Updated on March 12, 2026 to reflect changes in the House
On March 9, 2026, the Senate Health Care Financing Committee Voted favorably (“ought to pass”) on S.1383, An act establishing peer respites throughout the commonwealth. This marks the bill’s second move forward, having originally started in the Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery Committee. It is anticipated to land next in the Senate Ways and Means committee which is typically a bill’s last stop before getting passed, though there are no guarantees in any direction.
Then, just a few days later, the House Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use & Recovery voted the House version of the peer respite bill (H.2231) out of committee. However, as a part of moving it forward, they also made several edits which you can view here. The edits primarily centered around how to determine where new peer respites would be located and similar. As every bill that is edited is typically given a new number. the House version is now H.5231.
Peer respites are crisis alternatives for people experiencing emotional distress, extreme states, problems with substances and other challenges that are or could disrupt their lives. They provide a homelike, non-clinical, 24/7 environment with private bedrooms, shared common spaces and a variety of resources. Most respites offer a stay from 5 nights to two weeks. In order to qualify as a peer respite, everyone working there must identify as having ‘been there’ themselves in some capacity (experiencing forced treatment, incarceration, being unhoused, trauma, suicidal thoughts, etc.), including leadership. The most recent peer respite to open, Anemoni (Holyoke, MA) is specific to the trans and queer community and also offers space to people recovering from gender affirming surgery.
If successful, the bill would move Massachusetts closer to having at least one peer respite per county, as well as opening additional affinity peer respites (LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC).
This is the Peer Respite bill’s second season on the legislative table in Massachusetts. The first round, it made it out of its first committee, but so late in the season that there was no time for it to keep moving along from there. Many bills take several rounds of being introduced to the legislature before they are successful, particularly if there are budget implications.
What happens if the bill makes it all the way through one side and not the other or if the versions continue to be different?: To the best of our understanding, both the House and Senate will ultimately need to agree if the bill is going to make it to Governor Healy’s desk. If, for any reason (for example), the House decides not to move the bill forward but the Senate committees continue to vote “ought to pass”. then the House will be asked to reconsider. At that point, they will be able to ‘concur with the Senate’ version if they so choose, or they could move to a Conference Committee where members from both the House and Senate see if they can come to an agreement on a version of the bill. Ultimately, if the House refused to move it forward for any reason, the bill would die in spite of support from the Senate. The versions will also need to be reconciled, with one final version moved forward for review by the Governor, as well.
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