An Act relative to preventing algorithmic rent fixing in the rental housing market

This bill addresses an emerging issue where a software service could enable rent fixing in our rental market place by setting prices for multiple rental units. If approved, this policy would ban this practice.

The Attorney General is currently in litigation with entities who have allegedly engaged in this type of scheme: AG Campbell Joins Justice Department in Suing RealPage, Large Landlords, for Anticompetitive Algorithmic Pricing Scheme that Harms Renters.

An Act Relative to Responsibly Reducing Emissions in the Transportation Sector 

This bill would delay the implementation of the Heavy-Duty Omnibus and Advance Clean Truck act until July 1, 2027, to more closely align with the vehicle model year sales cycle. The bill also mandates all of the Commonwealth’s purchases and leases, effective July 1, 2025, be for electric medium-heavy duty vehicles.  

When the HDO rule and ACT rule were initially implemented in 2020, Massachusetts and its municipalities, industries, and businesses welcomed the plan and were enthusiastic to work towards electrifying and making all aspects of our transportation sector sustainable. However, more than four years later, the plan agreed upon years earlier is essentially impractical from issues such as grid capacity to the lack of fundamental infrastructure.

An Act assisting low-income students success through work-study

This bill would establish a Career Pathways Work Study Trust Fund to help subsidize the costs of work-studies for students enrolled in the Commonwealth’s community colleges. The Trust Fund would also help support an education opportunity coordinator through the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges. The trust fund will also help fund internships that would otherwise be unpaid, and thus inaccessible to students who have families that rely on their income to get by.

While success in the classroom is an obvious, it is impossible to understate the relevance of internships and work study opportunities that lend practical experience and so often lead directly to employment opportunities after graduation. Some schools offer assistance to find and succeed in these programs, however too often these positions are reliant on connections based on family, friends, and wealth — specifically the ability of students to work at an unpaid position. Too many students from low-income backgrounds are forced to miss out on these important opportunities to experience a workplace and build the networks necessary to succeed. The goal of this legislation is to uplift these students by placing at least one such coordinator on each of the community college campuses to assist students with career planning, accessing financial aid, and identifying a program of study.

An Act establishing an internal special audit unit within the Cannabis Control Commission

In response to the will of the voters, the Massachusetts Legislature created the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), an independent agency modeled after the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Despite being structured on a proven regulatory model, the CCC has struggled to effectively and efficiency execute on its regulatory mission. This bill would create an internal special audit unit within, but not subject to the control of, the CCC. This unit is modeled after existing internal special audit units, which currently exist to provide dedicated oversight of the MassDOT/MBTA, Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and the State Police.

The unit would be tasked with monitoring the quality, efficiency and integrity of the CCC programs and operations. The Unit would then make recommendations to the CCC on how it can improve its operations. In addition, the Unit would develop trainings for the CCC, including on how to conduct regulatory investigations. The bill also requires a memorandum of understanding between the CCC, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, and the Department of Public Utilities to promote communication and collaboration between the agencies.

An Act to promote safety, efficiency and accountability in transportation projects through public inspections 

This legislation requires that public employees perform construction inspections on all surface transportation projects receiving state or federal funding. This will save the Commonwealth money since private sector engineers are paid at a much higher rate than public construction inspectors. But more importantly, this legislation provides a much-needed checks and balances system on private construction projects. 

An Act relative to small business health insurance incentives

This legislation deals with important Massachusetts small business rating factors designed to create fair health insurance premiums by replacing some factors in the merged market risk pool for small businesses and their employees. The bill will help lower premium costs for small businesses in pooled markets through two incentives:

  • Allowing carriers to award participants who seek more efficient administration of coverage and influence member utilization through education and use of transparency tool

  • Authorizing insurers to offer year-end incentives for small employers and their employees based on the number of subscribers in the group 

The group purchase of insurance and the proper use of healthcare allows for actuarial and administrative costs savings, something long done by the Group Insurance Commission. Small business group purchasing cooperatives, which were authorized by the Legislature in 2010, are uniquely situated to negotiate with carriers for the more efficient administration of coverage. This proposal would allow carriers to reward participants of a group purchasing cooperatives for undertaking such efforts and investing resources in this manner.

