Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ and senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of Oct. 13 to Oct. 17.
$2.25 billion supplemental budget (H 4601)
The House, 141-14, approved and sent to the Senate a $2.25 billion fiscal year 2025 supplemental budget designed to close out the books on FY25. The measure provides $1.67 billion to MassHealth and $374 million to former Steward Health Care hospitals at a time when state officials say they are feeling budget pressures associated with rising health care costs. The proposal would also increase hospital contributions by $50 million to support the Health Safety Net and stabilize funding for MassHealth and safety net hospitals.
Other provisions include $10 million for Health Care for All to conduct a public awareness campaign, and to conduct health coverage enrollment assistance for communities at risk of losing health care coverage as a result of the new Medicaid reporting requirements; $10 million for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center; $5 million in grants to reproductive health care providers; $60.7 million for snow and ice removal; $12.5 million for prisoners to make free phone calls; $12 million for school meals; $6.8 million for the Clean Water Trust Fund; $3.5 million for State Police operations; $15 million for a new Sports and Entertainment Fund grant program, for which $10 million will be set aside for the events related to the 2026 FIFA World Cup; and withholding most of a $162 million funding request from county sheriffs, until the inspector general investigates sheriffs’ finances.
“This supplemental budget closes the books on fiscal year 2025, and aims to fortify the commonwealth’s finances, bolster economic development and ensure continued access to critical health care services,” said House Speaker Ron Mariano, D-Quincy. “In the face of unrelenting attacks from the Trump Administration that will strip health insurance coverage from millions of Americans and deny access to lifesaving vaccinations, this supplemental budget will help vulnerable residents prepare for, and avoid, a lapse in coverage and ensure continued access to vaccines for every child in Massachusetts.”
“There has been little information on why there are exorbitant runaway costs in the MassHealth program,” said Rep. Ken Sweezey, R-Hanson. “I cannot continue to support writing blank checks without accountability and a strategy to reel in the spending. I also see a need for some serious reforms to the HomeBase program and the no-cost calls program within our correctional facilities before we continue to supplement their budgets.”
“I believe we need proper oversight of these medical expenditures before committing more funding,” said Rep. Mike Soter, R-Bellingham. “The governor should provide a detailed report outlining what’s driving these rising costs before requesting additional taxpayer dollars. We can’t claim to have a revenue problem in one breath and then spend significant public funds without accountability in the next.”
A Yes” vote is for the budget. A “No” vote is against it.
- Rep. Natalie Blais — Yes
- Rep. Aaron Saunders — Yes
- Rep. Susannah Whipps — Yes
Availability of menstrual products (S 2640)
The Senate, 39-0, approved and sent to the House a bill that would require all prisons, homeless shelters, and public elementary and secondary schools to maintain free menstrual products, including sanitary napkins, tampons and underwear liners in private and public restrooms; and to make them available in a “convenient manner that does not stigmatize any persons seeking the products.”
Supporters said that according to the Massachusetts Menstrual Equity Coalition, approximately one in seven children in Massachusetts is living in poverty and struggles to pay for menstrual products. They argued that research shows that the inability to access menstrual products affects students’ class attendance. They also noted that women facing homelessness or who are incarcerated face high barriers to access, with Massachusetts shelters reporting that menstrual products are among the least donated items. They argued that restricted access in shelters and correctional facilities means that products can be used as bargaining chips and tools of control for people in vulnerable circumstances.
The Senate approved the same bill in the 2023-2024 session on Oct. 26, 2023 and sent it to the House Ways and Means Committee, where no further action was taken for more than a year and the bill died from inaction on Dec. 31, 2024.
Any individual representative in the 2023-2024 session could have acted to try to force the bill out of the Ways and Means Committee, but none of the 160 House members did so. Any House member can still do the same anytime during the current 2025-2026 session.
Under House rules, any individual representative can move to discharge any and all bills from the Ways and Means Committee. There is a seven-day waiting period prior to the House considering the motion to discharge. The discharge motion must receive a majority vote of the members present. If the measure is discharged from the committee, the committee has four days within which to report out the measure for placement on the House’s agenda for action.
A bill may also be discharged from the Ways and Means Committee by any representative by filing a petition signed by a majority of the House. The bill would then be discharged seven days later and go onto the House agenda for the next session.
However, the Ways and Means Committee is often a burial ground for bills that will never again see the light of day.
“Rarely, if ever, does a member go either of those two routes against the wishes of the leadership and the committee chair,” said a state representative who requested anonymity. They told Beacon Hill Roll Call, “It’s no secret that Speaker Mariano controls the flow of legislation and a bill makes progress in the House only when he wants it to. Every member knows that one of the biggest sins is to publicly make a motion to discharge a bill from a committee. The leadership frowns upon that.”
