopted a budget rider that would empower the HPC with the ability to cap certain drug costs and set limits on what Bay Staters pay. Sen. Cindy Friedman, who co-chairs the Health Care Financing Committee and authored both the bill and the amendment, said during budget debate the upper price limit measure builds on the new law with 'one more step in that direction.' 'Pharmaceutical companies should be thrilled to have their drugs go through this because they should have enormous value, right?' she told Ryan during Monday's hearing. 'We're looking for drugs that are very high cost with lots and lots of value. We want to know about that, and we're willing — we believe people should be willing to pay for that. It would seem to me this would work in your favor because, I would hope, your drugs have enormous value.' A handful of other states have pursued similar price caps, prompting legal battles. Ryan said 'not one [state's system] has been implemented to date.' 'States have spent years and millions of dollars, and not a single patient has been impacted,' she said. 'In fact, patients are likely going to be negatively impacted by [upper price limits].' Health care spending in Massachusetts continues to surge well beyond state targets for cost containment, burdening many household budgets and putting care out of reach for some low-income residents. While the Senate budget amendment focuses on prescription drug price caps, Friedman's underlying bill reaches into many other areas of reform, including by giving regulators more flexibility to examine an individual hospital, health system or insurer's spending. The legislation would also boost penalties for failure to comply with cost control plans and give the Division of Insurance new tools to modify premium rate increases, according to a summary produced by advocacy group Health Care for All. 'It is individuals, families and businesses who will ultimately bear the burden of these costs, both through increased premiums and growing out-of-pocket costs. An unacceptable 40% of residents continue to report challenges affording care,' Alex Sheff, senior director of policy and government relations at Health Care for All, said. 'These costs come on top of the growing cost of living, challenges that leave residents with impossible choices between paying rent and getting the health care that they need.' The Health Care Financing Committee is weighing a suite of other bills supporters say would rein in health care costs and promote affordability. Committee co-chair Rep. John Lawn said at the start of Monday's hearing that the panel 'must put more focus on all areas of the drug supply chain' to understand what causes high drug prices. Another proposal before the panel (H 1398 / S 899) would require hospitals receiving state funding to compensate their CEOs at a rate no more than 50 times the amount that the hospital's lowest-paid worker earns. Dr. Taylor Walker, a physician at Cambridge Health Alliance and president of the physician union CIR SEIU, said 44 of 57 health care CEOs in Massachusetts earn more than 50 times the salary of their institution's lowest-paid worker. Rep. John Moran asked Walker if the CEO compensation limit could push health care executives to leave for higher-paying roles elsewhere, such as in the pharmaceutical sector. 'I'd say the problem is actually not losing talent because we don't want to pay CEOs $6 million a year. The problem is that we're losing talent because we don't want to pay our doctors who are actually taking care of our patients, and we don't really give a shit about the people who are taking care of our communities,' Walker said. 'This is something that is absolutely maddening.' WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GOP Mass. governor hopeful Brian Shortsleeve touts ‘record' $416K fundraising haul
The race for the 2026 Republican gubernatorial nomination moved into high gear Monday with one aspirant for the corner office announcing he'd 'shattered' a fundraising record. Brian Shortsleeve, who helmed the MBTA under former Gov. Charlie Baker, said his campaign had raised $416,027 in its first 20 days, outpacing both his old boss and his so-far only competition for the nomination. 'I'm deeply grateful that so many Bay Staters have stepped up to support my campaign to bring affordability and fiscal sanity back to Massachusetts,' Shortsleeve, who entered the race last month, said in a statement. The other Republican in the race, Mike Kennealy, who served as Baker's housing and economic development czar, said he'd raised more than $130,000 in the first three weeks of his campaign. That haul prompted a challenge from the state Democratic Party, which complained to state regulators that Kennealy apparently had collected thousands of dollars in donations above the allowable limit. Shortsleeve said his campaign broke the $139,502 record for non-incumbents that Baker set during his first 30 days as a candidate in 2009, when the individual donation limit was $500 instead of the current $1,000. It also exceeds the $405,511 that incumbent Democratic Gov. Maura Healey raised in March 2025, Shortsleeve's campaign said. Healey announced earlier this year that she's seeking a second term. Kennealy's campaign attributed the overages to donors who'd covered credit card processing fees and couples who contributed to the Republican hopeful as a single transaction, MassLive previously reported. A spokesperson told MassLive that the campaign was 'actively' refunding excess donations. And the campaign was in 'full communication' with regulators to ensure compliance. State data show Kennealy with $256,715 in his campaign account as of Monday. Healey had $2.9 million in her campaign account as of Monday, data show. Bill Clinton raises alarm over Donald Trump: 'We've never seen anything like this before' Mass. Gov. Healey's popularity takes a dip in new poll Hampden County June Staff Office Hours for State Senator Paul Mark Springfield officials support legislation to automatically seal criminal records Gov. Healey demands answers after ICE arrests Mass. high school student Read the original article on MassLive.
