Massachusetts State Legislature Website 101

The easiest way to learn about and follow legislation on Beacon Hill is through the Massachusetts Legislature website, which has tools that help you stay connected to your state legislators, track bills, attend hearings, advocate with committees, and more.  

Find Your Representative 

The Massachusetts Legislature is made up a 160-member House of Representatives and a 40-member Senate. Everyone in Massachusetts has one State Representative and one State Senator; each one has a page that includes their contact information, what bills they have sponsored/cosponsored, committee membership, information about their districts, and a biography. You can find your legislators via the Find My Legislator search. 

Learn about our Laws and the Bills  

At any given time, there are thousands of bills working their way through the legislative process. You can browse or search for them on the Bills & Laws section by keyword, branch, committee, or sponsor, and learn about bill history and other similar bills. You can also find a complete set of the current state laws. 

Track Bills That Matter To You 

You can stay up to date with bills that you are interested in by creating a MyLegislature account on the state’s website. Once you create an account, find your bills and click the star next to any bill you’d like to follow. The bills will show up in your personal dashboard and you will receive emails whenever those bills progress through the legislative process.  

Attend a Bill Hearing 

All bills get a public hearing with other similar or related bills before a subject-matter joint committee. You can find out when the hearings are scheduled by tracking the bill, looking up the bill up, or checking the event schedule. 

Each joint committee has its own page on the website, and has information about membership, other related bills, and hearings. While each committee operates a little bit differently, a hearing is typically announced one week ahead of time. Hearing attendance can either be virtual or in-person at the State House, and the hearing announcement will give you all the information on how to attend and/or testify. 

Become a Grassroots Advocate

Mass Audubon’s Climate and Nature Champions is a grassroots advocacy program that mobilizes individuals across Massachusetts to speak with one voice on the most pressing environmental issues of our time.  

Get Involved