An Act to promote student learning and mental health seeks to keep students’ eyes on their classwork and instructors and away from their cell phones.
Read More
This week, Senate President Karen Spilka joined Senator Dylan Fernandes for a tour of key sites across the Plymouth and Barnstable District, spotlighting Fiscal Year 2026 budget investments in the region’s tourism economy and the preservation of care at the Pocasset Mental Health Center.
Read More
Today, the Massachusetts Senate passed An Act facilitating better interactions between police officers and persons with autism spectrum disorder, which would make permanent the ‘blue envelope’ program first advanced by the Senate early last year.
Read More
The Massachusetts Senate today passed two separate bills to bring Massachusetts laws into the 21st century by removing offensive language from state statute and repealing outdated, unconstitutional laws that hamper civil rights.
Read More
An Act dignifying individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities removes offensive terminology from state law and modernizes how the Massachusetts General Laws (MGL) refer to people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
Read More
An Act facilitating better interactions between police officers and persons with autism spectrum disorder seeks to prevent miscommunication and promote better understanding during traffic stops that involve a person with autism spectrum disorder.
Read MoreToday the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed legislation to modernize laws that protect children and families going through child custody proceedings.
Read MoreToday, 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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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:
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More