Senate · Democrat

Joan B. Lovely

Current member · Second Essex

Data through FY2026; built October 19, 2026.

Residence

Salem

First elected

Senate 2012

Prior public offices

Salem City Council (1998–2012; Ward 3 councillor and councillor-at-large; president 2001 and 2012; acting mayor)

Seats held, General Courts 189–194 (the FY2017–FY2026 budgets)
Session	Chamber	District	Lines
189th (2015–16)	Senate	Second Essex	2011 lines
190th (2017–18)	Senate	Second Essex	2011 lines
191st (2019–20)	Senate	Second Essex	2011 lines
192nd (2021–22)	Senate	Second Essex	2011 lines
193rd (2023–24)	Senate	Second Essex	2021 lines
194th (2025–26)	Senate	Second Essex	2021 lines

Posts and stipends

Joan B. Lovely was paid $759,236 in leadership and committee stipends from 2016 to 2026 (2026 to date).

Posts and stipends by session (stipends by calendar year)
Session	Posts	First year	Second year
189th (2015–16)	Chair, Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight; Vice chair, Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities	not available	$15,000
190th (2017–18)	Senate Ways and Means Vice Chair	$44,268	$61,258
191st (2019–20)	Assistant Majority Leader	$70,408	$70,408
192nd (2021–22)	Assistant Majority Leader	$73,851	$73,851
193rd (2023–24)	Assistant Majority Leader	$88,695	$88,695
194th (2025–26)	Assistant Majority Leader; Chair, Senate Committee on Rules; Chair, Joint Committee on Rules	$97,201	$75,601 (to date)

Posts: the Legislature’s leadership and roster records as compiled for this project; where those name no post, the member’s committee chair, vice-chair and ranking roles from the Legislature’s member profiles. Stipends: additional compensation in the Comptroller’s payroll data (CTHRU dataset 9ttk-7vz6), 2016–2026; 2026 is the year to date. Stipends for 2015 are not available. Base salary is not included.

The district

Second Essex on its 2021 lines: 4 cities and towns, 169,718 residents (2020).

Peabody 32% · Salem 26% · Beverly 25% · Danvers 17%

Percentages are each place’s share of the district’s 2020 residents; for a town split between districts, the share of the town inside this one follows.

Population-weighted Fairness Index of the district’s cities and towns: 36 for all state aid and 39 for discretionary money (50 is a fair share).

Local earmarks are counted three ways. District money uses the first, clauses that name a place in the district; the second table adds organizations located in the district (placed in the district) and state facilities located there (everything placed). Three ways to count a local earmark.

District money, first measure: enacted earmarks in clauses naming a place in the district, by session (district money, not the member’s)
Session	District	Dollars	In corrective clauses	Per resident per budget, rank	Without corrective clauses, rank
189th (2015–16)	Second Essex	$475,000	$0	$2.69 · 29th of 40	$2.69 · 29th of 40
190th (2017–18)	Second Essex	$1.2M	$0	$3.53 · 29th of 40	$3.53 · 29th of 40
191st (2019–20)	Second Essex	$905,000	$0	$2.57 · 31st of 40	$2.57 · 31st of 40
192nd (2021–22)	Second Essex	$2.5M	$0	$6.99 · 24th of 40	$6.99 · 23rd of 40
193rd (2023–24)	Second Essex	$5.1M	$0	$15.14 · 6th of 40	$15.14 · 6th of 40
194th (2025–26)	Second Essex	$700,000	$0	$4.12 · 37th of 40	$4.12 · 37th of 40

District money is where enacted earmarks land, by the place a clause names, mapped to districts by 2020 population; it is not attributed to the member and does not include leadership’s base-text money that names no place. Ranks are of district money per resident among the chamber’s districts, 1 = most. “In corrective clauses” is the part carried by a Ways and Means chair’s corrective amendments, which is leadership’s money; the last column gives the per-resident figure and rank without it. Sessions are labeled by the General Court that enacted each budget. Per-resident figures use the district as drawn for each session (2011 lines through the 192nd General Court, 2021 lines from the 193rd), so they will not equal a session’s dollars divided by the resident count above.

