Massachusetts Legislature Advances Book Review and Public Records Bills

The Massachusetts Legislature passed and sent to Gov. Maura Healey's desk a bill, championed by Sen. Julian Cyr and Rep. John Francis Moran, that establishes guidelines for how public schools and libraries evaluate the availability and appropriateness of books; it was delivered to the governor on Friday, July 31. The measure requires school districts and the Board of Library Commissioners to file annual reports on complaints and challenges seeking to remove or restrict materials, with data reported to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Supporters describe it as a protection for free expression and intellectual curiosity in schools and libraries. Separately, the Massachusetts Senate advanced legislation, S.3200, addressing public records access for the Governor's office and the Legislature, a matter distinct from the book review bill. Senate President Karen Spilka indicated senators intended to vote on the measure around July 30, and the Senate subsequently passed it, subjecting the Governor's office and Legislature to the state's public records law for the first time, with provisions covering vote tallies, salaries, ethics disclosures, and expenditures, plus protections allowing journalists to shield sources. The bill has been backed by Common Cause Massachusetts and the ACLU of Massachusetts, and public access provisions were slated to take effect at the start of the new term in January 2027. Earlier House-passed legislation, unveiled around June 2, would have applied records law to the governor's office but kept the Legislature itself exempt; the Senate version notably left out House-passed limits on the state's legislative audit. As of the reporting, the book review bill awaited Gov. Healey's signature or veto. The public records bill's final disposition, including reconciliation between House and Senate versions regarding legislative audit provisions and the scope of legislative exemption, remains unresolved in the supplied reporting. It is unclear whether the two bills are linked procedurally or being considered independently, and whether Healey has taken action on either measure.