Friday, July 31 marked the end of the formal legislative session in Massachusetts. Here’s the good news, the bad news, and what remains ahead:
The Good News –
- H.1801/S.2973, An Act to provide continuum of care for severe mental illness: This bill contains the proposed Involuntary Outpatient Commitment law (aka “Assisted Outpatient Treatment”). IOC allows courts to order people living in the community to follow prescribed treatment plans. Those who do not “comply” may be brought back before the court and can be involuntarily transported to a psychiatric facility for evaluation. The House sent H.1801 ‘to study’ in November, 2025, but the Senate version moved forward to the Senate Ways and Means and remained alive until the end of the session. However, we are happy to report that it will not be moving forward from there. That said, this is the closest this law has come to passing in many years and we will need to keep strengthening our advocacy against it to prevent further progress in the future.
The Bad News –
- H.5229/S.1389, An Act modernizing the 6 fundamental rights: This bill seeks to update and strengthen the current 6 Fundamental Rights law that is applicable to anyone receiving services in a facility that is operated, contracted or licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. This includes adding in accountability measures when rights are violated. Unfortunately, this bill got stuck in the Ways & Means Committees at the end of the session and will not be moving forward. We do anticipate it will be re-submitted in January 2027 as the new legislative season begins.
- H.5231/S.1383, An Act establishing peer respites throughout the Commonwealth: This bill seeks to increase the number of peer respites in Massachusetts, including establishing additional respites that are focused on LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities. Unfortunately, this bill got stuck in the Ways & Means Committees at the end of the session and will not be moving forward. We do anticipate it will be re-submitted in January 2027 as the new legislative season begins.
Still Moving Forward –
- H.4767/S.3171, An Act requiring health care employers to develop and implement programs to prevent workplace violence: This bill seeks to increase safety for healthcare workers through a number of measures, including improved staffing levels and training. However, some versions have also included provisions that would make assault on a healthcare worker a felony and create a list of people with psychiatric histories deemed “dangerous” that could be shared among police, Homeland Security, and other agencies. These and other points raise significant concerns about the likelihood of disproportionate harm to people with psychiatric histories and intellectual and other disabilities. The bill was reported favorably by both the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees and is now in conference committee. A conference committee works to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions before sending a single final bill to the Governor. Although big changes are unlikely at this stage, we will be continuing our advocacy to 1) Prioritize the Senate version (which has removed the felony provision and added an amendment about requiring police who are called in to a situation to attempt de-escalation before arrest); and 2) Address other concerns, including the proposed list and the lack of meaningful input from current and former patients throughout the legislative process. You can expect to hear more about this in September when the Conference Committee is likely to be meeting.
Representatives assigned to the H.4767/S.3171 conference committee include Rep. Day, Reps Day, Fluker-Reid and Kane. Senators assigned to the committee include Senators Friedman, Lovely and Dooner.
We also anticipate new legislation next session, including a proposal to require data collection and public reporting that may better support identifying rights violations.
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