BEACON HILL REPORT

On Wednesday November 19th, the MA legislature concluded its Formal Session for 2025, the first year of the current two-year legislative cycle. Both the House and the Senate will continue to meet informally through the end of the year, before returning to Formal Session in January. All bills, except for appropriation bills, will carry over into 2026.

Prior to adjourning, legislators did reach resolution on a final supplemental budget bill to close the books on FY2025, which Governor Maura Healey later signed into law (Chapter 73 of the Acts of 2025). The new law includes a provision (Section 176) that authorizes the Department of Revenue (DOR) to waive penalties imposed for an underpayment of tax due on or after April 1, 2021, relating to the advanced payment of sales tax, if the penalty would cause undue financial hardship, as determined by the Commissioner of Revenue. DOR is required to publish guidance on the process by the end of the year. Members who may have received such a penalty, or who are involved in an audit process currently, related to the advanced payment of sales tax, should be on the lookout for forthcoming guidance from the DOR, which RAM will also share via e-news.

Meanwhile, the legislature’s Joint Committees worked throughout the year and held public hearings on thousands of bills – with RAM submitting testimony on hundreds of matters of interest to the retail and restaurant industries. Most bills remain in committee awaiting a final report, but decisions to advance, extend consideration of, or further study legislation will continue to be made by committee leadership in the weeks ahead. Numerous issues will be competing for attention on Beacon Hill in 2026, and here are just a few:

Unemployment Insurance System Reform
Reform of the state unemployment insurance (UI) system remains a top priority for RAM this session. The MA UI system consistently ranks amongst the worst performing state UI systems in the nation due to its high benefit levels and duration, low threshold for eligibility, and rates of overpayments and fraud. According to the most recent quarterly report issued by the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA), the UI Trust Fund is now projected to be insolvent by the end of 2027. RAM is participating on a UI Trust Fund Working Group set up by the Healey Administration to assess what can be done to save the system, with legislators and labor also at the table. We continue to advocate for state funds to be tapped to help cover the $2.7 billion in COVID claims that employers are now paying for in the COVID Recovery Assessment, as well as the additional $2.1 billion added to employers’ UI bills over the next decade to repay federal funds which were erroneously dispersed by the previous administration. Reforms must strengthen eligibility standards and possibly reduce benefits and duration, while also targeting system fraud. Expansion of the taxable wage base will be the ask of the labor advocates, with strong opposition to any benefit or eligibility changes.

Energy Affordability
RAM continues to be actively engaged in discussions with legislators and the Healey Administration on energy costs and affordability. Given the cost increases felt in early 2025, and with a new winter upon us, the renewed focus at the State House on affordability is welcome news to RAM members. We applauded Gov. Healey earlier this year when she filed an important Energy Affordability bill to begin the debate, and we were further pleased when House Chair Mark Cusack released his committee’s bill in November with a goal toward saving ratepayer’s money and adjusting to the new realities we face in the transition to cleaner energy. RAM will continue to support and advocate for the focus of the debate in 2026 to remain squarely on cost and affordability, to ensure that as the demand for electrification across all sectors moves forward, the Commonwealth maintains and expands its supply of clean power sources on a scalable and predictable basis.

Data Privacy
As the discussion around pending data privacy legislation continues, RAM remains focused on keeping the Commonwealth in line with the consensus legal framework that has been adopted in states across the country. With legislation (S.2619) having passed the Senate in September, the privacy discussions now move to the House where leadership is working on a redraft H.4746. RAM has worked to ensure that retailer loyalty programs are protected and allowed to continue, and we argue that any bill to advance must not include a first-in-the-nation private right of action. Additional concerns include the details on data minimization standards, as we work to preserve the ability of retailers to provide personalized product and services offerings to their valued customers. RAM will be urging the House to align any bill with the consensus framework model adopted in the majority of states that have already adopted similar privacy laws.

These and many other issues such as small business health insurance costs, product bans and restrictions, and credit card swipe fees promise to make 2026 a busy year.