HIGHER TAXES: Raised the cigarette tax by $1 per pack and added 3 cents per gallon to the gas tax and tied that tax to inflation.
PHARMACY RULES: Created new licensing rules and higher fines for violations in response to a deadly meningitis outbreak at a compounding pharmacy in Framingham.
MINIMUM WAGE: Hiked the minimum wage from $8 to $11 per hour by 2017, which will give the state the highest minimum wage in the country.
EARLY VOTING: Allowed voters to cast ballots up to 11 business days before a general election, and register to vote online.
UPSKIRTING: Banned people from taking surreptitious photos under women’s skirts, after the state’s highest court found the practice was not prohibited under state law.
ANTI-SHACKLING: Strictly limited the use of restraints, including handcuffs and leg irons, on inmates who are pregnant or giving birth.
LICENSE PLATE: Created a “Boston Strong” license plate to benefit the One Fund for victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.
DOMESTIC WORKERS: Granted basic protections, such as breaks for meals and rest, to 67,000 nannies, housekeepers, caregivers, and other home workers.
NURSE STAFFING: Mandated one nurse per patient in intensive care units.
TECH TAX: Repealed a tax on software services that had been approved two months earlier, after the tax sparked an outcry from technology executives.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE: Requires super PACs to display in their TV ads the names of their five biggest donors; doubles the amount individuals can give to state candidates from $500 to $1,000 a year.
GUN CONTROL: Enrolls the state in a national database for criminal and mental-health background checks, and may give police discretion to deny a permit for a rifle or shotgun if an applicant is deemed unsuitable.
SUBSTANCE ABUSE: Curbs the prescription of risky narcotics, expands insurance for treatment and recovery, and requires doctors to screen patients for potential drug abuse.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: Imposes new bail guidelines for abusers, creates a new crime of strangulation, requires some businesses to give victims up to 15 days of leave per year.
CONVENTION CENTER: Sent to the governor’s desk Wednesday, the $1 billion measure would authorize a major expansion of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
EARLY EDUCATION: The state may seek to further expand subsidized preschool programs after providing $15 million this year to take 1,700 children off a waiting list of about 19,500.
CHARTER SCHOOLS: Backers may push for more charter schools after suffering a major setback this month, when the Senate rejected a bill that would have lifted the cap on the number of such schools in the state.
HEALTH CONNECTOR: The state has yet to fully reckon with the fiscal and policy fallout from the failure of the online health insurance exchange last year. Officials are still struggling to rebuild the software and move residents into permanent plans.
CASINOS: If voters approve a ballot question to repeal the casino law in November, the state, which is hoping to use gambling revenue for local aid, health care, and other initiatives, may have to scramble.