With thousands of bills filed each legislative session, and only so many hours in the day, we can’t include every bill we care about on our Legislative Agenda. We wanted to highlight these as additional bills we’re supporting this session, even if not on our priority agenda.

Our Shared Prosperity Agenda

$20 Minimum Wage (HD.3850 / SD.382) 

• Title: An Act relative to the minimum wage
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Carmine Gentile & Dan Donahue; Sen. Jason Lewis
• Title: Raises the minimum wage to $20 per hour over four years and indexes it to inflation to better align the minimum wage with a living wage

State House Unionization (HD.2970 / SD.919)

• Title: An Act relative to collective bargaining rights for legislative employees
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Carol Doherty; Sen. John Keenan
• What It Does: Extends collective bargaining rights to State House staff

Gig Workers (HD.3356 / SD.722)

• Title: An Act establishing protections and accountability for Delivery Network Company workers, consumers, and communities
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Andy Vargas; Sen. Lydia Edwards
• Description: Ensures delivery workers receive the same protections, wages, rights, and benefits that all Massachusetts workers are entitled to under law

PILOT Reform (HD.3727 / SD.2153)

• Title:  An Act relative to payments in lieu of taxation by organizations exempt from the property tax
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven; Sen. Adam Gomez
• What It Does: Enables cities and towns with nonprofits owning total property valued at or above $15 million to require them to make payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) equal to 25% what they would have owed without the exemption

Corporate Tax Disclosure (HD.3385 / SD.2291) 

• Title:  An Act requiring public disclosures by publicly-traded corporate taxpayers
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Dan Donahue; Sen. Liz Miranda 
• What It Does: Makes publicly accessible reports that are already filed annually by publicly-traded corporations, detailing their sales, profits, taxable income, and taxes paid

Public Bank (HD.2541 / SD.1213)

• Title: An Act to establish a Massachusetts public bank
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Mike Connolly & Antonio Cabral; Sen. Jamie Eldridge
• What It Does: Creates a public bank that would be able to offer lower-interest loans to local governments, small-and medium-sized businesses, and farmers

Access to Counsel (SD.1771 / HD.3912) 

• Title: An Act promoting access to counsel and housing stability in Massachusetts
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Dave Rogers & Mike Day; Sen. Sal DiDomenico
• What It Does: Provides legal representation for low-income tenants and owner-occupants in eviction proceedings 

AHEAD Bill (HD.2997 / SD.846) 

• Title: An Act providing for climate change adaptation infrastructure and affordable housing investments in the commonwealth
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Sam Montaño; Sen. Jamie Eldridge
• What It Does: Increases the deeds excise tax on home sales to provide a funding stream for affordable housing and climate resilience 

Ending Broker’s Fees (HD.238 / SD.35) 

• Title: An Act eliminating forced broker’s fees 
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Tram Nguyen; Sen. Lydia Edwards
• What It Does: Bans the ability for landlords to require renters to pay broker’s fees 

An Act to Lift Kids Out of Deep Poverty (HD.1353 / SD.1818)

• Title: An Act to Lift Kids Out of Deep Poverty
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Marjorie Decker; Sen. Sal DiDomenico 
• What It Does: Raises cash assistance grants by 20% per year until they reach 50% of the federal poverty level and then increase grants each year to keep up with inflation

Community Schools (HD.1108 / SD.2060)

• Title: An Act to establish a community schools special legislative commission
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Chynah Tyler; Sen. Paul Mark 
• What It Does: Establishes a commission to study the community schools model, which is characterized by increased service provision, parent engagement, and community partnerships 

Adjunct Bill of Rights (HD.1827 /  SD.2009) 

• Title: An Act promoting an Adjunct Bill of Rights 
• Lead Sponsors: Sen. Paul Mark; Reps. Pat Duffy & Sean Garballey 
• What It Does: Makes adjunct faculty who teach half-time or more at one or more public institutions of higher education eligible for a state pension and health insurance

Fair Wages for Faculty & Staff (HD.4041 / SD.1511)

• Title:  An Act to provide fair wages to employees of public institutions of higher education
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Andy Vargas; Sen. Pavel Payano 
• What It Does: Ensures that future wages of public higher education employees are at or above the national average when adjusted for cost of living

Green & Healthy Campuses (HD.3796 / SD.2107) 

• Title: An Act to provide green and healthy public colleges and universities and address their deferred maintenance needs
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Manny Cruz & Rep. Aaron Saunders; Sen. Jake Oliveira
• What It Does: Creates a commission relative to energy and environmental improvements on public higher education campuses and a fund to support the commission’s recommendations

