Breakthroughs

Greetings all,

UPDATE: I scheduled this newsletter for Saturday, February 28 but I woke up yesterday morning to news that the U.S. bombed Iran and I worried that our team's state-focused news could seem dissonant or inappropriate given the gravity of the day. But this newsletter has timely ways to take action, so I'm sending it to you this morning, sobered by the potential, grave consequences of another unauthorized U.S. military strike.

On to this letter to you and ways to take action in the Commonwealth.

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We’ve got what it takes to break through to eastern Massachusetts. We must keep organizing, pressing, and raising our voices. Together, we’re making progress. Together, we’ll right historic wrongs that have held western and north central Massachusetts back for too long.

Let’s get into it.

Make it to the P.S. for my TikTok news. (Gulp.)

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TL;DR (that's a "too long; didn't read" digest)

Rural and western Mass issues are getting noticed statewide.
Rising costs and propane delays this winter.
Executive Order and new legislation to protect immigrants and curtail ICE activity.
Senate passes legislation to improve early literacy, with bipartisan support for K-12 funding reform.
Hearings on the Governor’s FY27 budget proposal.
Tracking money from previous budgets.
Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley visits Franklin and Hampshire Counties.
The Senate tackles deferred maintenance and decarbonization on 29 public higher education campuses.
Questions (and referendum) appearing on November’s ballot.
Welcoming waves of constituents to the State House.
Returning to InFocus with Patrick Berry.
Filming Cup o’ Jo with Mass NOW’s Sasha Goodfriend on menstrual equity.
Answering your calls to action on legislation and pressing issues.
Welcome Link 413.

Eastern Massachusetts is listening

It’s no accident that The Boston Globe and other regional outlets have reported and editorialized this month on some of the thorniest regional equity issues facing western and north central Massachusetts: education funding, PILOT payments, potable water. Kudos to everyone who is organizing. Your advocacy is breaking through.

We’ve pasted the articles’ text into a blog on our website since the pieces are behind paywalls. You can read them here. And we’ve gathered some headlines below.

The rising costs and inconsistent availability of utilities this winter

In the midst of record-breaking cold weather, we heard from constituents that propane customers were not receiving deliveries from suppliers due to “temporarily limited propane supplies across our region.” Legislative Aide Lauren Howard responded quickly on behalf of our team, getting folks answers about when they could expect deliveries. Grateful for the partnership of the Attorney General’s team in this work.

If you are a constituent and are having issues contacting an energy company (or anything else), please fill out this form here and we’ll jump in to help.

I also opposed utility companies charging interest on this year’s heating cost relief and opposed rate increases.

Protecting immigrants in the Commonwealth

On January 29, I joined legislative colleagues to cheer Governor Maura Healey's newly filed legislation and Executive Orders to protect people in Massachusetts from lawless ICE activity. Watch the full announcement here.

The Governor’s legislation would:

Keep ICE out of protected places — including courthouses, schools, child care programs, hospitals, and places of worship,
Prevent another state from deploying its National Guard in Massachusetts without our Governor’s approval, and
Allow parents to preemptively name a legal caregiver for their children in case they are detained or deported.

Her Executive Order:

Stops the state from entering into agreements (287(g) agreements) that deputize state or local agencies to conduct immigration enforcement,
Prohibits ICE from making civil arrests in non-public areas of state buildings, and
Bans the use of state property for immigration enforcement staging.

In addition to the legislation filed by the Governor, comprehensive legislation was filed in the House by the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus called the PROTECT Act — An Act promoting rule of law, oversight, trust, and equal constitutional treatment (HD.5608).

Senator Will Brownsberger and the Senate's Steering and Policy Committee (of which I’m a member) filed an additional bill, An Act relative to violations of the United States Constitution under color of law, to ensure the state can hold federal agents accountable if they violate the civil rights of a Massachusetts resident. We’ll keep you updated as the legislation moves through the process and the Senate takes additional action. I am particularly grateful to Senate members of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus for leading — Senators Pavel Payano, Adam Gómez, Lydia Edwards, and Liz Miranda.