The same district on the other two measures, by session (enacted; includes any corrective-clause money)
Session	District	Placed in the district	Per resident per budget, rank	Everything placed	Per resident per budget, rank
189th (2015–16)	Second Essex	$500,000	$2.84 · 32nd of 40	$500,000	$2.84 · 32nd of 40
190th (2017–18)	Second Essex	$1.5M	$4.17 · 27th of 40	$1.5M	$4.17 · 30th of 40
191st (2019–20)	Second Essex	$1.4M	$3.98 · 31st of 40	$1.4M	$3.98 · 31st of 40
192nd (2021–22)	Second Essex	$3.1M	$8.93 · 17th of 40	$3.1M	$8.93 · 18th of 40
193rd (2023–24)	Second Essex	$6.1M	$17.96 · 8th of 40	$6.1M	$17.96 · 8th of 40
194th (2025–26)	Second Essex	$1.2M	$6.92 · 33rd of 40	$1.2M	$6.92 · 34th of 40

Budget amendments

Joan B. Lovely sponsored 240 budget amendments in FY2017–FY2026, asking for $179 million in all.

Amendments sponsored

240

FY2017–FY2026 budgets

Adopted, known outcomes

46%

111 of 240

Chamber rate, same ask sizes

42%

expected at the chamber’s rates

Of the 240 with a known outcome, 111 were adopted (46%). At the chamber’s adoption rate for amendments of the same size, about 100 (42%) would have been.

Largest enacted items matched to an amendment Joan B. Lovely filed (strong text matches)
Year	Amount	Enacted budget text (excerpt)	Amendment
FY2017	$1.7M	“the comprehensive dental program for adults with developmental disabilities”	S4 #474
FY2022	$950,000	“the legislative task force on the prevention of child sexual abuse”	S3 #172
FY2026	$800,000	“the Home Works program to provide opportunities for children in the emergency housing assistance program to attend out-of-school time and summer…”	S3 #152
FY2025	$800,000	“a Home Works program to provide opportunities for children in the emergency housing assistance program to attend out-of-school time and summer…”	S4 #173
FY2024	$800,000	“the Home Works program to provide opportunities for children in the emergency housing assistance program to attend out-of-school time and summer…”	S3 #321

Strong matches: 78 enacted items, $12 million (the member’s share where several amendments claim one clause). A further six weaker text matches are not listed; attribution is inferred from amendment text and is less certain there.

For 12 amendments the sponsor is the first mover named in the amendment text, because the Legislature’s record listed none. Ask size is the larger of the earmark dollars and the line-item change an amendment requests; bands: no dollar amount, under $50,000, $50,000–$250,000, $250,000–$1 million, $1–5 million, $5 million or more. Leadership’s unattributed base-text and corrective-amendment money is never assigned to a member. The comparison describes outcomes; it is not a measure of merit.

Bills sponsored

Joan B. Lovely filed 344 bills as lead sponsor in these sessions; 15 were enacted on their own. In completed sessions, 5% of their lead bills were enacted on their own, against chamber medians of 1% to 4% for the same sessions.

Most bills die in every legislature, and many policies pass inside other bills; the chamber median for the same session is the fair comparison.

Bills filed as lead sponsor, by session and outcome
Session	Chamber	Lead bills	Enacted	Folded into an enacted bill	Sent to study	Reported favorably, then died	Reported adversely or withdrawn	No action	Pending (session open)	Enacted rate	Chamber median	Cosponsored
189th (2015–16)	Senate	32	6	1	15	10	0	0	0	19%	4%	204
190th (2017–18)	Senate	41	5	2	19	13	0	2	0	12%	3%	345
191st (2019–20)	Senate	55	1	2	15	22	11	4	0	2%	3%	238
192nd (2021–22)	Senate	77	0	4	31	30	8	4	0	0%	2%	261
193rd (2023–24)	Senate	65	1	1	24	34	0	5	0	2%	1%	365
194th (2025–26)	Senate	74	2	1	27	0	0	0	44	3%*	1%	227

