Legislation

“A good compromise, a good piece of legislation, is like a good sentence or a good piece of music – everybody can recognize it. They say ‘Huh. It works. It makes sense.’” – President Barack Obama

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Children, Families, & Persons with Disabilities 

S.140 – An Act concerning food insecurity and supporting the restaurant industry would make the restaurant Meals Program a law. The Restaurant Meals Program has expanded SNAP access by allowing eligible individuals who are over 60, homeless, or disabled to buy food at authorized restaurants and food trucks using their SNAP EBT card. 

Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure 

S.249 – An Act relative to the cancellation of gym memberships would require gyms to allow members the option of canceling their membership online if they originally signed up for the membership online. 

Education

S.384 – Resolve establishing a commission to examine expanding vocational and technical high school access calls for a special commission to study and make recommendations regarding expanding access to vocational and technical high school education by increasing the capacity of regional vocational and technical schools.

S.385 – Resolve to examine Chapter 70 funding would create a special commission, including certain school district leaders, to study how Chapter 70 of Massachusetts law is affected by inflation and make recommendations with the goal of identifying funding challenges schools face during times of rising costs and to recommend possible solutions.

Election Laws

S.517 – An Act strengthening the post-election audit process would strengthen Massachusetts’ post-election audit process by requiring hand-counted audits after every state election and primary for certain races, requiring the Secretary of the Commonwealth to publish audit reports online, enable cities and towns to conduct their own audits, extend the deadline to certify election results from 15 to 21 days, and create a workgroup to explore auditing methods. 

Environment & Natural Resources

S.610 – An Act re-establishing the Clean Environment Fund would re-establish the Clean Environment Fund, which was discontinued during the recession. It would provide funding to cities and towns to enhance recycling and waste management, promote urban forestry, maintain parkland, protect water resources, and improve air quality.

S.611 – Resolve providing for a study of Bittersweet Vine and other invasive species would call for the Department of Environmental Protection to study the impact of Bittersweet Vine and other invasive plant species in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and suggest solutions to the problems created by these invasive plants.

S.613 – Resolve providing for an investigation and study by a special commission relative to mattress recycling would require the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to conduct an investigation and study of the feasibility of enhancing statewide recycling programs and municipal waste management.

S.614 – An Act to promote the future success of mattress recycling in the Commonwealth would require the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a plan to establish a state-wide mattress recycling program, which would focus on making mattress recycling available to regions currently without an accessible option. The legislation would also protect nonprofit organizations involved in mattress recycling through social enterprise programs.

S.615 – An Act relative to liability for release of hazardous materials clarifies liability for the release of hazardous materials in cases where the property has been transferred with a clean bill of health and pre-existing hazardous materials are discovered after the fact.

Financial Services

S.774 – An Act relative to requiring insurance providers cover a minimum of 30 days for in-patient substance abuse treatment would increase the number of days insurance providers are required to cover for addiction treatment from 14 to 30.

S.775 – An Act to increase enrollment in affordable health plan networks would allow for increased access to affordable health coverage while maintaining provider choice. The bill would also allow healthcare providers to opt out of participating in newly created select or tiered network plans.

S.776 – An Act relative to colon cancer screening would allow current and former employees of the Commonwealth insured under the group insurance commission coverage to receive insurance coverage for colonoscopies as deemed medically necessary by a primary care physician for patients 30 years or older.

Health Care Financing

S.875 – An Act to promote transparency in prescription drug prices would require affordability reviews for certain medications by tasking the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC) to identify overpriced drugs. Manufacturers of medications identified as overpriced would be required to explain their pricing to the HPC. 

Higher Education

S.935 – An Act protecting students and increasing accountability at Massachusetts colleges and universities would reform the institutional eligibility requirements for state-based financial aid by requiring institutions to maintain a graduation rate of at least 30 percent and an average three-year cohort default rate of no more than 20 percent.

S.936 – An Act relative to the endowment match program would make the Massachusetts Endowment Match Program permanent rather than dependent on annual appropriations, with a goal of incentivizing private fundraising.

S.937 – An Act investing in public higher education creates a mechanism for increasing the number of tenure-track faculty, provides adjunct faculty with access to benefits, and requires pay parity.

Housing

S.1000 – An Act relative to creating a statutory housing restriction and providing remedies related to statutory housing would create a simple way to establish a homeowner’s obligations to the holder of an affordable housing restriction.

S.1001 – An Act to increase housing production in the city of Lowell would change the unit mix requirements at the Rivers Edge housing development to facilitate the completion of the project.