Colleagues agree on need for K-12 funding reform

On January 29, I spoke in support of an amendment I filed to an early literacy bill to ensure the legislation works for rural and minimum-aid school districts like the ones I represent. Colleagues from both sides of the aisle agreed with my comments that the time for Chapter 70 reform is now.

More here on the amendment and links to news coverage of the debate. More on the early literacy bill here.

Visit https://www.ruralschoolsma.org/ for news of a March 9-13 week of action.

FY27 budget hearings are underway

On January 28, Governor Healey filed her budget recommendations for fiscal year 2027 (FY27), totalling more than $62.8 billion in investments across the Commonwealth. Governor Healey’s budget briefs are available here (note the one focused on western and north central Mass).

More from our team about the budget and five other pieces of major legislation filed by the Governor over the last month linked here.

After the Governor files her budget, the Legislature holds eight Ways and Means Committee hearings to unpack the spending bill and understand the thinking behind it. Our team also goes into high gear to listen to constituents and advocates.

At the first hearing, I asked the Governor and her team about the funding-split between the MBTA and regional transit authorities, and I will work with Senate colleagues to address this inequity, as we have in the past.

I look forward to co-chairing the hearing focused on energy, environment, and transportation at UMass Amherst on March 10 (more information here).

The Committee will also host a hearing on March 31 that is open to the general public. This is an opportunity to share your thoughts on the Governor’s budget proposal with members of the Committee. More information regarding timing and how to testify will be available soon. Keep an eye here for more.

For more on the budget process, check out this video:

Tracking money from previous budgets

Even as we work to hone the FY27 budget, our team is tracking the funding flowing from this fiscal year's appropriations and are glad to see $1.5 million awarded recently to ValleyBike Share for operations, targeted fleet modernization, and expansion. This grant will service operations in Amherst, Northampton, Hadley, UMass Amherst and beyond. An additional $3.4 million is also being channeled to regional RTAs for microtransit service.

This is Fair Share money at work in our region making last mile transit more possible — and I'm grateful that the Senate supported our team's advocacy for an overall $15 million investment this fiscal year. We'll keep at it in FY27.

Economic development in Franklin and Hampshire Counties

On February 19, Franklin County legislative colleagues and I joined the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, and the Franklin County Chamber and Regional Tourism Council to host Economic Development Secretary Eric Paley for a meeting with regional leaders.

This meeting served as a robust introduction for the Secretary to the region’s unique assets and potential, as well as a forum to discuss solutions to the challenges of developing largely rural economies.

I filmed two short videos about the Secretary’s visit and what we hoped to achieve.

You can watch them here and here.

Later that afternoon, I joined the Secretary at UMass Amherst where Chancellor Javier Reyes and other officials took a deep dive with the Secretary into the University’s emergent work to support regional farm and food businesses and food science startups.

Tackling deferred maintenance, modernization, and decarbonization on 29 public higher education campuses

My recent work on deferred maintenance on the state's 29 public college and university campuses began as a hot mic moment in 2023 (you can read about it here) and concluded (for now) on February 26 when the Senate debated and passed a transformative $3.2 billion bond bill called An Act to Build Resilient Infrastructure to Generate Higher-ed Transformation (the BRIGHT Act).

You can watch my opening remarks here.

Taking a look at the eleven possible ballot questions coming before voters in November

Recently, the Legislature formed a Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions and charged it with reviewing possible ballot questions ahead of the November 2026 elections. There are eleven potential questions (and one possible referendum to overturn gun safety provisions passed by the Legislature in 2024) coming before voters in November.

The Legislature may pass these in their current form as legislation. Absent that, or the decision on the part of petitioners to remove a question from the ballot, voters will decide on Election Day.

