Background on the Mass Legislature

The MA Legislative Session lasts for two years, beginning in January of the first year and ending on July 31 of the second year. Usually.

The 2019-2020 session was extended because of the pandemic. Major legislation is stalled in Conference Committees where the Senate and House representatives are supposed to negotiate bills to complete the two year process. This is the case for climate legislation as well.

Resources

OFFICIAL LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR AND PROCESS

Legislative Game (the game requires this narrative as well as scoring sheets and a game board, but you can learn a lot from reading through the steps and surprises in the game)