2024 Massachusetts legislative session
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| 2024 Massachusetts legislative session |
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| General information |
| Scheduled session start: Jan. 3, 2024 Scheduled session end: July 31, 2024 |
| Leadership |
| Senate President Karen Spilka (D) House Speaker |
| Elections |
| Next Election: November 5, 2024 Last Election: November 8, 2022 |
| Previous legislative sessions |
| 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
| Other 2024 legislative sessions |
In 2024, the Massachusetts General Court was scheduled to convene on January 3 and adjourn on July 31.
The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2022 elections. Democrats won a 37-3 majority in the Senate and a 134-25 majority with one independent in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta. At the start of the 2024 session, Massachusetts was one of nine state legislatures where Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.
Leadership in 2024
Massachusetts State Senate
- Senate president: Karen Spilka (D)
- Majority leader: Cynthia Stone Creem (D)
- Minority leader: Bruce Tarr (R)
Massachusetts House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House: Ronald Mariano (D)
- Majority leader: Michael Moran (D)
- Minority leader: Bradley Jones Jr. (R)
Partisan control in 2024
- See also: State government trifectas
Massachusetts was one of 17 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2024 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.
Massachusetts was also one of nine state legislatures where Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.
The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Massachusetts General Court in the 2024 legislative session.
Massachusetts State Senate
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 36 | |
| Republican Party | 4 | |
| Total | 40 | |
Massachusetts House of Representatives
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 133 | |
| Republican Party | 25 | |
| Independent | 1 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 160 | |
Standing legislative committees
A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.
At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, there were 55 standing committees in Massachusetts' state government, including 33 joint legislative committees, 11 state Senate committees, and 11 state House committees.
Joint legislative committees
- Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity
- Joint Committee on Agriculture
- Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets
- Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy
- Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities
- Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses
- Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure
- Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies
- Joint Committee on Education
- Joint Committee on Elder Affairs
- Joint Committee on Election Laws
- Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Management
- Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
- Joint Committee on Financial Services
- Joint Committee on Health Care Financing
- Joint Committee on Higher Education
- Joint Committee on Housing
- Joint Committee on the Judiciary
- Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development
- Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery
- Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government
- Joint Committee on Public Health
- Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security
- Joint Committee on Public Service
- Joint Committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion
- Joint Committee on Revenue
- Joint Committee on Rules
- Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight
- Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy
- Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development
- Joint Committee on Transportation
- Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs
- Joint Committee on Ways and Means
Senate committees
- Senate Committee on Bills in the Third Reading
- Senate Committee on the Census
- Senate Committee on Ethics
- Senate Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change
- Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs
- Senate Committee on Juvenile and Emerging Adult Justice
- Senate Committee on Personnel and Administration
- Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight
- Senate Committee on Rules
- Senate Committee on Steering and Policy
- Senate Committee on Ways and Means
House committees
- House Committee on Bills in the Third Reading
- House Committee on Ethics
- House Committee on Federal Stimulus and Census Oversight
- House Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change
- House Committee on Human Resources and Employee Engagement
- House Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs
- House Committee on Operations, Facilities and Security
- House Committee on Post Audit and Oversight
- House Committee on Rules
- House Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling
- House Committee on Ways and Means
Legislation
Enacted legislation
The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2024 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2024. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Election administration legislation
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job. Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments, translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language, and, because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.
The table below lists 2024 election-related legislation in Massachusetts. The following information is included for each bill:
- Bill number
- Official name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
Legislatively referred constitutional amendments
In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.
The methods by which the Massachusetts Constitution can be amended:
The process of amending the Massachusetts Constitution is governed by Article XLVIII, Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, which is itself the 48th amendment to the state's constitution.
Article 48 allows the constitution to be amended through indirect initiative amendments. It imposes a number of restrictions on such proposed amendments:
- Petitions that relate to "religion, religious practices or religious institutions" are prohibited.
- Petitions that relate to the "appointment, qualification, tenure, removal, recall or compensation of judges" are prohibited.
- Petitions that would reverse judicial decisions are prohibited.
