2019–2020 Massachusetts legislature

The 191st Massachusetts General Court is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the state government of Massachusetts, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives.[1] It convened in Boston at the Massachusetts State House, on January 2, 2019, and ended on January 6, 2021, during the fifth and sixth years of the governorship of Charlie Baker. Senate and House districts were drawn based on the 2010 Census.

191st Massachusetts General Court
← 190th 192nd →
Massachusetts State House in 2017
Overview
Legislative body	Massachusetts General Court
Term	January 2, 2019 – January 6, 2021
Election	2018 election
Massachusetts Senate
Members	40
Senate President	Karen Spilka (D)
Senate Majority Leader	Cynthia Stone Creem (D)
Senate Minority Leader	Bruce Tarr (R)
Party control	Democratic
Massachusetts House of Representatives
Members	160
House Speaker	Bob DeLeo (D)
House Majority Leader	Ron Mariano (D)
House Minority Leader	Brad Jones (R)
Party control	Democratic

In the 2018 elections, the Democratic Party increased its majorities in both chambers, flipping two seats from the Republicans in the House and one in the Senate.[2] Although Republican Governor Charlie Baker easily won re-election to a second term, the Democrats maintained veto-proof supermajorities in the legislature.[3]

Notable legislation included a pandemic-related vote-by-mail law.[4] Notable bills include a proposal for a commission focused on "state agency automated decision-making, artificial intelligence, transparency, fairness, and individual rights."[5][6]

Party summary

Senate

Affiliation	Party (shading indicates majority caucus)			Total	Vacant
	Democratic	Independent	Republican
End of previous General Court	31	0	7	38	2
Begin (January 2, 2019)	34	0	6	40	0
November 29, 2019[lower-alpha 1]	34		5	39	1
January 6, 2020[lower-alpha 2]	34		4	38	2
May 28, 2020[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4]	36			40	0
Latest voting share	90.0%	0.0%	10.0%

House of Representatives

Affiliation	Party (shading indicates majority caucus)			Total	Vacant
	Democratic	Independent	Republican
End of previous General Court	119	1	34	154	6
Begin (January 2, 2019)	127	1	32	160	0
November 15, 2019[lower-alpha 5]	126			159	1
January 6, 2020[lower-alpha 6]	126		31	158	2
January 8, 2020[lower-alpha 7]	125			157	3
March 25, 2020[lower-alpha 8]	126			158	2
May 28, 2020[lower-alpha 9]	125			157	3
June 10, 2020[lower-alpha 10]	127			159	1
Latest voting share	79.9%	0.6%	19.5%

Members

Senate

District	Senator	Party		Time in office	Born	Residence
Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden	Adam Hinds		Democratic	January 4, 2017 –	June 10, 1976	Pittsfield
Bristol and Norfolk	Paul Feeney		Democratic	November 1, 2017 –	March 23, 1978	Foxborough
1st Bristol and Plymouth	Michael Rodrigues [7]		Democratic	January 5, 2011 –	May 30, 1959	Westport
2nd Bristol and Plymouth	Mark Montigny		Democratic	January 6, 1993 –	June 20, 1961	New Bedford
Cape and Islands	Julian Cyr		Democratic	January 4, 2017 –	January 19, 1986	Truro
1st Essex	Diana DiZoglio		Democratic	January 2, 2019 –	June 5, 1983	Methuen
2nd Essex	Joan Lovely		Democratic	January 2, 2013 –		Salem
3rd Essex	Brendan Crighton		Democratic	March 7, 2018 –	April 5, 1983	Lynn
1st Essex and Middlesex	Bruce Tarr		Republican	January 3, 1995 –	January 2, 1964	Gloucester
2nd Essex and Middlesex	Barry Finegold		Democratic	January 5, 2011 – January 7, 2015 January 2, 2019 –	March 3, 1971	Andover
Hampden	Jim Welch		Democratic	January 5, 2011 –	December 22, 1975	West Springfield
1st Hampden and Hampshire	Eric Lesser		Democratic	January 7, 2015 –	February 27, 1985	Longmeadow
2nd Hampden and Hampshire	Don Humason[lower-alpha 2]		Republican	November 20, 2013 – January 6, 2020	July 31, 1967	Westfield
	John Velis[lower-alpha 4]		Democratic	May 28, 2020 –	January 26, 1979	Westfield
Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester	Jo Comerford		Democratic	January 2, 2019 –	September 3, 1963	Northampton
1st Middlesex	Ed Kennedy		Democratic	January 2, 2019 –	March 24, 1951	Lowell
2nd Middlesex	Pat Jehlen		Democratic	October 12, 2005 –	October 14, 1943	Somerville
3rd Middlesex	Michael Barrett		Democratic	1987 – 1995 2013 –	June 27, 1948	Lexington
4th Middlesex	Cindy Friedman		Democratic	July 27, 2017 –		Arlington
5th Middlesex	Jason Lewis		Democratic	April 16, 2014 –	April 19, 1968	Winchester
1st Middlesex and Norfolk	Cynthia Stone Creem		Democratic	January 6, 1999 –	September 17, 1942	Newton
2nd Middlesex and Norfolk	Karen Spilka		Democratic	January 5, 2005 –	January 11, 1953	Ashland
Middlesex and Suffolk	Sal DiDomenico		Democratic	May 20, 2010 –	June 20, 1971	Everett
Middlesex and Worcester	Jamie Eldridge		Democratic	January 7, 2009 –	August 11, 1973	Acton
Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex	Becca Rausch		Democratic	January 2, 2019 –	August 31, 1979	Needham
Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth	Walter Timilty		Democratic	January 4, 2017 –	July 19, 1969	Milton
Norfolk and Plymouth	John Keenan		Democratic	January 5, 2011 –		Quincy
Norfolk and Suffolk	Mike Rush		Democratic	January 5, 2011 –	November 30, 1973	West Roxbury (Boston)
Plymouth and Barnstable	Vinny deMacedo[lower-alpha 1]		Republican	January 7, 2015 – November 29, 2019	October 16, 1965	Plymouth
	Susan Moran[lower-alpha 3]		Democratic	May 28, 2020 –	June 8, 1977	Falmouth
1st Plymouth and Bristol	Marc Pacheco		Democratic	January 1993 –	October 29, 1952	Taunton
2nd Plymouth and Bristol	Michael Brady		Democratic	November 3, 2015 –	May 5, 1962	Brockton
Plymouth and Norfolk	Patrick O'Connor		Republican	May 18, 2016 –	August 13, 1984	Weymouth
1st Suffolk	Nick Collins		Democratic	May 9, 2018 –	August 26, 1982	South Boston (Boston)
2nd Suffolk	Sonia Chang-Díaz		Democratic	January 7, 2009 –	March 31, 1978	Jamaica Plain (Boston)
1st Suffolk and Middlesex	Joseph Boncore		Democratic	May 18, 2016 –	June 27, 1982	Winthrop
2nd Suffolk and Middlesex	Will Brownsberger		Democratic	January 24, 2012 –	March 21, 1957	Belmont
1st Worcester	Harriette Chandler		Democratic	January 3, 2001 –	December 20, 1937	Worcester
2nd Worcester	Mike Moore		Democratic	January 7, 2009 –	January 17, 1963	Millbury
Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Middlesex	Anne Gobi		Democratic	January 7, 2015 –	December 27, 1962	Spencer
Worcester and Middlesex	Dean Tran		Republican	December 6, 2017 –	1975	Fitchburg
Worcester and Norfolk	Ryan Fattman		Republican	January 7, 2015 –	July 1, 1984	Webster

