The 194th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts – the 2025-2026 Legislative Session – commenced on January 1, 2025. Since the January 17, 2025 deadline to file bills for this Session, there are now more than 6,900 bills filed in the House and the Senate to date. The Association is currently monitoring 318 active dockets – a number that is expected to grow as more legislative language becomes available. As part of our Legislative Program this Session, the Association had 13 bills introduced on behalf of the industry, which you can find a brief summary on and sponsors for each bill below.
MBA’s real-time bill tracker will remain the best way to monitor all bills that remain active for the remainder of the 2025-2026 legislative session.
Refiled Legislation
Electronic Property Recordings
Bill HD.2010 – An Act relative to uniform real property electronic recordings
Summary: This piece of legislation aims at implementing the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act (URPERA) to facilitate electronic lending in the Commonwealth. The Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act (URPERA) allows local recording offices to accept deeds and other property records in electronic form. The act is technology-neutral and allows for Massachusetts to determine recording standards based on current best practices.
Bank Name Protection
Bill HD.1995 – An Act amending the banking laws and related statutes
Sponsor: Rep. Daniel Cahill (D‐Lynn)
Summary: Revises the Commonwealth’s “Use of Bank Name” statute to reflect changes in technology and customer communications. Proposed language aims to modernize the current prohibitions on unlaw use of bank names to include communications and solicitations in electronic mail, text messages, websites and more.
“Mini” Modernization Bill
Bill HD.2451 – An Act amending the banking laws and related statutes
Summary: This legislation addresses several issues in its 16 sections. Among the bill’s provisions are:
Bank Robberies and Check Fraud
Bill SD.735/Bill HD.412 – An Act enhancing the safety of bank customers & employees
Sponsors: Sen. Michael Rush (D‐West Roxbury) and Rep. Tackey Chan (D‐Quincy)
Summary: Establishes new definitions of and increases certain penalties for crimes against banks, including bank robberies, passing fraudulent checks and debit card transactions. This bill expands the definition of bank robbery under Chapter 265 to include note passers. The bill also facilitates the consolidation of check fraud that occurs in multiple court jurisdictions to a single jurisdiction.
Credit Union Field of Membership & Mission
Bill HD.850 – An Act enhancing the mission of credit unions and promoting fair competition among financial institutions
Sponsor: Rep. Frank Moran (D‐Lawrence)
Summary: Over the last several years, Massachusetts credit unions have expanded their powers through changes to state law and federal regulation. In particular, the National Credit Union Administration’s (NCUA) expansive rulemakings regarding membership, business lending and the low‐income designation have encouraged many credit unions to move away from their core mission as member‐driven institutions serving individuals of modest means.
The proposed legislation contains four (4) sections and includes language from H 1065 from the 2019‐ 2020 legislative session that establishes new requirements for credit union membership by‐law amendments. Specifically, the membership vote is increased from a majority to three‐quarters and at least five percent of the credit union’s total membership must participate in the vote. In addition, in most cases membership by‐law amendments must be considered at a credit union’s annual meeting.
To facilitate greater member participation in these votes, the bill also mandates that all state‐chartered cred- it unions with more than 25,000 members provide the option for members to vote by electronic means at any special or annual meeting. The bill also refocuses state‐chartered credit unions on their traditional mission by enhancing the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) statute for credit unions and explicitly tying CRA performance to expanded interstate branching powers.
Bank Modernization Technical Corrections
Bill HD.481 – An Act making changes to certain references in the banking laws of the Commonwealth Sponsor: Rep. John Lawn (D‐Watertown)
Summary: This legislation updates other existing provisions of the General Laws to reflect the proper cites of statutory cross references in the revised banking laws after the enactment of Chapter 482 of the Acts of 2014. Other technical updates and corrections to the General Laws are also included in the bill.
Restricting Patent Trolls
Bill HD.1048 – An Act to protect innovation and entrepreneurship in the Commonwealth
Sponsor: Rep. Dan Hunt (D‐Boston)
Summary: The proposed legislation creates a new Chapter 93L, Bad Faith Assertions of Patent Infringement that establishes a private right of action for Massachusetts businesses against patent trolls. The legislation defines a broad range of assertions of patent infringement and creates standards by which the assertion of patent infringement could be found to be in bad faith. These include demand letters that do not include necessary information; the letter requests the payment of a license fee or response within an unreasonably short period of time; or the offers to license the patent for an amount that is not based on a reasonable estimate of the value of the license, among others. The Attorney General is also given enforcement authority for the new Chapter.
