An Act to close travel loophole in the state conflict of interest law, and to provide for greater transparency and accountability regarding travel gifts
Generates a plain-language summary of the bill text and history.
| Date | Branch | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 11/24/2025 | Senate | Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on Senate Ways and Means |
| 10/29/2025 | Joint | Hearing rescheduled to 11/05/2025 from 10:30 AM-01:00 PM in B-2 and Virtual — Hearing location changed |
| 10/27/2025 | Joint | Hearing scheduled for 11/05/2025 from 10:30 AM-01:00 PM in A-2 |
| 2/27/2025 | House | House concurred |
| 2/27/2025 | Senate | Referred to the committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight |
| Committee | Recommendation | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| J25 | Favorable | 1 entries |
Section 3(f) of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 268A is hereby amended by inserting immediately before the end of subsection (iv) the following: "; provided, however, that no exclusion shall be established for travel expenses paid or reimbursed by an organization that, for the year in which the travel commences, is registered with the State Secretary as a Client under the Massachusetts Lobbying Law, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 3 Sections 39 and 41."
The State Ethics Commission shall maintain, and make available to any member of the public upon request, a remotely accessible electronic data base of all travel expense disclosure forms filed by elected public officials as required by the Commission's regulations at 930 CMR 5.00. The electronic data base shall be searchable by name of the elected public official filing the disclosure.
The State Ethics Commission shall revise the travel expense disclosure form filed by elected public officials to include whether the official has, within the 12 months prior to the commencement of travel, been the subject of legislative lobbying by the organization paying his or her travel expenses with respect to legislation filed with the General Court. For the purposes of this Section 3, the terms "legislative lobbying" and "legislation" shall have the meanings given them by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 3 Section 39.
SECTION 1. Section 3(f) of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 268A is hereby amended by inserting immediately before the end of subsection (iv) the following: "; provided, however, that no exclusion shall be established for travel expenses paid or reimbursed by an organization that, for the year in which the travel commences, is registered with the State Secretary as a Client under the Massachusetts Lobbying Law, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 3 Sections 39 and 41." SECTION 2. The State Ethics Commission shall maintain, and make available to any member of the public upon request, a remotely accessible electronic data base of all travel expense disclosure forms filed by elected public officials as required by the Commission's regulations at 930 CMR 5.00. The electronic data base shall be searchable by name of the elected public official filing the disclosure. SECTION 3. The State Ethics Commission shall revise the travel expense disclosure form filed by elected public officials to include whether the official has, within the 12 months prior to the commencement of travel, been the subject of legislative lobbying by the organization paying his or her travel expenses with respect to legislation filed with the General Court. For the purposes of this Section 3, the terms "legislative lobbying" and "legislation" shall have the meanings given them by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 3 Section 39.