- Petitions relating to the "powers, creation or abolition of courts" are prohibited.
- Petitions that apply only to "a particular town, city or other political division or to particular districts or localities of the commonwealth" are prohibited.
- Petitions that would make "a specific appropriation of money from the treasury of the commonwealth" are prohibited.
- Any petition relating to Amendment 18 is prohibited through citizen initiative; however, Amendment 18 was altered through other paths.
- Petitions "inconsistent with" a list of "rights of the individual" are prohibited; those rights include:
- "The right to receive compensation for private property appropriated to public use."
- "The right of access to and protection in courts of justice."
- "The right of trial by jury."
- "Protection from unreasonable search unreasonable bail and the law martial."
- "Freedom of the press."
- "Freedom of elections."
- "The right of peaceable assembly."
- The sections of the constitution that prohibit various matters from being taken up by citizen initiative are also, themselves, prohibited from change through the process.
- Petitions that are "substantially the same as any measure which has been qualified for submission or submitted to the people at either of the two preceding biennial state elections" are prohibited.
The state's general court plays a significant role in the process for an initiated constitutional amendment in Massachusetts:
- The Massachusetts General Court is allowed to refer an alternative substitute measure to the ballot to compete with the proposed citizen initiative.
- The state legislature is allowed to amend the text of an initiated constitutional amendment through a three-fourths vote in joint session.
- In two successive legislative sessions, 25 percent of the members of the Massachusetts General Court must support the proposed amendment in order for it to go on the ballot. There are 200 legislators altogether—40 in the Massachusetts State Senate and 160 in the Massachusetts House of Representatives—so a proposed amendment must earn 50 positive votes. The proposed amendment does not need to earn a 25 percent vote from both chambers, but, rather, from a joint session. This means, for example, that if 50 members of the state house voted in favor of an amendment, it would require no support from any state senator to qualify for the ballot.
The Massachusetts General Court may also legislatively refer constitutional amendments. This procedure is defined in Section 1 to 3 of Article LXXXI of the Massachusetts Constitution. According to that section:
- Amendments may be proposed by either house of the Massachusetts General Court.
- Consideration of the amendment in a joint session may be called for by a vote of either house no later than the second Wednesday in May.
- Proposed amendments must receive majority approval (50% + 1) two successive joint legislative sessions to be placed on the ballot.
- If any such proposed amendment is approved by a simple majority of voters and by at least 30 percent of people voting in that election, the amendment is adopted.
The Massachusetts Constitution can also be changed through a constitutional convention and subsequent ratification from the voters.
There have been four constitutional conventions in Massachusetts:
- From 1779–80. This led to the adoption of the Massachusetts Constitution, which is the oldest state constitution continuously in effect.
- From 1820–21. This convention yielded the Articles of Amendment, 1-9.
- 1853. This convention led to a proposal for an entirely new constitution and seven proposed amendments. They were submitted to a vote of the people, and they all lost.
- 1917–19. This constitution proposed 22 amendments and a revised draft of the existing constitution. Voters approved all these proposals.
Historical partisan control
The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts Party Control: 1992-2024
Ten years of Democratic trifectas • No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Historical Senate control
Democrats won control of the Massachusetts State Senate in 1958. In 2022, they won a 37-3 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Massachusetts Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Massachusetts State Senate election results: 1992-2022
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 | '22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 31 | 30 | 34 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 35 | 35 | 36 | 36 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 37 | 37 |
| Republicans | 9 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
Historical House control
Democrats won control of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1954. In 2022, they won a 134-25-1 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Massachusetts House following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Massachusetts House of Representatives election results: 1992-2022
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 | '22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 124 | 125 | 124 | 131 | 137 | 136 | 139 | 141 | 143 | 128 | 131 | 125 | 125 | 127 | 129 | 134 |
| Republicans | 35 | 34 | 35 | 28 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 32 | 29 | 35 | 35 | 32 | 30 | 25 |
| Other | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
See also
| Elections | Massachusetts State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
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External links
Footnotes
