How the Massachusetts Legislature Works
Every law that is passed in Massachusetts must go through the General Court of Massachusetts, more commonly known as the Massachusetts Legislature, which consists of the House of Representatives (160 members) and the Senate (40 members), before being signed by the Governor. The Legislature follows a two-year cycle, starting in the odd year and ending in the even year.
Thousands of bills are filed each session, yet only a select few make it through the rigorous steps to become a law. At each stage of the process, there are opportunities for Massachusetts residents to make their voice heard.
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Bill Filing
Bills are filed at the beginning of the two-year legislative session, though bills can be filed at any point in the legislative cycle with the approval of both the House and the Senate. Bills are filed by State Legislators. State Senators submit Senate bills and State Representatives submit House bills. Often, Senators and Representatives will coordinate to submit the same bill in both chambers. Any citizen is allowed to file a bill through their elected legislators, which is a unique right in Massachusetts.
Bills are filed as a petition, which is the vehicle for filing legislation and includes the title and bill sponsors, and the bill, which is the text of the legislation. State Legislators are able to co-sponsor a bill once it has a number.
Committee Hearing
Once bills are filed, they are sent to the Committee most aligned with the bill’s purpose. There are Joint Committees, which span both the House and Senate, as well as chamber-specific committees. You can find all of the committees here.
Committees decide which bills get public hearings. Some bills will never get an official hearing, depending on the advocacy of the Legislators sponsoring it and public pressure. At these hearings, the public will have a chance to give short speeches in relation to the bill. If you cannot attend the hearing, you can also submit written testimony. Anyone can give testimony.
After a hearing, the committee will meet in a private Executive Session to discuss the bill. The committee can choose to report a bill favorably, send it to the next stage in the process, adversely report a bill, which kills the bill, or send it to study. While sending a bill to study means that it can be further researched during recess, it is most commonly used as a way to quietly kill a bill. When a bill is reported favorably, it can either be sent to the full legislature or to another committee. Often, a bill will be sent to the House or Senate Committee on Steering and Policy or, if it involves state finances, to the House or Senate Ways and Means Committee.
Bill Readings
After a bill is reported favorably out of committee to the full legislature, it is given three readings. The first reading is of the Committee Report by the Clerk of the House or Senate.
The Second Reading occurs when the bill is released from Steering and Policy or Ways and Means. It is then placed in the Orders of the Day. At this time, the floor of the chamber is opened for debate on the merits of the bill and proposed amendments. A favorable roll call vote or a voice vote is needed to send the bill to the Third Reading.
After a vote of approval for the bill’s second reading occurs, it is sent to the Committee on Bills in Third Reading to be reviewed. This committee checks the contents of the bill for legal technicalities and proper citations. After the bill is released by this committee it is read for the third and final time in the chamber where it may again be debated and amended.
Engrossment
Legislators in one chamber vote for the bill to be engrossed, and send to the other chamber, which will also have to progress through the Readings and Engrossment process.
Conference Committee
If there are differences in the bills approved by the House and Senate, a committee of Representatives and Senators will meet to resolve the differences between the bills. The Conference Report will then be presented to each chamber for approval or disapproval. Conference Reports are usually approved.
Enactment
Once both the House and Senate have passed the same version of the bill, or agreed on a Conference Committee report, Legislators must vote to “enact” the bill, and send it to the Governor. Most bills require a simple majority vote, but some bills require a two-thirds majority.
Governor
After a bill has been enacted by both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is sent to the Governor, who must act upon the bill in 10 days. The Governor can choose to sign the bill, veto the bill, or return it to the legislature with recommended amendments. If the Governor does not act on the bill within 10 days, the Legislature is still in session, it automatically becomes law. If the Governor vetoes a bill, they must state in writing the reasons why they vetoed it, and it is sent back to the Legislature, which can override the veto with a two-thirds vote in each branch.
Want more in-depth information? You can learn more here.
