Legislative · State · MA

Massachusetts Bill to Establish Agency of Freedmen Affairs Advances to House Ways and Means

Why this rating

Establishes a state Agency of Freedmen Affairs, an administrative body that names the lineage population directly. Rated +1: it creates institutional recognition and a home for freedmen-specific policy — a meaningful step — but carries no funding or direct material benefit in its current form, which keeps it below +2. Advancing through committee; not enacted. Formally identifying those classified as freedmen has independent value in establishing the lineage designation in state law.

Summary

H4351, a Massachusetts House bill titled 'Establishing a Massachusetts Agency of Freedmen Affairs,' was referred to the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight on July 28, 2025, with Senate concurrence on July 31, 2025. The bill's stated purpose, per the provided legislative description, is 'to establish the Massachusetts office of freedmen affairs.'

A committee hearing was held October 14, 2025. On December 18, 2025, the bill was reported favorably by committee and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means, where it remains pending as of the source material's date.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Brandy Fluker-Reid (D, HD-12-SUF). The provided material consists of legislative tracking metadata (title, description, status history, sponsor information) and does not include the full bill text, so the specific structure, funding, mandate, or eligibility criteria of the proposed agency are not established in this record.

Sources

• Establishing a Massachusetts Agency of Freedmen Affairs — bill text · primary · legiscan

Rated under the published impact rubric. Direction records what a measure would do if fully effective; force records how far it has actually travelled. Neither is inferred — both trace to the sources above. Think something here is wrong? Tell us and we will log the correction.

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