August 2026 Legislative Update

Massachusetts Legislature Ends Formal Sessions; Conference Committee Reports Can Still be Considered

The Massachusetts House and Senate concluded their regularly scheduled formal sessions on July 31, closing an active, but manageable period of legislative activity – a difference from previous sessions where major policy initiatives were often unveiled in the later hours of the last day’s session. Traditionally, the July 31 deadline in the second year of the legislative session was a practical cutoff for controversial or wide-reaching legislation because, during informal sessions, a single objection can prevent a bill from advancing. This session, however, the conclusion of formal sessions does not necessarily mark the end of work on every major bill. – as long as the matters were part of a conference committee working to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of bills.

In particular, conference committees—composed of three representatives and three senators—are responsible for reconciling differences between bills approved by the two branches. Any resulting conference committee report must be accepted or rejected without amendment by both the House and Senate. To that end, approximately a dozen significant matters remain in conference, including economic development, energy affordability, environmental and higher-education infrastructure, primary-care investment, data privacy, public-records reform, student cellphone and social-media policies, protections against violence toward health care workers, teacher retirement benefits, ballot-question campaign finance reporting, and pet safety. Negotiations will determine whether the competing proposals can be put into final legislation and sent to the Governor or proponents will need to refile matters for the 2027-2028 legislative session.

For the first time, recently adopted Joint Rule 12A expressly permits the House and Senate to return to formal session after July 31 to consider reports from conference committees that were formed on or before the deadline. Post–July 31 formal sessions may also address newly filed appropriation bills and gubernatorial vetoes or recommended amendments. Conference reports remain subject to new transparency requirements: reports filed by 8 p.m. generally must be publicly available for at least 24 hours before a vote, while reports filed after 8 p.m. cannot be considered until the second calendar day following their filing. The revised rules reduce the pressure to resolve every disagreement during the final hours of July 31, allowing negotiators additional time to reach agreements while preserving an opportunity for final, recorded votes later in the year.

It is anticipated that legislators will return to formal sessions to approve a variety of Conference Committee reports before November 7, the date of the upcoming general elections.

Economic Development Bill Goes to Conference; Issues of Interest to UCANE Contained Within

Among one of the Conference Committees appointed to meet before the July 31 deadline was a group of three Representatives and three Senators to hash out differences between their versions of the so-called Mass Wins Act, otherwise known as the economic development bill.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate have each approved substantially different versions of the Commonwealth’s 2026 economic development legislation, commonly referred to as the Mass Wins Act. Originally filed by the Healey-Driscoll Administration to strengthen Massachusetts’ competitiveness, attract investment and support emerging industries, the proposal evolved into broad legislative packages addressing housing, transportation, construction, workforce development, and numerous other policy areas. The House passed its version on July 8 by a vote of 148–2, while the Senate passed its amended version later in July.

Among the House provisions of particular importance to the construction and transportation industries was an amendment extending Massachusetts prevailing-wage requirements to certain customized construction components fabricated away from a public works jobsite. The House adopted the offsite-fabrication proposal as Amendment #99, despite concerns that applying Massachusetts wage, reporting, and compliance requirements to products manufactured outside the Commonwealth could increase public construction costs, disrupt established supply chains, and make specialized materials more difficult to procure. UCANE, joining with other contractor associations as well as business and development associations, continued to fight the overreaching proposal, citing numerous legal concerns in addition to the aforementioned practical concerns.

The House also adopted an important initiative to modernize and improve the Commonwealth’s superload permitting process, which governs the movement of exceptionally large or heavy equipment and materials. The superload modernization, amendment which would raise the superload weight threshold from 130,000 lbs. to 199,000 lbs., could provide greater consistency, predictability, and efficiency for contractors, manufacturers, utilities and transportation companies undertaking complex infrastructure, and economic-development projects. UCANE, along with the Construction Industries of Massachusetts, the Transportation Association of Massachusetts, and other industry leaders, have supported this initiative.

For its part, the Senate added several transportation-safety provisions to its version of the bill. Amendment #215 would authorize automated speed enforcement in school zones, designated safety zones, and active construction or work zones, subject to operational, privacy, and municipal-approval requirements. Supporters argue that automated enforcement can reduce dangerous speeding while limiting the need for police officers to conduct roadside traffic stops in hazardous work areas. The proposal would generally provide an initial warning before monetary penalties are imposed and would place limits on municipal camera deployment, while allowing broader MassDOT use in construction zones. UCANE also supported this initiative, in conjunction with its partner contractor associations, with a joint letter of support to House and Senate leadership prior to the consideration of the economic development bill.