The eleven ballot questions include:

An Act to reform and regulate legislative stipends
This proposed law would reduce the number of stipends that legislators receive for their work in certain positions, change how these stipends are calculated, and tie them to legislative “performance.”
An Act to improve access to public records
This proposed law would remove the exemption of the Legislature and the Office of the Governor from the state’s public record law, while setting new, narrow exemptions for certain confidential activities (like constituent services communications).
An Act relative to labor relations policies for committee for public counsel services employees
This proposed law would permit employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services to engage in collective bargaining with their employer.
An Act to allow single-family homes on small lots in areas with adequate infrastructure
This proposed law would allow single-family homes to be built in residential zones on lots of at least 5,000 square feet with 50 feet of street frontage and access to public water and sewer.
An Act to protect tenants by limiting rent increases
This proposed law would limit the annual rent increase for residential units in Massachusetts to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index for a 12-month period, or 5%, whichever is lower, with some exceptions.
An Act to protect water and nature
This proposed law would create a Nature for All Fund to support natural resource conservation in Massachusetts.
An Act to restore sensible marijuana policy
This proposed law would repeal laws legalizing, regulating, and taxing adult-use recreational marijuana sales.
An Act relative to limiting state tax collection growth and returning surpluses to taxpayers
This proposed law would limit state revenue collections in a given year to the net amount of state revenue from the year before, increased by a rate equal to the average growth of wages and salaries in Massachusetts over the most recent three years.
An Act relative to reducing the state personal income tax rate from 5% to 4%
This proposed law would lower tax rates on personal taxable income consisting of interest and dividends and personal taxable income other than interest, dividends, or capital gains income, such as wages and salaries.
An Act relative to election day registration
This proposed law would allow eligible individuals to register to vote or update their registration address on Election Day by appearing at their local polling place, presenting proof of residency, and signing a written oath certifying eligibility.
An Act relative to implement all-party state primaries
This proposed law would eliminate political party primaries for state elections and instead establish a system where there would be a single-all party primary in which all candidates, regardless of their party affiliation, would be listed on one ballot.

The Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions is hosting a public hearing on the first two ballot petitions on March 3, 2026 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Committee will hear testimony on:

H.5004 — An Act to improve access to public records

H.5010 — An Act to reform and regulate legislative stipends

Written testimony can be submitted via email to SpecialJointCommitteeonInitiativePetitions@malegislature.gov through Saturday, March 7 at 5:00 p.m. In your testimony, please include:

Your name and residential address

Whether you support or oppose the question

Whether the testimony is on behalf of yourself or an organization

Please note that written testimony received by the Committee will be made publicly available.

My team and I will do our best to keep you informed when the other ballot initiatives come up for a hearing in the Legislature.

Speaking to hearts and minds: Constituents in the State House

My team and I welcomed a host of constituents to the State House over these past weeks. As I shared in a recent Valentine’s Day video, it is the honor of my life to do this work and represent the best people in the state.

Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program Advocacy Day

On February 11, Legislative Director Rachel Klein and Communications & Engagement Director Katelyn Billings met with two groups of folks advocating for Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) funding, which has long been one of our team’s priorities.

Youth Climate Coalition

On February 12, Chief of Staff Jared Freedman and I met with passionate constituents from Northfield Mount Hermon school and Four Rivers Charter school during the Mass Youth Climate Coalition advocacy day.

YMCA Advocacy Day

Earlier that morning, Jared also met with folks from the Hampshire County and Clark Memorial YMCA to talk about state support for their programming.

Round two on InFocus with Patrick Berry

On January 30, I headed back to Channel 22’s studios to speak with Patrick Berry on InFocus about the Freedom to Move Act, a bill which worried many constituents. Hopefully I dispelled some of the mischaracterization in the media about the legislation, and I’m always happy to discuss further with constituents if your concerns persist.

Catch a Cup o' Jo with Mass NOW's Sasha Goodfriend

I caught up with Sasha Goodfriend from Mass NOW for an important conversation about advancing menstrual equity in the Commonwealth.

Answering your calls to action on legislation and other pressing issues

About one-third of the hundreds of emails I receive each day are from constituents calling me to act on pieces of legislation or pressing issues. Thank you for allowing this “bulk” reply to some of the issues I have heard most about in the recent weeks.

Changes to Group Insurance Commission (GIC) benefits

On February 12, the GIC Board met to discuss and vote on the proposed changes to state employee health benefits. During the meeting, which is available here, the Commissioners discussed feedback in opposition to the changes. The Commissioners delayed the vote on the proposed changes that include eliminating coverage for GLP-1 medications for weight loss and raising copays for emergency room and urgent care visits to their next meeting.

