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Massachusetts

Many people in Massachusetts will pay less in taxes in 2024. Here’s a look at new laws this year. – The Boston Globe

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Many people in Massachusetts will pay less in taxes in 2024. Here’s a look at new laws this year. – The Boston Globe


For now, here are the new laws — and expiring ones — to watch:

More money (to come)

Come 2024 tax season, residents can start taking advantage of many of the cuts and beefed-up tax credits included in the state’s $1 billion tax package. That includes a bigger tax credit for low-income workers, a sizable tax cut for day traders who made short-term capital gains, and a bigger deduction for renters that translates into modest (about $50) savings.

But some parts of the law technically didn’t take effect until Monday, meaning residents can’t realize their full benefits until they file their 2024 taxes, likely in spring 2025. That includes an enhanced tax credit for parents of children or caretakers for disabled adults or seniors.

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The law increased credits for child and dependent care from $180 to $310 per dependent claimed on an individual’s 2023 taxes, while also lifting the cap on how many dependents a caretaker can claim. In 2024, the tax credit then jumps $440 per dependent. That means a family with four children could eventually claim $1,760; before the changes, that same family would have been able to claim $360.

Another change going into effect will require all married couples who file joint federal returns to also file jointly at the state level, rather than individually. Some business leaders opposed the measure, but the goal, proponents say, is to prevent wealthy couples from avoiding the so-called millionaires tax, a 4 percent surtax on annual incomes over $1 million, by filing separately.

With the new year, the cap on credits awarded to developers through the Housing Development Incentive Program, or HDIP, also resets to $30 million — up from the $10 million allowed before the bill passed but a drop from the temporary $57 million cap the law set for 2023.

The credit aims to spur more market-rate housing in midsize and smaller cities, and the changes marked one of the first times state House and Senate leaders were in alignment on a major housing policy initiative in 2023. The increase chafed some Democratic lawmakers, who argued that the program’s focus on creating more market-rate housing does little to address a desperate need for more affordable units, too.

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Pandemic policies

COVID-19 has not gone away. In some cases, neither have the laws it inspired, at least until early 2024.

The Legislature last March extended several pandemic-era policies, passing language allowing restaurants to sell cocktails to go with takeout meals and for expanded outdoor dining. But those laws — first passed during the depths of the public health emergency as a lifeline to restaurants — are currently slated to end April 1.

That is, of course, unless lawmakers move to extend them again. In the case of cocktails to go, an extension would be the fourth in as many years.

That measure was at a center of a fight between restaurant owners and liquor stores in 2023. Some lawmakers also hesitated, at least initially, to keep the law in place, particularly in the Senate, which greeted the prospect of another extension coolly before the chamber’s leaders ultimately agreed to it.

Steve Clark, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, said his group is already lobbying to extend both policies. Some restaurants, as well as the cities and towns where they operate, need more time to make permanent their plans to create outdoor dining spaces, particularly those in public spaces, such as sidewalks, he said.

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Some restaurants, typically ones serving Asian or Mexican food, have also embedded specialty to-go drinks into their offerings, Clark said, arguing that an extension to the rule — or a permanent change — would benefit many establishments still struggling to catch up to pre-pandemic sales.

“If there was more of a sign that it’s going to last forever, people would be more inclined to utilize it,” he said.

Package stores, however, are likely to push back hard on any effort. Rob Mellion, executive director of the Massachusetts Package Stores Association, said that the advantage of selling to-go alcohol “must end” and argued that third-party delivery services are ripe for abuse by underage drinkers.

He pointed to the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission’s most recent annual report from 2021, which said in December of that year alone, every one of the more than two dozens deliveries it investigated went to someone underage.

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Chris Almeida, beverage program director at the Tasty restaurant on Court Street in Plymouth, held two carryout cocktails, in 2021.DebeeTlumacki

Sticking with the minimum

One of the more notable developments of the calendar flip is what’s not happening: Those earning the minimum wage in Massachusetts won’t see a pay raise in January.

For years, hundreds of thousands low-income workers — who made $8 an hour a decade ago — could bank on earning more in the new year thanks to legislative changes, including a 2018 law known as the grand bargain. Under that measure, the state’s minimum wage rose each year starting in 2019, gradually increasing to $15 from $11. Minimum wages for tipped employees also steadily rose to $6.75 from $3.75, and the law also gradually phased out mandatory time-and-a-half pay on Sundays and holidays.

Those changes, however, took their final steps in January 2023. When the law passed more than five years ago, the eventual $15 wage floor matched the highest in the country. It still ranks among them, but Connecticut ($15.69), California and parts of New York ($16), Washington state ($16.28), and Washington, D.C., (which hit $17 in July) all have higher minimums.

All told, workers in nearly half of US states were slated to see some type of increase in the new year.

That Massachusetts isn’t among them has prompted calls from labor leaders and advocates to pursue another increase to keep up with the state’s escalating living and housing costs.

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“We have an affordability crisis in Massachusetts, and it’s hitting low-wage workers the hardest,” said Chrissy Lynch, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.

Whether Beacon Hill is prepared to pursue another increase is a different matter. Democratic lawmakers have filed legislation that would gradually raise the wage floor to $20 and then tie future increases to inflation.

But legislative leaders have not signaled they have an appetite to pursue it. In a statement, a spokesperson for Senate President Karen Spilka noted she would review any proposals to increase the wage floor “should they move forward in the legislative process.” Aides to House Speaker Ronald Mariano did not respond to a request for comment.

