State House News Service Stories of the Week – Top Ten Stories, 2025
Jan. 3: Defying expectations, House and Senate pass major hospital-oversight and drug-pricing bills on old session’s last day, and new Legislature convenes.
Jan. 11: Federal spending freeze sets off panic, triggers court orders unfreezing loans and grants.
Feb. 28: House approves legislative-procedure changes aimed at ameliorating some of the public demands for less chaos, less secrecy and more deliberation. But they reject a voter-approved mandate to open their books.
March 21: Cuts in federal funding for health research, immigrant arrests, the elimination of the US Dept. of Education, cancellation of clean-energy support – all bring responses of fear and outrage at the State House, and some lawsuits.
April 4: Senate leaders’ announced response to Trump-administration immigration roundups draws the scorn of progressives, one calling it “comical and underwhelming.”
April 25: In the quiet of school-vacation week, House Ways and Means staffers sort 1,600 budget amendments into “Yes” and “No” piles, in advance of budget debate.
May 2: House passes $61.5 billion budget for fiscal 2026.
May 23: U.S. House passes federal budget bill that would cut billions in Mass. funding, but Senate approves increase in state spending for FY 2026.
June 20: Legislative leaders reach agreement on how to spend $1.3 billion in millionaire’s-surtax dollars targeted for transportation and education.
July 3: Legislators send Gov. Healey a $61 billion fiscal 2026 budget; first budget agreement reached by Rep. Michelwitz and Sen. Rodriguez before the Fourth of July.
July 11: With the shape of federal budget cuts still unclear, legislative leaders continue to resist suggestions of immediate major cuts in state spending
July 18: Health Care Committee Chairman John Lawn arrested outside the State House for DUI
July 25: Bar advocates stay off the job, as lawmakers consider pay-raise legislation and a rising number of defendants with no counsel are released from custody.
Aug. 1: Legislature approves “shield law” further protecting providers of reproductive health care
Aug. 8: National Conference of State Legislatures annual meeting draws 8,000 lawmakers and staff to Boston, examining full range of state issues in the context of Trump-era changes and divisiveness
Aug. 15: Governor files mid-summer break supplement budget totalling $2.45 billion, focused on health care.
Sep. 29: Trump administration forbids further work on Rhode Island’s Revolution Wind project, raising questions about whether Vineyard Wind will be next.
Sep. 5: DPH officially decouples Mass. vaccine policy from federal CDC guidelines.
Sep. 12: SJC Gebrielle Wolohojian rejects former Sen. Dean Tran’s argument that legislative immunity protected him from facing punishment for campaign-finance violations.
Sep. 19: DPH issues new state-level rules for COVID-19 vaccination, implement the decoupling from federal guidelines.
Sep. 26: Applegreen, the top bidder for a controversial contract to rebuild Turnpike service areas, walks away from its contract and a dispute with Global Partners, the other main bidder.
Oct. 3: Revenue Commissioner Geoffery Synder tells budget writers to expect a $650 million cut in coupled federal supports for state revenue streams.
Oct. 10: The House overrides $70 million in Healey vetoes to the FY ’25 budget, even as officials warn of billions in coming federal cuts to aid for Massachusetts.
Oct. 17: Transportation Secretary Moncia Tibbits-Nutt resigns as secretary, and Gov. Healey appoints MBTA General Manager Philip Eng interim secretary.
Oct. 24: Gov. Healey announces a new state portal to funnel private donations to food-pantries in response to the anticipated suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
Oct. 31: R.I. federal judge Indira Talwani orders administration to fund at least partial SNAP benefits
Nov. 7: Federal judge orders full SNAP benefits released.
Nov. 14: Senate okays reform of the Cannabis Control Committee while House energy committee approves rollback of the state’s 2030 carbon-emissions mandate
Nov. 21: Filing of signatures on ballot-question petitions sets the stage for epic political battles on rent control, income-tax rates, legislative openness and the state’s primary-election system
Nov. 28: Senate President Spilka tells WCVB News: “Our budget is really in trouble with health care.”
Dec. 5: Senate rebuffs Mayor Wu’s new call for consideration of her property tax shift from homeowners to businesses as she warns of 13 percent tax increase coming in Boston.
Dec. 12: Senate leaders advance two property-tax “rate shock” bill while continuing to ignore Boston Mayor Wu’s property-tax shift legislation.
Dec. 19: Secretary State says ballot question lowering the state income tax to 4 percent from 5 percent has enough signatures to go forward
Dec. 26: Trump vs. Massachusetts is the story selected as the top Beacon Hill story of 2025 in a survey of State House reporters. The survey’s Top 10:
- Trump vs. Massachusetts
- Goldberg reinstated, ending one drama at the Cannabis Control Commission
- DiZoglio vs. Beacon Hill establishment
- ICE rattles Massachusetts
- Clean energy vs. federal policy
- Michelle Wu vs. Josh Kraft
- Growing crisis in health care costs and access
- Phillip Eng’s double duty as T GM and transportation secretary
- Bar advocates walk off the job, discontent and holdouts remain after raise
- MCAS replacement generates new controversy