See also

• 2018 Massachusetts general election
• 2020 Massachusetts general election
• List of current Massachusetts House of Representatives committees
• COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts
• 116th United States Congress
• List of Massachusetts General Courts

Notes

1. In Plymouth and Barnstable district: Senator Vinny deMacedo (R) resigned to take a job in higher education.
2. In 2nd Hampden and Hampshire district: Senator Don Humason (R) resigned to serve as Mayor of Westfield.
3. In Plymouth and Barnstable district: Susan Moran (D) assumed office to continue Vinny deMacedo's term.
4. In 2nd Hampden and Hampshire district: John Velis (D) assumed office to continue Don Humason's term.
5. In 32nd Middlesex district: Rep. Paul Brodeur (D) resigned to serve as Mayor of Melrose.
6. In 3rd Bristol district: Rep. Shaunna O'Connell (R) resigned to serve as Mayor of Taunton.
7. In 37th Middlesex district: Rep. Jen Benson (D) resigned to serve as President of the Alliance for Business Leadership.
8. In 32nd Middlesex district: Kate Lipper-Garabedian (D) assumed office to continue Paul Brodeur's term.
9. In 4th Hampden district: Rep. John Velis (D) resigned to serve as state senator for the 2nd Hampden and Hampshire district.
10. Carol Doherty (D) and Dan Sena (D) assumed office to continue Shaunna O'Connell and Jen Benson's terms, respectively.

References

1. "Malegislature.gov". Archived from the original on January 10, 2019.
2. https://commonwealthmagazine.org/politics/dems-pick-up-a-couple-seats-on-beacon-hill/
3. https://www.wbur.org/news/2018/11/07/massachusetts-state-house-democrats-super-majorities
4. "A new law allows Mass. residents to vote by mail. Here's how that's already changing things", Boston Globe, July 29, 2020
5. Electronic Privacy Information Center, "State Artificial Intelligence Policy", Epic.org, Washington, DC, retrieved September 5, 2020
6. "Bill H.2701", malegislature.gov, 191st General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, retrieved September 5, 2020
7. "Beacon Hill Leadership Changes, Plus Full Lists Of Legislators' Committee Assignments", WBUR.org, February 14, 2019

Further reading

• State House News Service (July 21, 2019), "State Lawmakers Reach Compromise On $43.1 Billion State Budget", Cbslocal.com
• Stephanie Murray (October 24, 2019), "House passes Ed Funding bill", Massachusetts Playbook, Politico.com, archived from the original on October 30, 2019
• State House News Service (January 1, 2020), "2020 State House outlook: Seven issues to watch over seven months", Boston Globe
• Matt Stout (April 7, 2020), "Grandma can get on Zoom, but Mass. lawmakers can't get livestreaming to work", Boston Globe, Key economic hearing postponed after ‘unexpected technical issues’
• John Laidler (June 25, 2020), "Should the Massachusetts Legislature be subject to the state's public records law?", Boston Globe
• State House News Service (June 26, 2020), "House, Senate Agree On Road Funding, MBTA Board", Wbur.org
• State House News Service (June 26, 2020), "Mass. House Approves Juneteenth State Holiday", Wbur.org
• Matt Stout (July 13, 2020), "'Never seen anything like this:' State lawmakers face multiple crises and a time crunch", Boston Globe
• Matt Stout (October 18, 2020), "'We should be embarrassed': In quiet extended session, Legislature's unfinished work will bleed past Election Day", Boston Globe

External links

• "Session Laws", malegislature.gov (2019, 2020)
• "2019 Massachusetts legislative session". Ballotpedia.org.
• "Hearings & Events: 2019-2020". malegislature.gov. (includes some video)
• Arlington Democrats (January 14, 2020), Forum on Climate Change Legislation in Massachusetts, Arlington Community Media Inc. – via YouTube