Spilka rallies the resistance
WE WILL ‘ALWAYS’ RESIST — Senate President Karen Spilka wasn’t going to let President Donald Trump’s return to the White House rain on her Galentine’s Day soirée.
So, to kick off the event last night, “Senate President Karen Spilka” (played by drag queen TaDonna) opened with a “Drag Queen Story Hour,” reminding the sea of red-and-pink-clad women leaders from politics, business and philanthropy, that Massachusetts, “the birthplace of equal marriage and anti-discrimination legislation,” would “not change who we are,” as Gov. Maura Healey recently pledged.
Read More
Spilka talks economy with Jon Keller
Senate President Karen Spilka sits with WBZ’s Jon Keller for a discussion about the economy, the state’s budget, and the state Auditor.
Read More
‘Whiplash’: Mass. Senate President weighs in on Trump’s funding freeze chaos
“I think if this keeps up, we’ll be all walking around with neck braces from whiplash,” Spilka, D-Middlesex/Norfolk, quipped during a wide-ranging interview Thursday with MassLive in her office at the State House.
Read More
On the Record: SP Spilka on the Senate's Efforts on Crumbling Concrete, Federal Immigration Reform
Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka says the federal government needs to take action on immigration.
Read More
On the Record: SP Spilka Discusses Last Session, Transparency, and Her Agenda
Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka speaks about the accomplishments of last session, her plans to make the Legislature more transparent, and her agenda for the new session.
Read More
Framingham is one step closer to getting a regional justice center. Here's what happened.
The plan has been a key project for state Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland. It calls for the closing of the existing Framingham courthouse at 600 Concord St, with those operations moving to a new regional justice center to be constructed at the former Danforth Museum site at 123 Union Ave.
Read More
Spilka takes aim at the transparency narrative
Spilka wants to move up the deadline for joint committees to determine the fate of the bevy of bills that end up before them from the second year of the session to the first, a move that could help avoid the last-minute crunch to push bills through with limited debate at sparsely attended sessions…
Read More
With New Term Dawning, Spilka Eyes K-12 Funding Reform, Primary Care Overhaul
Senate President Karen Spilka won another term leading the chamber with no speedbumps Wednesday and quickly set her sights on a combination of new and old priorities.
Read More
In Massachusetts, a Push for Free Community College for All
Democrat Karen Spilka, the president of the Massachusetts State Senate, is spearheading the effort. In an interview with Inside Higher Ed, she said she believes MassEducate will encourage students who didn’t previously see college as a pathway to enroll. The program might even help reverse the trend of Massachusetts’s young people leaving the state, she added.
Read More
Senate focuses on improving regional transportation in budget
It's often the feeling from anyone outside the Greater Boston area that most of the talk on Beacon Street is focused on Boston-based issues. But the Senate’s budget expressly adds funding for regional transportation.
Read More
Senate leadership breaks down the budget
CommonWealth Beacon's Jennifer Smith is joined by Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka and Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues to discuss the Senate's budget proposal. They get into differences between the Senate and House proposals, potential revenue measures, transit and shelter funding, programs supporting families and youth, and more.
Read More
Every Mass. resident could go to community college tuition-free under a new plan pushed by state Senate
Every resident could attend a Massachusetts community college tuition-free under a $118 million plan state Senate leaders unveiled Monday, promising to expand efforts to slash costs for students seeking two-year degrees or certifications.
Read More
Mass. state senate unveils free community college plan
The Massachusetts senate is rolling out its plan to make community college free for all students in the Bay State.
Read More
Senate To Tackle Road Funding Bill Thursday
The Senate's $150 million outlay, according to a spokesperson for Senate President Karen Spilka, includes dollars for the municipal pavement program, focused on state-numbered routes owned by municipalities; the municipal small bridge program; complete streets funding program, aimed at expanding options for pedestrians, cyclists and public transit as well as vehicles; municipal bus enhancement program; mass transit access grant program, which provides grants for improvements to commuter rail stations and other mass transit stations; and the municipal RTA/EV grant program, providing grants to Regional Transit Authorities and municipalities for electric vehicles and charging equipment.
Read More
'It all starts here' Boston Marathon, Hopkinton celebrate starting line milestone
Senate President Karen Spilka congratulated Hopkinton on its 100th year of hosting the start of the Boston Marathon during a reception Thursday night at the Hopkinton Center for the Arts.
Read More
The HopTake: Senate President Karen Spilka
Senate President Spilka sits down with Peter and Jimmy from the HopTake, a local news podcast in Hopkinton, to talk about early childhood education, the immigration, and memories of the Boston Marathon.
Read More
Mass. Senate agrees to new protections on debt collection
The Senate last Thursday passed a “compromise” version of legislation affecting debt collection practices in Massachusetts, and according to its sponsor, the bill has a shot at final passage thanks to industry representatives collaborating on the rewrite.
Read More
A decade after deaths of 2 Boston firefighters, senators pass bill to toughen oversight
A decade after two firefighters died when they became trapped in a brownstone in Boston’s historic Back Bay neighborhood by a fire caused by sparks from welders working next door, the Massachusetts Senate passed a bill Thursday aimed at toughening oversight of so-called “hot work."
Read More