H 5133, Preserving The Competitiveness of Group Auto and Homeowners Insurance Plans Among The 27 Bills
Gov. Maura Healey took the first big chunk out of the massive pile of legislation on her desk, signing into law more than two dozen bills sent her way in the final stretch of the 2023-2024 session.
Healey’s office announced Thursday that she signed 27 bills, most of which are local with impacts for a single city or town. All but one bill was signed on Wednesday, while one got Healey’s signature Tuesday.
The opening burst of action featured a few new laws with broader impact, including a measure dealing with group auto and homeowners insurance (H 5133) and one imposing new regulations on money transmission apps like Venmo (H 4840).
Healey had 122 bills on her desk at the start of the day Tuesday after a flurry of lawmaking to close out the two-year term. She is still reviewing a pair of major health care bills aiming to boost hospital oversight (H 5159) and rein in prescription drug prices (S 3012).
The bills she signed Wednesday are:
- S 421 providing for the annual election of members of the Spencer-East Brookfield regional school committee;
- S 2444 providing for recall elections in the town of Granby;
- S 2978 authorizing the select board of the town of Provincetown to establish a schedule of fines for parking violations;
- S 2983 authorizing the town of Raynham to appoint retired police officers as special police officers;
- H 3989 authorizing the town of Rowe to continue the employment of Dennis Annear as an on-call firefighter;
- H 4026 further regulating vacancies in the office of town manager in the town of Arlington;
- H 4234 further amending the fair housing ordinance in the city of Cambridge;
- H 4108 designating a certain bridge as the Lieutenant David S. Cutler Memorial Bridge;
- H 4708 further regulating town meeting vacancies in the town of Burlington;
- H 4840 relative to the regulation of money transmission by the division of banks;
- S 2465 further regulating the residential tax exemption in the town of Provincetown;
- S 2471 authorizing the city of Everett to grant 2 additional licenses for the sale of all alcoholic beverages not to be drunk on the premises and 1 additional license for the sale of wine and malt beverages not to be drunk on the premises;
- H 4091 amending the charter of the town of Provincetown;
- H 4682 amending the charter of the town of Grafton relative to appointments by the select board and the town administrator and the reference to the town’s website;
- H 4683 amending the charter of the town of Grafton relative to the school committee and the Grafton housing authority;
- H 4684 amending the charter of the town of Grafton relative to the town clerk;
- H 4685 amending the charter of the town of Grafton relative to transitional provisions;
- H 4859 authorizing Christina Rodriguez to take the civil service examination for the position of firefighter in the city of Haverhill notwithstanding the maximum age requirement;
- H 4860 authorizing Gustavo Romero to take the civil service examination for the position of police officer in the city of Haverhill notwithstanding the maximum age requirement;
- H 4950 authorizing Brian Dacey to take the civil service examination for the position of police officer in the city of Haverhill notwithstanding the maximum age requirement;
- H 4951 authorizing Dante Perella to take the civil service examination for the position of police officer in the city of Haverhill notwithstanding the maximum age requirement;
- H 4952 authorizing Jason Restituyo to take the civil service examination for the position of police officer in the city of Haverhill notwithstanding the maximum age requirement;
- H 4953 authorizing Michael E. Jarvis, Jr. to take the civil service examination for the position of firefighter in the city of Haverhill notwithstanding the maximum age requirement;
- H 5061 authorizing Dave Michienzi to take the civil service examination for the position of firefighter in the city of Haverhill notwithstanding the maximum age requirement;
- H 5116 establishing a sick leave bank for Daniel McKim, an employee of Worcester County Sheriff’s Office;
- H 5133 preserving the competitiveness of group auto and homeowners insurance plans; and
- H 5063 designating the state public health laboratory campus as the Doctor Alfred Demaria, Jr. campus.