Finally, the Senate also adopted Amendment #160, a more concerning proposal affecting medium- and heavy-duty trucks. The adopted amendment would establish a rebuttable presumption of negligence following certain fatal crashes involving pedestrians, bicyclists, or other vulnerable road users when a truck is not equipped with designated safety equipment, including lateral protective devices or sideguards, backup cameras, convex mirrors, and crossover mirrors. Although filed under the aegis of improving truck safety, using equipment choices to create a presumption of negligence raises significant questions involving federal vehicle standards, due process, insurance coverage, and traditional principles of tort liability. For UCANE’s membership, this language could expose truck operators and businesses to heightened civil liability even when the absence of a particular device did not cause or contribute to a crash. UCANE, as well as other medium- and heavy-duty truck users, opposed this amendment.

The aforementioned issues now move to the conference committee, where negotiators must reconcile the House and Senate versions. House members of the Conference Committee include Representatives Aaron Michlewitz, Carole Fiola, and Mike Soter with Senators Barry Finegold, Michael Rodrigues, and Peter Durant filling out the Senate side.  The final Conference Committee report, again, likely to be unveiled before the November general election, will determine whether the offsite-fabrication language, superload permitting modernization, automated enforcement provisions, and truck-liability amendment are sent to the Governor for her approval.

Another Conference Committee on Deck: UCANE Weighs in on Environmental Bond Bill

Another Conference Committee of significant interest to UCANE and its membership is the Mass Ready Act, the Commonwealth’s environmental bond bill. The Senate approved approximately $3.94 billion in bonding authorizations, while the House subsequently adopted a roughly $3.5 billion version. Although the two branches differ on funding levels and several policy provisions, both bills share a central objective: creating funding mechanisms for Massachusetts communities to prepare for climate change while protecting drinking water, natural resources, public lands, and essential environmental infrastructure.

Senate Bill 3064, the Senate Environmental Bond Bill proposal, is distinguished by its broad environmental-policy framework, combining infrastructure investment with measures addressing plastics, pollution prevention, climate disclosure, and public access to natural resources. Its major provisions include substantial funding for the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program, PFAS remediation, recreational trails, and other resilience initiatives, along with policies concerning single-use plastics, flood-risk disclosure, public beach access, and expedited culvert replacement. The Senate proposal reflects a statewide climate-preparedness strategy focused on reducing pollution, preserving environmental assets, and providing municipalities with resources to respond to flooding, drought, and other climate-related threats. Of note, the legislation includes a UCANE sponsored amendment expanding the mission of the Water Infrastructure Advisory Committee (WIAC) and the frequency of its meeting schedule.

The House version of the Environmental Bond Bill, House Bill 5518, places particular emphasis on project financing, regulatory modernization, and the timely delivery of infrastructure and development projects. It would establish a Resilience Revolving Fund for municipalities, tribal governments, and public water and wastewater districts; streamline permitting for priority housing, culvert, wetland-restoration, and nature-based resilience projects; and make investments in PFAS cleanup, flood protection, agriculture, forest management, and septic-system improvements in nitrogen-sensitive watersheds. Taken together, the House bill’s principal themes are municipal implementation, infrastructure construction, housing production, and more efficient environmental permitting, while maintaining the Commonwealth’s environmental safeguards.

UCANE supports any and all funding for water infrastructure and environmental resilience but is urging conferees to preserve three provisions of particular importance to water and wastewater systems. First, UCANE supports the Senate language modernizing the WIAC so it can regularly evaluate PFAS treatment, lead-service-line replacement, combined sewer overflows, nutrient management, biosolids, stormwater obligations, and the financing needed to meet those requirements. Second, UCANE supports the Senate’s higher $450 million water-infrastructure resiliency authorization, particularly as federal assistance declines and municipalities confront increasingly costly mandates. Finally, UCANE supports creating a commission to develop a coordinated funding and financing plan for wastewater infrastructure and nitrogen reduction in southeastern Massachusetts and the Buzzards Bay watershed. Including these provisions in the final conference report would help transform the Mass Ready Act from a broad environmental commitment into a practical strategy for closing the Commonwealth’s substantial water-infrastructure funding gap.

Similar to the Economic Development Bill, it is anticipated that the Massachusetts legislature will return a completed Conference Committee report on the environmental bond bill before the November elections. To view the Senate proposal, please visit: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S3064. To view the House proposal, please visit: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5518.

