State House Takeout

Former Senate President Stan Rosenberg joins the News Service's Matt Murphy on this week's Takeout to talk about his new career as lobbyist, the state of progressive politics on Beacon Hill, and some of the major policy issues currently before the Legislature. Read more about the interview here: https://www.statehousenews.com/news/20202037

Rep. Lori Ehrlich and Every Voice Coalition Co-Chairs Nora Gallo and John Gabrieli sat down with News Service reporter Katie Lannan on this week's State House Takeout to dive into a bill addressing sexual assault on college campuses. With formal sessions in both branches extended until Jan. 5, House Speaker Robert DeLeo earlier this week signaled his interest in taking up the legislation by the end of the year. The coalition and Ehrlich have been advocating for the bill for several years and DeLeo's comments on Tuesday add an additional priority to House leadership's agenda outside of the budget or pending conference committees.

Ranking minority member of House Ways and Means Rep. Todd Smola sat down with the News Service this week to talk about the impact President Donald Trump is having on state elections, August tax revenue numbers, and uncertainty around federal stimulus relief. In an interview with the News Service's Matt Murphy, Smola pointed to the budget as the top priority for the House GOP caucus this fall and forecasted a "tough year" for Republicans in Massachusetts as races become more nationalized. Check out the full interview on this week's State House Takeout.

The primaries are over and the places are set for a full reporters' roundtable on this week's State House Takeout. The SHNS crew reviews the results in primary races for U.S. Senate, the Fourth Congressional District, and state House and Senate seats, and looks ahead to what we might expect in November.

On the latest Takeout, Secretary of State William Galvin checks in with the News Service ahead of next week's primaries about managing the elections during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reporter Chris Lisinski previews some of the races to watch and issues at play.

Three members of Beacon BLOC -- a coalition of Black State House staffers -- talk about their organization's mission and action points to change the institutional culture on Beacon Hill. The panelists are Black and Latino Legislative Caucus director Kyéra Sterling; Maia Raynor, legislative director for Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz; and Mark Martinez, policy and budget advisor to Sen. Pat Jehlen.

Reporters Katie Lannan and Matt Murphy stop by for some Friday takeout, detailing the state's new color-coded COVID map, the outlook for school reopenings and youth sports, and a look ahead to next week's Democratic National Convention.

On this week's Takeout, Senate President Karen Spilka checks in with Katie Lannan about the Legislature's ongoing work as formal sessions extend past July 31, with major bills in the negotiation process and a budget still on the to-do list. The president also talks about how her chamber has been adapting to the pandemic era, including the use of a lawmaker "buddy system."

Not your normal end-of-July #mapoli podcast. A roundtable of News Service reporters mull over the Legislature's decision to extend formal sessions past July 31 and potentially into January 2021. The corridors under the Golden Dome are still busy with lawmaking, and the SHNS crew has the latest on priorities like the budget, policing reform, and climate legislation... along with a look ahead to what we might see in the fall.

Beacon Hill debate was still underway on policing reform proposals Friday, and the Takeout has a preview of a big topic that hadn't yet hit the House floor: qualified immunity. Three big voices in the conversation joined the Takeout this week: Black and Latino Legislative Caucus Chairman Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, Mass. Law Enforcement Policy Group Chairman Larry Calderone, and ACLU of Massachusetts Executive Director Carol Rose. Matt Murphy moderates the panel, and Katie Lannan joins Sam Doran to recap the rest of a busy week under the Golden Dome.

State House Takeout, the News Service's weekly podcast, is back! On this week's edition, Chris Lisinski talks transportation funding with a trio of advocates: Chris Dempsey of Transportation for Massachusetts, Stacy Thompson of LivableStreets, and Jarred Johnson of TransitMatters. Catching up on the last few months, the Takeout kicks off with analysis from Matt Murphy and Sam Doran on what's been happening atop Beacon Hill, and what remains on the Legislature's plate as the scheduled end of formal lawmaking approaches. State House Takeout is the News Service's podcast offering bite-sized insights from the reporters on top of Beacon Hill, available on SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. The podcast is produced by Chris Van Buskirk.

It's all coronavirus news this week on the Takeout because the pandemic has touched all aspects of daily life for state government and Massachusetts residents. An emergency declaration and $15 million in preparedness funding were part of the government's response, and the SHNS crew looks ahead to what else we might see coming up next week.

The crew tackles dual House transportation sessions, Super Tuesday results, and the very latest updates on coronavirus cases in Massachusetts and the state's response.

The SHNS crew has a three-course Takeout this week: reporter Katie Lannan talks COVID-19, Matt Murphy and Chris Lisinski discuss the House transportation funding bill, and Colin Young touches on recent developments with Columbia Gas ... that and more on this week's State House Takeout!

On this week's episode, the Takeout crew dives into the federal charges against Lowell Rep. David Nangle, along with analysis of the Markey-Kennedy debate and a rundown of the new safe driving law that takes effect this Sunday. Stick around for an informed discussion on the best places to get takeout in Lowell from several former Lowell Sun reporters.

The Takeout crew filed into the studio this week for another episode of your favorite podcast. With Matt Murphy sitting in for Sam Doran (don't worry, he's just feeling under the weather), the gang talked about a mental health bill the Senate unanimously passed Thursday, updates to the state's various wind projects, and the unofficial holiday on Beacon Hill -- nomination paper pulling day. Stick around to hear about the exciting plans these reporters have for Valentine's Day.

Some were favorable... some died... some lived to be reported on another day. Many bills' fates were decided Wednesday, and new deadlines were set for scores of others. The SHNS crew looks at where the high-profile issues fall in the wake of "Joint Rule 10 Day," and talks about the effectiveness of deadlines.

This week's Takeout is all about the Senate's climate policy debate. Why did the Senate choose this "dramatic" three-bill approach? How far do senators' proposed climate measures go, and could they go farther? What are Speaker DeLeo and Gov. Baker going to make of what Sen. Barrett called a "radical" bill? And, hey, let's step back and ask, to quote the posterboard Sen. Bruce Tarr held aloft during Thursday's session... "What Does This Do?" The Takeout is hosted by Sam Doran and produced by Chris Van Buskirk.

On this week's Takeout, the reporters dig into Gov. Baker's State of the Commonwealth speech: what he said, what he didn't say, and what effect it may have on Beacon Hill action in 2020. Also: education and transportation themes in Baker's budget proposal, and takeaways from the Senate's climate package up for debate next week. And, a little talk about what's going on in Washington.

The Takeout team digs into packed hearings about the housing crisis and carbon emissions, along with further challenges to the Transportation and Climate Initiative and mounting pressure on next year's budget, then steps back to talk about the crowded, often chaotic nature of State House committee hearings. Jan. 17, 2020.