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By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

GREENFIELD — Less than a week after the House voted to pass a spending bill allocating $245 million to the state’s emergency shelters and impose a stay limit, Greenfield shelter operators are unsure how the legislation could impact their residents.The...

By XINYI YANG

BOSTON — Area lawmakers’ proposals to require menstrual products to be available for no cost in all state buildings, establish special dorms for students in recovery, and consolidate overlapping higher education financial aid programs all cleared a...

By CHRIS LARABEE

GREENFIELD — At the Joint Committee on Ways and Means’ fiscal year 2025 state budget hearing on Friday, the focus was on statewide education and local aid. At the regional level, though, legislators, school officials and community members from up and...

By SAM DRYSDALE

Senators next week will vote again on a bill to update the state’s sex education guidelines, something the chamber has already approved four times without getting buy-in from the House.The Senate Committee on Ways and Means polled the so-called...

By DOMENIC POLI

GREENFIELD — Four women representing western Massachusetts in the state Legislature visited Greenfield Community College on Monday for a panel discussion about health care with second-year nursing students.State Sen. Jo Comerford was joined by state...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Prohibiting PFAS from consumer products sold in Massachusetts remains an objective for Sen. Jo Comerford, who sees a recently advanced legislative bill to protect soil and farms from such contamination as an important first step to...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — Aiming to strengthen participation in advanced classes among Black and Latino high school students, lawmakers sought to build momentum Tuesday for a framework that would streamline how public colleges accept AP credits.Redrafted legislation...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Senate Democrats rolled out a wide-ranging gun reform bill Thursday, targeting a vote in one week on a police-endorsed measure that is likely to generate considerable opposition among firearm owners.After months of closed-door talks between...

By CHRIS LARABEE

WHATELY — Joining several neighboring communities in the Pioneer Valley, Whately’s Selectboard has signaled its support to write a letter to the Legislature advocating for legislation that could allow municipalities more control over solar energy...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Senate President Karen Spilka advises to “keep your eyes peeled” for free community college funding in the Senate’s version of the fiscal year 2025 budget.Making community college free for every Massachusetts resident could cost the state...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

A permanent disaster relief fund to assist farmers devastated by acts of nature, and providing farmers more flexibility for using their properties once they are protected in the Agricultural Preservation Restriction program, are among the bills the...

By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL

NORTHAMPTON — Sen. Jo Comerford said she intends to reintroduce a bill next month that would legalize “physician-assisted suicide,” just days after the state’s highest court ruled that the state constitution does not protect a doctor who provides...