Press Releases & Statements
Today the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed legislation to modernize laws that protect children and families going through child custody proceedings.
Today, the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed the Debt Collection Fairness Act to protect consumers and keep people from being pushed into financial ruin if they are sued for financial debt. The new law would make debt collection practices fairer, protect wages, and make clear that no person can be imprisoned for unpaid consumer debt.
Today, Senate President Karen E. Spilka and Senator Jason M. Lewis, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Education, made the below statement regarding today's Joint Education Committee poll to advance legislation that would make Massachusetts schools cell phone-free. The legislation is a redraft incorporating seven Senate bills.
The Massachusetts Legislature today enacted a $61.01 billion state budget for Fiscal Year 2026, a fiscally responsible plan that protects core services for the state’s most vulnerable residents, maintains critical investments, and positions the Commonwealth to confront the underlying budget challenges that are a result of federal funding uncertainty.
Today, Senate President Karen E. Spilka and House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano released the following statement regarding the Legislature’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget agreement:
Today, the Massachusetts Senate passed the An Act strengthening health care protections in the Commonwealth—otherwise known as the Shield Act 2.0—legislation that would fortify protections for those seeking and providing reproductive and transgender care.
The Massachusetts Legislature today adopted joint rules that will make lawmaking more efficient, transparent and accessible to the public while adjusting the legislative calendar to allow more time to get meaningful policy accomplished.
Senate Majority Leader Cindy Creem and House Majority Leader Michael Moran announced on June 23, 2025, that they reached an agreement on joint legislative rules for the 194th General Court of Massachusetts.
Today, House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano and Senate President Karen E. Spilka issued the following statement regarding the conference committee on joint legislative rules:
Today, the Massachusetts Legislature approved $1.39 billion in new investments in public transportation and public education across the Commonwealth. The supplemental budget—funded by surplus revenue from the Fair Share surtax on incomes over $1 million, allocates $716 million for transportation and $593.5 million for education at every level.
Today, Massachusetts Senate President Karen E. Spilka issued the following statement on the apparent assassination of Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and the shooting of Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman
Saturday, August 9, 2025, and Sunday, August 10, 2025, are the official dates of Massachusetts’ annual sales tax holiday thanks to actions taken by the Massachusetts Legislature today. During the holiday, the state’s 6.25 per cent sales tax is suspended for most retail items priced under $2,500.
Today the Massachusetts Senate gave final approval to a bill that would mark an annual Tourette Syndrome Awareness Day in Massachusetts. Once signed into law by the Governor the first observance will be set for this Saturday, June 7, 2025.
The Massachusetts Senate today approved a $61.4 billion state budget for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26). Over three full days of debate, the Chamber adopted 493 amendments, adding a total of $81.1 million in spending for statewide initiatives and local priorities for communities throughout the Commonwealth to the Senate Ways and Means Committee’s originally proposed budget.
The Massachusetts Senate today added provisions to the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget to lower prescription drug costs, expand benefits for Gold Star spouses, and increase funding for pediatric palliative care, among other amendments adopted during debate.
The Massachusetts Senate today passed a $1.33 billion plan to invest in public education and transportation across the Commonwealth.
The Senate Committee on Ways and Means today released a $61.3 billion Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget proposal that safeguards the state’s financial health, protects the state’s most vulnerable residents, and makes investments that reinforce the Commonwealth’s economic vitality in the face of mounting federal threats.
The proposal, S.2512, primarily uses funds from the Fair Share surtax, which is paid by households in Massachusetts earning more than $1 million per year, to expand career and technical education opportunities, to help construction projects at local schools and college campuses, and to support public transit and road and bridge funding for city and town governments.
The exhibit will be open from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm on Fridays, in Senate President Karen Spilka’s ceremonial office on the third floor of the Massachusetts State House, directly outside the Senate Chamber.
Building on our past efforts to support genocide education and guard against hate-based attacks, our chambers are each committing $5 million in state funds, $10 million in total, to support the Holocaust Museum Boston, an institution that will serve as a powerful reminder of the atrocities perpetrated because of prejudice, the importance of resisting hate in every form, and the power of democratic institutions to fight back against bigotry and dehumanization.
In 2023 the Massachusetts Legislature passed, and Governor Healey signed into law, a historic tax relief bill aimed at lowering costs for working families, homeowners, renters and the Commonwealth’s seniors, among others. Residents can expect to see the effects of this tax relief package as they file their taxes for tax year 2024.
In response to federal actions under the second Trump Administration that threaten critical programs and institutions, the Massachusetts Senate is launching RESPONSE 2025, a coordinated effort to protect residents, defend the Commonwealth’s values, and lead Massachusetts through a potentially difficult time.
Today, Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka announced that busts of women’s rights leader and presidential advisor Abigail Adams, as well as freedom fighter Elizabeth Freeman, the first enslaved woman to successfully sue for her freedom in the United States of America, will be commissioned and placed in the Massachusetts Senate Chamber.
Today, the Massachusetts Legislature passed legislation to extend the hybrid public meeting option, allowing cities and towns to offer remote participation through June 2027. The extension applies to public bodies and representative town meetings.