On March 27, 2020 Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Robert DeLeo announced an agreement to extend the 2019 state individual income tax filing and payment deadline from April 15 to July 15 due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. This income tax relief is automatic and taxpayers do not need to file any additional forms to qualify.
Read MoreOn Thursday, March 26, 2020 the Massachusetts Senate passed legislation to expand the scope of practice for certain health care professionals for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency. This bill removes barriers to immediate care by granting certain health care professionals the authority to work at the top of their license, education and training to ensure that our health care system can meet the increased demand it’s currently seeing due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Read MoreOn March 23, 2020, the Senate and House passed legislation to help protect public health by providing cities and towns the authority to postpone and reschedule certain municipal elections and related activities.
Read MoreThe Senate and House are currently working on a bill to address evictions and foreclosures in light of the COVID-19 crisis.
Read MoreThe right to vote is one that the Massachusetts State Senate cherishes and wishes to protect. We hope that the actions we take now will help ensure the integrity of our elections as this public health crisis evolves.
Read MoreThe 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.
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