Healey has said the wage floor should be adjusted “over time” to keep up with the cost of living, but she did not advocate for raising it before the legislative session ends in July.

“Governor Healey is a strong supporter of paying workers a fair wage and will review any legislation that reaches her desk,” said Karissa Hand, a Healey spokesperson.

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Matt Stout can be reached at matt.stout@globe.com. Follow him @mattpstout.





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Massachusetts

Artemis II crew will use laser communications developed in Massachusetts on trip around the moon

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Artemis II crew will use laser communications developed in Massachusetts on trip around the moon


The countdown is on for Artemis II and its crew’s historic liftoff Wednesday evening. The mission will mark NASA’s first piloted flight to the moon in 53 years.

Attached to the Orion spacecraft the four astronauts will take around the moon, is a key piece of technology developed over decades in Lexington, Massachusetts.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory

Researchers and developers at MIT Lincoln Laboratory designed and built optical communication systems, which use lasers instead of traditional radio frequencies to transmit information.

“With laser communications, we’re able to deliver a lot more data with a lot less power and with much smaller terminals,” explained Jade Wang, Assistant Group Leader of Optical and Quantum Communications at MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

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Optical communication system designed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory


The technology marks a major leap from the RF systems used during the Apollo missions decades ago. Researchers say those older systems created limits on how much and how reliably data could be sent back to Earth during flight.

“The in-flight instrumentation is a huge bottleneck [on newer spacecrafts], and without laser communications, all of that data that’s critical to the safety and the health of the astronauts wouldn’t be as readily available,” said Steve Gillmer, Assistant Group Leader of Structural and Thermo-Fluids Engineering at MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

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4K video in space

The new system is expected to provide a faster, more seamless flow of critical data, including 4K video upload and download as well as other capabilities. In a sense those grainy videos of the moon from the 60s and 70s will truly be a thing of the past. 

“The way I eventually described it to my friends was I was working to make communications in space more like, bring the internet so astronauts could view cat videos for instance, and to have the experience in space that they currently enjoy at home,” said Wang.

Beyond Artemis II, researchers say technology will play a vital role in the future of deep space exploration. NASA plans to have a moon-landing flight in 2028.

“Artemis is just the first step. Ultimately, we are hoping to send people to Mars for exploration there, and this same of technology is required to kind of provide the amount of data and services that we need for that kind of exploration,” Wang added.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory is owned and operated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology but serves as the largest federally funded R&D tasked with developing advanced technology for the DoW, U.S. government agencies and non-DoW organizations such as NASA, the FAA, and NOAA.

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Massachusetts

First Student school bus driver strike threat looms over several Massachusetts communities

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First Student school bus driver strike threat looms over several Massachusetts communities


Some families in Massachusetts are worried about a possible school bus driver strike this week.

Drivers for First Student, the largest school bus company in the country, could walk off the job Wednesday if they can’t reach a new deal by Tuesday night.

Wayland, Duxbury, Plymouth, Sudbury, Fitchburg, Leominster and Springfield are just some of the communities that use the bus service. According to the company, they represent more than 500 districts in 42 states plus Canada; Massachusetts and New Hampshire are among those states.

First Student is in national contract negotiations with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The union wants better retirement and medical benefits. The current deal expires on Tuesday. If they can’t agree on a new contract the union has authorized a potential strike starting Wednesday, April 1.

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Local contracts include a no-strike clause, but the union’s national agreement may supersede local ones.

“Leominster Public Schools has no control over or influence in these negotiations,” Superintendent Robin Desmond wrote in a letter to parents Monday.

A First Student spokesperson said negotiations are continuing in good faith, but parents in Leominster are bracing for the worst.

“Not all parents can drive their kids in and out of school. The community is very dependent on transportation,” said Leominster parent Lyndsey Miller.

“They get released at 2:15 p.m., (for) a lot of parents’ work schedules that’s going to be hard to do,” said Corey Leighton, the parent of a high school student.

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“It’s a broader problem, that’s for sure. So, I think parents will be understanding,” said Leominster parent Victor Novoa. “It would affect our work lives, and we’d have to balance the schedule.”

If your school district uses First Student and you have specific questions, reach out to your town’s school department. 



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71-year-old Massachusetts school bus driver fired after allegedly urinating inside bus with students on board

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71-year-old Massachusetts school bus driver fired after allegedly urinating inside bus with students on board


A 71-year-old Swansea, Massachusetts school bus driver has been fired for allegedly urinating inside the bus with students on board Monday morning.

Investigators say the bus driver, whose name was not released, was on the way to Hoyle Elementary School when he pulled over and told students to move to the back of the bus.

“The driver then allegedly relieved himself while sitting in the driver’s seat,” according to a press release from Swansea Public Schools and police. “Through the investigation, it is currently believed that no students on the bus witnessed the driver’s actions.”

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The driver then completed the trip and dropped students off at school. An investigation was launched after some students reported the unusual behavior to their teachers. So far, no charges have been filed against the driver.

There were 12 Pre-K to Grade 2 students on the bus at the time. All their parents have been notified.

The Swansea Police Department is investigating and school officials filed a report with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.

“This is a matter we take extremely seriously,” Swansea Public Schools Superintendent Scott Holcomb and Police Chief Mark Foley said in a statement. “This type of behavior in the presence of children, especially young children, is unacceptable, and we will continue to look into the incident.”

The driver is an employee of Amaral Bus Company, which provides transportation services to Swansea Public Schools. The district is reviewing its relationship with the company after the incident. 

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