Rep. Dawne Shand

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Massachusetts state law to allow special education collaboratives to apply for school building assistance funds. Currently, only cities, towns, regional school districts, and independent agricultural or technical schools are eligible to receive these funds. By adding "Collaborative" to the list of eligible applicants, the legislation expands access to financial support for building projects related to special education services. The change is administrative and does not alter the amount of funding available or the specific criteria for how the money must be spent.

Maddy summaryThis bill increases the number of members on the select board of the town of Merrimac from three to five. It establishes a specific election process where the top three vote-getters in the first election following the bill's passage will serve staggered terms of three, two, and one year respectively, with future elections awarding three-year terms to successors. The legislation also mandates that the board annually elect a chairperson from among its members.

By Representative LaNatra of Kingston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2864) of Kathleen R. LaNatra and Vanna Howard relative to child care income tax relief. Revenue.

Maddy summaryThis bill directs the Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs to launch a Wetlands Restoration Streamlining Initiative aimed at speeding up the approval process for nature-based wetland projects. A designated coordinator will lead efforts to align regulations with climate goals, reduce trial periods for proven restoration techniques, and provide technical support to municipalities, nonprofits, and state agencies. The initiative seeks to create a unified permitting process that could complete state reviews within three months and will recommend specific regulatory reforms, such as general permits and clarified definitions, to remove current barriers.

Senate, March 14, 2024 -- Text of the Senate Bill ensuring affordability, readiness and learning for our youth and driving economic development (Senate, No. 2707) (being the text of Senate, No. 2697, printed as amended)

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Massachusetts laws to make child support enforcement more family-centered by clarifying when parents can avoid penalties for not cooperating with support agencies. It specifically allows individuals receiving public assistance to refuse paternity establishment or support orders if there is a risk of physical or emotional harm, the child was conceived through rape or incest, or cooperation would discourage other relatives from maintaining a relationship with the child. Additionally, the bill ensures that the first $500 of monthly child support collected for a family is excluded from income calculations when determining benefit eligibility. Finally, it restricts the state's child support agency from providing paternity services in cases where the individual is not legally required to cooperate.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates Massachusetts election laws to use gender-neutral language, replacing specific male pronouns like "him," "his," and "he" with neutral terms such as "them," "their," and "they." It directly affects the official text of the state's election statutes by amending multiple sections to ensure descriptions of candidates, officials, and roles are inclusive of all genders. The legislation removes gendered terms like "chairmen" and "alderman," substituting them with "chairpersons" and "alderperson" to reflect modern standards of inclusivity. By making these specific word-for-word changes, the bill ensures that election records and legal documents do not assume a male gender for any position or individual.

Senate, March 4, 2024 -- The committee on Labor and Workforce Development, to whom was referred the petitions (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1171) of Paul R. Feeney, Marc R. Pacheco, Jacob R. Oliveira, Sal N. DiDomenico and other members of the General Court for legislation to include offsite fabrication work for qualified projects under the prevailing wage laws of the Commonwealth; and (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1943) of Jeffrey N. Roy and others relative to compliance with prevailing wage laws for offsite fabrication, report the accompanying bill (Senate, No. 2603).