Jul 27, 2026 · 6 min · 6 segments
Under new rules, Mass. lawmakers can schedule formal sessions to take up any of the numerous bills that they have been dumping into six-person conference committees, after the end of July.
Sam Drysdale
Carrie HealyHost
It's nearly July 31st, traditionally the frantic finish line for the Massachusetts legislature, but new rules this year mean the... formal lawmaking session deadline's been pushed out longer than what it used to be.
Sam, what can lawmakers actually keep pushing through after Friday and what's officially dead on the vine?
You know, without getting too into the weeds of these new rules, anything that is past both branches, the House and the Senate, and is officially in negotiations by July 31st, can stay in play throughout the summer and into election season and through the official end of session into December.
Yeah, that includes a high priority energy cost containment bill, which Governor Maura Healey, who is running for reelection this fall, would really like to see on her desk and signed before her reelection.
There's an environmental protection bill, economic development, protecting health care workers from violence, shoring up data privacy and regulating social media.
Some ideas that only passed one branch, which, you know, there's still a few more days before Friday.
They could still cross that finish line, but it seems like they're not going to get over the line.
A bill to support local farms and expand agritourism and legislation to regulate AI and campaign
It's nearly July 31st, traditionally the frantic finish line for the Massachusetts legislature, but new rules this year mean the... formal lawmaking session deadline's been pushed out longer than what it used to be.
Sam, what can lawmakers actually keep pushing through after Friday and what's officially dead on the vine?
You know, without getting too into the weeds of these new rules, anything that is past both branches, the House and the Senate, and is officially in negotiations by July 31st, can stay in play throughout the summer and into election season and through the official end of session into December.
Yeah, that includes a high priority energy cost containment bill, which Governor Maura Healey, who is running for reelection this fall, would really like to see on her desk and signed before her reelection.
There's an environmental protection bill, economic development, protecting health care workers from violence, shoring up data privacy and regulating social media.
Some ideas that only passed one branch, which, you know, there's still a few more days before Friday.
They could still cross that finish line, but it seems like they're not going to get over the line.
A bill to support local farms and expand agritourism and legislation to regulate AI and campaign
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