This document contains terms of use for this Senate website. By using this Senate website you agree to these terms and conditions. In addition, you should also review this website’s privacy policy to learn about information collected by the website, what that information is used for and how it may be shared with others, including third parties.
No photograph or video on this website may be downloaded, reproduced or otherwise used without the written consent of the Senate. To request permission to use a photograph or video, please contact the Senate at webmaster@MaLegislature.gov.
With respect to material copyrighted by the Senate, including the design, layout and other features of this website, the Senate forbids any copying or use other than "fair use" under the Copyright Act. "Fair use" includes activities such as comments, news reporting, criticisms, teaching, research, tweets and retweets, youtube video channel references and other related activities. In addition, please be advised that the Senate makes use of materials (including, but not limited to, photographs) copyrighted by third parties, which also cannot be copied or used for use other than "fair use" without permission of the copyright owner. If you want to make use other than "fair use" of any copyrighted information on this website, you must seek permission directly from the copyright owner.
The Senate makes no warranty that the materials contained within this website are free from copyright claims or other restrictions or limitations on free use or display. The Senate disclaims any liability for the improper or incorrect use of information obtained from this website.This Senate website respects the intellectual property of others and asks users of this website to do the same. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and other applicable law, the Senate has adopted a policy of terminating, in appropriate circumstances and at its sole discretion, users, subscribers or account holders on this website who are deemed to be repeat infringers. The Senate may also, at its sole discretion, limit access to this website or terminate the accounts of any users who infringe on any intellectual property rights of others, whether or not there is repeat infringement.
Certain images and collateral that are used throughout this site have been provided and made available for use under the Creative Commons set of copyright licenses and tools. These tools allow the material to be available to the public for free and legal use under the terms of Creative Common’s copyright licenses. For more information on these policies, please visit https://creativecommons.org/policies.
If you believe that any material on this website infringes upon any copyright which you own or control, or that any link on this website directs users to another website that contains material that infringes upon any copyright which you own or control, you may file a notification of that infringement with the Senate’s designated agent as set forth below. Notifications of claimed copyright infringement must be sent to the Senate site’s designated agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement. The Senate’s designated agent may be reached by emailing webmaster@MaLegislature.gov.
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The Senate provides this information as a public service and while we endeavor to keep the data accurate and current to the best of our ability, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
Through this website you may be able to link to other websites which are not under the control of the Senate. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites.
Any references to commercial entities, products, services or other non-governmental organizations or individuals that remain on the website are provided solely for the information of individuals using the website. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of the Senate or its employees concerning the significance, priority or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying the Senate’s endorsement or approval of any product, person or service. The Senate does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on the website is correct and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, the Senate takes no responsibility for and will not be liable for the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
The information and content on this website are for informational purposes only and do not constitute and should not be construed as legal, financial, professional or any other type of advice or counsel. You should contact an appropriate advisor with respect to any particular issue or problem.
This website allows you to interact with your own third-party social media accounts on an affirmative basis. You may be prompted to log into the relevant third-party social media provider if you are not already logged in and should work in the same manner as if you logged in to the third-party social media provider directly. If you are already logged in, or once you are logged in, to the third-party social media provider, this will facilitate your interaction with that third-party social media provider. Moreover, when you add content from this website to your third-party social media account, it is possible that your public account information can be associated with this website’s content that you are posting.
This website does use Twitter and YouTube. Twitter is a free social networking site that allows users to send and read other users’ short updates and is governed by Twitter's separate website policies, including its privacy policy and terms of service. YouTube is a video sharing site owned by Google and is governed by YouTube’s separate website policies, including its own privacy policy and terms of service. These policies apply to your use of Twitter and YouTube and we strongly encourage you to review their policies prior to using this website.
The Senate expects conversations to follow the rules of polite discourse and asks that participants treat each other, as well as Senate employees, with respect. The Senate will impose restrictions on obscene, threatening, discriminatory or harassing language. Not all email and Twitter submissions will be posted publicly on this website. In order to facilitate a productive and robust discussion, the Senate will use its discretion to choose submissions that are on-topic and constructive. Submissions that include the following will not be posted publicly on this website: profanity and vulgar or abusive language; threats of physical or bodily harm; sensitive information (e.g., information that could compromise public safety); offensive terms that target protected classes, such as ethnic, racial, sexual orientation, transgendered or religious groups; any other comments found by the Senate to be offensive or illegal.
This policy reflects the Senate’s current practices, but is subject to change without notice. The Senate will update this policy as new services and features are added or other changes are made to the website. Please check this policy regularly. The Senate will always try to notify users about changes to this policy through a notice that will appear on the website. Any actions taken under the current policy will remain subject to the terms of this policy. After any changes take effect, all actions taken, if any, will be subject to the new policy.
The Senate is committed to achieving meaningful accessibility to this website for all users, including users with disabilities.
This website has been developed using the Commonwealth’s Enterprise Web Accessibility Standards, which are designed to meet the needs of our citizens with disabilities. The Commonwealth enterprise standards are generally based on standards used by the federal government for technology accessibility for people with disabilities and web content accessibility guidelines developed by the World Wide Web Consortium. From time to time, there may be new features and additions added to the web site that are less accessible than content in other areas of the site. We view accessibility as a high priority and will continuously strive to maintain a high level of accessibility throughout our web site.
If the format of any material on this website prevents you from accessing the information, please contact us for assistance. In order to respond in a manner most helpful to you, please note the nature of your accessibility concern, the format in which you prefer to receive material, the webpage address of the requested material and the best way to contact you.
We welcome any questions about this website's accessibility, as well as your suggestions for improving it. To send questions and comments, please contact the State House ADA Coordinator, Carl Richardson at carl.richardson@state.ma.us or at (617) 727-1100 ext. 35502.