Rep. Simon Cataldo

Maddy summaryHD 913 requires the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to annually request full state funding for regional school district transportation starting in fiscal year 2026. The bill mandates these funding requests comply with the Commonwealth's existing legal obligation under Chapter 71, Section 16C. This ensures regional school districts receive the full state funding they are legally entitled to for transportation services. The bill directly affects regional school districts by securing consistent state financial support for their transportation needs.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows the Town of Concord to hold town meetings and special town meetings using fully remote, fully in-person, or hybrid formats (mixing remote and in-person participation). It requires that all fully remote or hybrid meetings be recorded and made publicly available online for at least 30 days, and the recordings must be treated as public records. All decisions made during these remote or hybrid meetings have the same legal effect as if the meeting were held entirely in person. The bill takes effect immediately upon passage.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires the town of Concord to use ranked choice voting for most local elections. Voters will rank candidates in order of preference (1st, 2nd, etc.), and ballots are counted in rounds: the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated each round until one candidate has a majority or all seats are filled. It applies to all town offices except single-seat races with two or fewer candidates or multi-seat races where candidates match available seats. The Town Clerk will manage implementation rules, and the law takes effect 90 days after passage to allow for preparation.

Maddy summaryHD 410 allows the Town of Concord to require retail stores to charge customers at least $0.10 for each checkout bag provided at the point of sale. This applies to most retail businesses (like stores, restaurants, and pharmacies) but excludes bags for produce, prescriptions, or protecting items. Stores must separately state the bag fee on receipts and keep all collected money. The law takes effect three months after passage and is enforced by the Town Manager.

Maddy summaryThis bill, titled "An Act prioritizing patient access to care," amends Massachusetts state law to change how abortions are regulated. It removes the requirement that abortions must be performed only to preserve a patient's life or health or due to specific fetal diagnoses, replacing those criteria with a standard based solely on a physician's professional judgment. Additionally, the bill prevents any medical review process from overriding a doctor's decision to perform an abortion when a patient or their health care proxy requests it. These changes directly affect physicians, patients, and healthcare facilities by expanding the circumstances under which abortions can be legally provided.

Maddy summaryThis bill directs the governor to limit civil immigration enforcement activities within nonpublic areas of state-owned buildings and properties, unless required by federal law or specific state programs. It requires the creation of multilingual guidelines for state agencies, private organizations, and schools on how to verify the authority of immigration officers and handle related interactions. Additionally, the bill empowers the attorney general to file civil lawsuits against any law enforcement officer who violates specific federal statutes regarding immigration enforcement.

By Representative Cataldo of Concord, a petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Simon Cataldo for legislation to establish a Great Brook State Park trust fund. Environment and Natural Resources.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the town administrator as the chief executive officer of Carlisle, appointed and removable by the select board, with primary responsibility for managing daily municipal operations. The administrator cannot create policy independently and must implement directives approved by the select board, while retaining authority to hire, discipline, and remove most town employees except key officials like police chiefs, fire chiefs, and the town clerk. The role includes supervising all town departments except the school, fire, library, and health departments, which remain under their respective boards, and the administrator may appoint interim staff for vacancies lasting more than 30 days.

Maddy summaryThis bill ensures teachers who move from classroom roles to positions at the Executive Office of Education or the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education retain their status in the teacher retirement system (or Boston retirement system), avoiding a switch to the state employees' retirement system. It requires such employees to pay makeup contributions for the difference in retirement payments between systems during their time in state education roles. Additionally, it creates a one-time 180-day opportunity for eligible teachers (who began contributing before July 2001 and didn’t choose an alternative retirement program) to join a specific retirement benefit program. The bill directly affects current and future educators transitioning to state education agency jobs, focusing on maintaining retirement benefits and contribution continuity.

Maddy summaryThis Massachusetts bill restricts civil immigration enforcement activities in nonpublic areas of state facilities unless required by law or necessary for federally funded programs. It requires the governor to create multilingual guidelines for state agencies, private organizations, law enforcement, and schools on how to handle immigration-related interactions, including verifying officer credentials and warrants. The legislation also mandates that correctional facilities provide detained individuals with written notices about their legal rights in their primary language. These provisions apply to a wide range of entities including police departments, universities, hospitals, and private organizations that employ ten or more people or receive state funding.