Enacted bills as lead sponsor

S1919 (189th): An Act relative to the Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School District · Chapter 41 of the Acts of 2015
S1947 (189th): An Act authorizing the town of Topsfield to grant additional licenses for the sale of wines and malt beverages not to be drunk on the premises · Chapter 101 of the Acts of 2015
S1949 (189th): An Act authorizing the board of selectmen of the town of Topsfield to appoint the town clerk · Chapter 72 of the Acts of 2015
S1998 (189th): An Act establishing a sick leave bank for Susan Metheny, an employee of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services · Chapter 121 of the Acts of 2015
S2458 (189th): An Act designating the commission on postpartum depression as the Ellen Story Commission on Postpartum Depression · Chapter 350 of the Acts of 2016
S866 (189th): An Act designating Courtroom G within the first district court of Essex County in the city of Salem as the David T. Doyle Courtroom · Chapter 103 of the Acts of 2016
S2116 (190th): An Act establishing a sick leave bank for Michelle Dancy, an employee of the Department of Mental Health · Chapter 67 of the Acts of 2017
S2140 (190th): An Act authorizing the city of Salem to grant 1 additional liquor license for the sale of wine and malt beverages not to be drunk on the premises · Chapter 1 of the Acts of 2018
S2141 (190th): An Act authorizing the city of Salem to convert a liquor license for the sale of wine and malt beverages not to be drunk on the premises to a liquor license for the sale of all alcoholic beverages not be drunk on the premises · Chapter 170 of the Acts of 2017
S2142 (190th): An Act authorizing the city of Salem to grant 1 additional liquor license for the sale of wine and malt beverages to be drunk on the premises · Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2018
S2143 (190th): An Act authorizing the city of Salem to convert 2 seasonal liquor licenses to annual licenses for the sale of all alcoholic beverages to be drunk on the premises · Chapter 162 of the Acts of 2017
S2826 (191st): An Act relative to the reorganization of the water, highway and park/cemetery departments and commissioners in the town of Topsfield · Chapter 340 of the Acts of 2020
S3006 (193rd): An Act renaming the executive office of elder affairs to the executive office of aging and independence · Chapter 392 of the Acts of 2024
S1876 (194th): An Act relative to the retirement classification of certain employees of the city of Beverly · Chapter 233 of the Acts of 2026
S785 (194th): An Act relative to insurance claims · Chapter 187 of the Acts of 2026

Outcomes are the furthest point each bill reached in the record. “Folded into an enacted bill” means the history names the enacted bill that absorbed it. “Passed both branches; no chapter recorded” means the bill was enacted by both branches and laid before the Governor, with no chapter or veto in the history; in the 194th General Court such bills are shown as laid before the Governor (pending). The 194th General Court is in session until January 2027, so its open bills are pending, not dead, and its rates (*) are not comparable with completed sessions. Chairs and leaders control the calendar, which raises their rates. Source: malegislature.gov bill histories.

Recorded votes on accountability measures

Joan B. Lovely cast 68 yes-or-no votes on the 71 accountability roll calls in this file (26 yes, 42 no, three for a named candidate).

