Margo, Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, I haven't checked my email for several days. Following are some excerpts from emails I received from David Martin (an attorney at the MA State House). As you can see things are looking good but it could be next year before the bill actually gets passed. Bonnie "I attended the hearing on House bill 678 (the so-called "witches bill") on May 25th. I submitted a letter of testimony to the Committee hearing the bill and briefly spoke with the House Chairman. I also spoke with the Committee staff; the staff told me they'll recommend the bill be put out favorably. It looks good so far. I'll keep you posted as the bill moves through the process. No one testified for the bill at the hearing. The hearing was very crowded and lasted from Noon until about 7PM. Lots of other bills besides H.678 were heard. It is likely that if anyone was there to testify in favor of the bill they gave up waiting after a few hours." "The Judiciary Committee is planning to put House 678 out favorably on Tuesday the 22nd but they have a question about the spelling of names. I see that Susannah's name is spelled differently in different places-some spellings use the "h" at the end and some do not. The text of House 678 uses the "h." Do you have any preference? I assume there is a disparity in the historical records. Is one spelling used more often? If you had to choose one of the spellings, which would you use? Also, do you know if the spelling of the names of the other women are correct? Let me know as soon as possible. The staff just called me today so I realize there's not much time but if you can get back to me by tonight I can have them amend the bill before it is officially released tomorrow. If we can't do it tomorrow I can still request it be amended later in the process if it is necessary." NB........I did reply to David re: above.