THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2026 Page 15 Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland). “Social platforms can help children and teens learn, create and stay connected. But it is our responsibility as lawmakers to shield young people from harmful features that are designed to hook them rather than help them. Today, the Senate put the wellbeing of our kids over the interests of social media companies.” “This legislation sends a clear message that children’s wellbeing must come before social media companies’ bottom line,” said Senate Majority Leader Cindy Creem (D-Newton), lead sponsor of the legislation. “Features like autoplay, infinite scroll and algorithm-driven feeds are intentionally designed to keep young people online for as long as possible, often at the expense of their mental health. This bill takes thoughtful steps to create a safer online experience for children while protecting privacy and free speech.” “The bill passed today by the Senate aims to restore for younger users the original purpose of social media—when platforms were truly a place to connect with friends, not an endless rabbit hole of doomscrolling, self-doubt and misinformation,” said Sen. Julian Cyr (D-Provincetown). “We know that social media apps today are engineered to be incredibly addictive, relying on sophisticated behavioral science and data collection to trap users in an infi nite cycle of content curated by corporations. We also know that young people are especially vulnerable to having their mental health negatively impacted by these unending algorithmic feeds. Our bill walks a careful line of shielding minors from harmful features, while preserving their ability to fi nd connections and support online.” Only Sens. Peter Durant (RSpencer) and Kelley Dooner (RTaunton) voted against the bill. Dooner did not speak during debate on the Senate fl oor and also did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking her why she opposed the bill. Durant said he wanted to see more parental rights included in the proposal. “Show me a bill that puts the device-level age signal in parents’ hands, set it once as set up by a mom or dad, instead of handing it to the attorney general,” Durant said. “Show me a bill whose defaults a parent can adjust in either direction because they know their 15-year-old better than anyone.” “It’s not to say it’s a horrible bill, it’s not to say that there aren’t many good portions of this bill, but for me the bill in front of us has to answer a question: Who raises the children of Massachusetts? And I’m afraid, and I’m worried that overall, the answer is, and is increasingly becoming more, that we do. The state. Parents, they can watch,” Durant added. (A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.) Sen. Lydia Edwards Yes ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL GOV. HEALEY SIGNS $63.4 BILLION FISCAL 2027 STATE BUDGET — Gov. Maura Healey signed into law the $63.4 billion fi scal 2027 state budget. She did not veto any funding or policies in the bill. “This budget is about lowering people’s costs, driving economic growth and supporting our kids, all without raising any taxes or fees,” said Gov. Healey. “We’re helping families afford childcare, health care and higher education, increasing support for our cities, towns and schools that we know are facing financial challenges, speeding up housing production to lower costs and making health insurance more affordable. We’re also taking important steps to protect survivors of sexual assault and make sure anyone who commits these heinous crimes is held accountable.” “Our fi scal year 2027 budget tackles some of the biggest challenges facing Massachusetts families by making smart investments that lower costs and strengthen our communities,” said Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll. “From lowering the cost of childcare and free school meals to public transportation, housing and mental health services, this budget delivers meaningful support for residents while remaining fi scally responsible and protecting taxpayer dollars.” “Gov. Healey had an opportunity to provide taxpayers with some relief by vetoing unnecessary spending but instead signed a $63.4 billion budget without striking a single line item,” said Paul Craney, executive director of the Mass Fiscal Alliance. “Does the governor really believe there isn’t a single dollar of waste, excess or lowerpriority spending in a budget of this size? At a time when families are struggling with high housing, energy and tax costs, refusing to exercise the veto pen sends the message that Beacon Hill’s spending habits matter more than taxpayers’ ability to aff ord them.” USE OF PSYCHEDELICS IN MENTAL HEALTH CARE (H 5562) — Tucked into the House Economic Development bill approved by the House is a proposed new law that would establish a pilot program under the Department of Public Health, to explore the use of psychedelics in mental health care. The proposal authorizes a maximum of three specialized mental health clinics, excluding any tied to the cannabis industry, psychedelic development or pharmaceutical companies, to use psychedelics under strict supervision. Participating clinics are tasked with reporting patient outcomes to contribute to the development of refi ned treatment protocols and regulatory frameworks for psychedelic use in mental health care. In 2024, voters rejected Question #4 (rejected 42.9 percent to 57.1 percent) asking voters if they approved of a proposed law that would allow persons aged 21 and older to grow, possess and use certain natural psychedelic substances for the treatment of PTSD, anxiety and depression. The substances could be purchased at an approved location for use under the supervision of a licensed facilitator. “This is a triumph for a new kind of politics in the psychedelics movement, built on integrity, compromise and mutual, earned trust among grassroots advocates, lawmakers, scientifi c researchers, national organizations and philanthropists,” said Graham Moore, Educational Outreach Director of Mass Healing, an organization leading psychedelic reform in the Bay State. “Mass Healing was born from the ashes of the failed 2024 psychedelic ballot question and fueled by my passion as a mother on a mission to keep fi ghting for legal access to psychedelic healing for my own family and others across Massachusetts,” said Jamie Morey, co-founder and Executive Director of Mass Healing. “The House’s passage of this bill is a victory for everyone aff ected by PTSD, treatment-resistant depression, addiction and other serious mental and physical health conditions who urgently need new treatment options.” “This is a triumph for a new kind of politics in the psychedelics movement, built on integrity, compromise, and mutual, earned trust among grassroots advocates, lawmakers, scientifi c researchers, national organizations and philanthropists,” said Graham Moore, Educational Outreach Director of Mass Healing. “At the beginning of this legislative session, the psychedelic movement was operating with a trust defi cit in Massachusetts because of catastrophic mismanagement. This victory was possible only through responsible leadership: unafraid to confront bad actors, admit mistakes and operate dynamically.” The Senate will eventually draft and approve its own version of the Economic Development bill which may or may not include the proposed psychedelic law approved by the House. REPEAL RECREATIONAL USE OF MARIJUANA — The proposed possible November ballot question that would repeal adult-use of recreational marijuana is facing another challenge to the legitimacy of its nomination signatures. Last week, Kevin Gilnack fi led an objection with Secretary of State Bill Galvin’s offi ce disputing the validity of some of the signatures. Gilnack’s charges include that numerous signatures are not signed substantially as the same name under which the signer is registered to vote; some signatures are those of persons who are not registered voters within the city or town stated; some signatures are not genuine; numerous signatures were obtained through fraudulent means; and some signatures are those of voters who have subsequently requested that their names be removed from the petition. He also notes that some of the signatures on the nomination papers should not be allowed because the papers contained extraneous marks; are not exact copies of the petition form as provided by the Secretary of State because they differ from the original petitions in size, color, text or format, or otherwise fail to conform to the requirements under state law. Wendy Wakeman, chair of the committee backing the ballot proposal, called the objections “one last desperate attempt” to keep the question off the ballot. The State Ballot Law Commission plans to hold hearings on Gilnack’s objections beginning on July 15. HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been fi led. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of July 6-10, the House met for a total of ten hours and 52 minutes and the Senate met for a total of three hours and 55 minutes. Mon. July 6 House 11:00 a.m. to 11:05 a.m. Senate 11:31 a.m. to 11:35 a.m. Tues. July 7 No House session. No Senate session Wed. July 8 House 11:00 a.m. to 9:41 p.m. No Senate session. Thurs. July 9 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:07 a.m. Senate 11:05 a.m. to 2:56 p.m. Fri. July 10 No House session. No Senate session. Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com Bob founded Beacon Hill Roll Call in 1975 and was inducted into the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) Hall of Fame in 2019. Copyright © 2026 Beacon Hill Roll Call. All Rights Reserved.
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