An Act relative to the taxation of small business in the commonwealth

This bill, filed on behalf of MassCPAs, would increase the range of the entry-level tax imposed on S corporations from $6 million - $9 million to $12 million - $18 million, and ties future increases to the CPI. Initially enacted in the 1980s, the surtax was designed to safeguard tax benefits for small businesses while fostering a level playing field between large S-corporations and C-corporations. However, the thresholds for net income triggering the additional excise tax have not been updated nor adjusted since its original enactment and an increasing number of small businesses have been adversely affected.  

With the introduction of an additional 4% surtax, many small businesses and other S-corporations now find themselves in the position where their shareholders are subject to a tax burden exceeding the Massachusetts corporate tax rate of 8%, which is in direct conflict with the original intent of the law. The framework of imposing an extra tax on S-corporations serves as a substantial disincentive to business expansion within Massachusetts. Coupled with the surtax, this structure negatively sets Massachusetts apart from other states in terms of its taxation policies. 

An Act relative to retail liquor sales to caterers

The alcoholic beverage industry in Massachusetts has been in a state of significant instability in recent years; one especially concerning issue is the slow death of family-owned, local package stores that have long been a staple of the Massachusetts retail beverage industry. A root cause of this issue is the increases in the cap on how many licenses can be owned has led to many such stores being forced out of the market by chains of convenience stores and big-box liquor stores based outside the Commonwealth.  

This bill would help alleviate some of these burdens by allowing licensed liquor stores to sell directly to caterers. Current law limits this practice to wholesalers, which can cause significant burdens for small events that don’t require expansive beverage options. Allowing package stores to supply these events will provide a boost to their sales numbers and give local caterers more flexibility and convenience when they consider alcohol needs.  

An Act enabling registered dental hygienists to administer nitrous oxide

This legislation allows dental hygienists who have obtained a special permit to administer nitrous oxide to patients under the direct supervision of a dentist. For more than 40 years, dental hygienists in other parts of the country have safely administered nitrous oxide to patients under the supervision of dentists. Nitrous oxide is a safe and reliable method to reduce a patient’s fear and anxiety before or during dental procedures – in fact, is cited by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry as one of the safest sedatives used in the field.  

35 states that have passed similar legislation. Removing this artificial barrier will increase access to care by expanding the pool of qualified providers able to administer local anesthesia agents for treatments in their office, allowing busy dentists to devote more attention to patients. This bill also encourages professional development and allows dental hygienists greater ease to practice their skills. 

An Act reforming auto body labor rates  

Massachusetts provides the lowest auto body labor rates of any state in the country, not having been significantly increased since 1998. A study by National AutoBody Research Organization of auto body labor rates in Massachusetts found that for the approximately 2,300 repairs processed through insurance claims, $40/hour was the most common labor rate paid, and most of the time the rate paid by insurers was $36-$42/hour. This number is not up to modern standards. 

This bill aims to address this issue by establishing the Auto Body Labor Rate Advisory Board to create, implement, and oversee an annual survey regarding auto body labor rates – in addition to requiring the Commissioner of Insurance to set the minimum hourly labor rate of $55. 

Auto insurers’ refusal to pay a labor rate of more than $40 over the past 30 years in Massachusetts has caused real pain in the collision repair industry. Massachusetts auto body shops are struggling to find employees, and customers are struggling to find places to repair their vehicles. If passed, this legislation will help address these issues.

An Act investigating the economic impact of certain Massachusetts laws

This legislation would create a commission to investigate the economic impact of the Commonwealth’s minimum pricing laws on businesses and residents. The commission will be tasked with analyzing the potential for beneficial economic impact from the Commonwealth’s minimum pricing laws and determine, if appropriate, whether certain minimum pricing laws should be adjusted to better assist businesses within the Commonwealth.

After World War II, many minimum pricing laws were originally instituted as protections to prevent wholesalers and retailers from using certain products as “loss leaders.” Despite the length of time these laws have been in place, the Commonwealth’s minimum pricing laws, including regulations governing the same, have not been revisited or studied in years. As time has passed, technology and advances in federal law have had different impacts on minimum pricing laws, sometimes benefitting states and sometimes hurting them.   

