Massachusetts legislation · 194th General Court
Massachusetts H5405: REPORT of the SPECIAL JOINT COMMITTEE on INITIATIVE PETITIONS on the INITIATIVE PETITION of DANIELLE SUSAN ALLEN AND OTHERS FOR THE PASSAGE OF AN ACT TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS (see House, No. 5004).
Status: Introduced, May 7, 2026
REPORT of the SPECIAL JOINT COMMITTEE on INITIATIVE PETITIONS on the INITIATIVE PETITION of DANIELLE SUSAN ALLEN AND OTHERS FOR THE PASSAGE OF AN ACT TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS (see House, No. 5004).
What the bill says
An act TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS (see House, No. 5004) _______________________ May 4, 2026. _______________________ MAJORITY REPORT. A majority of the Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions Article 48 of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth allows voters to propose laws or constitutional amendments through initiative petitions, commonly called ballot questions. After gathering the required signatures and submitting certified signatures to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, a petition is formally presented to the Legislature for consideration. It is then ref.
From the introduced text, May 7, 2026:
AN ACT TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS (see House, No. 5004) _______________________ May 4, 2026. _______________________ MAJORITY REPORT. A majority of the Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions Article 48 of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth allows voters to propose laws or constitutional amendments through initiative petitions, commonly called ballot questions. After gathering the required signatures and submitting certified signatures to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, a petition is formally presented to the Legislature for consideration. It is then referred to a committee, in this case, the Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions. Under Article 48, the committee must report to the Legislature on each petition before the first Wednesday in May. Unlike the standard legislative process, the Legislature may only approve or reject an initiative petition as submitted, without making changes. The Committee held a hearing on Initiative Petition 25-14, House 5004, Initiative Petition for a Law to Improve Access to Public Records, on March 3, 2026. The Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions held public hearings throughout March 2026 to gather testimony and inform its review. The Committee considered input from subject matter experts, proponents and opponents of the Petition, as well as members of the public. The full hearing record and supporting documentation is available to the public at malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/5590. On May 4, …