On August 23, in Commerce Insurance v. Commissioner of Insurance, the SJC ruled that the state can implement a new procedure for assigning high-risk drivers to auto insurance companies. Opponents had argued that such a plan required legislative approval, but the court ruled that the   …Continue Reading High-Risk Auto Insurance

Due to some widely disseminated misinterpretation of accurate reporting, we have had several questions about tuition breaks offered in Massachusetts. People have been led to believe that Massachusetts is offering some kind of tuition break to illegal immigrants that is not being offered to other   …Continue Reading Tuition, Veterans, and Illegal Immigrants

The legislature overrode the Governor’s veto last month and passed a new law (St.2006, c.172) allowing the sale of hypodermic needles without a prescription beginning September 18. According to the New Bedford Standard-Times, “Massachusetts becomes the 48th state in the nation to decriminalize the possession   …Continue Reading Needle Sales

This week the legislature passed a law increasing property tax exemptions for disabled veterans, and extending breaks for spouses of veterans killed since September 11, 2001. Called the MERIT plan, St.2006, c.260 also provides relief to the communities in which the veterans live, by providing   …Continue Reading Tax Break for Vets and Their Families

There are several laws in Massachusetts insulating those rendering aid from liability, but no law requiring a bystander to provide assistance. Separate statutes free EMS personnel, physicians and nurses, and the general public trained in CPR from personal liability. Many sources suggest that Massachusetts has   …Continue Reading Good Samaritan Laws

Two recent laws provide good news to Massachusetts Medicaid recipients. St. 2006, c.139, s.58 allows the spouse of a nursing home patient to keep up to $99,540 in countable assets. Although it appears online with the text stricken out, it was passed over the governor’s   …Continue Reading MassHealth Changes

Nicole’s Law, requiring the installation of carbon monoxide detectors, was passed last year, but many questions remain about who must comply, when and how. In a July 16 Boston Globe article, Inspectors Eye Compliance of New Mass. Carbon Monoxide Alarm Law, fire inspectors from several   …Continue Reading Implementation of Nicole’s Law

Fortune Tellers in Massachusetts must be licensed by the town in which they live, and must have lived in that town for at least one year in order to receive a license, according to MGL c.140, s.185I. Legislation removing the residency requirement has been proposed   …Continue Reading Fortune Tellers

The Legislature unanimously overrode the Governor’s veto of the new minimum wage law this week. The current state minimum wage of $6.75 will increase to $7.50 on January 1, 2007, and to $8.00 on January 1, 2008.