How much progress did New Bedford’s legislators make in fall 2025?

Massachusetts lawmakers are just back from a six-week recess after closing out the first year of their two-year formal session in November. 

In 2025, lawmakers passed a string of spending measures, including one to address federal health care cuts, and another to scale back Gov. Maura Healey’s $20 million request for the World Cup budget.

The Legislature also left a mountain of issues for its January return.

Ninety-four bills have become law in 2025, a slight increase from last session’s first-year total, which was 83.

The Legislature’s work this year comes amid a debate over new joint rules that govern committees. 

Several changes to the joint rules are meant to encourage transparency in how bills move through the Legislature. They require committees to provide at least 10 days’ notice before public hearings, to post committee votes and bill summaries publicly, and to report bills out in a certain time frame after they’re heard — usually 60 days unless the chair provides an extension of 30 days.

But the joint rules still give committee chairs authority to decide which bills move forward and which stall.

“The tremendous concentration of power and leadership is the biggest problem blocking progress,” said Scotia Hille, executive director of the government transparency advocacy group Act on Mass. Only a handful of legislators have decision-making power, leading to missed deadlines and other joint rule violations, she said. 

Hille is among the supporters of a 2026 ballot proposal to reform the Legislature’s system of stipends for committee leaders. Critics call the money “loyalty pay” that rewards legislators for following the wishes of the Senate president and House speaker.

Since the summer recess, bills that have crossed Healey’s desk include increases to individual sick leave banks, a supplemental spending amendment and measures that apply to only one town or municipality. 

The Beacon Hill Compliance Tracker — a tool created by transparency advocates in 2025 — determines committee and bill compliance with legislative requirements, such as public notices and deadlines. Bills acted before the new joint rules were adopted in June 2025 are exempt from certain rules, but included in the tracker based on previously active requirements agreed on during the 2019-2020 session. 

As of January, the tracker found that about 41% of the more than 9,500 bills analyzed across 38 committees this session were compliant with legislative requirements. 

So how are members of New Bedford’s legislative delegation stacking up?

New Bedford’s six legislators currently sponsor over 180 different bills to date, and Healey has signed five so far this session. One, filed jointly by Sen. Mark Montigny and freshman Rep. Mark Sylvia, increased the membership of Mattapoisett’s select board. Montigny also saw a bill establishing an individual sick leave bank approved. 

Rep. Antonio F.D. Cabral similarly established an individual sick leave bank, and filed a bill with Sen. Michael Rodrigues to designate July 2 as Machado-Joseph Disease Awareness Day. 

In August, The Light reported that of the 23 committees that New Bedford legislators serve on, 11 of those committees had reported bills out, seven didn’t have any bills assigned to them, and four had not held any hearings. 

Since the Legislature’s return from the summer recess, five more have reported bills out of committee, for a total of 16. The same seven that had no bills still have none. One of the four that had not held hearings met this fall, but an additional four did not.

Montigny-led committees still rarely consider bills

All legislators receive the same base salary of $82,048. Some, like Montigny, receive an additional stipend for committee leadership. Montigny receives an additional $75,068.96, for his chairmanship and vice-chairmanship across three committees. 

Neither committee Montigny chairs — the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs and the Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight — held hearings this fall, and neither has bills assigned to it.

A combined hearing of the two committees in July covered sea scallop regulations. Post Audit is scheduled to meet in January to discuss MassDOT’s proposals for regional service plazas. Intergovernmental Affairs is scheduled to meet in February for a hearing on federal funding disruptions and their impact on state fiscal policy.

An aide to Montigny, Audra Riding, said he launched eight investigations as chair of Post Audit and Oversight, including inquiries into South Coast Rail services, background checks at emergency assistance facilities, and the Department of Public Utilities amid skyrocketing utility rates. The DPU announced a review of charges after the investigation began, said Riding.

Montigny’s most active committee, which he also receives a stipend for as a vice-chair, is the Joint Committee on Public Service. It has 261 bills in committee to date, and has reported 280 out of committee this session. It has held eight hearings since the Legislature’s fall return, and held 15 total this year. 

The Beacon Hill Compliance Tracker found that the Joint Committee on Public Service is about 14% compliant, with recurring notice and reporting violations. 

“Despite changing rules, it seems like they [the Legislature] have not managed the rollout very well,” said Hille. “We’re seeing the effects of bottlenecking.”

Montigny did not respond to The Light’s repeated scheduling attempts to discuss his fall committee work. Since February 2025, The Light has attempted to schedule meetings with Montigny for 17 different Statehouse news stories. Montigny agreed to an interview with The Light only once.

In addition to his leadership roles, Montigny serves on the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, which has also seen comparatively more activity this year. It has 67 bills awaiting review in 2026, and has reported 62 out of committee this session — a marked increase since August, when it had reported none 

The Senate Committee on the Census, which Montigny is also a member of, has held three hearings this fall but has no bills in committee, nor has it reported any out.

Updates on Cabral and Hendricks’ committee leadership

Cabral and Christopher Hendricks are the other members of the New Bedford delegation who receive leadership stipends. Cabral earns additional pay for his chairmanship of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, and Hendricks for his vice chairmanship of the House Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling.

Cabral’s leadership earns him an additional $44,861.93.

The Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, Cabral’s only committee assignment, has been one of the New Bedford delegation’s most active this fall. It has held seven hearings since the summer recess, and has reported 278 bills out of committee this session.

