2019–2020 Massachusetts legislature

The 191st Massachusetts General Court was the 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 (2019-01-02) – January 6, 2021 (2021-01-06)
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	Robert 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]

The session was notable for the wide range of flash-point issues discussed; among these were climate change, police reform, the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare reform, and education funding.^[4] Other notable legislation included a pandemic-related vote-by-mail law.^[5] Notable bills include a proposal for a commission focused on "state agency automated decision-making, artificial intelligence, transparency, fairness, and individual rights."^[6][7]

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[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
	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

Senators

Portrait	Name	Party		District	Residence	Assumed office
	Michael J. Barrett		Democratic	3rd Middlesex	Lexington	2013
	Joseph Boncore		Democratic	1st Suffolk and Middlesex	Winthrop	2016*
	Michael Brady		Democratic	2nd Plymouth and Bristol	Brockton	2015*
	William Brownsberger		Democratic	2nd Suffolk and Middlesex	Belmont	2012*
	Harriette Chandler		Democratic	1st Worcester	Worcester	2001
	Sonia Chang-Díaz		Democratic	2nd Suffolk	Boston	2009
	Nick Collins		Democratic	1st Suffolk	Boston	2018*
	Joanne Comerford		Democratic	Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester district	Northampton	2019
	Cynthia Creem		Democratic	1st Middlesex and Norfolk	Newton	1999
	Brendan Crighton		Democratic	3rd Essex	Lynn	2018*
	Julian Cyr		Democratic	Cape and Islands	Truro	2017
	Sal DiDomenico		Democratic	Middlesex and Suffolk	Everett	2010*
	Diana DiZoglio		Democratic	1st Essex	Methuen	2019
	James Eldridge		Democratic	Middlesex and Worcester	Acton	2009
	Ryan Fattman		Republican	Worcester and Norfolk	Webster	2015
	Paul Feeney		Democratic	Bristol and Norfolk	Foxborough	2017*[8]
	Barry Finegold		Democratic	2nd Essex and Middlesex	Andover	2019
	Cindy Friedman		Democratic	4th Middlesex	Arlington	2017*
	Anne Gobi		Democratic	Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Middlesex	Spencer	2015
	Adam Hinds		Democratic	Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden	Pittsfield	2017
	Patricia Jehlen		Democratic	2nd Middlesex	Somerville	2005*
	John Keenan		Democratic	Norfolk and Plymouth	Quincy	2011
	Edward Kennedy		Democratic	1st Middlesex	Lowell	2019
	Eric Lesser		Democratic	1st Hampden and Hampshire	Longmeadow	2015
	Jason Lewis		Democratic	5th Middlesex	Winchester	2014*
	Joan Lovely		Democratic	2nd Essex	Salem	2013
	Mark Montigny		Democratic	2nd Bristol and Plymouth	New Bedford	1993
	Michael Moore		Democratic	2nd Worcester	Millbury	2009
	Susan Moran		Democratic	Plymouth and Barnstable	Falmouth	2020*
	Patrick O'Connor		Republican	Plymouth and Norfolk	Weymouth	2016*
	Marc Pacheco		Democratic	1st Plymouth and Bristol	Taunton	1993
	Rebecca Rausch		Democratic	Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex	Needham	2019
	Michael Rodrigues		Democratic	1st Bristol and Plymouth	Westport	2011
	Michael Rush		Democratic	Norfolk and Suffolk	Boston	2011
	Karen Spilka		Democratic	2nd Middlesex and Norfolk	Ashland	2005
	Bruce Tarr		Republican	1st Essex and Middlesex	Gloucester	1995
	Walter Timilty		Democratic	Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth	Milton	2017
	Dean Tran		Republican	Worcester and Middlesex	Fitchburg	2017*
	John Velis		Democratic	2nd Hampden and Hampshire	Westfield	2020*
	James Welch		Democratic	Hampden	West Springfield	2011