Roll calls on rules, audits, public records, term limits and pay
Date	Measure	Vote	Chamber result
January 26, 2017	Senate engrossment of the pay-raise bill	Yes	Yeas 31, nays 9
February 2, 2017	Amendment 2.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Matters considered in an informal session	Yes	Yeas 38, nays 0
February 2, 2017	Amendment 3.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Time to consider matters in an informal	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
February 2, 2017	Amendment 7.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Provided with text of bills prior to poll	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
February 2, 2017	Special orders by majority instead of two-thirds (contested meaning)	No	Yeas 6, nays 33
February 2, 2017	Amendment 11.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Unanimous consent	No	Yeas 6, nays 33
February 2, 2017	Amendment 13.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Timely Local Aid Notification	No	Yeas 7, nays 32
February 2, 2017	Senate override of the veto of the pay-raise bill	Yes	Yeas 31, nays 9
January 31, 2019	Amendment 1.1 (Bruce E. Tarr): Posting of Committee Roll Call Votes	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
January 31, 2019	Amendment 1.0 (Walter F. Timilty): Improving Access to Records	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
January 31, 2019	Amendment 2.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Informal Session	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
January 31, 2019	Amendment 3.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Conference Committee Report	No	Yeas 8, nays 31
January 31, 2019	Amendment 11.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Audit of accounts	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
not available	Joint rules (S9), rules package: question on acceptance of the report (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
January 31, 2019	Amendment 1.0 (Diana DiZoglio): Non disclosure agreements	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
January 31, 2019	Amendment 7.1 (Rebecca L. Rausch): anti-harassment and assault	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
January 31, 2019	Amendment 5.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Numbers of bills considered at a hearing	No	Yeas 8, nays 31
January 31, 2019	Amendment 17.0 (Ryan C. Fattman): Matters considered in an informal session	No	Yeas 6, nays 33
January 31, 2019	Amendment 25.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Unanimous consent	No	Yeas 6, nays 33
not available	Senate rules (S8), rules package: question on acceptance of the report (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
not available	Senate President election (contested meaning)	Voted for Karen E. Spilka	not available
February 11, 2021	Amendment 3.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Members receiving SWM GAA recommendation	No	Yeas 4, nays 35
February 11, 2021	Amendment 6.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Unanimous consent to go past midnight	No	Yeas 6, nays 34
February 11, 2021	Amendment 7.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Going past 10 pm	No	Yeas 6, nays 34
February 11, 2021	Amendment 8.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Successive formal sessions	No	Yeas 6, nays 34
February 11, 2021	Amendment 15.0 (Diana DiZoglio): Anti-harassment and bystander intervention training	No	Yeas 10, nays 29
February 11, 2021	Amendment 20.0 (Diana DiZoglio): Amendments to other appropriations bills	No	Yeas 5, nays 34
February 11, 2021	Accessibility; adopted 39-0 (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
February 11, 2021	Supplier diversity; adopted 39-0 (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
February 11, 2021	Amendment 42.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Consideration of further and redrafted amendments	No	Yeas 7, nays 32
February 11, 2021	Amendment 44.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Hearings	No	Yeas 6, nays 33
February 11, 2021	Amendment 49.0 (Ryan C. Fattman): Adoption amendment - Rule 24	No	Yeas 5, nays 34
February 11, 2021	Minority Leader appointments to committees (partisan allocation) (contested meaning)	No	Yeas 4, nays 35
February 11, 2021	Amendment 24.0 (Diana DiZoglio): Notice of legislative matters	No	Yeas 5, nays 34
February 11, 2021	Amendment 1.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): New items on the calendar	No	Yeas 5, nays 34
February 11, 2021	Amendment 1.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Filing of conference committee report	No	Yeas 6, nays 33
February 11, 2021	Amendment 14.0 (James B. Eldridge): Lengthening public notice period for legislative hearings	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
not available	Senate President election (contested meaning)	Voted for Karen E. Spilka	not available
February 9, 2023	Amendment 1.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Successive Legislative Days	No	Yeas 4, nays 34
February 9, 2023	Amendment 2.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Time of recess for consideration of new matters	No	Yeas 5, nays 33
February 9, 2023	Amendment 5.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Going past 10 pm	No	Yeas 4, nays 34
February 9, 2023	Amendment 6.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Unanimous consent to go past midnight	No	Yeas 4, nays 34
February 9, 2023	Amendment 10.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Manner of how member voted	No	Yeas 5, nays 33
February 9, 2023	Amd 23 (Rodrigues) strikes Rule 11B, the 8-year term limit on the Senate President; adopted 32-6	Yes	Yeas 32, nays 6
February 9, 2023	Strike remote-participation rules 57C/57D (contested meaning)	No	Yeas 3, nays 35
February 9, 2023	Remote voting conditions (contested meaning)	No	Yeas 4, nays 34
February 9, 2023	Senate rules (S17), rules package: question on acceptance of the report (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 37, nays 1
February 9, 2023	Amendment 1.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Filing of Conference Committee Report	No	Yeas 4, nays 35
February 9, 2023	Amendment 12.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Adding a Minority Report	No	Yeas 3, nays 36
not available	Joint rules (S18), rules package: question on acceptance of the report (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
not available	Senate President election (contested meaning)	Voted for Karen E. Spilka	not available
February 12, 2025	Amendment 2.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Number of bills to be heard	No	Yeas 5, nays 33
February 12, 2025	Amendment 9.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Minority conference committee report	No	Yeas 6, nays 32
February 12, 2025	Amendment 10.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): 48 Hours for conference committee reports	No	Yeas 5, nays 33
February 12, 2025	Amendment 13.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Timeline for review of conference committee reports	No	Yeas 6, nays 32
February 12, 2025	Amendment 22.0 (John F. Keenan): Considering Conference Reports	No	Yeas 9, nays 29
February 12, 2025	Amendment 26.0 (John F. Keenan): Preventing Unjustified Financial Gain for Members and Their Familes	Yes	Yeas 38, nays 0
February 12, 2025	Amendment 29.0 (John F. Keenan): Limiting Joint Committee Extensions	No	Yeas 6, nays 32
not available	Joint rules (S15), rules package: question on passing the bill to be engrossed (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
February 13, 2025	In-person voting conditions (contested meaning)	No	Yeas 5, nays 32
February 13, 2025	Amendment 36.0 (John F. Keenan): Continuing Beyond Midnight	No	Yeas 6, nays 31
February 13, 2025	Shorten period in which a matter can be laid on the table (dilatory motions) (contested meaning)	No	Yeas 5, nays 33
February 13, 2025	Amendment 10.0 (Bruce E. Tarr): Going past 10PM	No	Yeas 6, nays 32
February 13, 2025	Amendment 19.0 (Ryan C. Fattman): Virtual vote designation	No	Yeas 6, nays 31
February 13, 2025	Legislative days for Rule 24 (dilatory motions) (contested meaning)	No	Yeas 6, nays 32
February 13, 2025	Senate rules (S19), rules package: question on acceptance of the report (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 39, nays 0
June 26, 2025	Joint rules (conference report) (S2545), rules package: question on acceptance of conference committee report (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 40, nays 0
May 28, 2026	S.3104 resolutions limiting the Senate's response to the Auditor to the SJC-defined 4 requests; no votes 5 Republicans + Montigny; contested (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 33, nays 6
July 30, 2026	Press shield amendment to S.3200; adopted 40-0; not about the Legislature's records (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 40, nays 0
July 30, 2026	Amd 18 (Tarr): apply the public records law to the General Court more fully	No	Yeas 6, nays 33
July 30, 2026	Senate passage of H.5469 34-6; no votes 5 Republicans + Montigny (too weak); contested (contested meaning)	Yes	Yeas 34, nays 6

