QUESTION 1: Expanding the Public Records Law

A YES VOTE would make most records held by the Legislature and the Office of the Governor public records under the Massachusetts Public Records Law.

A NO VOTE would make no change to the Massachusetts Public Records Law.

QUESTION 2: Collective Bargaining for CPCS Employees

A YES VOTE would specify that Committee for Public Counsel Services employees may form a union to collectively bargain with their employer.

A NO VOTE would make no change to the law governing labor relations for Committee for Public Counsel Service employees.

QUESTION 3: State Primary Elections

A YES VOTE would eliminate separate party primaries for state elections and require a single primary in which all candidates appear on one ballot, voters could vote for any candidate, and the top two candidates would advance to the general election.

A NO VOTE would make no change to the laws governing primary elections.

QUESTION 4: Election Day Registration

A YES VOTE would permit eligible citizens to register to vote or to update their voter registration address at their polling place on Election Day.

A NO VOTE would make no change to the laws governing voter registration.

QUESTION 5: State Revenue Limit & Rebate

A YES VOTE would change the limit on state revenue collection, tying it to prior year collections plus average wage and salary growth, and provide for a rebate of revenue exceeding that limit.

A NO VOTE would make no change in the law relative to state revenue collection.

QUESTION 6: Natural Resource Conservation Fund

A YES VOTE would create a fund that could be utilized for natural resource conservation that would receive some state taxes collected on the sale and use of sporting goods and recreational vehicles, and the use of golf courses.

A NO VOTE would not create this natural resource conservation fund or change how sales and use taxes are spent.

QUESTION 7: Single Family Homes

A YES VOTE would allow single-family homes to be built on lots of 5,000 square feet or more in residential areas, subject to reasonable local regulation of certain aspects of those homes.

A NO VOTE would make no change to the law relative to building single-family homes.

QUESTION 8: Prohibit Retail Sale of Adult Recreational Use Marijuana

A YES VOTE would prohibit the legalization, regulation, and taxation of the retail sale of adult recreational use marijuana, and change the penalties for possession of marijuana.

A NO VOTE would make no change to the law relative to marijuana.

QUESTION 9: Firearms Regulation (Referendum on Existing Law)

A YES VOTE would keep in place the law, which increases the regulation of firearms, including ghost guns, machine guns, and assault-style weapons.

A NO VOTE would repeal this law.

 

*These summaries were drafted by the State Attorney General and the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

BOSTON—State Senator Jason Lewis joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature to expand reproductive healthcare for Massachusetts residents and ensure that healthcare professionals and patients have more control over personal health by removing legal restrictions on abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

According to Reproductive Equity Now, under current law, dozens of Massachusetts patients each year are forced to leave the state to access abortion care after 24 weeks, even in cases involving devastating diagnoses or risks to the patient’s life.

The decision to terminate a pregnancy is often in response to a medical emergency or a diagnosis incompatible with life. This legislation ensures that the decision to have an abortion later in pregnancy remains between a patient and their healthcare providers, without interference from the government.

“When a family learns the devastating news late in pregnancy that they won’t be able to deliver a healthy baby into the world, they shouldn’t be forced to travel to another state to safely end the pregnancy,” said Senator Jason Lewis. “This legislation expands reproductive healthcare in the commonwealth and puts the advice of healthcare providers above the will of politicians.”

After passing in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, Governor Maura Healey signed the bill into law on August 10, 2026.

BOSTON—State Senator Jason Lewis joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature to protect freedom of thought and expression in Massachusetts schools and public libraries and safeguard open access to books and other educational materials.

As school and public libraries nationally are increasingly faced with politically-charged debates over banning access to particular library books, this legislation creates clear guidelines for how schools and libraries decide which books to make available, and how local leaders determine whether a book is appropriate or should be removed from the shelf.

“In our increasingly polarized society, protecting freedom of expression and the right to read are of paramount importance,” said Senator Jason Lewis. “Malicious and politically motivated book bans are being used to silence the voices and stories of diverse and underrepresented authors in our communities, but this new law establishes clear policies and transparent review processes to defend literature and freedom of thought from political attacks.”

Highlights of the free expression legislation include:

• Setting clear standards for school library materials by requiring that materials be age-appropriate, serve an educational purpose, and be chosen based on a teacher or employee’s professional training—leaving aside any of their own personal, political, or doctrinal views that could affect whether or not they place the book on the shelf. The law also requires that all school districts adopt their own policies on how to select library materials that aligns with American Library Association standards.
• Setting a threshold for removing books by establishing a clear process for challenging school library materials that can only be initiated by school staff, parents or guardians, and students, and that leaves the book in question on the shelf until an official ruling. The process requires a public hearing, an inspection by a review committee of local school personnel, and a vote by the local school committee before removing a book. A student, parent, or guardian can contest the school committee’s decision to remove library materials by challenging the decision in court.
• Offering assistance to municipal public libraries by directing the Board of Library Commissioners to provide resources to assist local public libraries in developing policies that cover the selection and use of library materials, the development of library collections, and the process to respond to any challenges to remove or restrict access to books and other materials. The law requires policies to include a statement that library materials shall not be selected, proscribed, or removed based on personal, political, or doctrinal disapproval or bias.
• Providing opportunities for appeals by allowing authors, creators, and residents of a city or town to appeal decisions to remove materials from a municipality’s local public library through Superior Court.
• Protecting librarians acting in good faith from professional, civil, or criminal penalties based on their selection of library materials, provided that the decision was made in good faith and in accordance with local policies.
• Collecting data from school and public libraries to track book challenges and their outcomes at the state level.

After passing in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, Governor Maura Healey signed the bill into law on August 10, 2026.

