(As a reminder, this is my office newsletter. To sign up for campaign-related updates on key races and ballot questions (and there are certainly both!), email jo@jocomerford.org.)

This newsletter is a wrap up of what’s called formal session for the 2023-2024 legislative session. I’ll do my best to summarize the highs and the lows of the last month.

Formal sessions occur during the first 19 months of a two-year session, ending on July 31 of the second year. Typically, the legislature would hold only informal sessions between August 1 and the start of the next legislative session.

But this July 31 came and went with work left to be done so I hope that the Legislature bucks tradition and returns to formal session soon in order to finish the critical business before us.

Speaking of bucking tradition, before I was a state legislator, I was an organizer. Heading into my fourth session in the state Senate, I'm going back to my roots and invite constituents to play offense with me.

And read on for news since July 3 (and there's a lot of it). We’ve kicked off two practices to help with the length of the newsletter. We've added: (1) a “Too Long; Didn’t Read” or TL;DR (quick hit list), and (2) links within sections where you can find much more information. 

TL;DR (Quick hit list)

• The FY25 budget has been signed into law carrying a lot of team wins.
• Some bills made it across the finish line at the end of formal session — including housing, parentage, veterans, firearm safety, IT, and wage transparency. Some — long term care, maternal health, substance use disorder treatment, health care, economic development, and clean energy — did not (yet).
• Some new policies — like blue envelopes, birthing center regulations, certified nurses aides, and trails for all — didn’t need the Legislature to advance.
• We’re grappling with bills we filed that did not come to the floor for a vote in a heartbreak round up including end of life options, two nuclear bills, spouses as caregivers, and more.
• There’s a lot happening in the district and we’ve been out and about.
• We’re going on offense and need your big ideas for K-12 education, regional equity for the Quabbin, and Northern Tier Rail.
• Our team has retiring and hiring news.

The FY25 budget has been signed into law.

On July 29 Governor Maura Healey signed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget into law. Our team was able to secure major wins and needed local investments. Read our FY25 wrap-up here to learn more about K-12 education, gender X designation, disaster relief, higher education, changing the state flag and seal, home equity theft, and the other areas where we focused. 

Before signing the budget into law, the Governor vetoed specific items. The fate of these vetoes is not yet fully known.

Some bills made it across the finish line at the end of formal session. Some did not (yet).

While we won’t dive into the details about all of the bills my colleagues and I debated and passed last month, here’s a digest, capturing key highlights of major legislation passed during July, what bills came close to the finish line, and what’s still in play. 

Before you go any further, you may have heard that there is a supplemental budget also moving that ratifies collective bargaining agreements — or CBAs — for groups of state employees. Please know that I am advocating for swift passage of this bill, which can pass in an informal session.

I joined Governor Healey and other members of the Administration and Legislature as the Governor signed the FutureTech Act into law on July 29. I was honored to chair the Conference Committee for the Senate.

Though it hasn’t yet been sent to the Governor, I joined joyful Senate colleagues and key advocates to celebrate the Senate’s passage of a consequential maternal health bill. Delighted to be part of the team that supported this essential legislation.

Some new policies didn't need the Legislature.

Throughout this session, I’ve shared accounts of our team’s bills being implemented through regulation by state offices — without passing the Legislature. This is a measure of two things: a new Administration’s proactive urgency and the very necessary proposals that constituents ask us to file.

Here are a few examples of policies that our team has filed that are already moving forward without yet becoming law.

We're grappling with bills we filed that did not come to the floor for a vote.

An honest accounting of this session must include some of our priority initiatives that did not come to the floor in either chamber for a vote. 

Here is a heartbreak round up. 

There's a lot happening in the district and we've been out and about.

On July 19, I joined farmers from across western Mass at a meeting to learn about the impact of the Clean Heat Standard regulations. Clean heat regulations would require heating energy suppliers to replace fossil heating fuels with clean heat over time, by implementing clean heat or purchasing credits. Learn more about the clean heat standard and our conversation on July 19 here. 

Congratulations to Northampton constituent Attorney Deepika Shukla who was nominated by Governor Maura Healey to serve as an Associate Justice on the state’s superior court. I welcomed Attorney Shukla, her husband Dr. Sunny Shukla (who is the incoming Chief Medical Officer for Cooley Dickinson Hospital), and their wonderful children to the Senate on the morning of Attorney Shukla’s meeting with the Governor’s Council. 

Congratulations to the Town of Shutesbury for breaking ground on a new library after 28 years (!) of fundraising and Town organizing — a massive and beautiful triumph.

