Massachusetts lawmakers are set to trudge back to Beacon Hill Wednesday morning after ringing in the new year to kick off the 2025-2026 legislative session, a two-year stint that could be defined by the actions of President-elect Donald Trump in Washington.

The House and Senate are scheduled to gavel into the 194th General Court at 11 a.m., when Gov. Maura Healey will swear in lawmakers and the two chambers will elect their top leaders. But don’t expect an immediate jump to work — bills likely won’t start moving until committee assignments are released later this winter.

Residents could still get a preview of what’s to come over the course of the next two years after legislators choose the next House speaker and Senate president.

Rep. Ron Mariano (D-Quincy) and Sen. Karen Spilka (D-Ashland), who are expected to glide back into their top leadership posts, plan to offer opening remarks that will likely set the tone for another session where Democrats still have super-majorities in both branches.

Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation President Doug Howgate said top Democrats must stay focused on making Massachusetts a place people want and can afford to live in while keeping state spending and costs at “manageable levels.”

“We heard a lot of that last session, and certainly we saw action with things like the housing bond bill,” Howgate told the Herald, referring to a massive borrowing bill. “We can’t be on to Cincinnati now. It’s not like we just solved those challenges. And so at the core of that, I think, is housing, transportation, and then you get into issues like child care or infrastructure.”

In speeches last year at the outset of the 2023-2024 session, Mariano and Spilka honed in on expanding access to affordable child care but diverged when it came to individual priorities like an ultimately successful pledge from Spilka to offer free community college.

The two Democrats touched on the then-scandal-plagued MBTA and the state’s affordable housing crunch — two areas that would later be addressed in a handful of different bills. Both leaders addressed healthcare costs, an area covered in legislation sent to Healey this week.

Conservatives in both branches are also scheduled to select their top leaders Wednesday morning.

Senate Republicans are expected to stick with Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr of Gloucester while House conservatives find themselves with a choice after Rep. Marc Lombardo of Billerica mounted a long-shot candidacy to topple Rep. Brad Jones of North Reading.

Over the next two years, Beacon Hill lawmakers could find themselves mired in fights over whether local law enforcement and court officials should have the authority to detain people solely based on immigration violations.

Legislators are in line to grapple with the effects of multiple voter-approved laws, including one allowing the State Auditor’s Office to investigate the Legislature and another that did away with the MCAS graduation requirement for high school students in Massachusetts.

Mariano and Spilka have refused to participate in multiple legislative audit attempts by Auditor Diana DiZoglio after residents approved a ballot question in November. The protracted battle has led to threats of legal action by DiZoglio and other outside groups.

Paul Craney, a spokesman for the conservative-leaning Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, said Mariano and Spilka should use their opening speeches Wednesday to say they will “comply, acknowledge the will of the voters with Question 1.”

“They’re scheduled for pay raises, these lawmakers, starting in the new year and before they’re taking pay raises, they should be first complying with the will of the voters on that ballot question,” Craney said Tuesday. “That should not be anything controversial. They should be announcing that (Wednesday).”

The State House could also return to a law that requires some cities and towns to zone at least one multi-family housing district near a transit pending the outcome of a case before the Supreme Judicial Court.

A sustainable source of funding for transportation, housing affordability, education, LGBTQ rights, healthcare, and the relationship between state lawmakers and the federal government are sure to surface over the next two years.

Howgate said Mariano and Spilka need to prepare for the “unexpected.”

“When you look at the last few sessions, it’s pretty apparent that the unexpected is going to happen, and we need to make sure that we’ve planned to respond to unexpected things as they arise,” he said. “The range of the unexpected is pretty broad, and certainly one key element of that is our continued partnership with the federal government.”

MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng and Governor Maura Healey ride the Green Line during the roll-out of the agency’s new contactless fare system last summer. Issues surrounding the T will be among the priorities of lawmakers during the next session. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald, File)
The state’s high cost of housing is expected to be a continued priority on Beacon Hill in the coming year. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald, File)