The new fiscal year started on Sunday, but Massachusetts does not have a budget in place. This makes the Bay State the only state in the nation without one.
There is a stop-gap spending plan to keep state goverment operating, and Governor Charlie Baker said he's concerned that with so much attention on a budget, other things might not get done with the end of the legislative session looming at the end of the month.
Lawmakers on Beacon Hill are also looking at striking from the books a law which bans abortion, but has not been enforced. The law hasn't meant anything for a long time, after some U.S. Supreme Court decisions affirmed abortion. But some lawmakers want to get rid of the statute before a possible shift on the high court.
July 1 came and went, and retail marijuana sales in Massachusetts were not a reality as regulators had hoped. This leaves the illegal market in a good position for the time being. Street values are expected to drop as retail sales of pot ramp up, but some say they'd rather continue getting their marijuana under the table.
Finally this week, the Red Sox and Yankees are well ahead of the rest of the pack in the American League Eastern Division. Will this continue all the way to the end of the season?
Guests:
- Ron Chimelis, columnist, Springfield Republican
- Matt Szafranski, editor, Western Mass. Politics and Insight