The committee has prioritized issues like transparency — a topic which Cabral has supported. The committee held a hearing in October to review a bill sponsored by State Auditor Diana DiZoglio which would improve government accountability. Other bills have involved topics like public record accessibility and employment of people with disabilities. 

The committee has been active, but the Beacon Hill Compliance Tracker found the committee to be around 15% compliant with the new joint rules. The committee’s two most recent hearings, held informally during the winter recess, both heard written testimony on late-file bills.

Cabral said the new joint rules, agreed upon for the first time since 2019, have been working for his committee because he and his co-chair, Sen. Nick Collins, are willing to work with them.

“In my case, I have a good relationship with my co-chair,” Cabral said. “There’s always glitches here and there with any rules that we establish, but overall, at least on my committee, I don’t have any major disappointments or disagreements.”

Hendricks earns an additional $22,430.96 on top of the base legislative salary.

The House Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling is meant to be a guide for the rest of the House, as it determines top priority bills and agendas, Hendricks said. It has still not held any hearings and has none planned for 2026, which Hendricks said is a normal characteristic of the advisory committee.

The committee has reported 398 bills out. It holds a 100% compliance rating by the compliance tracker — a reflection of its procedural role rather than hearing requirements. 

“When someone’s bill gets a favorable report out of committee, it usually comes to us at which point we have a discussion with … the filer of the bill or the proponent of any legislation,” Hendricks said. The chair makes recommendations about where the bill should go, or if it needs revisions and further readings. 

This session, a hospitality worker bill and a measure to address human trafficking passed through Steering and Policy, which Hendricks said he is pleased about. He anticipates his leadership activity with the committee to continue picking up through the rest of this session.

Hendricks is also a member of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business, and the Joint Committee on Transportation. Transportation has been his busiest committee, with 52 bills in committee, 333 reported out, and four hearings completed this fall.

Much of the committee’s focus this session has been on Chapter 90 funding, which provides essential funding to municipalities for local transit improvements, like updates to roads and bridges. Hendricks says he’s eager to learn more and bring New Bedford into the conversation as a new MBTA community.

The Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies has reported two bills favorably or favorable with changes, and the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses has reported several. They have 22 and 2 bills in committee respectively.

Sylvia, Markey and Ouellette continue work as committee members

Freshman Reps. Mark Sylvia and Steven Ouellette do not hold leadership positions and do not receive legislative stipends. Neither does Rep. Christoper Markey, first elected in 2010.

Sylvia said the new joint rules have been working well in his committees, especially the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, because it has adjusted the reporting period for bills and allowed up to 90 days to to act.

Its most recent activity involved bills related to pesticides and rodenticides, which was taken up at a hearing in late October. 

Of the 196 bills reported out of committee this year, his top priority has been an environmental bond bill aimed at improving climate resilience and strengthening the commonwealth’s recreational assets.

“That is a very important bill that will provide important funding for a number of different local priorities on the South Coast,” Sylvia said.

Sylvia also serves on the House Committee on Climate Action and Sustainability and the House Committee on Federal Funding, Policy and Accountability. Neither have bills assigned or reported out of committee. 

Like Hendricks’s Steering and Policy, Sylvia says it is uncharacteristic for these committees to hold hearings, as they usually meet during site visits. He plans to organize one on the South Coast involving offshore wind soon.

Federal Funding, Policy and Accountability has held two informational and fact-finding hearings this session, including one on tourism and cultural development and another on the impacts of federal funding cuts, Sylvia said. The House and Senate Ways and Means Committees have also been tracking these issues, he said, and that is where most bills concerning federal funding land.

Ouellette serves on five committees, with one of his most active being the Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity. 

Artificial intelligence is a top priority for Ouellette, especially with the Trump administration’s recent order that attempts to limit states’ ability to regulate AI use, he said. Ensuring the safety of people across the commonwealth is crucial, Ouellette said.

This session, the Joint Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries, another that Ouellette is a member of, heard a range of bills, including one proposed by Hendricks to ban octopus farms, and another to address contaminants in agricultural soils and pollution in cranberry bogs.

The committee has 12 bills assigned to it, and 73 currently reported out of committee. It has completed two hearings since the summer recess.

Ouellette’s other three committees — House Intergovernmental Affairs, House Post Audit and Oversight, and Joint Emergency Preparedness and Management — have all been relatively quiet this session. He said committee chairs largely control the pace of work and that much of his committee work has shifted to budget pressures and federal benefit programs.

Markey sits across four committees as well, with activity spread relatively proportionally across all of them. The Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery has been the least active, holding five hearings this fall and reporting 57 out of committee this session.

“Clearly the focus has been on safe injection sites, also accessibility to mental health facilities,” Markey said. “There really is a desert, particularly in southeastern Massachusetts, on psychiatric care, and then making it a little bit easier for people to have access to it, to avoid the courts.”

The Joint Committee on Election Laws has held three hearings this fall, focused on campaign financing and local or late file bills. The Joint Committee on Housing has held three, and Health Care Financing has held none.

To contact New Bedford’s legislators, visit the state Legislature’s website. For more information about which representatives serve your district, visit this site.

Here are the webpages for New Bedford’s legislators: Sen. Mark Montigny and Reps. Steven Ouellette, Christopher Markey, Mark Sylvia, Christopher Hendricks, and Antonio F.D. Cabral. 

Isabelle Oss is a graduate student in journalism at Boston University, covering state government for The Light as part of the Boston University Statehouse Program.