193rd Session in Review
ANIMAL PROTECTION
H.3245 - An Act relative to the use of elephants, big cats, primates, giraffes, and bears in traveling exhibits and shows
Prohibits the use of elephants, lions, tigers, leopards, clouded leopards, snow leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, mountain lions, non-human primates, bears, and giraffes, in a traveling animal act.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on August 8, 2024
H.4919 - An Act to increase kennel safety, aka Ollie's Law
This legislation updates licensure and regulation of kennels and other pet boarding facilities to keep animals in their care safe.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on September 20, 2024
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
H3770 - An Act to improve the Commonwealth’s competitiveness, affordability, and equity
Bipartisan tax relief package supporting residents across all income levels. The bill includes major tax changes in the following areas:
Dairy farmer tax credit
Child and Dependent Tax Credit, Estate Tax
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
Senior Circuit Breaker Tax Credit
Low Income Housing Tax Credit
Local Option Property Tax Exemption for Affordable Housing
Title V Cesspool or Septic System Tax Credit.
Single Sales Factor Apportionment
Rental Deduction Cap
Short-Term Capital Gains Tax
Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP)
Signed into law by Governor Healey on October 4, 2023
H4804 - An Act relative to strengthening Massachusetts’ economic leadership
Authorizes nearly $4 billion infusion into the Commonwealth’s economy while making wide-ranging policy changes to make Massachusetts more competitive. Intended to stimulate new and proven industries, support workforce development and talent retention, and modernize economic growth strategies. Provisions of the bill will support small businesses, communities, and cultural development.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on November 20, 2024
ENVIRONMENT
H4884 - An Act accelerating a responsible, innovative and equitable clean energy transition
Reforms the siting and permitting of clean energy facilities, while responsibly reforming the gas distribution system. It vastly expands the electric vehicle (EV) charging network, incentivizes innovative technologies, advanced metering and meter socket adapters. It includes measures to protect residents from high energy costs and equips state agencies with the mandate to fight climate change.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on November 20, 2024
HOUSING
H4726 - An Act relative to the Affordable Homes Act
Authorizes $5.16 billion in bond authorizations and tax credits to spur housing production in Massachusetts, while implementing sweeping policy initiatives to facilitate the development of affordable housing and preserve public housing in Massachusetts. The bill includes bond authorizations for public housing, housing vulnerable populations, housing development and HousingWorks. The bill includes incentives, tax credits, and policy changes to produce more housing and protect homeowners and renters.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on August 5, 2024
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
H4648 - An Act to provide for the future information technology needs of Massachusetts
$1.26 billion bond authorization to modernize the Commonwealth’s digital infrastructure and create safer and more accessible experiences for residents and employees alike. The funding would allow state agencies to deliver services more efficiently to residents, enhance cybersecurity on statewide platforms, and broaden access to services used by hundreds of thousands of residents statewide. The bill would also invest in emerging technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) and create a fund to secure anticipated federal funding to bolster health and human services-related projects.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on July 29, 2024
INFRASTRUCTURE
H4446 - An Act to provide for competitiveness and infrastructure investment in Massachusetts
Takes advantage of the interest accrued from the Commonwealth’s Stabilization Fund and leverages that interest to ensure the state receives the maximum possible share of federal funds.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on September 24, 2024
JUSTICE
H4750 - An Act to ensure legal parentage equality
Extends the full rights of parentage to LGBTQ+ families and families created via assisted reproduction. The bill dismantles archaic legal barriers to basic parenting responsibilities for modern families, opening the door to legally attend and make decisions during medical appointments, manage a child’s finances, participate in educational decisions, and provide authorizations for a child’s travel.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on August 4, 2024
H.4528 - An Act to rename the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, MassAbility, to reflect the self-determination and limitless possibilities of people with disabilities
The name change reflects the intention to empower individuals living with disabilities and move away from outdated terminology as the office undergoes broad changes towards a more expansive model for disability employment services and independent living. The legislation also removes offensive terminology in the Massachusetts General Laws referring to people with disabilities in sections of the law that pertain to MassAbility.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on September 12, 2024
PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
H4918 - An Act relative to medically necessary breast screenings and exams for
equity and early detection
This legislation will ensure that patients have access to follow-up breast cancer screenings and exams, while also preventing any increase in patient cost-sharing by 2026.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on November 13, 2024
H4241 - An Act to prevent abuse and exploitation
Criminalizes the non-consensual sharing of explicit images known as “revenge porn,” creates a diversion program for teens who share explicit images, statutorily defines coercive control as an element of domestic abuse, and extends the statute of limitations to pursue criminal charges for certain domestic violence offenses from six years to 15 years.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on June 20, 2024