Full-Spectrum Pregnancy Care (HD.1456 / SD.1199) 

• Title: An Act Ensuring Access to Full Spectrum Pregnancy Care
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa; Sen. Cindy Friedman 
• Description: Requires health insurance plans to cover all pregnancy care—including abortion, prenatal care, childbirth, and postpartum care—without any kind of cost-sharing

Community Immunity Act (SD.2117)

• Title: An Act promoting community immunity
• Lead Sponsors: Sen. Becca Rausch
• Description: Creates statewide consistent immunization policy and provides residents throughout the Commonwealth the data necessary to prevent future outbreaks of vaccine-preventable infectious disease

Our Racial and Social Justice Agenda

Dignity Not Deportations (HD.3596 / SD.1107) 

• Title: An Act relative to immigration detention and collaboration agreements
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Christine Barber & Dave Rogers; Sen. Adam Gomez
• What It Does: Bans collaboration agreements between state/local law enforcement and ICE and bans ICE detention beds in Massachusetts 

Juvenile Diversion (HD.3434 / SD.246) 

• Title: An Act promoting diversion of juveniles to community supervision and service
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Brandy Fluker-Reid; Sen. Cindy Creem
• Description: Helps keep youth out of the prison system by allowing for community supervision or community service as a non-incarceration alternative in more cases 

Ending Life without Parole (HD.348 / SD.1006)

• Title: An Act to reduce mass incarceration
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Chris Worrell; Sen. Liz Miranda
• What It Does: Repeals mandatory sentences of life without parole, which have strong racial biases and have been deemed human rights violations by international courts

Overdose Prevention Centers (HD.4212 / SD.2483)

• Title: An Act relative to preventing overdose deaths and increasing access to treatment
• Lead Sponsors: Sen. Julian Cyr; Reps. Marjorie Decker & John Lawn
• What It Does: Creates a ten-year pilot programs for overdose prevention centers that use harm reduction strategies to address the opioid crisis

Regulating Facial Surveillance (HD.794 / SD.503)

• Title: An Act to implement the recommendations of the special commission on facial recognition technology
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Orlando Ramos; Sen. Cindy Creem
• Description: Implements the recommendations of the commission created by the 2020 police reform bill to create a tight regulatory framework for facial surveillance

Healthy Youth Act (HD.947; SD.1777)

• Title: An Act relative to healthy youth
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Jim O’Day & Vanna Howard; Sen. Sal DiDomenico
• What It Does: Requires school districts that provide sex education to ensure that it is comprehensive, age-appropriate, and LGBTQ-inclusive, with an emphasis on consent

Language Access Bill (HD.3876  / SD.1757)

• Title: An Act relative to language access and inclusion
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Adrian Madaro & Carlos González; Sen. Sal DiDomenico
• What It Does: Builds the capacity of key public-facing state agencies to meet the language access needs of an increasingly diverse population 

Our Sustainable Infrastructure & Environmental Protection Agenda

Zero-Carbon Renovation Fund (HD.3171 / SD.1325)

• Title: An Act establishing a zero carbon renovation fund
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Andy Vargas & Manny Cruz; Sen. Adam Gomez
• What It Does: Creates a fund for green and healthy home retrofits, with a prioritization of affordable housing, low-to-moderate-income homes, gateway cities, and environmental justice communities

No Ratepayer Money for Utility Lobbying (HD.1833/SD.742)

• Title: An Act prohibiting the use of ratepayer funds for utility lobbying, promotions or perks
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Steve Owens & Jenny Armini; Sen. Cindy Creem
• What It Does: Prohibits utility companies from using customer money for lobbying, promotions, and perks 

Air Quality Bill (HD.1924 / SD.1086)

• Title:  An Act to ensure cleaner air for communities overburdened by outdoor air pollution
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Christine Barber & Mike Connolly; Sen. Pat Jehlen
• Description: Improves indoor and outdoor air quality, especially for Environmental Justice populations and those communities burdened by air emissions from highways, ports, airports, and congested roadways by expanding outdoor air monitoring for key pollutants, setting ambitious targets for 2030 and 2035, requiring better ventilation systems in medium and large buildings, among other measures

Plastics Reduction Act (HD.2592 / SD.2134) 

• Title: An Act to reduce plastics
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Ted Philips; Sen. Becca Rausch
• What It Does: Reduces single-use plastics in the Commonwealth, including a uniform plastic bag ban, disposable food service ware limits, and the creation of fund to support transitions to environmentally friendly products

Our Good Government & Strong Democracy  Agenda

Hybrid Meeting Access (HD.368) 

