Massachusetts Senate Opens 2026 Session With Housekeeping Votes, Tribute to Baker

BOSTON — January 7, 2026 — The Massachusetts Senate opened its 2026 legislative session January 7 with a series of organizational votes before adjourning in honor of Charles Dwayne Baker III, father of former Governor Charles D. Baker IV, who died November 1, 2025, at age 97. Senate President Karen E. Spilka presided over roughly 13 minutes of formal business, during which Assistant Majority Leader Joan B. Lovely led a liaison committee to inform Governor Maura Healey's office that the chamber was ready to work, and a second committee comprising Senator Paul R. Feeney, Senator Cindy F. Friedman, and Assistant Minority Leader Kelly A. Dooner carried the same message to the House. The chamber also referred a petition by Senator Rebecca L. Rausch — seeking a sick leave bank for Trial Court lawyer Shannon Manning — to the Judiciary Committee, suspending both Senate Rule 36 and Joint Rule 12 to do so. Senator Patrick M. O'Connor read a tribute to Baker, a Navy veteran and Harvard Business School graduate who held senior roles at two federal cabinet departments and later taught at Northeastern University, calling him a man who "made those around him feel comfortable and appreciated." Senate Majority Whip Michael F. Rush moved adjournment, which the chamber approved unanimously.