An Act relative to the timely and consistent payment of law enforcement personnel

Many public construction projects require a police detail. While the laws on the use of police details are clear, the method of compensation is not; some awarding authorities require the contractor to pay for police details, others make the payments themselves. The awarding authority, who is responsible for the oversight and management of a project, including recordkeeping in connection with police details on the project, should likewise be responsible for handling the payment associated with those police details.    

This legislation clarifies that awarding authorities are responsible for handling the payment of police details on the project. Assigning responsibility in this manner ensures that awarding authorities are responsible and would guarantee payment for law enforcement personnel, improve bid pricing, allow for greater cost control and prevent certain project delays.  

An Act prohibiting real estate dual agency transactions

This bill would prohibit real estate brokers and salespeople from representing both the seller and buyer in a real estate transaction. This practice is commonly referred to as dual agency and 8 states across the U.S. have taken action to prohibit or restrict this type of real estate transaction. Per the Statutes of Frauds, these transactions must have written and signed consent by both parties represented by the dual agent. However, the dual agent is unable to fulfill their fiduciary duty to their client due to their duty of confidentiality.  

In recognition of the recent National Association of Realtors lawsuit settlement and the action taken in other states to provide an extra level of consumer protection, by prohibiting dual agency the hope is to ensure the fiduciary duty of the agent is fully fulfilled — supporting all consumer’s right to protection.

An Act updating the unit pricing exemption threshold

This bill would increase the exemption for unit pricing requirements that exists for small format food stores. Unit pricing requirements allow consumers to compare products so that they can make informed decisions about food purchases. However, the need to comparison shop does not really apply when shopping in a convenience store because there is generally only one type of product offered. 

Because of inflation, the unit pricing exemption language that was adopted in 2004 to exempt retail establishments with a sales volume of less than $5 million per year of in-store sales is close to being obsolete. The law that was passed in 2004 provided a common-sense modification to small businesses that saves them money and time. However, more than 20 years later, these convenience stores are in jeopardy of losing the exemption because inflation has eroded the value of the revenue threshold over time. Without this exemption, small format retailers will be forced to go through the expense and inconvenience of re-implementing unit pricing in their stores. 

An Act defining recyclable beverage containers

This legislation would create a legal definition to ensure that recyclable PET bottles and aluminum cans are treated similarly under the law, and importantly it would prevent them from being considered “single-use”.

PET and Aluminum are the most recyclable and recycled item in Massachusetts and continue to be the most valuable materials in the waste stream. There is high demand for the recycled bales of material from carpet manufacturers, footwear and apparel, and bottlers. There is currently no legal definition of single-use, and this bill would ensure highly recyclable containers are differentiated. This legislation would not impact the current deposit system and has the potential to be a first step toward other recycling and pollution reduction goals. The language is consistent with and can be used to help reinforce the DEP waste ban on single-resin, long neck plastic bottles.

An Act relative to equalizing the Department of Revenue interest rates

Under current law, a taxpayer that fails to make a timely payment is required to pay interest after the statutory due date. The interest for such delinquent tax liability is the federal short-term rate, plus 4%, compounded daily. In contrast, when the Department of Revenue owes a taxpayer a refund, the rate of interest is the federal short-term rate, plus two percentage points, computed as simple interest. Moreover, the Department of Revenue gets 120 days from the last date for filing the tax return before interest applies. If the refund is mailed within 120 days, the Department of Revenue pays no interest. This legislation would restore equity to our tax code by subjecting the taxpayer and the Commonwealth to the same interest rate at the federal short-term rate, plus two percentage points, computed as simple interest.        

An Act to further clear titles to real property affected by technical irregularities in recorded instruments

This bill was filed on behalf of the Mass Land Title Association and would set a 10-year period after which technical defects in real estate documents are deemed cured. Currently, technical defects need to be cured by going to land court, which can take months and can derail pending real estate transactions — primarily affecting titles for 1 to 4 family homes. This bill provides Massachusetts with an additional resource to increase our housing stock and allow more residents to own property.