Beacon Hill Roll Call: Dec. 15-19

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports on the percentage of times local senators voted with their party’s leadership in the 2025 session through Dec. 19.

Beacon Hill Roll Call uses 113 of the 116 votes from the 2025 Senate session as the basis for this report. This includes all roll calls except three that were on local issues.

The votes of 32 Democrats were compared to Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem, D-Newton, second-in-command in the Senate. We could not compare the Democrats’ votes to those of Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, because, by tradition, the Senate president rarely votes.

Sixteen (50 percent) of the 32 Democrats voted with Creem 100 percent of the time. Not counting the senators who voted 100 percent of the time with Creem, another 15 (46.8 percent) of Democrats voted with Creem at least 90 percent of the time (from 90 percent of the time to 99.9 percent of the time.) Only one Democrat, Sen. John Keenan, D-Quincy, voted with Creem less than 90 percent of the time. He voted with Creem only 88.3 percent of the time (99 times.)

Rounding out the list of the top five senators who voted with Creem the least percentage of times are Sens. Mark Montigny, D-New Bedford, 104 times (92.0 percent); Michael Moore, D-Millbury, 105 times (92.9 percent); and Michael Brady, D-Brockton, and Nick Collins, D-
Boston, both 108 times (95.5 percent).

Beacon Hill Roll Call contacted all five senators and asked them why they voted among the least percentage of times with Sen. Creem.

Only Sens. Keenan and Moore responded:

“I have great respect and admiration for my Senate colleagues and appreciate that we represent unique districts and at times have different opinions on issues,” Keenan said. “In the final determination, I will always vote in the way, that in my judgment, best serves my constituents in the Norfolk and Plymouth District and the commonwealth as a whole.”

“The people of the Second Worcester District sent me to the Massachusetts Senate to address the challenges affecting their daily lives and to amplify their voices on Beacon Hill,” said Moore. “My ultimate responsibility is to do what is right for my constituents and
my voting record reflects that.”

Three senators, . Brady, Montigny and Collins, did not respond to repeated requests asking them to comment.

Beacon Hill Roll Call also contacted all 16 senators who voted with Creem 100 percent of the time and asked them to comment and to cite any issues, beyond the ones that came to a roll call vote, on which they disagree with Creem. None of the 16 responded.

They are Sens. Mike Barrett, D-Lexington; Will Brownsberger, D-Belmont; Jo Comerford, D-Northampton; Brendan Crighton, D-Lynn; Julian Cyr, D-Truro; Sal DiDomenico, D-Everett; Lydia Edwards, D-Boston; Cindy Friedman, D-Arlington; Pat Jehlen, D-Somerville; Robyn Kennedy, D-Worcester; Joan Lovely, D-Salem; Paul Mark, D-Becket; Jake Oliveira, D-Ludlow; Pavel Payano, D-Lawrence; Mike Rodrigues, D-Westport; and Mike Rush, D-West Roxbury.

The votes of four Republican senators were compared with those of GOP Senate Minority Leader Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester. None of the four voted with Tarr 100 percent of the time. Sen, Ryan Fattman, R-Sutton, voted with Tarr the least percentage of times — only 88.4 percent of the time (100 times.)

Kelly Dooner, R-Taunton voted 102 times with Tarr (90.2 percent); Peter Durant, R-Spencer, 106 times with Tarr (93.8 percent); and Patrick O’Connor, R-Weymouth, 109 times with Tarr (96.4 percent.)

Senators’ support of party leaders in 2025

The percentage next to the senator’s name represents the percentage of times the senator supported his or her party’s leadership in 2025 through Dec. 19. The number in parentheses represents the number of times the senator opposed his or her party’s leadership.

Some senators voted on all 113 roll call votes. Others missed one or more roll calls. The percentage for each senator is calculated based on the number of roll calls on which he or she voted.

Sen. Joanne Comerford 100 percent (0); Sen. Paul Mark 100 percent (0); Sen. Jacob
Oliveira 100 percent (0); Sen. John Velis 95.8 percent (4)

Also up on Beacon Hill

KEEP DARK MONEY OUT OF TOWN MEETING (H 806): The House gave initial
approval to a bill that would apply the state’s campaign finance election laws to political expenditures of more than $1,000, made by persons, corporations, associations, organizations or other groups of people, to influence the outcome of articles that appear on Town Meeting warrants. The person or group would be required to file disclosure forms and failure to comply would be punishable by a one-year prison sentence and/or a $1,000 fine.

Supporters said that the bill will close a loophole that allows unlimited amounts of unreported funds by outside individuals and groups to influence and sway the town’s decision. They noted the flow of dark money drowns out the vote of the local voters.

