End of Formal Session Legislative Update
70 Endorsed Bills
Bills with no action: 7
Bills reported out of Committee & haven't been brought to a vote on a Chamber floor: 48
Bills that passed one Chamber: 5
Bills in Conference Committee: 4
Bills as part of Budget: 3
BILLS PASSED: 3
As the formal legislative session came to a close on July 31st, we’re writing to share an update on Mass NOW’s legislative agenda, in which we endorsed 70 bills! Overall, three bills passed and have been signed by the Governor, three received funding in the FY24 budget, four are in Conference Committee, and four have passed one chamber but have not been brought to a vote in the other – including our principal bill, the I AM Bill. Of the remaining, 48 were reported out of committee (the vast majority were reported favorably!) and seven were never reported out of Committee. A full list of all of the bills and what stage each is in is listed below or you can visit our endorsed legislation page.
It is important to note that, despite the formal session being over, legislation can still be passed up until the end of the legislative session - which this year falls on New Year's Eve! We are now in what is called the informal session. During this period, legislation can be passed but it is more difficult as any single no vote is able to veto a bill.
Despite this, we believe - along with lead sponsors Representative Livingstone and Representative Barber - that the I AM Bill can still be passed. In October, the Senate passed it unanimously and we believe that, if brought to a vote, it would pass unanimously in the House of Representatives as well. Help bring the I AM Bill to a vote by emailing your State Representative and asking them to urge House leadership to bring it to a vote. You can find your legislator here and a template of what to email them here. The fight to pass the I AM Bill is not over!
The three bills that passed this session are the Act to Prevent Abuse and Exploitation, the Wage Transparency Act, and the Massachusetts Parentage Act.
The Act to Prevent Abuse and Exploitation (H.4744) aims to address revenge porn, the non consensual sharing of naked or otherwise explicit images, with legal protections to “prevent abuse and exploitation, strengthen protections for survivors, and enhance education for young people about the dangers of sexting and deep fakes” (Mass.gov).
The Wage Transparency Act (H.4890) will take steps to close the gender and racial wage gap by requiring the disclosure of salary ranges and protecting people’s right to ask for range(s).
The Massachusetts Parentage Act (H.4970) guarantees legal protections for LGBTQ+ families by ensuring that legal parentage can be achieved in families regardless of the gender of parents or if assisted reproduction is used.
The three bills whose goals received funding and were put into law in the FY24 budget were an Act Relative to Hormonal Contraceptive (H.2133/S.1430), an Act Establishing the Women’s Veterans Network (S.2360), and an Act Providing Affordable and Accessible High-Quality Early Education and Care to Promote Child Development and Well-Being and Support the Economy (H.489/S.301). The FY24 ensures that registered pharmacists can prescribe and dispense hormonal contraceptive patches and self-administered oral hormonal contraceptives. This helps provide sexual autonomy to anyone who can benefit from these contraceptives. The budget also provided funding to expand the women veterans’ outreach program so that they can hire more staff and otherwise improve their services. The language works on expanding eligibility for childcare subsidies and improving pay for early educators in order to allow more parents of young children to work.
Additionally, we are hopeful that the bills currently in Conference Committee will be passed. The four bills in Conference Committee are the “Raise the Age” bill, SAPHE 2.0 (State Action for Public Health Excellence 2.0) Act, the Act Promoting Access to Midwifery Care and Out-of-Hospital Birth Options, the Act Relative to Postpartum Depression Screening.
The Raise the Age legislation (H.1710/S.942) aims to gradually raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction to include 18-20 year olds. Though the actual Raise the Age bill did not get to Conference Committee, the Senate added Raise the Age language to the Economic Development Bill as an amendment before passing it. Similarly, SAPHE 2.0 (H.2204 / S.1334) was added to the Senate’s version of the Economic Development Bill. SAPHE 2.0 aims to update Massachusetts’s current public health system to increase protections for all residents, regardless of race, income, or zip code. The Economic Development Bill is now in Conference Committee; the Senate’s version has Raise the Age and SAPHE 2.0 language while the House’s does not. We hope that the consensus they come to includes the endorsed language and is then signed into law by Governor Healey.
The Act Relative to Postpartum Depression screening (H.2163/S.1375) mandates that the Division of Medical Assistance provides coverage for postpartum depression screenings conducted by pediatricians for up to a year after the child’s birth. This bill was actually added to a new version of the Act Promoting Access to Midwifery Care (H.2209/S.1457), and so they are both now included in H.4785. The bill, in addition to providing coverage for postpartum depression screening, focuses primarily on creating a pathway to licensure for certified professional midwives and making their care reimbursable by Medicaid/MassHealth. It also intends to update the regulations governing licensed birth centers. For more information on the bill and similar goals, you can visit the Bay State Birth Coalition’s website here. The bill is currently sitting in Conference Committee over differences in amendments.
What can you do? Email your State Legislators and urge them to bring your legislative priorities to a vote! Find your legislator here and a template email urging the I AM Bill brought to a vote here.
