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This week in Massachusetts, legislative activities in both the House and Senate focused on a variety of local governance issues, public safety, and committee operations, alongside several formal recognitions.
- Local Governance and Municipal Affairs: Both chambers advanced numerous bills pertaining to specific towns and cities. The House considered and ordered to a third reading Senate Bill 1445 concerning insurance benefits for officials in Blackstone, House Bill 4716 amending the Charter of the City of Pittsfield, and House Bill 4752 permitting Revere to establish penalties for ordinance violations. Bills passed to be enacted included House Bill 3977 regarding alternate members for the Conservation Commission of Beckett and House Bill 4438 authorizing Swampscott to establish a fall annual town meeting. Additionally, House Bill 4272, authorizing Hudson to grant an additional license for the sale of wine and malt beverages, was passed to be enacted by the House and moved forward in the Senate. The Senate also passed to be engrossed House Bill 4701, authorizing Orange to increase its Board of Selectmen membership.
- Public Safety and Police Workforce: A significant number of bills addressed police force staffing and age requirements. The House ordered several bills to a third reading, including House Bill 4267, House Bill 4740, and House Bill 4741, all directing the City of Boston Police Department to waive maximum age requirements for specific individuals (Constantinos Papadopoulos, Ryan Kazoo, and Edney Joseph, respectively). Similarly, House Bill 4388 to waive the maximum age requirement for Angela C. DiPina and House Bill 4442 for Anthony Morales to take a civil service examination for a police officer position were passed to be engrossed. Additionally, Senate Bill 1898, authorizing the appointment of retired police officers as special police officers in Plainville, was passed to be enacted by the House.
- Transportation and Infrastructure Development: Discussions included several transportation-related bills. The House ordered to a third reading House Bill 3645, designating a portion of State Highway Route 7A as the Ross B. Dindio Memorial Highway; House Bill 3727, naming the Bill Russell and Bob Cousy Highway; House Bill 3684, on container safety on roadways; House Bill 3746, prohibiting coal rolling; and House Bill 3817 (Cecilia’s Law), regarding right-of-way violations. The Senate also considered House Bill 4769, a bill to build resilient infrastructure to generate higher education transformation, recommending it pass with amendments introduced by Michael J. Rodrigues. The Committee on Transportation was granted an extension until March 31st to make its final report.
- Legislative Process and Committee Deadlines: Both chambers addressed numerous committee reporting deadlines. The House adopted orders extending deadlines for the Committee on the Judiciary until July 31, 2026, and the Committee on Revenue until March 18, 2026, with an additional extension until June 26, 2026. The Senate also granted extensions for the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture until March 31st, the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development until March 3, 2026, for workforce-related issues (Senate number 2785, sponsored by Joan B. Lovely), and the Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight until February 28, 2026 (Senate number 2941, sponsored by Joan B. Lovely). Several resolutions were also adopted, including recognition of National Kidney Month and World Kidney Day, sponsored by Representative Stanley and Senator Gomez, and honoring the partnership between Quebec and Massachusetts, sponsored by Representative Peish of Wellesley. The Senate also observed February 19th as Iwo Jima Day.
Sources:
MA Informal House Session 17 – Informal House Session 17 (2026-02-19)(video)
MA Senate Session – Senate Session of February 19, 2026 (2026-02-19)(video)
MA Informal House Session 18 – Informal House Session 18 (2026-02-25)(video)