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S 1963

Authorizes retail clinics to provide certain services

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Gustavo Rivera

Excludes the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award from Massachusetts taxable income, cutting state taxes for recipients; takes effect 180 days after enactment.

COMMITTED TO RULES
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · S 1963

Summary — S.1963 (2025): Excluding the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award from Massachusetts taxable income

Bill number: S.1963
Short title: An Act excluding the Segal AmeriCorps Educational Award from taxable income
Introduced: June 5, 2025
Current status (from provided record): Committed to Rules
Effective date if enacted: 180 days after passage

Purpose / Intent

The bill would amend Massachusetts personal income tax law to exclude the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award from state taxable income. The intent is to prevent recipients of the federal AmeriCorps Segal Education Award from owing Massachusetts income tax on that award.

Key provisions

  • Amends Section 3 of Chapter 62 of the Massachusetts General Laws (as in the 2020 Official Edition).
  • Adds a new subparagraph (20) to paragraph (a) of Subsection B that explicitly excludes the AmeriCorps Segal Education Award (as defined in subtitle D of title I of the National and Community Service Act of 1990) from state taxable income.
  • The text describes the Segal Education Award as a benefit available to individuals who complete a term of service with AmeriCorps and notes eligible uses: payment of education costs at qualifying institutions (including technical schools), for educational training, or repayment of qualified student loans as determined by the federal government.
  • The law would take effect 180 days after enactment.

Who would be affected

  • Primary beneficiaries: Massachusetts residents (or Massachusetts tax filers) who receive the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award — they would not include the award in their Massachusetts taxable income and therefore would owe less state income tax (or none on that award).
  • Secondary: higher-education institutions or loan servicers would see no direct change, but recipients might have increased net benefit from the award.
  • State government: exclusion would reduce taxable income base for affected filers, producing some reduction in state income tax revenue. The bill contains no appropriation or revenue estimate.

Procedural / timeline notes (from provided record)

  • Introduced in the Senate on 2025-06-05 and read twice; referred to committee (records show referral to Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and to Revenue at different times — see note below).
  • Committee and floor actions listed in the record include: referrals to Revenue and Health committees, advancement to third reading, multiple calendar reports, a House concurrence entry, and a status entry "COMMITTED TO RULES" on 2025-06-13.
  • Multiple hearings were scheduled for 11/18/2025 (records show reschedules and virtual hearing updates).
  • Effective date provision: statute would become operative 180 days after enactment.

Note: the legislative action history provided contains duplicate and inconsistent entries (repeated dates, multiple committee referrals). For the authoritative procedural status, consult the official Massachusetts legislative website or the Senate Clerk.

Sponsors and related bills

  • Petitioners listed on the filed bill: Representative William J. Driscoll, Jr. and Representative Dylan A. Fernandes (petitioners named in the bill text).
  • The provided metadata lists other related and prior-session bills (e.g., A.7534 as a companion bill, earlier session bills A.7745, S.9276, etc.). Confirm companion/prior-session relationships on the official docket.

Fiscal and practical impact (brief)

  • Fiscal: Likely a modest reduction in state income tax revenue proportional to the number of Massachusetts recipients claiming the exclusion and award amounts; no fiscal estimate included in the bill text.
  • Administrative: Minimal implementation required — tax return instructions and IT updates to exclude the award from taxable income reporting.

If you want, I can:
- Check the official Massachusetts Legislature docket to reconcile committee referrals and sponsors, or
- Draft a short fiscal note template estimating potential revenue impact given assumptions about number of awardees and typical award amounts.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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