Beacon Hill Roll Call
Volume 51 – Report No. 39
September 21 – 25, 2026
Copyright © 2026 Beacon Hill Roll Call. All Rights Reserved.
THE HOUSE AND SENATE: During the week of Sept. 21-25, the House met for a total of 28 minutes and the Senate met for a total of 30 minutes.
On November 3, or prior to that for voters who take advantage of early voting between October 17-30, all voters will have the opportunity to vote on nine ballot questions that will become law if approved by the majority of voters.
To get on the ballot, the groups backing each ballot question were required to collect and submit at least 74,574 signatures last fall. The Legislature had until May 5, 2026 to act on the proposed law. The Legislature did not act on any of the proposals by its May 5 deadline. At which point supporters were required to collect another 12,429 signatures by July 1, 2026 in order to get their question on the ballot. All nine groups gathered sufficient signatures to get their question on the 2026 ballot.
Secretary of State Bill Galvin has issued an 88-page book via the U.S. mail and online with details about each question. If you would rather not read the entire 88-page book, Beacon Hill Roll Call will be presenting a report on each ballot question over the next several weeks prior to the election.
BALLOT QUESTION 2 – Here is a look at Question 2:
QUESTION 2: ALLOW EMPLOYEES OF THE COMMITTEE FOR PUBLIC COUNSEL SERVICES (CPCS) TO ENGAGE IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING WITH THEIR EMPLOYER. THE CPCS PAYS FOR ATTORNEYS TO REPRESENT INDIGENT PERSONS IN CRIMINAL AND CIVIL CASES. This question asks voters if they approve of a proposed law that would specify that employees of the CPCS are permitted to engage in collective bargaining with their employer. It would also require CPCS, after executing a collective bargaining agreement, to request the appropriation necessary to fund such agreement from the governor.
OFFICIAL ARGUMENTS: Here are the official arguments, gathered by the secretary of state, from each side of the question:
IN FAVOR: “A ‘Yes’ vote will give employees of the CPCS the right to organize a union and collectively bargain with their employer if they choose to do so.
Vote ‘Yes’ to give CPCS employees the right to choose.”
AGAINST: “Allowing employees of CPCS to collectively bargain creates serious operational and fiscal risks for the judiciary. CPCS operates as an independent judicial branch agency tasked with providing constitutional defense to indigent clients. Introducing collective bargaining into this framework could disrupt existing management and supervisory frameworks, introduce ambiguity into lines of authority and create operational inefficiencies.
Changes to labor relations policies of this scale could have unintended consequences for the delivery of legal services, particularly if they limit the agency’s ability to respond flexibly to fluctuating caseloads, staffing needs and court demands.”
WHAT YOUR VOTE DOES: A “Yes” vote would allow the CPCS to form a union to collectively bargain with their employer.
A “No” vote is against allowing CPCS employees to form a union and collectively bargain with their employer.
For more information and details on each bill, roll call attendance, and other relevant information, please visit the Wakefield Daily Item at www.localheadlinenews.com.