Press Release: 2025-01-07

New legislative session brings opportunities for cities and towns

 

Aside from a new calendar year, Jan. 1 also kicked off a new legislative session, the 194th General Court of the Commonwealth. The day featured celebrations and ceremonies to swear in legislators and elect the leadership for each chamber.

House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka, newly re-elected to their roles, reflected on the accomplishments of the recently concluded session while looking toward early priorities for the new session.

Highlights from 2024 include investments in the fiscal 2025 state budget, a comprehensive housing bond bill, and a wage equity bill. A number of key bills that were still in negotiations at the end of the formal session were able to be finalized in the fall. These include a clean energy bill, several health care-related bills, a federal funds bill, and an economic development bond bill that included important investments as well as reforms to Civil Service and public health. During the final days of last session, laws were enacted to protect the pool of qualified commercial driver’s license drivers and the safety of students who ride school buses.

The year ahead

For the 194th General Court, early attention is expected to be focused on potential impacts related to the new federal administration, and both chambers have signaled interest in changes to the legislative rules and calendar, which are expected to be tackled in the coming months.

State revenue growth will again be a focal point for the first half of the year, with a cautious outlook from key officials guiding the development of the fiscal 2026 state budget.

Budget writers will wrestle with a potential slowdown of general revenue growth, despite the continuing overperformance of the new surtax on annual incomes over $1 million, which must be spent on education and transportation programs. This challenge is compounded by increased spending pressures and cost drivers, including in health care and the emergency shelter program, among others.

Gov. Maura Healey is scheduled to release her budget recommendation later this month, with the Legislature planning to finalize a bill by July.

MMA priorities

The MMA will continue to advocate for an adequate increase to local aid to support key municipal services. This funding will once again be critical to maintaining local infrastructure and supporting municipal budgets, especially in light of significant cost increases and the tight cap on local property tax revenue under Proposition 2½.

One area of focus for the MMA early in 2025 will be a permanent authorization for remote public meetings, which would continue to allow a successful provision that was created out of necessity during the COVID pandemic.

The current authorization for remote public meetings is due to expire on March 31 of this year. A permanent codification over the next few months will be necessary to maintain this important flexibility for the thousands of public boards and commissions that operate in cities and towns in Massachusetts. Otherwise, previous open meeting law rules would return on April 1.

Language to make the remote public meetings option permanent was offered as standalone legislation, and was included in last session’s Municipal Empowerment Act, filed by Gov. Healey. This codification, among other key provisions included in the Empowerment Act, will be top MMA priorities again this session.

Other key areas of focus for the MMA will be investments in municipal infrastructure, transportation finance and funding, and bills that aim to ease unnecessary burdens on local government in Massachusetts.

The deadline for most bills to be filed by House and Senate members is expected to be Jan. 17.

Written by Dave Koffman, MMA Senior Executive and Legislative Director