#2023-29, November 17, 2023

Massachusetts Legislature Enters Holiday Break, Several Legislative Items Hang in Balance

The Massachusetts Legislature ended formal sessions for the 2023 calendar year around 1:00 a.m. yesterday morning without an agreement on several big-ticket legislative items, including a $2.8 billion spending bill that would, among other things, closeout Fiscal Year 2023. Part of that spending bill was $250 million in emergency funding requested by Governor Healey to help alleviate the growing pressures on state and local resources involving the increasing number of migrants seeking aide, medical attention, housing and more throughout the Commonwealth. 

Ultimately, lawmakers could not come to a compromise on how to allocate the $250 million and formed a conference committee to iron out details for a final bill. Because formal sessions have ended until January 2024, any piece of legislation that comes up for a vote during informal sessions can be derailed by one dissenting lawmaker, which makes passing any legislation during such time even more difficult. 

Separately, the salary range transparency bill that was passed by both the House and Senate remains in conference committee. We will keep you posted on all developments as we learn more. 

Read more about Wednesday’s formal sessions in the links below:

• Democrats punt shelter, spending talks to conference | WWLP 
• In late-night scramble, families waitlisted for state shelter told to leave Logan airport | WBUR News

Massachusetts Division of Banks (MA DOB) Releases the Conference of State Bank Supervisors Ransomware Self-Assessment Tool, Version 2.0 (R-SAT, V2.0 Tool)

On October 26, 2023, Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks, Mary Gallagher, sent the new R-SAT, V2.0 Tool to state chartered banks.  The Massachusetts Division of Banks has been a national leader in helping regulated banks assess their efforts in mitigating ransomware-specific risks and identifying gaps for increased security given that ransomware remains an evolving threat. The R-SAT provides executive management and boards of directors with an overview of the institution’s preparedness towards identifying, protecting, detecting, responding to and recovering from a ransomware attack. 

The R-SAT, which was developed in collaboration with the Bankers Electronic Crimes Task Force, state bank regulators, and the U.S. Secret Service, was originally released in October 2020. It is proven to be a thought-provoking and easy-to-use and repeatable tool to help banks and credit unions periodically assess their own efforts to mitigate risks specifically associated with ransomware and to identify gaps for increasing security. 

Ransomware Self-Assessment Tool 2.0 (R-SAT) - October 24, 2023 (csbs.org)

Pathway to R-SAT 2.0: Why the updates?

As the threats have both increased in frequency and complexity, state banking regulators were curious to evaluate state-chartered banks and credit unions which were victims of ransomware.  MA DOB and other banking departments conducted a study to review attacks on state regulated institutions for the period 2019-2022.  Study findings are summarized in the report Ransomware: Lessons Learned by Banks That Suffered an Attack.  Bankers who were victims of attacks helped to identify helpful prevention measures to prevent future attacks – measures that have informed the R-SAT 2.0 updates.

If you have any questions, please contact MA-DOB Director of Cybersecurity, IT, Fintech Holly Chase at Holly.Chase@mass.gov or 617 838 3696.

Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation Tax Policy Conference – Friday, December 1, 2023

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation is hosting their annual Tax Policy Conference on Friday, December 1, 2023, at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center in Kendall Square. This year's conference will provide a range of panels with public sector leaders and stakeholders to discuss Massachusetts's tax issues. The program will run 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

For more information and to register for in-person or virtual attendance at this year's conference click here.

No Beacon Hill Report Next Week

There will not be a Beacon Hill Report next week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. On behalf of the Massachusetts Bankers Association, we wish you a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!