House Ways and Means Committee Chair Aaron Michlewitz, D-Boston; Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, vice chair of the House Ways and Means Committee; Todd Smola, R-Warren, the ranking Republican on the committee; and House Speaker Ron Mariano did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking them to comment on the committee bottling up the bill and killing it.
Beacon Hill Roll Call asked Sen. Pat Jehlen, D-Somerville, the bill’s sponsor, and Sen. Patrick O’Connor, R-Weymouth, a strong supporter, to comment on the killing of the bill.
“I support our House colleagues’ efforts this session, and in prior ones, to advance this important legislation,” Jehlen responded.
O’Connor responded, “Unfortunately, all too often within the legislative process we see bills that would benefit individuals across the commonwealth not make it across the finish line with the other priority bills the House and Senate both have on the docket. With the overwhelming support of [this bill] this session, I am confident now more than ever that we will finally be able to get this through the House and I will continue to urge my colleagues in both chambers to get this done.”
A “Yes” vote is for the bill.
- Sen. Joanne Comerford — Yes
- Sen. Paul Mark — Yes
Disclose ingredients in menstrual products (S 1483)
The Senate, 39-0, approved and sent to the House a proposal that would require manufacturers of menstrual health products to clearly disclose and display a list of ingredients. The ingredients would have to be easily accessible on both retail packages and manufacturers’ websites.
“A person who menstruates will use, on average, over 10,000 menstrual products in their lifetime,” said sponsor Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton. “Yet, menstrual products have increasingly been found to contain harmful substances such as PFAS, heavy metals and other toxic chemicals.”
A “Yes” vote is for the bill.
- Sen. Joanne Comerford — Yes
- Sen. Paul Mark — Yes
Expand the Move Over Law (S 2653)
The Senate, 39-0, approved and sent to the Senate legislation that would require motorists to slow down if they are approaching a stationary utility truck or a stopped vehicle with flashing lights on the shoulder of a road or breakdown lane of a highway. Drivers on a highway with multiple lanes in each direction would also be required, if practicable, to change lanes to ensure greater safety for vehicles and individuals in the breakdown lane. The bill expands the state’s existing Move Over Law, which provides this protection for emergency response vehicles, highway maintenance vehicles and tow trucks.
“This essential legislation is a critical upgrade to our Move Over Law, expanding its lifesaving protections to everyone who must work or wait on the side of a busy highway,” said sponsor Sen. Brendan Crighton, D-Lynn, Senate chair of the Committee on Transportation. “By including disabled vehicles and utility workers, and implementing stronger penalties, we are making everyone on our roads safer.”
“National Grid employees perform critical repairs and maintenance to ensure safe, reliable energy service across Massachusetts every day when customers need it most,” said Shaun Vacher, vice president of electric operations for National Grid. “We thank the Senate for passing this important legislation to provide essential protections for roadside utility crews, helping ensure they can do this vital work safely and without unnecessary risk.”
“The Massachusetts State Police shares the Healey-Driscoll administration’s support for this bill, which provides important additions to the commonwealth’s existing Move Over Law,” said Col. Geoffrey Noble, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police. “While these expanded provisions support our ability to address dangerous behavior through enforcement, above all else, we want drivers to slow down and change lanes away from stationary vehicles when it’s safe to do so. Taking these common-sense steps will prevent the serious injuries and fatal outcomes that change lives forever.”
A “Yes” vote is for the bill.
- Sen. Joanne Comerford — Yes
- Sen. Paul Mark — Yes
Also up on Beacon Hill
The House gave initial approval to several bills, including:
Fire chief must be a former firefighter (H 2646): Would require that any candidates for appointment to the position of fire chief, fire commissioner or head of a fire department in any city or town, must have been a uniformed member of the Massachusetts firefighting force of a Massachusetts fire department for a minimum of five years.
Supporters said this would ensure that anyone appointed to one of these high positions has some firsthand experience as a firefighter and has come up through the ranks.
Rep. Dan Hunt, D-Boston, the sponsor of the measure, did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call to comment on his bill.
Require sprinkler systems (H 2644): Would allow cities and towns to require the installation of an automatic sprinkler system in any building with more than four units that “undergoes a major alteration or modification and is occupied in whole or in part for residential purposes,” including lodging houses, boarding houses, fraternity houses, dormitories, apartments, townhouses, condominiums, hotels, motels and group residences.
This requirement would replace a current law that allows cities and towns to require the installation of an automatic sprinkler system in any building with more than four units that is “substantially rehabilitated so as to constitute the equivalent of new construction.”
