THE HOUSE AND SENATE
Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ and senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of Dec. 28, 2020, to Jan. 1, 2021.
OVERRIDE BAKER’S VETO OF BILL TO INCREASE ABORTION ACCESS (H 5179)
House 107-50, Senate 32-8, overrode Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto of a bill that would allow abortions after 24 weeks in the case of lethal fetal anomalies and lower the age from 18 to 16 at which a minor can choose to have an abortion without parental or judicial consent.
“I strongly support a woman’s right to access reproductive health care, and many provisions of this bill,” said Baker in a letter that accompanied his veto. “I support, for example, the provision that would enable a woman to access an abortion where the child would not survive after birth, and the modifications to the judicial bypass process that make it more accessible to minors who are unable to obtain the consent of a parent or guardian. I also support the changes that elimina
Among the changes the state plans over the next decade: retrofitting 1 million homes to use electricity for heating instead of gas and oil, cutting commuters’ driving miles by 15 percent, and dramatically increasing offshore wind power generation.
Annual First Week Hikes at State Parks Return
For the 30
th year in a row, the Baker-Polito Administration is offering state residents and visitors with the opportunity to explore the great outdoors through the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s First Week Hikes program in celebration of the start of the New Year.
An alternative to the traditional First Day Hikes, First Week Hikes encourage visitors to enjoy outdoor activities on their own throughout the first week of the New Year, Friday, January 1st, 2021 to Friday, January 8th, 2021. This year, DCR celebrates 30 years of this tradition in the Commonwealth. Additionally, it marks 10 years that all 50 states have adopted this happy, healthy New Year’s tradition.
By Michael Graham
One year ago, when Gov. Chris Sununu announced New Hampshire wouldn t participate in a regional cap-and-tax carbon plan, he was roundly criticized by green activists who said he was making the Granite State the odd man out in the Northeast.
Subscribe The governor s response is premature and disappointing, said Roger Stephenson, regional advocacy director for the Union of Concerned Scientists who lives in Stratham, N.H.
On Tuesday came news that the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) originally projected to reach from North Carolina to Maine would include just three states and Washington, D.C. And now, Sununu believes, New Hampshire is sitting pretty. In particular, because one of the three is neighboring Massachusetts.
MA Gov. Charlie Baker (R-MA)
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) committing to a multi-state program they say will reduce motor vehicle pollution by at least 26 percent and generate over $1.8 billion in Massachusetts by 2032.
The bipartisan Transportation and Climate Initiative Program (TCI-P) will allow participating jurisdictions to invest in equitable, cleaner transportation options, and create significant new employment opportunities while substantially improving public health across the Commonwealth and New England, claim officials in the announcement.
Underscoring the importance of regional action, other Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) jurisdictions released a joint statement committing to continued collaboration on the development of the regional program, as well as working to identify additional reg