The four co-sponsors of the legislation, Reps. Simon Cataldo, D-Concord, Tom Moakley, D-Falmouth, and Sens. Dylan Fernandes, D-Falmouth, and Julian Cyr, D-Truro, submitted joint testimony in a letter to the Election Laws Committee which heard testimony on the
measure in October.

The letter said, “Our proposal is consistent with existing Massachusetts campaign finance law, which requires full disclosure of contributions and expenditures for candidates, political committees and ballot question campaigns. By extending disclosure requirements to individuals and entities aiming to influence town warrant articles, this bill would bring local governance practices in line with these established democratic norms for state-level elections, closing a loophole in Massachusetts election laws.”

The letter continued, “There is motivation for entities to use the existing loophole. Major policy decisions are made at a town meeting level. Many warrant articles concern areas where corporate and special interest groups have a direct financial stake, such as zoning laws, housing developments, telecommunication rules and environmental regulations. Without mandated transparency, these groups can present their well-funded campaigns as grassroots efforts.”

REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS (H 836): The House gave initial approval to a measure that would establish uniform polling hours of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for elections in which regional school districts ask voters to incur debt.

Supporters said that under current law, regional school district committees have discretion to set polling hours anywhere between four and eight consecutive hours, which can result in reduced voter access compared to standard municipal and state elections.

They noted that this inconsistency was evident during a recent special election for the Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational Technical School’s $317 million new building project, where polls were open only from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. — providing just seven hours of voting time compared to the standard 13-hour window used in most municipal and
state elections.

“This bill simply makes voting easier and fairer by setting uniform polling hours … when regional school districts ask voters to incur debt for major projects, such as renovations or new buildings, ensuring every voter has the same opportunity to participate, no matter where they live,” said sponsor Rep. Richard Haggerty, D-Woburn. “This extended 13-hour polling window is designed to accommodate voters with diverse work schedules, family obligations and other commitments, ensuring all residents have a fair and equal opportunity to participate in decisions affecting their regional schools.”

ADOPT A SHELTER DOG MONTH (H 3288): The House gave initial approval to legislation that would designate the month of October as Adopt a Shelter Dog Month.

“Massachusetts shelters take in more than 20,000 animals each year, and despite our high save rate, they continue to struggle with staffing shortages, rising intakes and limited community resources,” said sponsor Rep. Bruce Ayers, D-Quincy. “Establishing October as ‘Adopt a Shelter Dog Month’ will give us a statewide platform to promote adoption, support our shelters and ensure more dogs have a real chance at finding a permanent home.”

SAFEGUARD SHORT TERM RENTALS (S 2736): The Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee held a hearing on a bill, known as the “Maggie Hubbard Rental Safety Act, that would require that all short-term rentals in Massachusetts be inspected for working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors within one year prior to rental. It also mandates
that rental platforms and agents verify this certification before listing a property, ensuring consistent, statewide fire safety protections for renters.

“Shannon Hubbard and her one-year-old daughter Maggie were tragically killed in a short-term rental that lacked working smoke and carbon monoxide detector,” said sponsor Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro. “It was an entirely preventable and unacceptable loss … By requiring
annual safety inspections and ensuring that rental platforms verify compliance before listing a unit, the bill puts in place the basic, common-sense protections every renter deserves and strengthens public safety in communities across Massachusetts.”

Rep. Hadley Luddy, D-Orleans, a co-sponsor of the proposal, did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call, asking her why she co-sponsored the bill.

PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION BASED ON HEIGHT AND WEIGHT (H 1919): The
Judiciary Committee held a hearing on a proposal that would add height and weight to Massachusetts’ existing anti-discrimination laws, by prohibiting discrimination, based on height and weight, in employment, education, housing and places of public accommodation.

The measure would require the Attorney General’s Office to investigate complaints unless the action in question is based on the purpose of compliance with any established state, federal or industry safety standards. It would also prohibit places of public accommodation, resort or amusement from issuing or circulating any policies or communications that signal discriminatory treatment based on body size, aligning this protection with how Massachusetts approaches other forms of discrimination.

“No one should lose out on a job, education or basic dignity because of their height or weight,” said sponsor Rep. Tram Nguyen, D-Andover. “Particularly, we know that the effects of weight-based discrimination do not fall evenly. Communities facing intersecting barriers, such as limited access to affordable, nutritious foods or other systemic
inequities, are often hit hardest. This legislation expands nondiscrimination protection to ensure that every person in Massachusetts is treated with fairness, dignity and respect.”

Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com.

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