Massachusetts Senate Passes Six Local Bills in Brief Monday Session

BOSTON — February 9, 2026 — The Massachusetts Senate passed six local bills by unanimous voice vote Monday and adjourned in memory of longtime Brookline civic leader Sherry S. Mattel. The brief February 9 session, presided over by Senate President Karen E. Spilka, cleared measures directing the Boston Police Department to waive age limits for two individual officers, establishing a town council stipend and town manager succession rules in Bridgewater, and creating the City of Cambridge Employment and Job Training Trust. Three additional bills were engrossed, including House Bill 3026 authorizing Williamstown to expand senior property tax exemption eligibility and House Bill 4235 continuing the employment of Rochester Fire Chief Scott Weigel. Senator William J. Driscoll, Jr. opened the session by presenting Senate citations to the Oliver Ames Boys Cross Country and Girls Volleyball teams for their MIAA state championship wins. Majority Leader Cynthia Stone Creem requested adjournment in memory of Mattel, who died December 19, 2025, at 93, after 35 years as a Brookline Town Meeting member and decades of leadership in the League of Women Voters.