Sen. Liz Miranda

A long-awaited bill that would create more than 200 new liquor licenses in Boston passed through the legislature Sept. 5, after a stall at the end of the legislative session left its future in question.

Concerned that thousands of Massachusetts prisoners with felony convictions are banned from voting in elections, state lawmakers, prisoners and their advocates on Monday pushed for legislation that would restore their voting rights.

Legislation from state Sen. Liz Miranda would create a task force to consider reparations for the descendants of enslaved people in Massachusetts.

Life without parole sentences perpetuate the cycle of “generational poverty, violence and trauma” and must end, declared state Sen. Liz Miranda, who is sponsoring a bill in the state legislature to end the draconian practice.