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After negotiations that have stretched on for three weeks longer than policymakers had hoped, a six-member Massachusetts House and Senate conference committee has finally hashed out a version of the Commonwealth's new marijuana law. It is expected to be approved by a vote on Wednesday and sent to Gov. Charlie Baker's desk by the weekend. Massachusetts was one of eight states to legalize marijuana last November, with voters approving legal marijuana for recreational use at the ballot box. It was

The biggest headline this week on President Donald Trump's election integrity commission is that 44 states plus DC have partly or fully rejected the commission's request for a broad array of personal voter data if it is publicly available per state law. Source: NBCNews.com Source: Forbes Source: Vox From the headlines alone, this seems like a major, bipartisan rejection of the commission's request for personal voter data. Except, the headlines are a bit misleading. Here is what you need to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44Cn1zB7610 Nevada became the fifth state in the nation -- joining Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington -- to legalize the use and sale of recreational marijuana Saturday. Marijuana advocates and consumers celebrated with fireworks and other festivities -- fitting for the July 4 weekend. It is important to clarify that eight states plus the District of Columbia now have laws on the books that legalize the recreational use of marijuana. However, due to bureau

The California Senate passed legislation earlier this month to implement a single-payer health care system. The bill's passage was warmly received by progressives, but others have raised concerns about funding. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon last week issued a statement saying he would not advance the bill and that it would remain in committee "until further notice." Rendon cited "financing" as a reason he would not pursue the bill. Despite wide support among Californians, the bill has been h

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItsE_Xk-Z_s Video Credit: VoterChoiceMA, June 9, 2017 Voter Choice Massachusetts Executive Director Adam Friedman made one thing clear to Massachusetts Democrats: If you support protecting and enhancing voter rights, you should support ranked choice voting. "Do you support voting rights and voter empowerment? Do you support inclusion, diversity, and unity for the party and for the United States of America? If you support these things, you should support ranked

The name of the group couldn’t have been more appropriate considering the circumstances: “Momentum.” Theresa May and her conservative wing were in control of the electorate. Ready to not only exercise their power, but to extend their Parliament gains, usher in Brexit, strengthen the Pound, and bring an end to the attacks that have shocked a nation. But funny things can happen on the way up the tower. And on Thursday they most certainly did. Thanks in large part to the Berniecrats. Bernie San

Ballot Access News reported Wednesday that the Oregon State House passed a bill that would add Oregon to the National Popular Vote Compact (NPVC). The plan is simple: Each state that joins the NPVC commits to giving all of their Electoral College votes to the winner of the national popular vote. Here are some facts you need to know: * The NPVC is law in 10 states, plus the District of Columbia: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont,

IVN's A Civil Assessment host T.J. O’Hara interviews David Garrow on his new book, Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama, released this month. David discusses Obama before his political career took off, and the choices he made that led to the ex-president we see today. Regarding the book, host T.J. O'Hara says, “It was almost like you couldn’t recognize the early Barack Obama when you compared and contrasted him to the presidential Barack Obama.” David is a professor of Law & History and Dis

Massachusetts citizens from across the political spectrum are working together to fight corruption and fix a broken political system. Local members of Represent.us, the nation’s largest grassroots, non-partisan, anti-corruption campaign, are trying to pass dozens of anti-corruption resolutions in cities, towns, and counties across the state. According to Represent.us, 21 communities in Massachusetts have already passed these resolutions, which call on elected officials at the state level to pas

The last 24 hours in Washington has brought to bare a political name and time in our country’s history that makes most shudder. Before his dismissal, FBI Director James Comey was leading probes into Trump associates’ connections to Russia during the 2016 election. To many lawmakers, the FBI director’s firing was reminiscent of when then-President Nixon fired Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor charged with investigating the Watergate scandal. Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts said of the