Senate President Karen Spilka, the third woman to be elected to the presidency of the Massachusetts State Senate, hosted a Galentine’s Day event on Monday, February 13, 2023 billed as a lighthearted evening of fun and stories to celebrate leaders, visionaries, and trendsetters who identify as women.
Read MoreOn February 9, 2023, the Massachusetts State Senate passed a comprehensive rules package updating the Senate and joint rules to incorporate the best practices learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. This package reflects the societal shift toward hybrid operations while building on the Senate’s commitment to transparency, inclusivity, and equity.
Read MoreOn Wednesday, January 4, 2023, Senator Karen Spilka was re-elected President of the Massachusetts State Senate after the Senators of the 193rd General Court were sworn in.
Read MoreThe Massachusetts State Senate on Thursday passed legislation that would support parents running for public office by recognizing childcare as a valid campaign expense.
Read MoreThe Massachusetts Legislature passed legislation to prevent individuals who default on their student loans from having their license or professional certification revoked as a result.
Read MoreThe Legislature on passed legislation that protects open and public spaces throughout the Commonwealth and ensures their conservation for future generations. This legislation, known as the Public Land Preservation Act, permanently preserves and protects the amount of land designated as open spaces and prevents it from being used for other purposes.
Read MoreLeaders from MetroWest Medical Center and Tufts Medicine today announced continued progress in their plans to ensure that cancer services remain open in Framingham without any disruption to care in the community.
Read MoreThe Massachusetts Legislature passed a wide-ranging $3.76 billion relief package to provide targeted energy assistance, support ongoing transportation needs, and invest in the state’s small businesses, caregivers, health care system, affordable housing, and efforts to fight climate change.
Read MoreThe Senate passed two bills to help people with disabilities live independently in Massachusetts. The first takes steps to ensure that people with physical disabilities who rely on wheelchairs are not stranded for long time periods in the event of the breakdown of an in-warranty wheelchair. The second recognizes supported decision-making as an alternative to guardianship, allowing certain people with disabilities to retain greater decision-making power over their lives.
Read MoreThe Massachusetts Senate enacted legislation to limit the use of step therapy, or ‘fail first’ protocols that too often direct patients to cheaper medications rather than those more suitable to treat their condition.
Read MoreSenate President Spilka’s 55+ Fair: Health and Wellness for Active Agers and Those Who Love Them will be held on Saturday, October 22, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Keefe Regional Technical School (Keefe Tech), located at 750 Winter Street in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Read MoreLegislative leaders and advocates joined Governor Baker for the ceremonial bill signing of the Mental Health ABC Act: Addressing Barriers to Care, comprehensive legislation to continue the process of reforming the way mental health care is delivered in Massachusetts, with the goal of ensuring that people get the mental health care they need when they need it. The Governor officially signed this legislation into law on August 10, 2022.
Read MoreFollowing action by House and Senate lawmakers, An Act to Improve and Modernize the Information Technology Systems and Capacities of the Judiciary was signed into law this week. The legislation makes a once in 25-year investment in modernizing the technology and security of court houses across Massachusetts. Additionally, this bill responds to the controversial U.S. Supreme Court New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen decision by tightening Massachusetts safety standards to comply with the decision while ensuring that local police chiefs personally interview each applicant for a license to carry.
Read MoreThe Legislature passed the Mental Health ABC Act: Addressing Barriers to Care (ABC), comprehensive legislation to continue the process of reforming the way mental health care is delivered in Massachusetts, with the goal of ensuring that people get the mental health care they need when they need it. The Mental Health ABC Act is driven by the recognition that mental health is as important as physical health for every resident of the Commonwealth and should be treated as such.
Read MoreThe Legislature passed legislation, An Act relative to equity in the cannabis industry, that encourages and facilitates participation in the cannabis industry from communities disproportionally harmed by marijuana criminalization by creating a Social Equity Trust Fund. The bill also strengthens the host community agreement process and clarifies procedures for permitting social consumption sites.
Read MoreThe Massachusetts Legislature passed legislation which would allow individuals under the age of 18 to access life-saving HIV prevention medication, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or postexposure prophylaxis (PEP).
Read MoreThe Legislature’s final version of the transportation bond bill, which was released from conference committee on Saturday, was enacted by both the House and Senate on Sunday. It authorizes over $11.3 billion for transportation and infrastructure projects, including $400 million for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to address ongoing safety concerns identified by the Federal Transit Administration’s Safety Management Inspection and $275 million for the East-West passenger rail project.
Read MoreThe Senate passed legislation to modernize aspects of the Massachusetts court system, including by closing loopholes around the Commonwealth’s gun laws. The bill supports Massachusetts courts’ increased use of technology in courtroom proceedings by investing in information technology for the judiciary branch and allowing certain administrative proceedings to be done electronically. Following renewed national scrutiny of state gun control laws in the wake of mass shootings and the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down gun control legislation in the state of New York, this bill also takes steps to strengthen Massachusetts’ gun control laws.
Read MoreThe Massachusetts State Senate passed legislation to limit the use of step therapy, or ‘fail first’ protocols that too often direct patients to cheaper medications rather than those more suitable to treat their condition. The bill gives health care providers more leverage in determining the most effective treatment options for patients, saving patients expensive and painful regimens on medications they know to be ineffective or harmful. This bill builds on similar legislation passed by the Senate in 2020.
Read MoreThe Senate passed legislation to address disparities in local and regional public health systems. The bill would encourage wider technical coordination among Massachusetts’ 351 separate boards of health, establish common standards among these boards, and ensure that these boards of health are funded equitably. This legislation implements the unanimous recommendations of the Special Commission on Local and Regional Public Health and was a key recommendation of the Joint Committee on COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management’s July 2022 report.
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