Bringing Beacon Hill to You

You have probably noticed that this newsletter came a few days later than normal this month. As you may already know, we were waiting for a few things to happen on Beacon Hill before sending this to you.

Supplemental Budget...........................

Each year, to close out the previous fiscal year, the Legislature passes a supplemental budget that balances all accounts and allocates remaining available funds.

All government action should be taken with a sense of timeliness, transparency, and sensitivity to the circumstances of all involved. This is especially true for the supplemental budget, which accounts for much needed pay increases for so many families this holiday season. 

Unfortunately, differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill regarding Gov. Healey’s ability to expend emergency shelter funding created a several week delay in reconciling a final version of the bill. 

The delay proved especially frustrating because so many contractual pay raises were left in limbo. On November 17, I submitted a letter to the conference committee asking its members to separate the contracts from the rest of the supplemental budget, so they could be approved on their own. Additionally, I also requested that funding for school districts impacted by special education tuition rate increases, and extensions on local appropriations, be separated and approved as well. 



I had hoped these actions would have taken place prior to Thanksgiving but am glad we were finally able to reach an agreement. 

One bill I haven’t discussed in previous newsletters got its moment in the spotlight last month. 

The Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government recently accepted testimony on S.1300, An Act relative to the term of special permits, which would amend existing state law to allow up to three years for action to occur on a special permit. Currently, the Commonwealth allows municipalities to set this standard, creating a patchwork of regulations that can make construction projects hard to plan and complete, a situation exacerbated by ongoing supply chain issues in the global economy. By creating a state-wide three-year allowance, approved projects would have ample time to proceed to completion. With the severe shortage of housing, it is critical that approved and permitted projects be given this flexibility.  

Over the last few weeks, I have had some interesting conversations with members of the media regarding some of my priority policy issues, including revenge pornography. I met with The Boston Globe to discuss my interactions with the family of a young revenge porn survivor and how my bill criminalizing this offense would impact future cases.  



Additionally, I sat down for a TV interview with WCVB to discuss the scope of public health impacts in Massachusetts associated with gambling, particularly sports betting. As you may know, I have been working on this issue since filing a bill in January to regulate advertisements for sports betting, but the broader health issues of gambling addiction also greatly concern me. Much like controlled substances, gambling is something people can so easily become addicted to, but we have so few resources to address it. The problem is made that much greater by the fact that we have now made gambling in Massachusetts more accessible than ever without having sufficiently addressed addiction treatment. 

The holiday season is once again upon us! While Thanksgiving and Christmas typically receive the most attention this time of year, the events related to Veterans Day took up the most space on my calendar this November.

I made my annual trips to events like the veterans’ breakfast in Abington, the ceremony at the Island of Flags, and the parade in Quincy, where I enjoyed speaking with active and retired service members of all ages. Perhaps my favorite of these annual traditions is the conversations Braintree High School organizes for its students. Each year, veterans visit Braintree classrooms to share their experiences and answer any questions students may ask. I always like to be present for these to hear what students are curious about and to see people from different walks of life coming together to learn more about each other. 

  

Along with a few staff members, I spent a day recently driving through the district to deliver care packages prepared by the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation. The Coats4Vets program seeks to provide winter clothing and other essentials to veterans in need, and care packages for local beneficiaries are available at veterans services offices throughout the district. 

. "Just a quick story..."......................

For the first time in a long while, I am starting to feel a little optimistic about the T. 

In a recent meeting with MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng and other T administrative staff, I asked about the scope of the work needed to get our public transit network operating at an efficient level. The answer – not surprisingly– was “a lot.” Multiple sections of the subway system will need to be shut down for track repairs. There is still so much to be done in terms of delivering new train cars. And we are still finding issues in stations that need to be addressed.  

For so long, problems have just sprung up, seemingly at random. A shutdown or a delay would unexpectedly occur and would not be followed by an explanation. Timelines would remain vague. Information was not regularly shared. 

I am pleased to see that travel times on the Red Line have returned almost to what they were before the imposition of slow zones and applaud how the MBTA is communicating with the public 

While a great deal of work remains, the T is now explaining why projects are needed, sharing realistic deadlines for completion of projects, and revealing cost estimates. I am encouraged that MBTA leadership has stopped hiding problems and started trying to fix them in a more disciplined fashion. 



In the meantime, I will continue to post updates on service changes and work scheduling to my social media accounts.