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Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR’s daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
It’s one last gasp of winter today, with potential for some ambient snow showers. (If you’re ready for spring, take a peek at this weekend’s forecast.)
But first, the news:
Weed all about it: Massachusetts lawmakers have a deal on the biggest marijuana industry reform bill since adult-use dispensaries first opened in the state. After the House and Senate each passed slightly different bills last year, negotiators announced yesterday that they ironed out the differences. The 32-page compromise comes after a rocky year for pot shops — and several rocky years for the Cannabis Control Commission, the state agency tasked with overseeing the young industry. “This legislation recognizes that our cannabis industry has matured and that our regulatory framework must evolve along with it,” state Sen. Adam Gómez said during a meeting yesterday to finalize the deal before negotiators send it to the House, Senate and, eventually, Gov. Maura Healey for final approval. Here what it’s set to do:
Meanwhile on Beacon Hill: Lawmakers are suddenly making moves to restrict social media access for teens. House leaders announced yesterday that they plan to vote this Wednesday on a two-pronged bill that would not only restrict student cellphone use in schools but also require social media companies to prohibit users below the age of 14 in Massachusetts. (It would also require “verifiable parental consent” for 14- and 15-year-olds to set up a social media account.)
Drumroll, please: The MBTA revealed yesterday that tickets for the special Boston-to-Foxborough trains for World Cup games this summer will cost… $80. That’s four times the usual cost for Patriots trains (and about one-tenth the price of the cheapest ticket to the actual games at Gillette Stadium on the resale market right now).
Tap and SNAP: Massachusetts plans to launch new chip-enabled EBT cards later this year, allowing people to tap-to-pay with their food benefits. Healey says the pilot will protect against SNAP theft and fraud, even if it’s already rare. Massachusetts will be just the third state in the country to try out the upgraded tech for EBT cards.
P.S. — You may have noticed we sent yesterday’s WBUR Today newsletter under the Mass. Politics newsletter name. That was a technical mistake! You weren’t subscribed to a new newsletter; this is still WBUR Today. Apologies for any confusion. (However, if you’d like to subscribe to Mass. Politics, we should have some news about the return of that newsletter soon.)
Nik DeCosta-Klipa is a senior editor for newsletters at WBUR.
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