THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators’ votes from recent sessions. There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week.
CREATE COMMISSION TO EXAMINE CURRENT EMERGENCY SHELTER SYSTEM (S 5250): Senate 39-0, approved an amendment creating a bipartisan commission to study and make recommendations by March 1, 2024 on the financial impact and sustainability of the state’s current emergency shelter system and the various supports that are currently offered to individuals and families.
“Our state’s emergency shelter program was simply never meant to handle the number of individuals that it is housing today and we need to take a hard look at the financial stability of our emergency housing assistance program, and the impact it is having on our municipalities and commonwealth as a whole,” said amendment sponsor Sen. John Velis (D-Westfield). “Otherwise, we will soon be faced with some very difficult decisions on other funding priorities that we value so much. In the absence of federal action, we need to have an honest conversation about these growing costs and what our off-ramp, if any, is going to be.
(A “Yes” vote is for the amendment.)
Sen. Joanne Comerford, Yes; Sen. Paul Mark, Yes; Sen. Jacob Oliveira, Yes; Sen. John Velis, Yes
REQUIRE PRICING DATA (S 2499): Senate 38-0, approved an amendment to a section of a drug price reform bill.
A section of the bill gives the state’s Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA’s) the option to...
Oil prices plunge as US and Iran declare Strait of Hormuz open Oil prices tumbled after Iranian officials said they would allow commercial traffic to resume in the Strait of Hormuz, with stock m...