BOSTON—State Senator Jason Lewis joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate to pass legislation that increases residents’ access to information about how decisions are made inside the state legislature and the governor’s office, along with critical free press protections that allow journalists to protect their sources.

An Act promoting transparency and public access in state government writes into the state public records law that the public has a right to know about key legislative records, such as vote tallies, salaries of elected officials and staff, ethics disclosures, operating expenditures, and contracts. It also opens up access to records created by the Office of the Governor.

The transparency measure has earned the support of several groups who advocate for greater access to government and the promotion of democracy, including the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, Common Cause Massachusetts, and the ACLU of Massachusetts.

“Building greater trust and confidence in government by improving legislative transparency and accountability is critical for a healthy democracy,” said Senator Jason Lewis. “I have long championed efforts to improve the transparency of state and local government, including being the lead Senate sponsor of the last major update to the state’s public records law. This legislation will further open up the legislative process and make it easier for the public to see how we operate and to hold us accountable.” 

Building on the legislation’s support for freedom of information, the Senate voted unanimously to adopt an amendment guaranteeing legal protections for journalists by allowing them to protect the anonymity of their sources, as members of the press face increased attack from bad actors at the federal level.

The bill outlines a new process for people to request legislative records, including the assurance of an impartial appeals process. A designated staff member in the Senate or House of Representatives would be required to answer all requests within 10 days and share any responsive records.

Requestors could appeal any denied requests to the Superior Court, independent of the legislative or executive branches of government. Similarly, people requesting records from the governor’s office could appeal a decision to the secretary of the commonwealth, then to the Superior Court.

After passing in the state Senate, the bill will now be reconciled with a different version that was previously passed by the House of Representatives before being sent to Governor Healey for her signature. 

Throughout this legislative session, the Massachusetts Senate has worked to increase government accountability and transparency. The Senate has championed rules reforms that resulted in publicly posted committee votes and longer periods of public review before large bills are voted upon.

BOSTON—State Senator Jason Lewis joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate to pass an economic development package that lifts up small businesses and burgeoning industries, surges the production of new housing units through automatic two-family zoning, and reins in potential dangers of artificial intelligence by instituting responsible guardrails against catastrophes.

The bill also creates safety rules for fast electric scooters and e-bikes, bans predatory kiosks used in cryptocurrency scams, and invests $100 million in immediate support for scientific research programs at public higher education institutions.

With $575 million in total spending authorizations, the economic development bill is poised to grow quality jobs in the Commonwealth, support innovation, and improve the quality of life for workers and families.

“The state legislature is committed to fostering new economic development in Massachusetts to create new business and job opportunities and to strengthen our communities,” said Senator Jason Lewis. “This legislation will make Massachusetts even more competitive and attractive to both businesses and workers.”

Highlights of the legislation include:

• Investing $100 million for public higher education institutions to help maintain the pace of scientific research and discovery and retain talented graduate and post doctorate workers in the face of federal research funding cuts.
• Requiring major AI developers to account for their AI models’ risk of critical safety incidents by setting frameworks to avoid potential catastrophes with oversight from the Attorney General’s Office.
• Generating new housing units by allowing two-family homes on all residentially zoned lots, subject to reasonable local limitations.
• Creating a new, easier process for converting commercial properties into residential units and requiring timely review processes for housing construction projects.
• Supporting the development and construction of permanently affordable homeownership units by authorizing up to $2.5 million for a pilot program to fund the creation of units for low- and moderate-income households, including units within mixed-use developments.
• Implementing new safety standards for e-bikes and electric scooters, including regulations for safety equipment and after-market modifications, age and speed restrictions, and a ban on mopeds and similar devices from bike lanes and shared use paths.
• Authorizing up to $20 million to support community development financial institutions and small businesses.
• Authorizing up to $25 million to support downtown and main street vitality in Massachusetts towns and cities, in addition to $2.5 million to help convert vacant storefronts into pop-up opportunities for new small businesses.
• Authorizing up to $25 million to support arts, culture, and the creative economy.
• Authorizing up to $25 million for research and development of robotics technology.
• Implementing a 110% cap on ticket prices on resale platforms to prevent scalping; a new grant program to boost the cultural and economic vitality of downtown, cultural, and nightlife districts; and a study to explore the feasibility of hosting a future international soccer tournament following the success of the FIFA World Cup.
• Banning cryptocurrency ATMs that are often used by scammers.
• Criminalizing the creation, possession, or sharing of AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
• Prohibiting the possession, operation, manufacture, or sale of robots that are equipped with weapons including firearms, chemical agents, weaponized lasers and explosives, and banning the use of robots to criminally harass or physically restrain another person.
• Raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction to include 18-year-olds for certain crimes—an initiative that is proven to decrease crime, increase public safety, and improve economic outcomes.
• Allowing cities and towns to provide enhanced tax relief in the form of a rebate to lower- and middle-income taxpayers who already receive the residential tax exemption, by shifting more of the residential tax burden onto vacation homes and investment properties.
• Establishing a fund to capitalize on public-private partnerships to lift families and communities out of poverty with support for community organizations that boost areas such as early education and care, affordable housing, public safety, and civic infrastructure. 

Senator Lewis advocated for successful amendments to authorize potential state bond funding that could be used for improvements to the Middlesex Fells Reservation and Zoo New England which includes the Stone Zoo in Stoneham.

Senator Lewis also championed a critical update to the state’s Chapter 62F tax refund law to ensure the formula takes into account all sources of personal income growth instead of only tracking the growth in salaries and wages, which now account for just over half of personal income in Massachusetts.

After passing in the state Senate, the bill will now be reconciled with a different version that was previously passed by the House of Representatives before being sent to Governor Healey for her signature.