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S 1070MASSACHUSETTSSession 194thState Billin committee

Massachusetts Senate bill eliminates petit treason prosecution as murder

Original title: An Act relative to petit treason

Last action · December 18, 2025: Accompanied a study order (under JR10), see S2886Sponsor: Sal DiDomenico

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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What This Bill Would Do

Senate Bill 1070 amends state law to remove the provision that specifies shall be prosecuted and punished as murder.

Why it matters

Changes the legal categorization and handling of the archaic offense of under state law.

Background

Petit treason is an ancient common-law crime referring to a servant killing their master, a wife killing her husband, or an ecclesiastical clerk killing their prelate. context

Who It Would Affect

Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Judiciary

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Senate Bill 1070 change in the law?

It strikes the provision stating that shall be prosecuted and punished as murder from Section 1 of Chapter 265 of the General Laws.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

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Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.

Procedural history

5 actions

Dec 18, 2025Senate
Accompanied a study order (under JR10), see S2886
Oct 20, 2025Joint
Hearing scheduled for 05/06/2025 from 01:00 PM-04:00 PM in A-2
Apr 29, 2025Joint
Hearing scheduled for 05/06/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2
Feb 27, 2025House
House concurred
Feb 27, 2025SenateCommittee
Referred to the committee on The Judiciary

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Connected Entities

Sal DiDomenico

PersonSal DiDomenico“Primary sponsor of Senate Bill No. 1070”Map →

Sources

Open source document

malegislature.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance25
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy10
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz10
Current news / social attention level

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