Votes marked “contested meaning” are rules-package and public-records passage votes; reform advocates were on both sides of them. Descriptions are the project’s plain summaries of each question, or the question as recorded for rules-package roll calls; the official record is on malegislature.gov. Votes are facts; no score is computed.

Campaign money in

Joan B. Lovely’s committee reported $179,000 in contributions of $250 or more in years the member served, 2015–2026.

By year (years in the Legislature)
Year	Contributions
2015	$17,000
2016	$14,000
2017	$18,000
2018	$22,000
2019	$6,300
2020	$4,950
2021	$13,000
2022	$35,000
2023	$14,000
2024	$24,000
2025	$8,800
2026	$2,550

By kind of contributor
Kind	Total	Share
Individuals	$141,000	79%
Political committees and PACs	$34,000	19%
Unions and associations	$4,301	2%

Individuals’ money by the employer they reported
Employer reported	Share
A named employer	58%
Self-employed	27%
Retired	5%
Not employed	5%
Not reported or withheld	5%

Not counted as contributions: $31,000 in other receipts of $250 or more in the same years (candidate loans and the candidate’s own money, transfers, refunds, bank interest and aggregated small receipts).

Largest employers and organizations
Employer or organization	Kind	Total	Contributions
SALEM WITCH MUSEUM	individuals, by employer	$4,000	10
MA & NORTHERN NE LABORERS' DISTRICT COUNCIL POL ACTION COMM	committee or PAC	$3,500	7
TOTAL WINE AND MORE	individuals, by employer	$3,000	3
AGGREGATE INDUSTRIES	individuals, by employer	$2,750	6
NORTH SHORE COMMUNITY COLLEGE	individuals, by employer	$2,050	6
ARBELLA INSURANCE	individuals, by employer	$2,000	5
ATLAS DISTRIBUTING	individuals, by employer	$2,000	3
COLONIAL WHOLESALE BEVERAGE	individuals, by employer	$2,000	4
HORIZON BEVERAGE	individuals, by employer	$2,000	3
MERRIMACK VALLEY DISTRIBUTING	individuals, by employer	$2,000	3

Source: Office of Campaign and Political Finance, itemized receipts of $250 or more since 2015; OCPF filer record: Lovely Committee (CPF 14258). Individuals are grouped by the employer they reported; no individual contributor is named, and an employer field that is a person’s name is withheld. Massachusetts bars business contributions to candidates. Employer shows affiliation, not instruction.

Sources

Every figure traces to a public record.

Facts only: posts, stipends, sponsored amendments, enacted items, roll-call votes and district money. No score or grade is computed. Associations shown here are not evidence of cause. Method.