H4139 - An Act modernizing firearm laws
Cracks down on the sale of ghost guns, strengthens the Commonwealth’s red flag laws, updates the definition of assault-style firearms, and limits the carrying of guns into polling places and government buildings while updating our current prohibition of guns in schools to include school transport.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on July 25, 2024
H4109 - An Act relative to salary range transparency
Requires employers with 25 or more employees to disclose a salary range when posting a position and protects an employee’s right to ask their employer for the salary range for their position when applying for a job or seeking a promotion. It also requires employers with more than 100 employees to share their federal wage and workforce data reports with the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD), which would then be responsible for compiling and publishing aggregated wage and workforce data to help identify gender and racial wage gaps by industry. The bill makes a necessary update, following the Equal Pay Act of 2016, to prevent earned wage adjustments from triggering the anti-spiking provision.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on July 31, 2024
H.4350 - An Act criminalizing sexual assault by fraud of a medical professional
Creates two new felonies in chapter 265: for indecent assault and battery in new section 13H 3/4 and rape in new section 22DD by a medical or health care provider through false representation of a legitimate medical or treatment purpose. It adds these crimes to G.L. c. 277 § 63, so the statute of limitations may be tolled for underage victims. Both crimes include an expansive definition of health care provider and a requirement that consent cannot be given under these circumstances.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on August 8, 2024
S.2902 - An Act relative to the reduction of certain toxic chemicals in firefighter personal protective equipment
Phases out the use of toxic "forever” chemicals in firefighters’ protective gear. Poly- and perfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals have long been used in the personal protective equipment used by firefighters because of their ability to withstand high heat and repel penetration by water and oil. Today it is known that PFAS chemicals can be highly toxic at very low levels, even before the chemicals are exposed to fire. For years, firefighters and their loved ones have pointed to high rates of cancers known to be caused by PFAS amongst current and former firefighters, including breast, kidney and testicular cancer.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on August 15, 2024
H4785 - An Act promoting access to midwifery care and out-of-hospital birth options
Creates a state licensure pathway for midwives and lactation consultants, encourages the creation of more freestanding birth centers, establishes a grant program to address maternal mental health and substance use disorder, expands the statewide universal postpartum home visiting program, and mandates that certain health care professionals perform, and that health insurers provide coverage for, postpartum depression and major depressive disorder screenings.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on August 23, 2024
H4193 - An Act to improve quality and oversight of long-term care
Includes sweeping reforms to the long-term care and assisted living sectors, taking a powerful step towards delivering high quality and safe care for older residents across the Commonwealth. The bill strengthens the Commonwealth’s oversight of nursing homes, provides critical anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ nursing home residents, and permanently allows assisted living residences to offer basic health services.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on September 6, 2024
H5143 - An Act relative to treatments and coverage for substance use disorder and recovery coach licensure
This legislation will combat the opioid crisis and support residents living with substance use disorder (SUD). It will expand non-opioid pain treatments, establish licenses for recovery coaches, and support pregnant people and their children who have been exposed to substances.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on December 23, 2024
H.4653 - An Act enhancing the market review process
This legislation will close loopholes in the health care market regulatory process exposed by the collapse of Steward Health Care, increase financial transparency by gathering more information regarding hospital finances, and assist in maintaining a more stable and sustainable health care system.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on January 8, 2025
S.3012 - An Act relative to pharmaceutical access, costs and transparency
This legislation includes comprehensive reforms to lower the cost of prescription drugs at the pharmacy counter and improve oversight of the state’s pharmaceutical industry. It requires health insurers to cover life-saving medications for diabetes, asthma, and certain heart conditions with no or limited out-of-pocket costs for patients. The measure is particularly critical for residents of color, who disproportionately face chronic illnesses.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on January 9, 2025
VETERANS
H4172 - An Act honoring, empowering, and recognizing our servicemembers and veterans
Increases and simplifies benefits and opportunities, modernizes services, and promotes inclusivity for Massachusetts veterans while reaffirming the Commonwealth’s commitment to recognizing and serving all service members and their families. It increases benefits for disabled veterans and Gold Star family members, bolsters new and existing initiatives for municipalities and businesses to support veterans, creates comprehensive services for active-duty service members and military families, expands the scope of the Veterans Equality Review Board, updates the Chapter 115 definition of a veteran to expand eligibility, and codifies medical, behavioral health, and dental benefits.
Signed into law by Governor Healey on August 8, 2024