• Title: An Act to modernize participation in public meetings
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Antonio Cabral 
• What It Does: Requires that all public bodies have options for hybrid participation and creates a trust fund and competitive grants to help municipalities with the technology needed to do so

Voting Rights Restoration (HD.407 & HD.408 / SD.1414 & SD.1416) 

• Title: An Act relative to voting rights restoration &  Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution relative to voting rights
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven; Sen. Liz Miranda
• What It Does: Ends remaining incarceration-based disenfranchisement in Massachusetts

Local Option RCV (SD.2194)

• Title: An Act providing a local option for ranked choice voting in municipal elections
• Lead Sponsors: Sen. Becca Rausch
• Description: Enables cities and towns in Massachusetts to adopt ranked choice voting for municipal elections

Ending Foreign Corporate Influence of Local Elections (HD.984  / SD.1152)

• Title: An Act to Limit Political Spending by Foreign-Influenced Corporations
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven; Sen. Mark Montigny
• What It Does: Requires corporations seeking to make independent expenditures to attest, under penalty of perjury, that they are not a foreign-influenced corporation and labels them as such if they do not 

An Accountable State House (SD.1301 / HD.4303)

• Title: An Act to strengthen representation and promote democratic, transparent, and efficient lawmaking
• Description: Improves the pay structure and incentives for Massachusetts legislators by reforming the stipend system

Our Shared Prosperity Agenda

Large corporations need to pay their fair share so that we can protect essential services and continue to invest in our Commonwealth. 

Corporate Fair Share (HD.3390 / SD.1684)

• Title: An Act combating offshore tax avoidance 
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Carlos González; Sens. Jason Lewis & Liz Miranda 
• What It Does: Makes large global mega-corporations pay the state’s existing corporate tax rate on a higher share of the excess profits they conceal in offshore tax havens 

All students deserve well-resourced, supportive schools that set them up for success. 

Thrive Act (HD.4328 / SD.1401)

• Title: An Act empowering students and schools to thrive 
• Lead Sponsor: Rep. Sam Montaño; Sen. Adam Gomez 
• What It Does: Ends state takeovers of public schools/districts, establishes a commission to shape the future of student assessments, and curbs the privatization of public education 

Funding Our Public Schools (HD.2334 / SD.1719) 

• Title: An Act to fix the Chapter 70 inflation adjustment 
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Orlando Ramos; Sen. Robyn Kennedy 
• What It Does: Makes a technical fix to the state education funding formula so that state funding to public school districts keeps pace with inflation over time

Debt-Free Public Higher Ed (HD.1473 / SD.300) 

• Title:  An Act relative to debt-free public higher education
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Natalie Higgins & Carmine Gentile; Sen. Jamie Eldridge
• What It Does: Creates a higher education system where every Massachusetts resident has a right to attend any public college or university free of tuition and fees 

We need to empower our cities and towns to take action to address our housing crisis. 

Real Estate Transfer Fee (HD.1112 / SD.1216)

• Title: An Act granting a local option for a real estate transfer fee to fund affordable housing
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Mike Connolly & Rep. Carmine Gentile; Sen. Jo Comerford
• What It Does: Enables cities and towns to levy a modest fee on high-end residential and commercial real estate transactions to create dedicated funding for affordable housing 

Rent Stabilization (HD.2501 / SD.1084)

• Title: An Act enabling cities and towns to stabilize rents and protect tenants 
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Dave Rogers & Sam Montaño; Sen. Pat Jehlen
• What It Does: Enables cities and towns to pass rent stabilization ordinances to fight displacement

Tenant Opportunity to Purchase  (HD.1925 / SD.1068)

• Title: An Act to guarantee a tenant’s first right of refusal
• Lead Sponsors:  Reps. Jay Livingstone & Rob Consalvo; Sen. Pat Jehlen
• What It Does: Enables cities and towns to give tenants the right of first refusal to purchase a building when the owner puts it up for sale 

We are all healthier when we all have access to high-quality care without cost burden. 

Medicare for All (HD.1228 /  SD.2341)

• Title:  An Act establishing medicare for all in Massachusetts
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Lindsay Sabadosa & Margaret Scarsdale; Sen. Jamie Eldridge
• What It Does: Establishes a single payer system, in which the state provides health care to all residents as a right

Our Racial and Social Justice Agenda

A fair, humane criminal legal system is one that allows for second chances and focuses on investing in economic opportunity, not in incarceration. 