• *Originally elected in a special election

Representatives

portrait	name [9]	date of birth	district [9]
	James Arciero	August 27, 1974	2nd Middlesex
	Brian Ashe	April 23, 1963
	Bruce Ayers	April 17, 1962
	Ruth Balser	October 30, 1948
	Christine Barber
	John Barrett (Massachusetts politician)	1947
	F. Jay Barrows	April 5, 1956
	Donnie Berthiaume
	David Biele
	Natalie Blais
	Nicholas Boldyga
	Antonio Cabral	January 26, 1955
	Daniel Cahill
	Linda Dean Campbell
	Peter Capano
	Daniel R. Carey
	Gerard Cassidy
	Tackey Chan	August 10, 1973
	Michelle Ciccolo
	Mike Connolly (Massachusetts politician)	June 3, 1980
	Edward F. Coppinger
	William Crocker Jr.	2000
	Claire D. Cronin
	Dan Cullinane
	Mark Cusack	1984
	Josh S. Cutler	January 22, 1971
	Angelo D'Emilia
	Michael S. Day
	Marjorie Decker
	David DeCoste
	Robert DeLeo (politician)	March 27, 1950
	Marcos Devers	October 25, 1950
	Carol Doherty
	Mindy Domb	1959
	Dan Donahue	May 1, 1987
	Paul Donato	October 27, 1941
	Shawn Dooley
	William Driscoll
	Michelle DuBois	April 14, 1973
	Peter Durant
	Carolyn Dykema	December 26, 1967
	Lori Ehrlich	June 9, 1963
	Nika Elugardo	July 31, 1973
	Tricia Farley-Bouvier
	Kimberly Ferguson
	Dylan Fernandes
	Ann-Margaret Ferrante	June 26, 1972
	Michael Finn	March 24, 1970
	Carole Fiola
	Paul Frost	April 25, 1970
	William C. Galvin	October 18, 1956
	Sean Garballey	February 22, 1985
	Denise Garlick
	Colleen Garry	July 21, 1962
	Carmine Gentile
	Susan Williams Gifford	November 3, 1959
	Thomas Golden Jr.	March 5, 1971
	Carlos Gonzalez (legislator)
	Ken Gordon (American politician)	November 4, 1959
	Tami Gouveia
	Danielle Gregoire
	Patricia Haddad	May 7, 1950
	Richard Haggerty
	Sheila Harrington	1960
	Jim Hawkins (politician)	October 17, 1949
	Stephan Hay
	Jon Hecht
	Christopher Hendricks
	Natalie Higgins	July 24, 1988
	Bradford Hill	January 22, 1967
	Kate Hogan	January 15, 1957
	Russell Holmes	August 17, 1969
	Kevin Honan	June 5, 1958
	Steve Howitt
	Daniel J. Hunt
	Randy Hunt (politician)	August 24, 1957
	Bradley Jones Jr.	January 9, 1965
	Louis Kafka	November 28, 1945
	Hannah Kane	1971
	Patrick J. Kearney
	Mary Keefe
	James Kelcourse
	Kay Khan	June 22, 1941
	Kathleen LaNatra
	John J. Lawn
	David LeBoeuf	1989
	Susannah Whipps
	Jack Patrick Lewis
	David Linsky	October 16, 1957
	Kate Lipper-Garabedian
	Jay Livingstone
	Marc Lombardo
	Adrian Madaro	1988
	John J. Mahoney
	Liz Malia	September 30, 1949
	Ronald Mariano	October 31, 1946
	Paul Mark
	Christopher Markey
	Joe McGonagle
	Joseph D. McKenna
	Paul McMurtry	October 28, 1965
	Joan Meschino
	Aaron Michlewitz	1978
	Christina Minicucci
	Liz Miranda	June 29, 1981
	Lenny Mirra	February 23, 1964
	Rady Mom	1970
	Frank A. Moran
	Michael Moran (Massachusetts politician)	February 23, 1971
	David Muradian	November 21, 1982
	Matt Muratore
	James M. Murphy	November 15, 1969
	Brian Murray (politician)
	David Nangle	December 18, 1960
	Harold Naughton Jr.	July 4, 1960
	Tram Nguyen	June 22, 1986
	Jim O'Day	May 23, 1954
	Norman Orrall
	Jerry Parisella
	Sarah Peake	October 4, 1957
	Alice Peisch	October 4, 1954
	Thomas Petrolati	March 16, 1957
	William "Smitty" Pignatelli	August 31, 1959
	Elizabeth Poirier	October 27, 1942
	Denise Provost	March 9, 1951
	Angelo Puppolo
	Dave Robertson (Massachusetts politician)
	Maria Robinson	March 25, 1987
	Dave Rogers (Massachusetts politician)
	John H. Rogers	October 22, 1964
	Jeffrey Roy	September 8, 1961
	Daniel Joseph Ryan
	Lindsay Sabadosa
	Jon Santiago
	Angelo Scaccia	September 29, 1942
	Paul Schmid
	Danillo Sena	September 7, 1986
	Alan Silvia	October 19, 1951
	Todd Smola	1977
	Michael Soter
	Theodore C. Speliotis	August 20, 1953
	Thomas M. Stanley	March 23, 1964
	William M. Straus	June 26, 1956
	Alyson Sullivan	February 7, 1988
	Jose Tosado	December 18, 1953
	Paul Tucker (politician)
	Chynah Tyler
	Steven Ultrino
	Andy Vargas
	Aaron Vega	August 25, 1970
	John Velis	January 26, 1979
	David Vieira (politician)
	RoseLee Vincent
	Tommy Vitolo	1978
	Joseph Wagner (Massachusetts politician)	May 7, 1960
	Thomas Walsh (Massachusetts politician)	July 15, 1960
	Tim Whelan (politician)
	Bud Williams
	Donald Wong	January 15, 1952
	Jonathan Zlotnik	May 7, 1990

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. "Dems pick up three seats on Beacon Hill". November 7, 2018.
3. "Democrats Further Solidify Super-Majorities in the Mass. House and Senate".
4. "End of Session Report, 2019-2020 Legislative Session" (PDF). Massachusetts Legislature. May 26, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
5. "A new law allows Mass. residents to vote by mail. Here's how that's already changing things", Boston Globe, July 29, 2020
6. Electronic Privacy Information Center, "State Artificial Intelligence Policy", Epic.org, Washington, DC, retrieved September 5, 2020
7. "Bill H.2701", malegislature.gov, 191st General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, retrieved September 5, 2020
8. Daniel Libon (October 17, 2017). "Feeney Beats Ventura, Shortsleeve In State Senate Race". Patch.
9. "House Members". Malegislature.gov. Archived from the original on January 8, 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

• End of Session Report, malegislature.gov (2019, 2020)
• "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