End of Session: Legislation Shifts to Law
As the end of the 192nd legislative session approaches this Sunday, hundreds of bills are being finalized by the legislature, many of which will soon become law. In our blog post last week, we touched on two bills relating to expenditure - the FY23 budget and the economic growth and relief bill. These are among a number of active bills in the legislature that will bring new advancements across the Commonwealth when codified. Many of these important bills have been debated on or enacted with little notice being provided to the public. To show just some of the important work that has been done in recent weeks, we provide a synopsis of a handful of these important soon to be laws:
Over the past two weeks, many of the bills that have been moved through the legislature are efforts that were largely created in response to recent changes at the federal level. In the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision which left the legality of abortion up to state governments, the Massachusetts legislature has worked diligently to pass HB5090, An Act expanding protections for reproductive and gender-affirming care. Although first filed at the beginning of the session as a likely extension of the ROE Act (passed by legislators in the 191st Session, and which codified individual right to abortion at state level), HB5090 has been modified through a number of amendments since its introduction. The House took up the bill immediately following the release of the Supreme Court majority opinion, and the Senate likewise took up the bill on July 13th. Following deliberations in conference committees, the final version of the bill, HB5090 was sent to the governor’s desk on Tuesday, where it is expected Governor Baker will sign it into law. Once doing so, Massachusetts will become an even greater safehaven for abortion, as the cost of abortions will continue to be covered through the Division of Medical Assistance, contraceptive access will be improved, and interstate rendition will be prohibited - meaning individuals cannot be tried out of state for abortions that occur in Massachusetts.
Abortion is not the only recent topic to become a priority for the legislature, as following horrific shootings such as the one in Uvalde, Texas, gun control provisions have been pursued. Unlike many other issues, the legislature’s efforts to promote gun control have been adopted within a bonding bill, which does not necessarily pertain to guns at all. The amendment in HB5046, filed by Rep. Michael Day, would increase the number of firearm protections in Massachusetts by cutting down the timeframe to renew a license to carry, broaden who is prohibited from having a license to carry, and require state police to conduct an interview for those applying for a license. While these sweeping reforms would likely establish better gun safety to Massachusetts, state police have been vocal in their opposition to its passage. Considering it was also adopted as a facet of a bonding bill, it is very possible that Governor Baker may reject the amendment, which will leave the legislature potentially scrambling to pass it again before the end of the month.
It should be noted that not all recent efforts of the legislature have been in response to changes across the country. In fact, most bills that have been passed in July have been long term legislative priorities, especially that of HB5060, An Act driving clean energy and offshore wind. This climate change bill has been continually debated since July of 2021, and has brought about intense deliberations. If enacted, it will make 35 separate changes to Massachusetts general law, all of which will be central to generating a better clean energy and offshore wind economic sector in the Commonwealth. HB5060 was passed by both houses as of last Thursday, meaning Governor Baker will have right up until the deadline to sign it into law or send it back to legislature. Climate advocates across the state have been pressuring the governor to do so, but given the controversial aspects of deliberations that occurred in the legislature alone, it is possible HB5060 will need to be hurried to passage by the legislature before this Sunday at midnight.
While the aforementioned bills all are considerably broad in their makeup, there have also been a number of niche bills that have been passed that are incredibly important for addressing specific issues. One of these is the CROWN Act (HB4554), signed by Gov. Baker this week, which codifies that it is illegal to discriminate based on natural and protective hairstyles in Massachusetts. Following the bill’s passage, Massachusetts is now the 18th state to ban hairstyle discrimination.. Although having received somewhat less media attention in the state than the other bills previously discussed, the CROWN Act is just as, if not more impactful.
Two other lesser publicized bills that await the governor’s signing are HB901 and SB3056. HB901, An Act protecting research animals, would allow for research animals, primarily beagles, to be available for adoption once they have completed their scientific purpose. This has been a largely supported effort of many animal rights activists in the Commonwealth, and has been a national issue of late.. SB3056 will regulate and establish a commission to better understand the use of step therapy in Massachusetts. Step therapy refers to a program in which insurers require patients take cheaper, less effective medications before agreeing to cover more expensive treatments. Patient advocates have long sought exceptions to step therapy, which typically delays the resolution of symptoms in order to save insurance companies money.
This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of all the legislative action. Hundreds of bills have been decided on by the legislature, and as we approach August 1st, this number will only continue to rise. With the services of InstaTrac, however, you do not have to worry about missing a thing! Our up to the minute bill action alerts, bill summaries, section by section reports, and more will make it easy to know of all changes happening to Massachusetts law. For more information or to see a demo of our services, please reach out to info@instatrac.com.
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