House suspends rules, advances bills to third reading and engrossment, adopts resolutions

The Massachusetts House on Jan. 29 suspended several floor rules to advance a slate of bills to third reading and to engrossment, adopted resolutions recognizing Webster School as a 2025 distinguished school and commending a long-serving volunteer to the Plainfield Volunteer Fire and EMS Association, and welcomed students from Westborough High School Law Club.

Floor leaders read a list of bills scheduled for third reading, including measures described on the floor as: House No. 515 (exempting Hancock schools), House No. 751 (exempting Warwick schools), House No. 1271 (homeowners insurance and funding repairs), House No. 1561 (notice to landlords relating to gas or electric shutoffs), House No. 1562 (locksmiths and notice to property owners), House No. 2921 (retirement benefits), House No. 3724 (regional transit authority advisory boards), and House No. 4374 (designating an overpass in Sandwich as a memorial). Committees later released several bills for third reading and the House passed multiple measures to be engrossed by voice vote, including legislation authorizing the town of Rochester to continue the employment of Fire Chief Scott Weigel (House No. 4235), directing the Boston Police Department to waive a maximum age requirement for Louis Cabral (House No. 4349), and establishing a sick leave bank for an employee of the Suffolk County Sheriff's Office (House No. 4908). The House adopted an order that it would reconvene Thursday at 11:00 a.m. and then stood adjourned.

The floor record on Jan. 29 was procedural and largely voice-vote driven; the session referred the governor's supplemental FY2026 appropriation message to the Committee on Ways and Means for committee consideration. No roll-call tallies or fiscal totals were announced on the floor for the budget filing during the session.