5-10-2026 4:25am

Beacon Hill Roll Call

Alan Earls Editor

If you have any questions about this week's report, e-mail us at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com or call us at (617) 720-1562.

Volume 51 - Report No.19

May 4-8, 2026

By Bob Katzen

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THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators' votes on roll calls from the week of May 4-8. There were no roll calls in the House last week.

THE “PROTECT ACT” (S 3072)

Senate 37-3, approved its own version of the PROTECT Act that supporters said would establish statewide standards governing interactions between state and local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement. The House has already approved its own version of the measure and a House-Senate conference committee will eventually hammer out a compromise version.

Provisions include prohibiting state and local law enforcement from stopping, questioning or targeting individuals based solely on immigration or citizenship status; prohibiting warrantless civil immigration arrests in sensitive locations such as schools, childcare centers, hospitals, houses of worship and state courthouses; strengthening protections for immigrants who are victims or witnesses of crimes, including trafficking victims and expediting visa processes so they can safely assist law enforcement and prosecutors; blocking unauthorized deployment of other states’ National Guards into Massachusetts; and allowing parents facing detention or deportation to pre-arrange guardianship for their children.

“The PROTECT Act is comprehensive legislation that defends the values enshrined in the Massachusetts Constitution, particularly equal protection under the law for all,” said Sen. Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington). “This bill will increase protections for our residents, spells out plainly and clearly that Massachusetts law enforcement officers are not responsible for aiding civil immigration enforcement, and importantly, stands up for our immigrant community in the face of an adversarial federal government.”

“My parents came to Lawrence with very little and gave everything they had to this community,” said Sen. Pavel Payano (D-Lawrence). “That same story is being lived by immigrant families across our Gateway Cities today. They are our neighbors, our teachers, our health care workers, our small business owners. The people who keep Massachusetts moving.”

Payano continued, “The PROTECT Act makes clear that no matter what happens in Washington, Massachusetts will not allow our institutions or our communities to be weaponized against the people who helped build them. Today we made clear whose side we are on. This is an important step forward, but the fight to protect dignity and basic humanity is far from over.”

Sen. Adam Gomez (D-Springfield) said, “When the Federal government fails to protect our communities, and starts attacking our immigrant neighbors, we stand up in Massachusetts for what is just and right. To those immigrant families forced now to live in fear we tell them: We are standing with you. You are not alone. Fear will not win. We will keep leading and protecting our neighbors from any kind of abuse. Hate doesn’t have a place in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”

Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) who voted against the bill, said that while he supports the underlying premise of the legislation, he voted “No” because he vehemently objects to a provision that prohibits local and state law enforcement from working with federal law enforcement to apprehend dangerous felons accused of committing violent crimes.

The only two other senators who voted against the bill, Sens. Peter Durant (R-Spencer) and Kelly Dooner (R-Taunton), did not respond to repeated requests from Beacon Hill Roll Call asking them why they voted against the bill, nor did they speak out against the bill during Senate debate on it.

(A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.)

Sen. Rebecca Rausch Yes Sen. Karen Spilka Yes

GET OPINION OF SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT (S 3083)

Senate 5-35, rejected a motion to suspend Senate rules to allow the Senate to seek the Supreme Judicial Court’s (SJC’s) opinion on the constitutionality of three provisions in the PROTECT bill.

Supporters of rule suspension said there are serious questions as to whether the bill is constitutional. They argued the Senate should seek this opinion instead of just continuing consideration of the measure.

Opponents of rule suspension said that this bill was crafted carefully and that they are confident the bill is constitutional. They also argued that a final version of the bill has not yet passed and the SJC will not likely respond because it has ruled in the past it cannot rule on something that has not been given final approval.

(A “Yes” vote is for suspending rules to allow the Senate to seek the SJC’s opinion. A “No” vote is against suspending the rules.)

Sen. Rebecca Rausch No Sen. Karen Spilka No

ALLOW SOME WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS (S 3072)

Senate 10-29, rejected an amendment to a section of the bill that prohibits local and state police from participating in civil federal immigration enforcement.

The amendment would allow limited cooperation between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies only in cases involving individuals convicted of serious crimes under state and federal law such as rape, murder and human trafficking. Under the amendment, Massachusetts law enforcement agencies would be allowed to continue honoring federal immigration detainer requests only for these violent, convicted felons.

“I cannot support hindering the ability of our state and local law enforcement to make our communities safer by barring them from working with federal law enforcement to apprehend dangerous felons accused of committing some of the most heinous crimes,” said amendment sponsor Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton). He noted that his amendment would only apply to the “worst of the worst.”

