Massachusetts: Formal Session Ends

On July 31st, the gavel fell on the formal session of the state legislature in Boston. At the start of this session in 2025, over 54 gun control bills were filed. None of them advanced in the biennium, and all expired when the formal session adjourned on Friday. However, due to rule changes that were implemented this year, there are some limited areas where new business can be acted upon before the end of the informal session on January 5, 2027, including bills sent to conference committee before the session ended.

S.3064, an environmental bond bill, which was amended last month to reintroduce a package of pro-hunting reforms that had been stripped from the budget bill earlier this year, remains in conference committee and could be acted on. Most notably the pro-hunting reforms include removing the Sunday hunting ban and expanding hunting opportunities. It is expected the bill will be acted upon sometime this fall.

It is worth noting that, despite the large number of bills that failed to be acted upon prior to the end of session, the new rule changes could create opportunities to slip problematic language into eligible bills.

Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org and your inbox for further updates, as your NRA continues to defend the Second Amendment in the Bay State.