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Gov. Maura Healey unveiled her own proposal to limit social media use among teens under age 16.

Why it matters: That makes three major competing bills reining in youth social media use on Beacon Hill, with just over three months to hash out a compromise.

Driving the news: Healey's supplemental spending bill includes legislation limiting teens under 16 to two hours of social media apps a day, citing mental health risks.

The bill wouldn't ban social media for teens altogether, but it would deactivate features like "infinite scroll" and "autoplay," turn off location tracking and block notifications overnight and during school hours.

What they're saying: Healey told reporters Tuesday that social media platforms "have already shown over the last decade that they are not responsible caretakers or protectors of our young people."

"So I want to take the power away from social media platforms and big tech companies, and put it back in the hands of our young people and our families."

The proposal would require parental consent to change default settings for users under age 16.

Yes, but: Healey didn't explain how the state expects Meta, TikTok and other social media giants to create these default settings and verify that children are of age to use their apps.

Context: Public scrutiny of social media use among teens — and the platforms' role in promoting activity — has increased in recent years.

Less than a month ago, a jury in California found that Meta and YouTube harmed a 20-year-old user with addictive design features that led to anxiety and depression. 

Meta must pay $4.2 million in damages, and YouTube must pay $1.8 million, The New York Times reported.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court last week let Attorney General Andrea Campbell's lawsuit against Meta over its impact on youth proceed. 

Friction point: Healey and lawmakers all want to rein in social media use among teens, but they have different blueprints on how to do that.

The Senate passed a school cellphone ban in July.

The House voted last week to ban social media entirely for children under age 14, while letting 14- and 15-year-olds use social media with parental consent.

Asked why she's doing this now, Healey said she sees her bill as "a further contribution to the important discussion going on in the legislature."

A spokesperson for House Speaker Ron Mariano said lawmakers look forward to working with the Senate in conference committee and sending Healey a strong bill protecting children against social media risks. 

A spokesperson for Senate President Karen Spilka said that while its bill focused on data privacy and cellphone-free schools, Spilka "also recognizes the potential harms of social media for kids" and will review the governor's proposal.

What we're watching: Lawmakers will have to decide whether to finalize legislation on social media and cellphone use as part of the upcoming supplemental budget debate or negotiate a compromise bill later.   

Healey proposes restricting social media access for teens under 16

The bill would limit use of a social media app to two hours a day and block pings during school.

From left, Massachusetts Teachers Association president Max Page stands next to Gov. Maura Healey as she speaks from a lectern that says "Keeping Teens Safe Online" during a press conference.

From left in foreground, MTA president Max Page and Gov. Maura Healey. Photo: Steph Solis/Axios

Gov. Maura Healey unveiled her own proposal to limit social media use among teens under age 16.Why it matters: That makes <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="three major competing bills" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/04/08/massachusetts-house-senate-cellphone-ban-social-media-youth-children-schools-healey-bill" data-vars-content-id="32b7e7e0-7a5b-438f-bdeb-c331599090ed" data-vars-headline="Healey proposes restricting social media access for teens under 16" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/04/08/massachusetts-house-senate-cellphone-ban-social-media-youth-children-schools-healey-bill" target="_self">three major competing bills</a> reining in youth social media use on Beacon Hill, with just over three months to hash out a compromise.

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The Massachusetts House proposed a slightly smaller budget proposal than Gov. Maura Healey's, as legislative leaders warned of massive cuts if certain ballot measures pass in November.

Why it matters: The House, like Healey, stopped short of widespread cuts as the state faces economic headwinds amid rising costs and federal funding cuts — and as the specter of tax cuts looms.

Driving the news: The House Ways and Means Committee filed a $63.3 billion fiscal 2027 budget bill Wednesday, a 3.6% spending increase from fiscal 2026.

The proposal doesn't fully cover snow and ice spending like Healey's does.

The bill also includes higher spending for several programs than Healey proposed, from MassHealth to sheriff's budgets.

Between the lines: House Speaker Ron Mariano told reporters the state's fiscal picture will look far worse if voters pass a ballot measure shrinking the income tax from 5% to 4%, which supporters say would bring relief to residents statewide.

Other ballot measures propose repealing recreational cannabis sales (which include a 20% tax) and limiting how much revenue the state collects each year, returning the surplus to taxpayers.

What they're saying: "If the income tax ballot question passes in November, revenue losses will begin almost immediately," Mariano (D-Quincy) said.

House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz, a Boston Democrat, and his team have considered contingency plans for that scenario.

The other side: "The immediate revenue threat is not tax relief — it's an economy with weak business formation, 35,000 fewer jobs, and unemployment above most states," Jim Stergios, executive director of the Pioneer Institute, said in a statement to Axios. 

