Today the Massachusetts Legislature approved August 10 and August 11 as a sales tax holiday weekend for Massachusetts. On those days, the Massachusetts sales tax of 6.25% will be suspended for most items that retail for less than $2,500.
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Today the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed legislation to boost support for hundreds of thousands of individuals across the state who have served in the United States military, including nearly 30,000 women veterans and thousands of LGBTQ+ veterans.
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This Thursday, the Massachusetts Senate will take up and debate An Act Honoring, Empowering and Recognizing Our Service Members and Veterans (HERO Act).
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Today the Massachusetts Senate passed An act relative to advancing the profession of commercial interior design. Under this legislation, commercial interior designers would have the opportunity to become registered professionals in the state of Massachusetts. As the law currently stands, with certain state and federal projects requiring licensure, Massachusetts designers often have to contract with larger firms or individuals with architectural licenses in order to be eligible for these projects. This often results in lost revenue for interior designers in this majority-women field.
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This Thursday, the Massachusetts Senate will take up and debate An Act to provide for the future information technology needs of Massachusetts (the FutureTech Act) and An Act relative to advancing the profession of commercial interior design.
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The Massachusetts Senate has unanimously approved a $57.999 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25). Following robust and spirited debate, the Senate adopted over 400 amendments and took 43 roll call votes, adding $89.6 million in spending for statewide initiatives and local priorities for communities around the Commonwealth.
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The Senate will begin the third day of debate of the Fiscal Year 2025 budget on Thursday morning. As of the beginning of debate on Thursday, the upper chamber adopted 375 amendments, rejected 281 amendments, and has taken 26 roll call votes.
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The Senate Committee on Ways and Means on Tuesday released a $57.9 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) that reflects the Senate’s vision of creating a more affordable, equitable, and competitive Massachusetts by investing in residents and communities across every district of the Commonwealth, while continuing to be fiscally responsible and chart a sustainable path forward.
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Today, Senate leaders unveiled MassEducate, a proposal for tuition-free, universal community college for all Massachusetts residents which is aimed at boosting the state’s workforce and expanding opportunity for students and families in every part of the state.
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Today the Massachusetts Senate took action to protect residents and consumers from predatory tactics and promote fairer interactions with businesses in the state, passing bills that would ban third-party residential electric suppliers, enhance the state’s Lemon Law for car buyers, and mandate home insurers cover residential oil spill damages.
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Today the Massachusetts Legislature gave municipalities around the Commonwealth a critical tool to make improvements to local transportation infrastructure by overwhelmingly passing a final bill to authorize Chapter 90 road funding.
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Today, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a supplemental budget that funds the emergency shelter system for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2024 and provides a glide path into Fiscal Year 2025 while instituting reforms to ensure the integrity and financial stability of the program. The bill further extends certain COVID-era flexibilities, most notably allowing for permanent outdoor dining options and restaurants to sell cocktails to-go, as well as expanding nursing eligibility to graduate students and certain staff in assisted living facilities.
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Today, the Massachusetts Senate unanimously approved $375 million in bond authorizations for statewide transportation projects, including the state’s Chapter 90 program, which would create a reliable funding source for local infrastructure investments like roads, bridges, regional transit equipment and infrastructure, bicycle infrastructure, and electric vehicle infrastructure, among other things.
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Today the Senate unanimously passed legislation to boost safety for firefighters and people conducting “hot work”—welding, plasma cutting, and spark-producing construction—by requiring the state to create a public database of violations of the fire prevention statute, and a public notification system to alert workers of violations.
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Today, the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed legislation to protect consumers and help 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 go to prison for their debt.
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Today, the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed An Act to prevent abuse and exploitation, bipartisan legislation that would criminalize the sharing of sexually explicit images or videos without an individual’s consent and implement a comprehensive educational diversion program designed for adolescents on the consequences of posting indecent visual depictions online.
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Today, the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed legislation to make early education and care more accessible and affordable for families across Massachusetts.
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Today, the Massachusetts Senate announced it would be taking up the EARLY ED Act, legislation to make early education and care more accessible and affordable for families across Massachusetts.
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Today, the Massachusetts Senate Art Committee released a submission form requesting nominations for the name of a woman to be honored with a bust in the Senate Chamber. Nominations should reflect women who have made historic contributions to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; women with national influence will also be considered if they have ties to the state.
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“…The hearing will examine the relationship between health care regulators and private equity, and will solicit information and recommendations to help ensure that what is happening with Steward Health Care doesn’t happen again in the future….”
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