The Senate passed a bill on March 18, 2020 that waives the one-week waiting period for any person making a claim for unemployment benefits, if the unemployment is a result of any circumstances relating to or resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak or the effects of the Governor’s declaration of a state of emergency.
Read MoreThe funds, held in reserve, will support the Commonwealth’s monitoring, treatment, containment, public awareness and prevention efforts against the 2019 novel coronavirus by the Department of Public Health, regional and local boards of health, and other public entities.
Read MoreOn March 10, 2020, Senate and House leaders announced they would take up a supplemental budget to create a $15 million fund in response to the recent and rapid rise in Massachusetts of COVID 19 cases.
Read MoreOn Thursday, February 13, 2020, the Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed the Mental Health ABC Act, comprehensive legislation aimed at reforming the mental health care system in Massachusetts. Senate Bill 2519, An Act Addressing Barriers to Care for Mental Health, serves as the first step toward developing a more integrated system of mental health care delivery to better meet the needs of individuals and families.
Read MoreThe Mental Health ABC Act removes barriers to timely quality mental health care, provides the state with more effective tools to enforce existing mental health parity laws, and invests in the mental and behavioral health workforce pipeline.
Read MoreToday, the Massachusetts State Senate is debating its Next Generation policy package. Here’s what you need to know.
Read MoreAmid increasing reports of environmental devastation worldwide, the Massachusetts State Senate has taken major new steps in advancing the state’s approach to combating global warming.
Read MoreOn January 16, 2020, the Massachusetts State Senate passed S.2459, An Act relative to healthy youth. This bill will ensure that Massachusetts schools electing to provide their students with sex education use age-appropriate and medically accurate curriculum that covers a comprehensive range of topics. The legislation also calls for sex education to be inclusive and appropriate for students regardless of gender, race, disability status, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Read MoreOn January 16, 2020, the Massachusetts State Senate unanimously passed legislation to fight childhood hunger and boost participation rates in school breakfast programs in the Commonwealth’s high-poverty schools. The bill, An Act regarding breakfast after the bell (S.2460), would require all public K-12 schools with 60 percent or more students eligible for free or reduced-price meals under the federal National School Lunch Program to offer breakfast after the instructional day begins.
Read MoreSenate President Karen E. Spilka welcomed Celtics player Jaylen Brown as a special guest at the first session of 2020.
Read MoreFollowing passage in both branches of the Massachusetts Legislature on November 20, 2019, An Act relative to campaign finance was signed into law a week later. The measure increases transparency and accountability in the Commonwealth’s elections by reforming fiscal reporting requirements. This bill also establishes a commission to study the use of campaign funds for family-related care.
Read MoreLegislation supporting the health and wellness of children across the Commonwealth was signed into law just before Thanksgiving after Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo along with their colleagues in the House and Senate passed a compromised version a week prior.
Read MoreOn November 25, 2019 legislation advanced by the Massachusetts Legislature to ban drivers from using hand-held electronic devices in vehicles was signed into law.
Read More“While we continue to learn more about the dangers of vaping, it is absolutely our responsibility to prevent marketing of vaping products, which we know to be harmful, to our children,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka
Read More“Today is an extraordinary day for our students,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka.
Read MoreThe Massachusetts State Senate passed a bill today that would implement a statewide ban on all carry-out plastic bags at checkout from retail stores.
Read MoreThe Massachusetts State Senate released a bill today that would implement a statewide ban on all carry-out plastic bags at checkout from retail stores.
Read MoreStrategies for Student Stress...How to Turn Stress into Success!
Read More“Today the Senate stood unified in our mission to tackle the pressing issue of health care access and affordability,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “I am excited to see the PACT Act advance, as we have heard for far too long that the rapidly rising cost of prescription drugs is the greatest issue facing individuals and families today. I look forward to seeing this legislation move forward so that many families can finally see relief.”
Read MoreSenate President Karen E. Spilka joined Governor Charlie Baker, her colleagues, and advocates at Thursday morning’s bill signing for An Act to Support Improved Financial Stability in Higher Education.
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