Sen. Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington) said that if someone's been convicted of a felony and been sentenced to a Department of Correction (DOC) facility, that person will already be subjected to DOC's 287g agreement which allows authorizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to delegate state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration officer functions under ICE’s direction and oversight. She noted that the bill allows DOC to continue this agreement beyond just transporting that person to ICE and deputizes a staff member at the DOC to act as an ICE agent. She argued that the state already participates in a significant amount of immigration enforcement when it comes to those who have committed to selling felonies.

“While it is my understanding that the unamended PROTECT Act allows law enforcement cooperation with federal officials when serious crimes are being investigated, I voted in favor of [this] amendment out of an abundance of caution,” said Sen. Michael Moore (D-Millbury).

(A “Yes” vote is for the amendment that would allow limited cooperation between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies only in cases involving individuals convicted of serious crimes. A “No” vote is against the amendment.)

Sen. Rebecca Rausch No Sen. Karen Spilka President rarely votes

ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL

LEGISLATIVE STIPENDS – The initiative petition to reform the system under which lawmakers receive extra pay for serving in a leadership position and as committee chairs will not proceed to the ballot following the Supreme Judicial Court’s opinion that it is unconstitutional, according to Assistant Attorney General Anne Sterman who sent a letter to Secretary of State Bill Galvin last week saying the measure "may proceed no further.” Ironically in August, Attorney General Andrea Campbell's office originally certified the measure as eligible for the ballot, but the letter nixes the proposal in light of the court opinion. The advisory opinion was sought by the State Senate which opposes the measure.

The high court's justices wrote last week that the proposal is unconstitutional because it is in fact a Senate rules change, not a law change, seeking to impose reforms to the Legislature's internal proceedings.

"As you know, in August 2025, the Attorney General's Office certified the petition as being in proper form for submission to the people according to the process set forth in the Constitution,” read the letter from Sterman. "But that certification was proper only to the extent the petition proposed a law, rather than a legislative rule.”

The Legislative Effectiveness and Accountability Partnership, the sponsor of the possible ballot question, had filed 96,797 signatures (only 74,754 are needed) as a step in getting the question on the 2026 ballot for voters to decide. It contends that the legislative leadership uses stipends to deliver millions of dollars to favored legislators and calls the money "loyalty pay" intended to bind lawmakers to the wishes of leadership.

All 40 senators and 108 of 160 representatives receive an additional stipend, above their $82,046 base salary, for their positions in the Democratic and Republican leadership, as committee chairs, vice chairs and the ranking Republican on some committees. The current Senate stipends range from $30,207 to $119,631 while the House ones range from $7,776. to $119,631. All of the positions are appointed by either the Senate President, House Speaker, Senate Minority Leader or House Minority Leader.

The proposal first went to the Legislature which had until May 6 to act on it but obviously did not do so. Under state law, if the Legislature takes no action, proponents must gather another 12,429 signatures by July 1, in order for the question to appear on the November 2026 ballot. The group was ready to collect the additional signatures but Secretary of State Bill Galvin’s office said it can only provide petitions if an initiative is certified by the attorney general. “Given this letter, and [the attorney general’s] view that the petition is not properly certified, we have notified the petitioners that we will not be able to provide them with additional petitions," Galvin spokesperson Deb O'Malley said.

The Legislative Effectiveness and Accountability Partnership said it is "committed to return in 2028 with a ballot question to eliminate stipends altogether," calling the events “the Legislature's backdoor maneuver" to block voters from voting on stipend reform. In a press release, the group said that the infrequently used step the Senate took to request the advisory opinion from the justices is a "short-circuit maneuver [that] is only available to the Legislature."

“The opinion that came back is, by the justices' own description, advisory and non-binding,” continued the release. “It is not a ruling. It is not a final decision. But it is now being used as the legal cover to silence the voices of the voters," continued the release.

The group’s treasurer Jennifer Nassour said in the release that this "backdoor maneuver should alarm voters across the political spectrum."

"The Legislature has now demonstrated, in real time and in front of the entire commonwealth, exactly why this reform is needed," said John Lippitt, the group’s chair. "We are going to keep fighting until this question reaches the voters where it belongs. The next question will not be how to reform the stipend system, it will be to end it. We would have preferred reform. The Legislature has forced us to move to eliminate it."

“FOREIGN” SOCIAL SECURITY (H 5260) – The Revenue Committee held a hearing on legislation that would extend the state tax treatment currently applied to Social Security income to public retirement income earned abroad. Under current law, Social Security benefits are exempt from state taxation, but foreign public pensions are not.

Co-sponsors Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa (D-Northampton) and Sen. Jo Comerford (D-Northampton) said they filed this bill to correct an inequity affecting a small but distinct group of retirees. “Some individuals spent a portion of their careers working abroad, during which time they contributed to a foreign public retirement system rather than U.S. Social Security,” said the pair. “Upon retiring in Massachusetts, they receive no Social Security credit for those years and must rely on their foreign pension to fill that gap. Taxing this income at the state level diminishes what retirees need to live with dignity and peace.”

