Legislation
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State House Leadership Issues Final Draft of Distracted Driving Bill
Leaders of a conference committee in the State House have finally submitted a final version of a distracted driving bill that passed by overwhelming margins in the House and Senate earlier this spring, and the bill could face a final vote this week.
November 18, 2019
Street Safety Advocates Hold ‘Day of Remembrance’ Vigil This Sunday
The state's leading safe streets advocacy organizations are holding a vigil on the steps of the Massachusetts State House this Sunday to commemorate those who have been injured or killed by motor vehicles.
November 15, 2019
State House Stalls On Transportation Funding
After saying earlier this year that the MBTA was "in crisis" and that his chamber would have a "long-term strategic investment plan" for the state's transportation systems before the end of the year, House Speaker Robert DeLeo has announced that he and his fellow Democrats in the State House will delay that debate until 2020.
November 15, 2019
Business Groups, Advocates Agree: Drivers Need To Pay More
As legislators on Beacon Hill start working on a new transportation funding bill this week, business groups and sustainable transportation advocates are finding common ground on proposals to raise new funds for the state's transportation infrastructure with new fees, taxes and tolls on motor vehicle users.
October 30, 2019
Rep. Pressley Announces New ‘Future of Transportation’ Congressional Caucus
Pressley says that the current system for spending federal money on transit is "antiquated and contributing to the inequities and disparities when it comes to access to affordable, reliable, and rapid transit."
October 17, 2019
Legacy of Racial Profiling By Police Holds Up Distracted Driving Law
The Massachusetts legislature is on the verge of passing a new law that would outlaw people from holding cellphones while driving motor vehicles, but the bill has stalled as lawmakers hammer out details of how to collect data on traffic stops related to the new law in order to prevent racial profiling by police.
September 26, 2019
Senate’s $287B Roads Bill Offers Just 0.4% for Walking and Biking
Believe it or not, that's nearly double what the feds set aside in the last big transportation bill.
July 30, 2019
Beacon Hill Boosts Regional Transit Authorities, With a Catch
A new budget passed in the Massachusetts State House last week would increase funding for the state's fifteen Regional Transit Authorities, which operate transit services for the millions of Bay State residents who live outside of the MBTA's fixed-route service area in greater Boston.
July 30, 2019
Sen. Markey Introduces Federal Complete Streets Bill
The Markey-Cohen bill would also require grant recipients to adopt and prioritize a “Complete Streets” policy — and it would require the federal government, the states and federal “metropolitan planning organizations” to adopt design standards for all highway projects “that provide for the safe and adequate accommodation of all users of the surface transportation network, including motorized and non-motorized users, in all phases of project planning, development, and operation.”
July 11, 2019