"Growth solves budgets; stagnation breaks them."

Zoom in: The House budget bill would allocate $22.4 billion to MassHealth, slightly less than what Healey proposed but $282 million higher than in fiscal 2026.

The House also proposed a $1,750 cap on dental coverage for state employees and MassHealth patients, but didn't cut GLP-1 coverage for weight loss.

Those changes, combined with other reductions and efforts to pursue lower-cost state contracts, would save roughly $1.2 billion, per the House Ways and Means Committee.

💰 The House would also send  $812.1 million to sheriff's offices, $52.6 million higher than last fiscal year, to try to address budget gaps and spending issues raised by the inspector general's preliminary report. 

The bill would direct each office to spend a certain amount on operations, payroll, no-cost calls and medication-assisted treatment. 

🚇 $470 million for the MBTA's operating budget, all coming from the revenue under the Fair Share Amendment (AKA the "millionaire's tax").

📚 $7 billion for school aid, and $550 million to fund the last year of implementation for the 2019 landmark school funding law.

That would increase aid to $160 a student (up from $130 a student).

👶 $623.6 million for child care for low-income families, among other early education investments.

🌆 $281.3 for the state's rental voucher program and $210 for the Rental Assistance for Families in Transition program, slightly higher than their fiscal 2026 funding levels.

Editor's note: This story was updated to add comments from the Pioneer Institute.

What's in the Mass. House's $63 billion budget proposal

The House stopped short of widespread cuts as the state faces economic headwinds.

Illustration of the Massachusetts State House with lines radiating from it. 

The Massachusetts House proposed a slightly smaller budget proposal than <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Gov. Maura Healey&#x27;s" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/01/28/massachusetts-healey-budget" data-vars-content-id="6beb7649-b71b-4d6c-b49f-8ba6464ffc19" data-vars-headline="What&#x27;s in the Mass. House&#x27;s $63 billion budget proposal" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/01/28/massachusetts-healey-budget" target="_self">Gov. Maura Healey&#x27;s</a>, as legislative leaders warned of massive cuts if certain ballot measures pass in November.Why it matters: The House, like Healey, stopped short of widespread cuts as the state faces economic headwinds amid rising costs and federal funding cuts — and as the specter of tax cuts looms.

More than 32,000 runners will compete in the Boston Marathon.

Why it matters: The 130th marathon will draw tens of thousands of spectators Monday along the route between Hopkinton and Copley Square.

Driving the news: The race will have runners start in six waves this year instead of the usual four to improve the athletes' experience, per the Boston Athletic Association.

This year's grand marshal is Jack Fultz, who won the 1976 Boston Marathon amid temperatures nearing 100 degrees.

Zoom in: The race kicks off at 9:06am with the wheelchair men's division. The wheelchair women's division starts 3 minutes later.

Next up are the handcycles/duos, professional and para athletics divisions, followed by the remaining athletes running in six waves between 10am and 11:21am.

The intrigue: The nonbinary division, which debuted in 2023 with 27 runners, includes 116 participants this year.

Joining them are 18,160 men and 14,012 women.

Where to watch: WCVB and ESPN2 will air the marathon. 

You can also track a runner's progress on the B.A.A. Racing App. 

If you go: Take the T and avoid the road closures along the 26.2-mile route.

Be smart: Remember, security won't let you through if you have a backpack, suitcase, cooler, flagpole or other banned items.

That includes any glass container, can or other container that can hold over 1 liter of liquid.

If you try to join the race without a bib, you'll be asked to leave.

2026 Boston Marathon cheat sheet: Where to watch, what to bring

The Boston Athletic Association plans to have runners start in six waves.

Several athletes running along the Boston Marathon route in 2025.

The 2025 Boston Marathon. Photo: Zhu Ziyu/VCG via Getty Images

More than 32,000 runners will compete in the Boston Marathon.Why it matters: The 130th marathon will draw tens of thousands of spectators Monday along the route between Hopkinton and Copley Square.

Sports

Greater Boston is home to some of the biggest films, from "The Departed" to "Legally Blonde."

Now we want you to decide which is the best. 

The second round narrowed the field to four fan favorites.

Two Boston heavyweights, "Good Will Hunting" and "The Departed," face off. 

Two coastal classics, "Jaws" and "The Perfect Storm," will vie for a spot in the finals.

Cast your vote for the third round below. 

Help us pick the best Greater Boston-area film

Boston is home to some of the biggest films, from "The Departed" to "Legally Blonde."