Raise the Age (HD.3632 / SD.2115)

• Title: An Act to promote public safety and better outcomes for young adults
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Jim O’Day & Manny Cruz; Sen. Brendan Crighton
• What It Does: End the automatic prosecution of older adolescents as adults by gradually shifting 18- to 20-year-olds into the juvenile justice system

Clean Slate (HD.1788 / SD.949)

• Title: An Act requiring clean slate automated record sealing
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Mary Keefe; Sen. Cindy Friedman
• What It Does: Creates an automated system in Massachusetts to seal criminal records as soon as people are eligible

Prison Moratorium (HD.523 / SD.671) 

• Title: An Act establishing a jail and prison construction moratorium
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Chynah Tyler; Sen. Jo Comerford
• What It Does: Enacts a five-year pause on new prison and jail construction in order to provide time to develop more effective, community-based approaches to public safety

The family separation of deportation and incarceration weakens our communities. Families belong together. 

Safe Communities Act (HD.3816 / SD.1670)

• Title: An Act to protect the civil rights and safety of all Massachusetts residents
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Manny Cruz & Priscila Sousa; Sens. Jamie Eldridge & Liz Miranda
• What It Does: Limits local and state police collaboration with federal immigration agents, bars law enforcement and court personnel from inquiring about immigration status, protects access to justice in our courts, and ensures due process protections

Immigrant Legal Defense Act (HD.4072 / SD.2057)

• Title: An Act ensuring access to equitable representation in immigration proceedings
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Dave Rogers & Frank Moran; Sen. Adam Gomez
• What It Does:  Creates a funded program for legal defense of immigrants facing deportation proceedings, especially those in federal detention

Visitation Bill (HD.3241 / SD.985)

• Title: An Act to build restorative family and community connection
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Marjorie Decker; Sen. Liz Miranda
• What It Does: Eliminates arbitrary, unnecessary restrictions on visitation rights in prisons, jails, and ICE detention units

Privacy rights are essential to protect abortion patients and providers, trans people and their families, journalists, and more from attack by bad actors. 

Location Shield Act (HD.2965 / SD.501) 

• Title:  An Act to protect safety and privacy by stopping the sale of location data
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian; Sen. Cindy Creem
• What It Does: Prohibits companies from selling cell phone location data

An inclusive society is one where we celebrate our diversity, not seek to ban books or whitewash history. 

Right to Learn Bill (HD.625 / SD.141) 

• Title: An Act regarding free expression 
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. John Moran & Rep. Adam Scanlon; Sen. Julian Cyr
• What It Does: Ensures that public and school libraries can offer diverse and inclusive books, media, and materials without political interference

CARE Bill (HD.2271 / SD.1289)

• Title:  An Act to promote comprehensive and inclusive curriculum in schools
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Tram Nguyen & Rep. Steve Ultrino; Sen. Adam Gomez
• What It Does: Sets standards of accuracy and comprehensiveness in public school instruction for all students to learn about the histories, experiences, perspectives, heritages, and cultures of all Americans

Our Sustainable Infrastructure & Environmental Protection Agenda

We need to leave fossil fuels in the ground and ensure that the major polluters who have caused the climate crisis pay for the cost of climate action. 

Put Gas in the Past (HD.3428 / SD.2088)

• Title: An Act preventing gas expansion to protect climate, community health and safety
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Bud Williams & Adrianne Ramos; Sen. Adam Gomez
• What It Does: Prevents the expansion of gas infrastructure near Environmental Justice communities and requires gas companies and the Commonwealth to undergo planning for a just transition to green energy 

Make Polluters Pay (HD.3369 / SD.1674)

• Title: An Act establishing a climate change superfund 
• Lead Sponsors: Reps. Steve Owens & Jack Lewis; Sen. Jamie Eldridge 
• What It Does: Requires major polluters to pay a fee based on historic emissions to pay for the costs of climate resilience

Our Good Government & Strong Democracy Agenda

Our democracy is strongest when everyone can participate, whether in elections or the legislative process. 

Same Day Registration (HD.856 / SD.667) 

• Title: An Act establishing same day registration of voters
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Carmine Gentile; Sen. Cindy Creem
• What It Does: Enables eligible citizens to register to vote at the polls, eliminating the arbitrary  10-day voter registration window

Decoupling the Municipal Census from the Voter Rolls (HD.2673 / SD.636) 

• Title: An Act decoupling the municipal census from voter registration
• Lead Sponsors: Rep. Shirley Arriaga; Sen. Cindy Creem
• What It Does: Ends the use of the municipal census to remove voters from the active voter lists 

Sunlight Act (SD.467) 

• Title: An Act to provide sunlight to state government
• Lead Sponsor: Sen. Jamie Eldridge
• What It Does: Promotes transparency in state government by removing the Governor’s exemption from public records law, requiring committee votes and legislative testimony to be public, and requiring 2 weeks notice for legislative hearings