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THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, ApRil 17, 2026 Page 17 BEACON | FROM PAGE 16 those policies, I am against,” said Rep. Kelly Pease (R-Westfield) who voted against the measure. “I think the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education should develop a policy that removes cell phones from classrooms but gives the school district the flexibility on how that is done.” “Although marketed as a child protection law, this social media ban would force all social media users in Massachusetts, including adults, to submit biometric information to tech companies to prove that we are over 16,” said Scotia Hille, executive director of the progressive group Act on Mass. “Allowing parents to request the social media activity of children under 16 puts LGBTQ+ youth and other marginalized teens at risk. At a time of mass surveillance and a crackdown on political speech, the privacy risks of this legislation are staggering.” “While I strongly support the ban on cellphones in schools and the intent and goal of limiting youth access to social media, I voted ‘No’ on the bill due to concerns with data privacy in the social media sections,” said Rep. Mike Connolly (D-Cambridge). “Age verification for minors means age verification for all users, and this raises big questions of data privacy and protection.” “While I support the underlying goals and intentions of both aspects of the bill passed, I have concerns with several aspects including First Amendment rights, personal data collection and storage for minors, and unintended unfunded mandates on our schools,” said Rep. Joe McKenna (R-Sutton). I believe that school districts already have the ability to craft and implement phone-free policies without needing a state law to mandate such.” (A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Joseph McGonagle Yes NO UNFUNDED MANDATES (H 5349) House 27-136 rejected an amendment that would exempt any school district from paying any additional costs for implementing the provisions of the social media/cell phone legislation approved by the House. The amendment would allow the districts to pay for the additional cost only if they want to do so. Rep. Kevin Sweezey (R-Duxbury), the sponsor of the amendment, said it is important to note that when we give authority to agencies to create regulation for our cities and towns, it often comes with a cost. Even if it doesn’t have dollars and cents in the line items, it can still end up costing municipal budgets. He argued that the amendment simply ensures that no policy made by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education incurs a cost for cities and towns and negatively impact our school districts. “Cities and towns across the state are struggling with rising costs and increasing budget constraints, with more and more communities being forced to pursue Proposition 2 ½ overrides to preserve essential municipal services,” said co-sponsor House Minority Leader Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading). “Given the potential costs associated with implementing this bill, this amendment would help to ensure that we are not placing an additional financial burden on our cities and towns by imposing an unfunded mandate at the local level.” Rep. Ken Gordon (D-Bedford) opposed the amendment and said that nothing in the bill calls for a district to spend a penny. He noted that if a district wants to, it can tell the students to simply not bring their cell phones to school. There’s no requirement they get the pouches or anything else and spend the money. (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Joseph McGonagle No $1.57 BILLION FISCAL 2026 SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET (S 3041) Senate 35-4, approved a $1.57 billion fiscal 2026 budget. Some of the funding will come from the $1.3 billion generated by the 2022 voter-approved constitutional amendment, known by supporters as the Millionaire’s Tax and the Fair Share Amendment, which imposes a surtax of an additional 4 percent income tax, in addition to the current flat 5 percent one, on taxpayers’ earnings of more than $1 million annually. Language in the constitutional amendment requires that “subject to appropriation, the revenue will go to fund quality public education, affordable public colleges and universities, and for the repair and maintenance of roads, bridges and public transportation.” Provisions include $1 million in legal defense services for immigrants; $10 million for full-tuition scholarships for UMass Chan Medical School students pursuing family medicine if they commit to remaining in Massachusetts and serving populations in need for five years after graduation; $100 million to ensure that Massachusetts’ public universities are able to withstand reductions in federal research funding; a new $32 million investment to provide immediate relief for strained municipal budgets by increasing special education reimbursement rates; $150 million for high-quality and accessible early education and care; $40 million for early literacy initiatives; $18.3 million to expand financial assistance offered to Massachusetts students enrolled at state universities and UMass campuses; $2.5 