I also signed onto a letter to the Governor opposing these plan design changes.

On February 23, Governor Healey penned her own letter to the GIC Commissioners calling them to stop “considering plan design changes that could shift costs onto state workers.”

On February 26, the GIC Commissioners voted to follow many of their private insurer counterparts in eliminating coverage for GLP-1 medications for obesity. The Commissioners then voted to move forward with the meeting without tackling the other proposed plan changes.

My team and I will remain engaged and continue to pass along your advocacy to the GIC. I encourage you to also share your feedback directly at gic.info@mass.gov.

Increasing revenue

I have heard from many constituents recently supporting state action to protect much-needed revenue from regressive corporate tax cuts in the federal One Big [Brutal] Bill.

Please know that I am with you, and have spoken publicly and with my colleagues about decoupling Massachusetts from these cuts, which are estimated to cost the Commonwealth nearly $500 million in Fiscal Year 2026 alone. Governor Healey filed legislation to delay the implementation of these cuts. I wrote testimony encouraging the Legislature to decouple completely. You can read it here.

The Bottle Bill

I received a lovely array of Valentine’s Day cards and postcards from constituents asking for my support of the Bottle Bill (S.2245) filed by Senator Cindy Creem. I am a proud co-sponsor of this legislation (which passed the Senate in June 2024 but didn’t make it to the Governor’s desk). This bill would add noncarbonated beverages, wine, and spirits to the list of containers eligible for bottle deposit, increase the deposit amount from five cents to ten cents, and expand the deposit system to include small containers up to one gallon containers.

It is beyond time to revisit the Commonwealth’s Bottle Bill, as it has not been updated in 40 years. I am glad that this legislation has advanced to Senate Ways and Means.

Say hello to Link413

Gotta love Link413 — launched to connect the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority (BRTA), Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA), and Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA). For more information, visit Bit.ly/link413.

Thank you to Western Mass Director for Governor Healey, Kristen Elechko, for the picture! We want west/east rail. We want cross-county service. We want microtransit and last mile transit options. Link413 demonstrates that we’re making progress together.

Ways to engage

Office hours in March — Legislative Aide Lauren Howard will be hosting remote office hours via Zoom on Thursday, March 12, 2026 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Sign up here. Thanks to Lauren for leading.

Out and about

As always, we’re only able to share a few highlights of our team out and about. As you scroll through, please know that I joined Representative Mindy Domb in a packed First Congregational Church in Amherst to support an ICE bystander training and fundraiser for the LUCE network.

I also joined a legislative meeting in support of Heywood Hospital, held at Athol Hospital; joined Representative Susannah Whipps to meet with constituents at Greenfield Library; joined a Human Service Forum breakfast in Easthampton; and much more.

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On January 28, I joined advocates organized by Clean Water Action to build support for legislation I filed with Representative Jim Hawkins to identify and remove dangerous toxic chemicals from children's products (S.2660). At a time where the federal government is backing away from consumer safety, the Commonwealth must lean in. Our bill was reported favorably by the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure and is now with Senate Ways and Means.

On January 30, I joined members of the western Mass legislative delegation in Springfield to meet with the Economic Development Council’s (EDC) new executive director, Aaron Vega. As a former state representative, Aaron is very familiar with the high stakes work of developing our regional economies. I have high hopes for this re-start with the EDC and am glad to join Aaron and my colleagues in this work.

My team and I hosted fantastic students in the State House on February 4 as they advocated for legislation I filed with Representative Andy Vargas to ensure that all high school students complete the FAFSA (S.2533).

Grateful to uAspire for organizing the briefing and leading us all forward.

On February 10, Senator Becca Rausch invited Legislative Director Rachel Klein to speak with Brandeis University students about S.104, An Act relative to an agricultural healthy incentives program, and S.2641, An Act relative to menstrual product ingredient disclosure, two bills we filed this session that Rachel is expertly shepherding through the legislative process. (On our team, we call Rachel the “policy lion” as a measure of our love for her fierce work. Don’t get between Rachel and a bill she aims to pass!)