Bills that have been enacted and laid before/signed by the governor: 3
8/1/24
8/1/24
8/1/24
Bills as part of FY24 budget/with funding from the budget: 3
S.2360: Establishing a Women’s Veterans Network
H.489 / S.301 → S.2707: Affordable and Accessible Childcare for All
Bills that are in Conference Committee: 4
H.2209 / S.1457 → H.4785: Promoting Access to Midwifery Care and Out-of-Hospital Birth Options
H.2163 / S.1375 → H.4785: Postpartum Depression Screening (added to H.4785 ^)
Both Raise the Age and SAPHE 2.0 passed the Senate as an amendment on the economic development package; neither are on the House’s economic development bill
Bills that have passed one chamber but have not been brought up to a vote in the 2nd chamber: 5
S.2480: Pharmacists able to prescribe, dispense, and administer PrEP
H.3368 / S.2207 → S.2429: An Act Relative to Gender Identity on Massachusetts Identification
H.249 / S.2477 → S.2904: Mandating Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Awareness Education for Professionals in the Cosmetic Field
Bills reported out of committee but haven’t been brought to vote on a chamber floor yet: 48
(at least one chamber’s version has been reported out of committee; if one chamber’s hasn’t, it has an asterisk*)
H.1802 → H.4517 / S. 931 → S.2612: Juvenile Justice Data Collection
H.2264 / S. 1407 → S.2733: Equitable Approaches to Public Health
S.1545 → S.2876: Creating an Independent Correctional Oversight Office to Facilitate the Recommendations on Structural Racism in Correctional Facilities
H.1796 → H.4517 / S.1494 → S.2773: Keeping Families Connected Bill
H.3913: Missing Black Women and Girls in Massachusetts
H.1795 → H.4517 / S.1979 → S.2821: Establishing a Jail and Prison Moratorium
H.597 → H.4400 / S.294 → S.2663: Remedy Disparities in Students’ Educational Achievement
H.536 → H.4519 / S.318 → S.2709: Education of American Indian and Alaska Native Residents of the Commonwealth
H. 477 / S. 245: Prohibiting the Use of Native American Mascots by Public Schools
H.529 → H.4519 / S. 344 → S.2709: Celebrating and Teaching Native American Culture and History
H.3248 / S. 2186 → H.3248: Protecting Native American Heritage
H.563: Requiring Disposable Menstrual Products in Schools
H.4267: Requiring Menstrual Products in Buildings on Public Higher Education Campuses
H. 3018: Requiring Menstrual Products in all State Bathrooms
H. 4293 / S. 1333 → H. 4293: Prohibiting Non consensual Intimate Examinations of Anesthetized or Unconscious Patients
H. 3118 → H.4675: Establishing an Office of Economic Empowerment
H. 3130 → H.4675: Commonwealth Housing, Economic, Education and Equity in Recovery and Reconstruction
H.1247 → S. 740 / S. 740: Equitable Health Coverage for Children
H. 1281 → H.4713 / S. 817 → S.2646: Providing Access to Higher Education for High School Graduates in the Commonwealth
H.2224 → S.1402 / S.1402: Improving Healthcare Delivery for Underserved Residents
H.498 → H.4519 / S.259 → S.2709: LGBTQ+ Inclusive History Education
H.1683 → H.4831 / S.945→ S.2753: An Act to Stop Profiling Transgender People and Low-Income Women
H.1617 → H.4517 / S.1110 → S.2612: Supporting Consenting Young Adults
H.1037 → H.4691 / S.596 → S.2636: Trans-inclusive Health Care Access
H.1757 → H.4831: Promoting the Health and Safety of People in the Sex Trade
H.1572 → H.4517: Prohibiting Motor Vehicle Tracking Devices without Consent
H. 1758 → H.4831 / S. 1046 → S.2753: An Act to Prevent Human Trafficking and Improve the Health and Safety of Sex Workers
H.560 → H.4576: An Act Relative to Media Literacy in Schools
H. 1918 / S. 1152 → H. 1918: An Act Relative to Employment Protections for Victims of Abusive Behavior
H.1399 → H.4831 / S.107 → S.2753: An Act Relative to Controlling and Abusive Litigation
S. 410 → S.2799: An Act Making Voting Administrative Changes to Create Equitable Systematic Solutions
H. 3095 / S. 2029: Promoting Diversity on Public Boards and Commissions
H.688 → H.4733: Establishing Same Day Registration of Voters
H. 701: An Act Enforcing Accessibility for Voters with Disabilities
Bills with no action (didn’t have a hearing/wasn’t reported out of committee): 7
H.1317: Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT)
H.1537: Age of Consent in Certain Criminal Prosecutions and Civil Actions for Sexual Assault and Rape of a Child
H.1536: Amending the Statute of Limitations Relating to the Sexual Assault and Rape of a Child
H.357 / S.148: Protecting Reproductive Health Access, LGBTQ Lives, Religious Liberty, and Freedom of Movement by Banning the Sale of Cell Phone Location Information
H. 656: Providing Uniform Mail Voting Forms
