We are so excited to share all of our late-winter and early-spring updates!

We are always looking for ways to connect with the district. If you have a specific policy question, an event you want our office to know about, or just want to get to know your representative, please sign up for office hours!

The next office hours are May 16th from 5 to 6PM. You can sign up here.

If you're not able to make it to office hours, no problem. Please email my aide, Abby.Cutrumbes@mahouse.gov, and she will find a time for us to meet.

The House passed its iteration of the FY24 budget last week, totaling $56.2 billion in spending statewide and including several hundred million on progressive programs and policies. Below is a graphic illustrating just a few of these fantastic wins.

Alongside these statewide wins, we were fortunate to get a combined $600,000 for Lexington, Woburn, and Winchester-specific programs and projects. Here is a breakdown of where that money will go (pending Senate concurrence and the Governor's final approval):

• $100,000 for Woburn to implement recommendations from the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative for Local Rapid Recovery program,
• $150,000 for Lexington to assist with the operations and coordination efforts of the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution events,
• $175,000 for capital improvements to the O'Brien ice rink in Woburn, and
• $200,000 for the renovation and maintenance of recreational parks and facilities in Winchester.

This funding will go far toward economic development and recreation in our communities. Thank you to my colleagues, Rep. Rich Haggerty and Rep. Mike Day, for championing the Woburn and Winchester amendments!

I am delighted to have been re-appointed to four committees: Environmental and Natural Resources (ENR), State Administration and Regulatory Oversight (SARO), Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities (CFPD), and Elder Affairs.

Serving on these committees means I see bills that deal with a wide range of issues, from waste reduction, to disability accommodations, to retirees' housing situations. I am fortunate to serve with amazing groups of legislators, headed by thoughtful chairs, to consider bills that will impact every resident.

A State Administration and Regulatory Oversight Committee meet and greet with

Chairman Tony Cabral

An Elder Affairs Committee meet and greet with Chairman Tom Stanley and

Chairwoman Pat Jehlen

As House Chair and co-founder of the Zero Waste Caucus, I was thrilled to host an event in Lexington with Minority Whip Katherine Clark as our keynote speaker this past February. We had 150 attendees at Cary Hall and listened to almost a dozen legislators and advocates discuss the most pressing waste issues and the most promising waste solutions.



As always, a huge thank you to all of our speakers and attendees, including:

• State Representative Jeffrey Roy, State Senators Jason Lewis and Mike Barrett, Shannon Emmett from the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, Patrick Prendergast from State Representative Day's office,
• Kirstie Pecci from Just Zero, Juan Jaramillo from the Environmental League of Massachusetts, Janet Domenitz from MASSPIRG, Hien Nguyen from Lexington's own LexZeroWaste, and
• Congresswoman Katherine Clark!

It has been so heartening over the last few years to see discussions on waste reduction rise through the legislative agenda. With so many amazing advocates and legislators, I am very excited to see what we can do in the next few!

As many of you know, there are between 5-7,000 bills filed each legislative session, and each bill has to have a hearing. I've been fortunate to testify on two of my own bills reflecting two of our communities' greatest priorities: transportation and the environment.

Every year, the Legislature re-authorizes funding for municipal road and bridge maintenance via a program called Chapter 90. However, I believe we have been woefully underfunding this program, with no significant funding increases in over a decade. This year, I was able to testify on the vital importance of raising Chapter 90 funding for this year, as well as propose a commission to study the formula by which we distribute the funding to cities and towns.

As anyone who drives in Massachusetts knows, our roads desperately need small and large repairs. Studying how the Chapter 90 program currently functions, and how we can make it better, is the first step towards restoring our roads and bridges to a state of good repair.

Testifying in front of the Transportation Committee in support of expanding the Chapter 90 program and re-evaluating its efficacy to make it more equitable and efficient.

This week, I was also able to testify on H765, which would create a statewide program to support municipalities and small businesses in their transition to electric-powered landscaping equipment. Far from being a leafy suburban issue, this program would have huge benefits for landscape workers; the motors on gas landscaping equipment do not have meaningful filters, so workers directly breathe in soot, gas, and carcinogens for hours at a time. They also suffer hearing loss from the noise and vibrations of the machines.

Electric landscape equipment is significantly quieter and has virtually no onsite emissions. This means better air quality for our communities and for the workers handling the equipment for hours at a time.

Last year, we were able to get funding in the FY23 budget for the Town of Lexington to pilot a similar program with great success. I look forward to continuing our advocacy on this important issue and building off of Lexington's success!

Testifying in front of the Environmental and Natural Resources Committee in support of my bill, H765, that would create a statewide grant and loan program for municipalities and small businesses to transition to electric landscape equipment.

I have heard from many concerned constituents regarding the Hanscom expansion project. I myself have concerns. Over the past month, I have visited the base to see the proposed changes, written about my concerns and asked for more robust environmental review, and met with the Secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to discuss the impact this would have on the surrounding environment.

You can see my written comments on the first proposal here. We will have more opportunities in the coming months to provide input on the project, and with any luck, we will be able to mitigate some of the environmental damages that this expansion could bring.

In March, Lexington co-hosted a luncheon with the towns of Concord and Lincoln to discuss the planning efforts underway ahead of the years-long celebration of the Semiquincentennial (that means 250th!) Anniversary of the American Revolution.

It's no secret that our towns played a crucial role in kickstarting the revolution that would create our great country. From 2024 to 2026, we are expecting a significant influx of tourists and are looking forward to sharing our rich history with hundreds of thousands -- if not millions -- of global visitors.

However, coordinating events for crowds this size is no easy feat: there are security, transportation, logistics, road maintenance, wayfinding, marketing, and operational concerns that will take manpower and money to pull off. This is why we were eager to help Lexington plan a fantastic first convening to ensure that we are prepared and capable of executing a worthy celebration, and we look forward to continuing our advocacy at the state level for this amazing economic development opportunity!

It has been a busy few months both in and out of the State House! While it would be difficult to fully recap all of the amazing events I've been able to be a part of, I wanted to keep you updated on some of the most exciting and impactful. Please see photos below of:

• Meeting Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer at the Clean Energy Caucus in March. The Climate Chief is a newly-created cabinet position in the Healey administration that will focus solely on mitigating climate change and coordinating efforts administration-wide to make sure every department takes climate into consideration in its work.
• Moderating a panel on food justice at Harvard Law School, featuring Congresswoman Clark and sponsored by Foodlink, an Arlington-based food rescue nonprofit. It is unacceptable that in one of the wealthiest states in one of the wealthiest nations, we are failing to provide accessible, healthy food for many of our neighbors. Amazing organizations like Foodlink help to fill this gap.
• Denim Day, where we commemorate the life-changing struggles of sexual assault survivors and advocate for sexual assault prevention. Denim Day gets its name from an Italian court case in 1997 that decreed that the victim had consented, because her jeans were so tight that her assailant wouldn't have been able to remove them on his own.
• Presenting on the Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators' legislative priority briefing about the State Budget Task Force that I lead with State Senator Cindy Friedman. On the task force, we focus on budget priorities that directly impact women's economic empowerment, safety and security, and healthcare.

1-2: Clean Energy Caucus with Climate Chief Hoffer, 3-4 food justice panel hosted by Foodlink and featuring Congresswoman Clark, 5 Denim Day Proclamation Ceremony, 6 presenting Mass Caucus of Women Legislators' budget priorities for FY24.

Representative Michelle Ciccolo | Website

Thank you for your ongoing support so that I may continue doing this important work.