Healey Highlights Importance of Investing in Water Infrastructure in Outreach to Trump Administration

At the end of July and following the recent sewer force main break in Haverhill, Governor Maura Healey sent a letter to the Trump Administration in light of proposed cuts that would significantly reduce funding for projects that communities rely on to provide safe drinking water, protect water quality, and modernize aging infrastructure. 

Within her letter, Governor Healey highlighted that Massachusetts is home to some of the oldest drinking water and wastewater systems in the nation. Through the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRF), the state has successfully distributed more than $10 billion in infrastructure improvements serving communities across Massachusetts. Aging drinking water and wastewater systems face challenges from deteriorating pipes, limited capacity, and the growing impacts of our changing climate. President Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts would reduce SRF funding by approximately 89%, making it significantly harder for communities to complete critical infrastructure projects.   

In tying the letter to the recent incident in Haverhill, Governor Healey pointed out that the consequences of outdated infrastructure are already being felt. Specifically, she noted the 42-inch force main near the South Mill Street Pump Station in Haverhill failing following torrential rainfall, with a second break discovered shortly afterward. While the City worked quickly to install a temporary bypass system, approximately 8 million gallons of untreated wastewater flowed into the Merrimack River each day, prompting temporary beach swimming and shellfish closures in nearby communities. Although force main failures are uncommon, the incident underscores the urgent need to invest in resilient water infrastructure as extreme weather events become more frequent and severe.  

The Governor’s letter further highlighted that Massachusetts communities depend on SRF programs to fund the replacement of aging drinking water systems, modernize wastewater treatment facilities, remove lead service lines, address emerging contaminants such as PFAS, and improve resilience to increasingly frequent extreme weather. 

Following the sewer force main failure in Haverhill, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is using SRF funds to support Haverhill’s capital needs. As it is for many states, the SRF program is the state's primary source of financing for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects, many of which cost tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. Without this partnership, many communities would be forced to delay or abandon critical projects, increasing costs, and putting public health and the environment at greater risk. 

To view Governor Healey’s letter to the Trump Administration, please visit: https://www.mass.gov/doc/support-letter-to-epa-july-2026/download.

News in Brief

City of Boston Rejiggers Streets Cabinet. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has reorganized the city’s Streets Cabinet following heightened scrutiny over street safety after cyclist Louisa Gag was killed in a collision with a truck in Mission Hill. Interim Chief of Streets Nick Gove will return to his former position and be replaced by Chris Osgood, an experienced City Hall official who previously served as Boston’s first Chief of Streets under Mayor Marty Walsh and most recently advised Wu on climate resilience and infrastructure. Mayor Wu also appointed Deputy Chief of Policy Tali Robbins as the cabinet’s chief of staff and created a panel of transportation-safety advocates and former public officials to meet weekly and recommend improvements to the cabinet’s management, productivity and delivery of street-safety projects.

Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards Buzzards Bay Land Conservation Grants. The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced $150,000 for land conservation projects in the Buzzards Bay watershed. The Towns of Bourne and Plymouth will each receive $75,000 to permanently protect land at the head of Buttermilk Bay. The Buttermilk Bay Land Conservation Project, a partnership between the Buzzards Bay Coalition (BBC) and the two municipalities, will protect more than 390 acres of forested uplands, cranberry bogs, and wetlands. The BBC will purchase and own the land, and the Towns of Bourne and Plymouth will hold permanent conservation restrictions on 60 acres and 179 acres, respectively.

DOR Reports that July Revenue Exceeds Expectations. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue reported that preliminary tax collections for July 2026 totaled $3.093 billion, an increase of $398 million, or 14.8 percent, compared with July 2025. The year-over-year growth reflected stronger collections from income taxes—including withholding and non-withheld payments—as well as sales and use taxes, corporate and business taxes, and other tax categories; corporate revenue benefited from higher estimated and return payments and lower refunds. A press release from the DOR cautioned that July is typically one of the Commonwealth’s smaller collection months, that fiscal year 2027 revenue benchmarks have not yet been established, and that results from the first month of the fiscal year should not be treated as an indicator of collections for the remainder of the year. The Commonwealth’s revenue projections and receipts are of particular interest as voters will likely consider a ballot initiative determining what the limits for the Commonwealth’s tax collections can be each year before a mandated return to taxpayers is required under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 62F.