Dear Friend,

Nice to know: Working with the House, the State Senate just passed a bill to extend remote participation in local public meetings through 2027. We've learned that remote and hybrid gatherings make for increased engagement, especially by people with young kids or other good reasons for not being present in person. My constituents have been asking the Legislature to act, so the bill's passage is welcome.

In other news, a certain Washington figure has commenced a pursuit of raw presidential power unprecedented in American history. The effort was hailed with glee by members of his political party, once known for its interest in limited government.

The new Administration is notable for playing rough with American colleges, universities, hospitals, research facilities, and government agencies, not to mention veterans with mental health issues, young people with student loans, and immigrants of every legal stripe.

There's this, too, from the March 25, 2025, edition of the Washington Post, "Long waits, waves of calls, website crashes: Social Security is breaking down." https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/25/social-security-phones-doge-cuts/

My assignment in the State Senate is to worry about climate change, a threat that will plague us long after Donald Trump is gone. So, notwithstanding bouts of alarm, astonishment, and disgust at the condition of our national politics, my predominant emotion is hard-nosed resolve. Massachusetts is going to get through the next several years, its values and sense of direction intact. No despondency, no paralysis; I expect us to meet every challenge and gain ground on every problem. Let's look out for each other, be kind (even to ourselves), and get about the business of saving our country, one state at a time.

Senator Mike Barrett



The American Revolution turns 250 next month. My district knows how to party, especially in extremely old clothes, and is gearing up for a major shindig. On April 19 alone, reenactments in Lexington and Concord are expected to draw tens of thousands of visitors. (Concord's list of invitees includes the Governor, the Obama family, and the King of England.) Lincoln, Carlisle, and Bedford are readying major events of their own.

The celebrations are hardly limited to my district. MA250 events are planned across the state. For the country and the world, Massachusetts has a message: It started here.

Donald Trump's forces are an army on the march, trampling through Washington-level climate programs and environmental protections and putting the torch to everything they find. But they operate on the surface on things. Deep down, the root system of climate and environmental work remains intact, sustained by the exertions of people at the level of the neighborhood, the home town, and the home state. At Concord's First Parish Church, I joined Elizabeth Henry, President of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, to explain why the climate movement will outlast Washington.

More than 135,000 people in Massachusetts live with Alzheimer’s and the number is expected to keep growing. Members of the Alzheimer’s Association dropped by for a State House lobby day. A new priority: a bill to require insurers to cover testing that can help diagnose the disease early.



CAAL, the Chinese American Association of Lexington, rang in the Chinese New Year with a dazzling display of music, dancing, and jaw-dropping performances. The show highlighted the 250th Anniversary of 1775, the year that launched the battle for American Independence.



The Youth Climate Coalition showed up in big numbers for their State House lobby day. I met with a group of young constituents advocating for a bill to set up a new statewide Farm to School program. The idea is to help elementary and secondary schools buy produce from local farms for the school cafeteria. Good idea, for farmers and eaters both. I was impressed by the smart and spirited talk.



"State Senator Barrett talks about climate policy, MBTA Communities"

The Carlisle Mosquito

Michael Barrett, who since 2013 has served the eight towns that comprise the Massachusetts 3rd Middlesex District, has worked on a wide variety of legislative topics over the course of his career, and lately has been a major architect of state climate policy. Most recently, Barrett played a leading role in the development of the 2024 Climate Bill, “An Act Promoting a Clean Energy Grid, Advancing Equity, and Protecting Ratepayers.” 

Barrett highlighted the enormity of the bill, saying “I think there are 114 different sections, and there are roughly that many ideas in the legislation.” He pointed to provisions for electric vehicle (EV) charging; increased generation of electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar; electrical transmission and distribution infrastructure; geothermal heating; and more.



"Proposed private-jet Hanscom expansion is a climate bomb in sheep’s clothing"

The Lincoln Squirrel

Private jets are the most carbon-intensive form of travel per passenger, and frequently used for leisure and convenience. Massport and prospective developers have packaged their enormous 522,000-square-foot, highly polluting proposal as a model of “sustainable aviation” to distract the public and policymakers.

Concerns about greenwashing were echoed by area Select Board members and our state legislators at the January 28 virtual HATS meeting (Hanscom-Area Town Selectboards) with new Massport CEO Rich Davey.

State Sen. Mike Barrett posited to Davey that “there is a sense in which you’re rolling out SAFs, I think, as a shield and in order to disarm us."

Barrett continued: “We have lots of startups in Massachusetts that hope someday to cure cancer, and we certainly want to encourage them to try, But none of us go out and encourage our kids to smoke cigarettes because the cure is going to come in their lifetimes.”