THE HOUSE’S TOP BUDGET OFFICIAL on Friday made a pitch for a higher tax rate on recreational marijuana during a press conference unveiling the Legislature’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal. Rep. Brian Dempsey of Haverhill, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the 28 percent tax rate proposed in the House pot bill
The push and pull of transit in Boston and the Gateway Cities
A look at gentrification forces on transit-dependent households
The trend of low- and middle-income households being priced out of urban centers with robust public transit networks is a reality in major cities all over the country. Despite its ills, the MBTA system is exceptional, which means Boston is no exception. Migration data from the American Community Survey show that more than one-quarter of
Fighting for a More Just and Equitable Commonwealth
The MassCJRC Journal
June 2017 will be remembered as an important milestone for criminal justice reform in Massachusetts. After numerous commissions, taskforces, research reports, and independent analyses, legislators are looking at a bevy of seriously substantive criminal justice reform proposals. Those engaged in the long fight for comprehensive criminal justice reform should pause for a moment to reflect
Community Benefit Districts on the table for FY18
New designation would promote collaboration in downtowns, Main Streets
Representative Brendan Crighton and Senator Eileen Donoghue have filed an outside section of the FY18 Budget, currently in Conference Committee, that would create Community Benefit Districts (CBDs) as an alternative to Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) for communities across the Commonwealth. CBDs are designed to support downtowns, cultural districts, historic areas, and Main Streets that require
Criminal justice reform bill: Four questions for the Legislature
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
This article was originally published in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Volume 46, Issue No. 25 on June 19th, 2017. By Max D. SternPartner, Todd & Weld LLP, Co-Chair, The Massachusetts Criminal Justice Reform Coalition and Michael B. Keating, Partner, Foley Hoag LLP Why are repeat offenders responsible for three-quarters of all new convictions in Massachusetts? Because when
Locally accountable for education-led renewal
The Gateway Cities Journal
The fate of our Gateway Cities lies in their schools. From growing a skilled workforce to maintaining healthy neighborhoods, public education will be the deciding factor. Significant progress has been made, but a lot more needs to happen to put these school systems in a stronger position to drive economic growth and renewal. Some of
Steve Koczela offers testimony to Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Judiciary
On the results of polls and focus groups conducted by MPG
My name is Steve Koczela, and I am the president of The MassINC Polling Group. I am here today to testify on the results of polls and focus groups we have conducted on criminal justice reform, spanning 2014 to April and May of this year. The polls and focus groups were sponsored by our parent
Ben Forman offers testimony to Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on the Judiciary
In support of "An Act Implementing the Joint Recommendations of the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Review"
TESTIMONY REGARDING H. 74 “AN ACT IMPLEMENTING THE JOINT RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS CRIMINAL JUSTICE REVIEW” PROVIDED TO THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY JUNE 19, 2017 Benjamin Forman MassINC Thank you Chairwoman Cronin, Chairman Brownsberger, and members of the committee for the opportunity to provide testimony on An Act Implementing the Joint Recommendations of
Joint Committee on the Judiciary to hold second hearing
Several bills on criminal justice reform will be heard
Monday, June 19 at 1:00pm, the Joint Committee on the Judiciary will again hold a hearing at which dozens of bills concerning criminal justice reform will be heard. Earlier this year, Governor Baker filed a bill, An Act Implementing the Joint Recommendations of the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Review (H.74). This bill primarily addresses “back-end” reforms, or reforms
The Trump administration is not poll-driven
The Topline
Say what you will about the Trump administration — and with disapproval in the Gallup daily trackerhitting 60 percent last week, people have a lot to say — but they are not committing that cardinal political “sin” of governing by poll. In fact, they frequently seem fully committed to the opposite: finding the popular route