Both the current law and the bill allow cities and towns to require the installation of an automatic sprinkler system in newly constructed buildings.
Supporters of the bill said the “major alteration” standard is more inclusive and will apply to more buildings than the “substantially rehabilitated so as to constitute the equivalent of new construction” standard. They argued that changing the standard will save more lives.
They noted that automatic sprinklers work fast and give people more time to escape. According to the Massachusetts Fire Sprinkler Coalition, having both sprinklers and smoke alarms reduces the risk of dying in a home fire by 80%. They also pointed out that automatic sprinklers put out 90% of home fires before the fire department arrives, which reduces firefighters’ exposure to the toxic products of combustion that cause cancer.
Rep. Dan Hunt, D-Boston, the sponsor of the proposal, did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking him to comment on his bill.
Absentee ballots (H 830): Would require that early voting and absentee ballots be identical to a regular ballot that voters use on Election Day.
Supporters said that current law only requires the ballots to be “similar.” They argued that it makes no sense for any of these three ballots to be different from each other.
Rep. Richard Haggerty, D-Woburn, the sponsor of the measure, did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call to comment on his bill.
Governor’s Council (H 805): Would require that when candidates for Governor’s Council are listed on a voter ballot, the office they are seeking be listed as Governor’s Council. Under current law, the listing says simply “Council.”
Supporters said that using the word “Council” is too vague and many voters have no idea about the office for which they are voting. They note that the Governor’s Council is a very important and powerful eight-member board that, according to its website, “meets weekly to record advice and consent on warrants for the state treasury, pardons and commutations, and record advice and consent to gubernatorial appointments such as judges, clerk magistrates, public administrators, members of the Parole Board, Appellate Tax Board, Industrial Accident Board and Industrial Accident Reviewing Board, notaries and justices of the peace.”
Reps. Simon Cataldo, D-Concord, and Carmine Gentile, D-Sudbury, the co-sponsors of the proposal, did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking them to comment on their bill.
Must provide customers insurance for heating oil spills (H 1302): Would require insurance companies that provide homeowners insurance to include insurance for heating oil releases to their customers. The measure also raises the required minimum coverage provided.
Supporters said that some 100 homeowners experience an oil leak in Massachusetts every year. They noted that leaks can incur costly damage to the residence itself, but under Massachusetts law, owners are responsible for environmental cleanup, which can rise to $100,000 or more, to dispose of contaminated soil and mitigate the spread in surrounding areas.
“Under current law, insurers are not mandated to provide coverage for heating oil releases but are only required to make it available to customers that explicitly request it,” said sponsor Rep. Jeff Roy, D-Franklin. “However, most homeowners are unaware that an oil spill is excluded from their base coverage. Most only discover this after they experience a catastrophic spill. In contrast, residential catastrophes stemming from other common forms of energy [like] natural gas and electricity, etc. are covered under typical homeowners’ policies.”
Roy continued, “This means that all insurance payers contribute to paying such claims, regardless of whether they use that form of energy or not, including those using home heating oil. My bill addresses this inequity by requiring that coverage be provided automatically to all homeowners and raising coverage limits to keep pace with rising cleanup costs. This small affirmative change will help prevent homeowners from going bankrupt or funding environmental cleanups with their retirement funds, children’s college funds or their life’s savings.”
Ban employers from asking for credit reports (H 4450): Would prohibit employers from obtaining the credit reports of existing or potential employees except in certain circumstances, including hiring for a position that requires national security clearance; a position for which a person is required by federal or state law to obtain a consumer report; and some executive or managerial positions at a financial institution.
“The [bill] reduces barriers to employment by limiting the use of personal credit reports in the hiring process,” said the original sponsor of the bill in 2024, former Duxbury representative Josh Cutler, who is now Gov. Maura Healey’s undersecretary of apprenticeship, work-based learning and policy in the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. ”Credit scores were never intended to be used for employment purposes and pre-employment credit checks can create needless barriers for otherwise qualified workers. Eleven other states already taken similar steps.”
Rep. Kenneth Gordon, D-Bedford, the sponsor of the proposal, did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking him to comment on his bill.
Require uniform ballots (H 832): Would require all election ballots to be uniform in size.
“[My bill] requires all ballots be uniform in size, material and content for all voters, whether marked by hand or using a ballot-marking device,” said sponsor Rep. Sean Garballey, D-Arlington. “It also prohibits tabulating votes from barcodes, QR codes or any non-human-readable marks, mandating that votes be counted only from the selections visibly marked by the voter, except in limited cases where non-uniform ballots are necessary to comply with federal law or specific counting methods.”