million to boost schoolbased mental health support; and $1 million to help public schools pay for costs incurred to implement the ban on cell phones use by students during school hours. Other provisions include a new targeted sales tax exemption for building materials to incentivize the construction of new affordable, moderate-income and middle-income housing units for certain housing projects; $535 million in direct support for the MBTA for operational funding, commuter rail support and the low-income fare relief program; and $535 million for the MBTA for operational funding, commuter rail support and the low-income fare relief program; $20 million for the Home Energy Assistance Program to assist eligible low-income elders, working families and other households with assistance paying a portion of winter heating bills; and $1 million to help public schools pay for costs incurred by cities and towns to implement the ban on cell phones use by students during school hours. “By including innovative policy solutions with strong investments, we are going beyond just allocating funding in this budget,” said Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland). “We are lowering taxes to spur housing, building our health care workforce and protecting our immigrant neighbors, on top of making generational investments in statewide transit and education.” “Today, the Senate passed a consolidated Fair Share supplemental budget that makes significant strides in educational initiatives and transportation infrastructure, while maintaining our focus on municipal relief and regional equity,” said Sen. Mike Rodrigues (D-Westport), Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “The Senate continues to support special education, literacy growth and also establishes a primary care higher education scholarship pilot program at UMass Medical that will help fill the shortage of primary care physicians in the commonwealth. We also go big on transportation, investing Fair Share dollars to support the ongoing renovation and infrastructure improvements at the MBTA. This spending plan also addresses the harsh winter and historic blizzard of 2026, dedicating $100 million for municipal relief to beleaguered municipalities all across Massachusetts.” “The Senate found time to pass yet another massive supplemental budget that did not include any reforms to our broken welfare system, any tax relief for our small businesses and taxpayers and no relief for ratepayers,” said Paul Craney, executive director of the Mass Fiscal Alliance. “The Massachusetts Legislature thinks it’s their job to spend every penny they can extract from the taxpayers for their pet projects.” None of the four Republican senators who voted against the budget responded to repeated attempts by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking them to comment on the bill’s passage and to explain why they voted against it. Those four senators are Sens. Kelly Dooner (R-Taunton), Peter Durant (R-Spencer), Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) and Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester). (A “Yes” vote is for the budget. A “No” vote is against it.) Sen. Sal DiDomenico Yes ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL DON’T MISS THIS EVENT - THE AI REVOLUTION IN MASSACHUSETTS: DISRUPTION, RISK, OPPORTUNITY - As Massachusetts looks to both lead and regulate the AI revolution, join leading legislators and thought leaders for a timely forum on AI’s challenges and opportunities, hosted by the State House News Service and MASSterList. The timely policy forum is on Thursday, May 7, from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the MCLE Conference Center (Downtown Crossing), 10 Winter Place, Boston. Register at: https://events.humanitix.com/ massai ALCOHOL DONATIONS FOR CHARITIES (H 442) – The House approved and sent to the Senate legislation that would allow local licensing authorities to issue temporary licenses to charities in order for the charities to accept donations of wine, beer and alcohol for their charitable events. These licenses were previously allowed under 1997 legislation, but the authorization has since expired. “Today, more than ever, nonprofits are in need of charitable donations to stay afloat,” said sponsor Rep. Joan Meschino (D-Hull). “This bill would allow for safe and regulated alcohol licensure for nonprofits in order to raise revenue at charity events by partnering with alcohol manufacturers, wholesalers or retailers. This bill was brought to me by Deborah Goldberg, the Treasurer and Receiver General, and has her full support.” PROTECT RIGHTS OF HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS (H 4783) – The Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on legislation that would prevent the punishment of individuals experiencing homelessness for conducting life-sustaining activities on public property when no shelter is available. The measure also prohibits discrimination in the use of public areas based solely on housing status and affirms rights such as the right to practice faith and the right against unreasonable search and seizure for individuals experiencing homelessness in public areas. BEACON | SEE PAGE 18

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