2019–2020 Massachusetts legislature
| 191st Massachusetts General Court | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
 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 | ||||
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 will end 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.
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]
Party summary
Senate
| Affiliation | Party (shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/color" | | style="background-color:Template:Independent (US)/meta/color" | | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/color" | | |||||
| 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[a] | 34 | 5 | 39 | 1 | |||
| January 6, 2020[b] | 34 | 4 | 38 | 2 | |||
| May 28, 2020[c][d] | 36 | 40 | 0 | ||||
| Latest voting share | 90.0% | 0.0% | 10.0% | ||||
House of Representatives
| Affiliation | Party (shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background-color:Template:Democratic Party (US)/meta/color" | | style="background-color:Template:Independent (US)/meta/color" | | style="background-color:Template:Republican Party (US)/meta/color" | | |||||
| 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[e] | 126 | 159 | 1 | ||||
| January 6, 2020[f] | 126 | 31 | 158 | 2 | |||
| January 8, 2020[g] | 125 | 157 | 3 | ||||
| March 25, 2020[h] | 126 | 158 | 2 | ||||
| May 28, 2020[i] | 125 | 157 | 3 | ||||
| June 10, 2020[j] | 127 | 159 | 1 | ||||
| Latest voting share | 79.9% | 0.6% | 19.5% | ||||
Members
Senate
House of Representatives
See also
- 2018 Massachusetts general election
- 2020 Massachusetts general election
- 116th United States Congress
- List of Massachusetts General Courts
Notes
- ^ a b In Plymouth and Barnstable district: Senator Vinny deMacedo (R) resigned to take a job in higher education.
- ^ a b In 2nd Hampden and Hampshire district: Senator Don Humason (R) resigned to serve as Mayor of Westfield.
- ^ a b In Plymouth and Barnstable district: Susan Moran (D) assumed office to continue Vinny deMacedo's term.
- ^ a b In 2nd Hampden and Hampshire district: John Velis (D) assumed office to continue Don Humason's term.
- ^ In 32nd Middlesex district: Rep. Paul Brodeur (D) resigned to serve as Mayor of Melrose.
- ^ In 3rd Bristol district: Rep. Shaunna O'Connell (R) resigned to serve as Mayor of Taunton.
- ^ In 37th Middlesex district: Rep. Jen Benson (D) resigned to serve as President of the Alliance for Business Leadership.
- ^ In 32nd Middlesex district: Kate Lipper-Garabedian (D) assumed office to continue Paul Brodeur's term.
- ^ In 4th Hampden district: Rep. John Velis (D) resigned to serve as state senator for the 2nd Hampden and Hampshire district.
- ^ Carol Doherty (D) and Dan Sena (D) assumed office to continue Shaunna O'Connell and Jen Benson's terms, respectively.
References
- ^ "Malegislature.gov". Archived from the original on January 10, 2019.
- ^ https://commonwealthmagazine.org/politics/dems-pick-up-a-couple-seats-on-beacon-hill/
- ^ https://www.wbur.org/news/2018/11/07/massachusetts-state-house-democrats-super-majorities
- ^ "A new law allows Mass. residents to vote by mail. Here's how that's already changing things", Boston Globe, July 29, 2020
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
External links
- "2019 Massachusetts legislative session". Ballotpedia.org.
- Arlington Democrats (January 14, 2020), Forum on Climate Change Legislation in Massachusetts, Arlington Community Media Inc. – via YouTube
Districts of the Massachusetts General Court | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Massachusetts General Courts by year convened | ||||||||||
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