Massachusetts Senate passes nine land-taking bills 39-0 in single session

Sessions-Senate · Meeting of July 31, 2026

BOSTON -- Massachusetts Senate clears nine land-taking bills unanimously in a single Thursday session. The full chamber voted 39-0 on eight of the bills and 38-1 on a ninth, authorizing the Buzzards Bay Water District to convey non-exclusive easements (Senate 3188 amended), each vote constitutionally required as a roll call. The bills affect communities including Lawrence, Nantucket, Hingham, Milton, Plymouth, Bourne, and Andover, covering changes ranging from a Lawrence park use conversion (H. 5531) to a Pilgrim Memorial State Park lease with the town of Plymouth (S. 3235) and a Massachusetts Department of Transportation land acquisition in Andover (S. 3230).

Three bills also required emergency preamble votes, each adopted with no opposition. The Senate additionally passed voice-vote health measures including an act prioritizing patient access to care (H. 5595), an act to improve Massachusetts home care (H. 5627), and an act enhancing child welfare protections (H. 5629), all sent to the Governor; it adjourned in honor of Jacqueline B. Lamb, sister of Senator Joan B.

Lovely.

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Source: the Sessions-Senate meeting of July 31, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.