Data Security Standards
Bill HD.3351 - An Act relative to the security of personal financial information
Sponsor: Rep. Michael Day (D‐Stoneham)
Summary: This bill imposes strong data security standards modeled on the Gramm‐Leach‐Bliley data security requirements that banks and other financial firms must adhere to on non‐financial entities that use or store sensitive personal financial information. The legislation also deletes the language in Massachusetts law, (Chapter 93 H) that currently prohibits a bank from informing its customers of the nature of the breach, who caused the breach, or the number of residents affected.
RUFADAA:
Bill HD.2379 – An Act for uniform fiduciary access to digital assets
Sponsor: Rep. Jay Livingstone (D‐Back Bay)
Summary: The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) governs access to a person’s online accounts when the account owner dies or can no longer manage the account. Under the legislation, the powers of a fiduciary, such as the executors of a decedent’s estate, trustees, conservators, and agents under a power of attorney, are extended to include management of digital assets. Specifically, the bill allows fiduciaries to manage digital property like computer files, web domains, and virtual currency, but restricts a fiduciary’s access to electronic communications such as email, text messages, and social media accounts unless the original user consent- ed to fiduciary access in a will, trust, power of attorney, or other record. More than 40 other states have adopted RUFADAA.
New Legislation
Credit Triggers
Bill HD.3315 – An Act promoting consumer choice regarding the use of credit trigger leads
Sponsor: Rep. Michael Day (D-Stoneham)
Summary: This bill seeks to regulate the dissemination of consumer loan application information by consumer reporting agencies. It explicitly prohibits these agencies from selling or sharing such information with third parties unless the consumer provides explicit consent. To safeguard consumer rights, the bill requires financial lending institutions to offer clear and prominent notices about the consumer's right to opt into services that involve the sharing of their loan application information. This notice must be conspicuously displayed, using at least ten-point type size, and must clearly inform consumers of their rights under the law. Furthermore, consumers who experience damages due to negligent or intentional non-compliance with these regulations are entitled to compensation.
Financial Literacy
Bill HD.4074– An Act Relative to the Strengthening of Financial Literacy Throughout the Commonwealth
Sponsor: Rep. John Lawn (D-Watertown)
Summary: This bill overhauls financial literacy curriculum standards and requires high school students to take at least 1 standalone personal financial literacy course prior to graduation; and establishes a Financial Literacy Trust Fund to support the implementation of these provisions. The bill also establishes special legislative commission pursuant to section 2A of chapter 4 of the General Laws to serve to improve the financial literacy and education of all people in the commonwealth through development of a statewide strategy to promote financial literacy and education. The commission shall solicit input from the public, educators, businesses and the financial services industry on financial literacy trends, the prevalence of written and online financial education platforms, as well as other resources that could be utilized to benefit the people of the commonwealth.
Vulnerable Adults
Bill HD.4180 -- An Act protecting vulnerable adults from financial exploitation
Summary: This bill protects vulnerable adults from financial exploitation by making reporting and holding voluntary. Generally, this bill follows the New Hampshire “report and hold” law that was enacted in 2022. Importantly, this bill ensures the authority and oversight of “report and hold” instances remained under the Bank Commissioner’s purview.
Check Fraud Prevention
Bill SD.2511/Bill HD.3510 - An Act relative to check fraud prevention
Sponsor: Sen. Paul Feeney (D-Foxborough) and Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading)
Summary: This bill addresses the growing problem of check washing in the Commonwealth and creates a new criminal penalty for those accused of participating in a check washing scheme. The bill also tackles jurisdictional issues of check fraud and seeks to facilitate the consolidation of check fraud that occurs in multiple court jurisdictions to a single jurisdiction to show the full scope of these scams.
Check washing, which is a scam involving changing the payee names and often the dollar amounts on checks and fraudulently depositing them, is, unfortunately, on a meteoric rise causing angst and financial distress for residents throughout the state. Our members are also directly affected by these fraudulent schemes through added customer service resolution work, customer reassurance efforts, as well as additional compliance and due diligence that is required once the fraud is identified.
2023 – 2024 Legislative Session Recap
The 2023 – 2024 Legislative Session was busy, to say the least. The Association is proud of our collective accomplishments and extends our gratitude to you for your help along the way. For a quick recap of the 2023 – 2024 Legislative Session through the eyes of the industry, click here.
Get Involved!
Do you want to get involved with our Advocacy efforts? The Association’s State Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee meets at least monthly to stay informed of legislative/policy activity and provide input on bill amendments, key testimony points and more. Members with an interest in having a representative on the State Legislative Committee are welcome to reach out to MBA’s Brad Papalardo, Senior Vice President, Chief of Government Affairs and Counsel at bpapalardo@massbankers.org. Advocacy is among MBA’s top priorities!