A bracket over the best film set in Greater Boston, with four movies vying for the top stop: "Jaws," "The Perfect Storm," "The Departed" and "Good will Hunting."

Greater Boston is home to some of the biggest films, from &quot;The Departed&quot; to &quot;Legally Blonde.&quot;<ul><li>Now we want you to decide which is the best. </li></ul>

Pure Oasis was playing catch-up on a growing pile of bills when its owners were dealt back-to-back setbacks this month, prompting them to close the store.

Why it matters: Boston's first recreational cannabis dispensary is the latest casualty in a state with rising costs, an oversaturated flower market and limited resources for cannabis business owners, one of the owners says.

Catch up quick: Pure Oasis, one of the state's few Black-owned dispensaries, closed its doors in Roxbury and downtown last week, catching customers and employees off guard.

The company's 60 employees haven't been paid because the Department of Revenue froze its account last week due to delinquent taxes, co-owner Kobie Evans told Axios.

Driving the news: Pure Oasis owes DOR roughly $400,000, for which Evans was trying to negotiate a payment plan with help from Sen. Liz Miranda.

A DOR spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Evans and Miranda said the agency was unwilling to consider alternatives prior to freezing the account.

Friction point: Evans said he was waiting on a $300,000 grant from the state's Social Equity Trust Fund to pay part of the tax bill, but he's didn't receive it.

The state Executive Office of Economic Development plans to distribute the funds in the coming weeks, a spokesperson said, but it's not a blank check.

Awardees must enter into an agreement with the office and then submit eligible payments for reimbursement, the spokesperson said.

Context: It wasn't the first time DOR froze Pure Oasis' account.

Still, Evans said that, between that, the cannabis bill to lift license caps from three to six and Boston's approval of a downtown dispensary run by multi-state operator Curaleaf, closing felt inevitable.

His focus now, he added, is to get his account unfrozen so his staff can get paid.

The big picture: Businesses across the state are struggling to pay their bills and taxes in this economy, Miranda says.

Cannabis businesses, however, have even fewer resources because cannabis remains illegal federally, which shuts out business owners from most loans, grants and relief programs.

Zoom in: The bills have piled up for Pure Oasis over the past year, as it juggled two dispensaries and plans for a third in Brighton.

The cannabis supplier Blue Fox Brands sued Pure Oasis last year over a $65,000 debt.

The two companies agreed on a payment plan after a judge ruled in Blue Fox's favor, but Pure Oasis has a balance of more than $57,000, per a Blue Fox representative.

Pure Oasis also faces a lawsuit from Stack Design Build over $175,000 for work done building the Brighton space.

Pure Oasis and Pure Oasis Ventures, a separate LLC, were on the hook for nearly $2.3 million over a defaulted mortgage for a property in Dighton, Evans said.

What we're watching: Pure Oasis told the Cannabis Control Commission its closure is temporary, but Evans says he's not sure if he and co-owner Kevin Hart will reopen.

"We're in this precarious situation and, even if we rally, you know, what does rallying look like?"

Pure Oasis closes amid mounting debts, frozen account

One of the owners says he's trying to get the state to unfreeze the account so he can pay workers.

Mayor Walsh, left, enters for a press conference held by co-owners Kevin Hart, center, and Kobie Evans regarding the opening of their store Pure Oasis, Boston's first retail cannabis shop and the Commonwealth's first economic empowerment candidate on March 6, 2020 in Boston

From left, then-Mayor Marty Walsh joins co-owners Kevin Hart and Kobie Evans to celebrate the opening of Pure Oasis in 2020. Photo: David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Pure Oasis" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2023/05/22/pure-oasis-dispensary-downtown" data-vars-content-id="c13ee387-8aab-40b3-b875-b5f77b038a00" data-vars-headline="Pure Oasis closes amid mounting debts, frozen account" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2023/05/22/pure-oasis-dispensary-downtown" target="_self">Pure Oasis</a> was playing catch-up on a growing pile of bills when its owners were dealt back-to-back setbacks this month, prompting them to close the store.Why it matters: Boston&#x27;s first recreational cannabis dispensary is the latest casualty in a state with rising costs, an oversaturated flower market and limited resources for cannabis business owners, one of the owners says.

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A bracket that tracks Axios readersâ picks for the best film set in Greater Boston. The semifinal matchups are Good Will Hunting vs. The Departed and The Perfect Storm vs. Jaws.

Steph Solis

Featured stories

What's in the Mass. House's $63 billion budget proposal

2026 Boston Marathon cheat sheet: Where to watch, what to bring

Pure Oasis closes amid mounting debts, frozen account

Help us pick the best Greater Boston-area film

Healey proposes restricting social media access for teens under 16