S.1002 – An Act relative to accessory dwelling units on smaller lots would limit the construction of new Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) to certain owner-occupied single-family properties.

S.1003 – Resolve to examine Chapter 40B would create a special commission to review and modernize the Massachusetts comprehensive permit law for low- or moderate-income housing.

The Judiciary

S.1140 – An Act establishing a foreclosure review division would establish a foreclosure review division with jurisdiction in all issues concerning foreclosures on mortgages on residential properties.

S.1141 – An Act encouraging the donation of food to persons in need would promote food donation by expanding liability protections for food donations and creating a tax deduction for farmers who donate crops.

S.1142 – An Act restoring a lower threshold for permit challenges would make it easier for neighbors to challenge local building permits without having to pay a large upfront fee. It would revert the language of this section to how it read prior to the passage of the Affordable Homes Act.

Mental Health, Substance Use, & Recovery 

S.1407 – Resolve to ensure delivery of mental health services to adults with acute mental illness would create a commission to examine the staffing levels for case managers at the Department of Mental Health assigned to adults with acute mental illness. The commission will examine current trends and consider alternatives if necessary. 

Municipalities & Regional Government 

S.1451 – An Act providing for reserve funds for school districts would allow school districts to create reserve funds for unanticipated costs, requiring majority approval from school committees and local governing bodies to establish and use the reserve.

S.1452 – An Act establishing a Municipal Building Assistance Program and Building Authority would set aside 0.5 percent of the state’s sales tax revenue to address the rising costs of constructing and maintaining public buildings.

Public Health

S.1555 – An Act decreasing food waste by standardizing the date labeling of food would establish a “quality date” and “safety date” of food products to advise consumers of when the quality of food may begin to deteriorate vs. when it becomes hazardous to eat. This would mitigate consumer confusion and reduce waste.

S.1556 – An Act prohibiting the use of lead paint on outdoor structures would expand public health regulations by requiring outdoor structures to comply with the same health and safety standards as dwellings.

S.1557 – An Act relative to vaccines and preventing future disease outbreaks would require all elementary and secondary schools to annually report student immunization and exemption rates to the state, which would publish aggregated school and school district data publicly. It would also strike the existing language around religious exemptions.

S.1558 – An Act banning the sale of kratom would ban the sale, distribution, or preparation of Kratom products and extracts.

Public Safety & Homeland Security 

S.1712 – An Act establishing a public safety building authority and assistance program would create the Massachusetts Public Safety Building Authority, which would help towns manage the rising costs of building or renovating police stations, fire stations, and other safety facilities.

S.1713 – An Act relative to injured correctional officers would ensure that county correctional officers or employees who sustain work-related injuries caused by inmates or detainees receive their full workers’ compensation benefits and additional payments to equal their regular salary during recovery, without depleting their sick leave.

Public Service

S.1871 – An Act relative to retirement for nuclear reactor operators would allow certain UMass Lowell radiation safety staff to qualify for the same specialized retirement benefits as other hazardous-duty public safety roles.

S.1872 – An Act updating judicial retirement benefits would give judges the ability to choose a reduced lifetime pension so that, upon their death, a beneficiary could receive two-thirds of the reduced amount.

Revenue

S.2021 – An Act providing property tax relief for older adults would allow for communities to provide more flexibility and relief for individuals facing economic hardship, especially seniors and veterans, in the collection of property taxes.

S.2022 – Resolve providing for an investigation and study by a special commission relative to a senior state property tax deferral program would establish a pilot program to evaluate the feasibility of creating a state property tax deferral program for qualifying seniors.

S.2023 – An Act to promote urban agriculture and horticulture would allow gateway cities with populations over 50,000 to adopt an optional property tax credit for small pieces of land (less than two acres) intended for agricultural use.

S.2024 – An Act encouraging employer student loan repayment would incentivize employer-based student loan repayment by allowing employers to claim a tax credit equal to the loan payments they make on behalf of their employees.

S.2025 – An Act establishing the Massachusetts student relief and retention tax credit would allow graduates of Massachusetts institutions of higher education who remain in the Commonwealth to receive a state income tax credit.

Tourism, Arts, & Cultural Development 

S.2331 – An Act defining agritourism would add a definition for agritourism to the Massachusetts General Laws.

Telecommunications, Utilities, & Energy

S.2293 – An Act to promote energy and economic resilience through clean energy education and job pathway programs would establish and provide a funding mechanism for job pathway programs at vocational high schools for students in the fields of clean energy.