Former Senate President Stan Rosenberg joins the News Service's Matt Murphy on this week's Takeout to talk about his new career as lobbyist, the state of progressive politics on Beacon Hill, and some of the major policy issues currently before the Legislature. Read more about the interview here: https://www.statehousenews.com/news/20202037

Rep. Lori Ehrlich and Every Voice Coalition Co-Chairs Nora Gallo and John Gabrieli sat down with News Service reporter Katie Lannan on this week's State House Takeout to dive into a bill addressing sexual assault on college campuses. With formal sessions in both branches extended until Jan. 5, House Speaker Robert DeLeo earlier this week signaled his interest in taking up the legislation by the end of the year. The coalition and Ehrlich have been advocating for the bill for several years and DeLeo's comments on Tuesday add an additional priority to House leadership's agenda outside of the budget or pending conference committees.

Ranking minority member of House Ways and Means Rep. Todd Smola sat down with the News Service this week to talk about the impact President Donald Trump is having on state elections, August tax revenue numbers, and uncertainty around federal stimulus relief. In an interview with the News Service's Matt Murphy, Smola pointed to the budget as the top priority for the House GOP caucus this fall and forecasted a "tough year" for Republicans in Massachusetts as races become more nationalized. Check out the full interview on this week's State House Takeout.

The primaries are over and the places are set for a full reporters' roundtable on this week's State House Takeout. The SHNS crew reviews the results in primary races for U.S. Senate, the Fourth Congressional District, and state House and Senate seats, and looks ahead to what we might expect in November.

On the latest Takeout, Secretary of State William Galvin checks in with the News Service ahead of next week's primaries about managing the elections during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reporter Chris Lisinski previews some of the races to watch and issues at play.

Three members of Beacon BLOC -- a coalition of Black State House staffers -- talk about their organization's mission and action points to change the institutional culture on Beacon Hill. The panelists are Black and Latino Legislative Caucus director Kyéra Sterling; Maia Raynor, legislative director for Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz; and Mark Martinez, policy and budget advisor to Sen. Pat Jehlen.

Reporters Katie Lannan and Matt Murphy stop by for some Friday takeout, detailing the state's new color-coded COVID map, the outlook for school reopenings and youth sports, and a look ahead to next week's Democratic National Convention.

On this week's Takeout, Senate President Karen Spilka checks in with Katie Lannan about the Legislature's ongoing work as formal sessions extend past July 31, with major bills in the negotiation process and a budget still on the to-do list. The president also talks about how her chamber has been adapting to the pandemic era, including the use of a lawmaker "buddy system."

Not your normal end-of-July #mapoli podcast. A roundtable of News Service reporters mull over the Legislature's decision to extend formal sessions past July 31 and potentially into January 2021. The corridors under the Golden Dome are still busy with lawmaking, and the SHNS crew has the latest on priorities like the budget, policing reform, and climate legislation... along with a look ahead to what we might see in the fall.

Beacon Hill debate was still underway on policing reform proposals Friday, and the Takeout has a preview of a big topic that hadn't yet hit the House floor: qualified immunity. Three big voices in the conversation joined the Takeout this week: Black and Latino Legislative Caucus Chairman Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, Mass. Law Enforcement Policy Group Chairman Larry Calderone, and ACLU of Massachusetts Executive Director Carol Rose. Matt Murphy moderates the panel, and Katie Lannan joins Sam Doran to recap the rest of a busy week under the Golden Dome.