SAFETY IN SCHOOLS (H 5157) – The Education Committee held a hearing on a proposal that supporters said would provide support for school districts that want to develop more holistic safety practices that do not rely on school-based policing and clarify the parameters for appropriate use of police powers in schools. The bill would create grants for school safety models like Oakland's “peacekeeper” program; clarify boundaries on what conduct should be addressed by school resource officers; promote de-escalation and anti-bias techniques; and establish data-driven accountability measures.

Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa said she filed the bill because every student deserves to feel safe and supported in their school. She said that too often, students of color bear the brunt of school policing, facing disciplinary interventions that their peers do not. She noted the bill creates accountability, clarifies the role of law enforcement in schools and sets up a mechanism to invest in proven alternatives that ensure that all students will be treated with dignity.

THE “ENOUGH” FUND (S 3022) – The Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses held a hearing on legislation that would establish the ENOUGH Fund, a statewide initiative to support comprehensive, community driven strategies that reduce poverty in distressed neighborhoods. The program aligns housing, education, health, workforce and social services to improve long term outcomes for children and families. The fund would be administered by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities and could receive state and private funds.

“The Harlem Children’s Zone [in New York City] is a striking example of community, government and philanthropy working in unison to radically improve thousands of people’s lives for the better and it was inspiring to visit and learn about this seminal project with my Chelsea colleagues,” said sponsor Sen. Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett). “I am proud and excited to bring this innovative framework here to help combat poverty in my district and all over the commonwealth. The reason an initiative like this works is because they include holistic and community-driven programs that address the root causes of poverty and offer wrap-around high-quality services across every aspect of life from education to health care to childcare to community building and so much more.”

OFFICIAL STATE CRUSTACEAN (H 5335) The Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight will hold a hearing on May 20th on a bill that would make the American lobster the official state crustacean.

"I filed this bill with Sen. Patrick O'Connor to celebrate a significant sector of the state’s blue economy, our historic maritime culture and uplift a sustainable fishery,” said co-sponsor Rep. Joan Meschino (D-Hull). “We were happy to file the bill in partnership with the Massachusetts Lobstermen Association.”

“[The bill] recognizes the maritime heritage of Massachusetts and the hardworking fishing communities that have shaped our coastal economy for generations,” said co-sponsor Sen. Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth). “Specifically in the district that I represent on the South Shore, I have long worked with members of the lobstering industry, and experienced first-hand the vital role lobstermen/women have in supporting local jobs, small businesses and our broader seafood economy. Recognizing the lobster here is about honoring our own history, our fishermen and the dynamic cultural and economic impact of this species here.”

QUOTABLE QUOTES

“Policymakers assumed that lowering drug prices at the federal level would translate directly into lower costs for patients. Our findings show that patients can pay more at the pharmacy counter depending on how plans and Pharmacy Benefit Managers structure benefits.”

---Dr. William Smith, co-author of a study by the Pioneer Institute which shows that many Medicare seniors paid higher out-of-pocket costs in 2025 for widely used prescription drugs—despite a federal law intended to lower them.

“No one entity shapes the future of our state, transforms the lives of more people or contributes more to social mobility than UMass. But it’s no secret that these are trying times for all of higher education.”

--UMass President Marty Meehan, calling on supporters and alumni to support the university amidst the upheaval and funding disruptions stemming from federal policy.

“Families want to be able to access government services at the time and places that work for them, in their common language and on a mobile device. The new MyChildCareMA family portal is part of our efforts to transform the childcare financial assistance system into what families and providers want and deserve.”

--- Secretary of Education Steve Zrike announcing the launch of MyChildCareMA, a new mobile-friendly and multilingual family portal for the state’s Child Care Financial Assistance programs that allow families to apply for childcare financial assistance, track application progress and manage their cases through a single, streamlined platform.

“We’re working every day to make Massachusetts more affordable, and that starts with making sure people have a safe, stable place to live. These investments will create more than 400 homes across Massachusetts and connect veterans, seniors and families with the services they need to stay healthy, get back on their feet and build a future.”

---Gov. Maura Healey announcing more than $44 million in awards for 11 supportive housing projects across Massachusetts that will create or preserve 401 homes for seniors, veterans and individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION?

Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts.

Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session.

During the week of May 4-8, the House met for a total of 43 minutes and the Senate met for a total of ten hours and 32 minutes.

Mon. May 4 House 11:00 a.m. to 11:23 a.m.

Senate 11:12 a.m. to 1:59 p.m.

Tues. May 5 House No House session.

Senate No Senate session.

Wed. May 6 No House session.

No Senate session.

Thurs. May 7 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:21 a.m.

Senate 11:07 a.m. to 6:52 p.m.

Fri. May 8 No House session.

No Senate session.

Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com