Thank you to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners for recognizing the unique needs of small towns and allowing Shutesbury to kick off a new small library program. It’s a win for both rural and regional equity. Honored to join in the advocacy and celebration!

Congratulations to the Town of Leyden for muscling through significant public safety challenges to rebuild its fire department. Delighted to be able to secure $100,000 to help with the purchase of a much-needed truck. Thank you to Inspector General Jeff Shapiro who quickly and passionately answered my call for help and supported the town with procurement complexities. 

And as always, it was wonderful to see Congressman McGovern in both Leyden and Shutesbury.

We're going on offense and need your big ideas.

As I’ve written to you many times, some of the greatest pain I have felt on behalf of constituents is rooted in the way the state funds K-12 education. While the Legislature was able to raise the funding increase for “minimum aid” districts to $104 per student in the final budget, we didn’t come close to meeting the needs in the communities I serve. 

I also pushed for the final budget to include the Chapter 70 working group that I helped add in by amendment to the Senate budget (Chapter 70 is the state’s K-12 education funding statute) — but this provision was not included in the final Conference Committee budget and so did not make it to the Governor’s desk.

I feel similar frustration in work to achieve regional equity for the Quabbin and in efforts to advance Northern Tier Rail along the Route 2 corridor.

As angry as I am or as frustrated, I’m pivoting — making plans with colleagues to get to work immediately on a legislative plan for the next session.

But just doing the same thing over and over again is not going to yield different results, so I’m going to do more than policy work. I’m headed back to my organizing roots to help channel the people power of our district.

I’m holding community meetings in September and October via Zoom where we’ll launch campaigns to reach Beacon Hill with our region’s concerns about minimum aid and rural school funding, regional equity for the Quabbin, and the opportunity of Northern Tier Rail.

Sign up here to share your big ideas and if you want to help. We need everyone.

Is this the only organizing I'll be doing?! No. But my team and I have to start somewhere.

Our team has retiring and hiring news.

In bittersweet news Legislative Director Brian Rosman announced his plans to retire from public service this September. Our team threw a party for him, drawing advocates and legislators spanning his entire, beautiful career. You can send Brian a note here.

We’re cheering for Brian as he leaps off to new adventures and we’re cheering for Rachel Klein who is moving from Director of Policy and Constituent Services to Legislative Director.

Help build our team

With Rachel’s move, we’re hiring for a Director of Constituent Services. The position can be based in either the District or State House office. Please help spread the word by sharing the job description here.

The FY25 budget includes provisions, which I championed as Senate Chair of the Higher Education Committee, to significantly reinvest in higher education. You can listen to a WGBH Morning Edition interview with me here detailing what we were able to achieve. Or an episode of CommonWealth’s CodCast here.

What happens now?

As I noted up top, our work is not finished. 

Even as we press to complete urgent legislative business left undone on July 31, we’ll reflect on our wins and losses and strategize for the next legislative session which starts on January 1, 2025.

We'll also launch work on the projects noted above — as well as continuing work focused on the MCAS ballot question, new regulations for the SMART solar program, the Commission on chairing for the Senate on 21st Century Agriculture needs, and many other issues.

And we’ll be diving into all-out-nerdy-research-mode — reviewing bills to refile on your behalf and drafting new legislation spurred on by you — our constituents.

Accountability

Our team agonized over this newsletter because we know so many constituents are frustrated with the Legislature. We’ve always endeavored to convey the complex truth about the State House to you — action, inaction, failures, wins, and opportunities.

This newsletter is no different. While we’ve shared some real gains and major wins, we’ve also acknowledged some real setbacks. It’s hard to see years of work not come to fruition. This is true for our team and we know that it’s even more of a burden for our constituents and for that I’m very sorry. 

There’s so much work left to complete and we’re simply not stopping. And we know that you’re not either.

But we will end this newsletter here — with appreciation for your partnership in these urgent times — and send our love to you, 

Jo, Brian, Elena, Jared, Rachel, and Katelyn 

P.S. On July 3, shortly after we pressed “send” on our last newsletter, we received quite possibly the wittiest piece of feedback ever. Here’s what the constituent wrote, “...please take the time to make your communications shorter. This one was such a white whale that at several points I had to take snack breaks. Just give us the gist with access to more if our interests have a wonky focus.” 

Snack breaks!

We’ll keep trying to embrace Shakespeare’s adage that brevity is the soul of wit. Feel free to let us know how we’re doing.

P.P.S. For timely updates, you can always follow me on Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, and LinkedIn. Never hesitate to email jo.comerford@masenate.gov to let me know what matters most to you.

Boston office

(617) 722-1532

State House

Room 410 24 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02133