Digital Digest – Massachusetts

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Welcome to Legal Key’s Digital Digest. Our team has created this open-access tool to help workforce colleagues navigate ongoing law and policy changes. It is intended to provide guidance and problem-solving strategies to address a range of health-harming legal needs.  

This information is for educational purposes only; nothing in it should be construed as legal advice.

Click below to navigate to a topic of interest!

Community & Interpersonal Safety

Headline: Massachusetts increased protections for survivors of interpersonal violence by increasing statute of limitations, including “coercive control” in the definition of abuse, and protecting against “revenge porn.”

Last-reviewed: Dec. 18, 2025

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Court Navigation

Headline: New child support guidelines have been released and are effective as of December 1, 2025.

Last-reviewed: Dec. 18, 2025

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Education & Childcare

Headline: A new statewide high school graduation framework has been released.

Last-reviewed: Dec. 18, 2025

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Employment

Headline: Unemployment benefits are now available for 30 weeks (increased from 26).

Last-reviewed: Dec. 18, 2025

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Food & Income Security

Headline: New work requirements are in place for some SNAP clients. People should be on the lookout for notices from SNAP, and all benefits programs, and should follow instructions and respond as required.

Last-reviewed: Dec. 18, 2025

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Government Identification

Headline: Starting May 7, 2025, U.S. travelers require a REAL ID to board domestic flights and enter certain federal facilities.   

Last-reviewed: Oct. 15, 2025

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Health Access and Public Health

Headline: Open enrollment for the Mass Connector is November 1, 2025, and run through January 23, 2026.

Last-reviewed: Dec. 18, 2025

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Housing Stability

Headline: A new law prohibits landlords of residential rental properties from requiring that tenants pay the landlords’ broker fees.

Last-reviewed: Dec. 18, 2025

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Immigration

Headline: MIRA has launched an Immigration Advocate Legal Helpline at (508) 293-1871 to provide community-based organizations with answers to the most commonly asked immigration legal questions.

Lawyers for Civil Rights has an immigration hotline for immigrants facing immediate threats related to immigration enforcement, like immigration raids or mass deportations at 617-988-0606.

Last-reviewed: Dec. 18, 2025

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Transportation Needs

Headline: Merrimack Valley Transit voted in February to be permanently fare-free. Metro West Regional Transit and other Massachusetts bus systems are fare-free through June 2026. MBTA bus routes 23, 28 and 29 are fare-free through February 2026.

Last-reviewed: Dec. 18, 2025

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Utility Needs

Headline: Utility shut-off protections began on October 27 and will run through April 1, 2026. Low-income households that have filed for shut-off protection cannot be terminated from their utilities during the winter moratorium.

Last-reviewed: Dec. 18, 2025

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