Greetings all,

Every November, hundreds gather for Monte Belmonte’s Walk for the Food Bank — trekking north for two days along the Connecticut River to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight hunger and food insecurity. On the walk’s second day, Monte walked as Fred Rogers from Northampton to Greenfield — a perfect choice for this time. 

I’m pictured below with Congressman Jim McGovern and Mr. Rogers.

For countless years, walkers have also been buoyed by Congressman McGovern’s abiding tenacity and, in more recent years, by national goals forged at his 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, where legislators and advocates from across the U.S. pledged to end hunger and diet-related disease by 2030.

Hunger, food insecurity, and diet-related diseases are preventable. It takes care, courage, and action to change the status quo. It takes power — individual and collective power. We can and must leverage both.

No doubt that the headwinds are punishing. Amid a national affordability crisis, we spent much of the last month grappling with SNAP cuts, energy assistance delays, and health care cost spikes.

But even though the 2022 White House Conference sometimes seems 1,000 years ago, there’s too much on the line to give up. We’ll just have to fight harder and smarter — like we’re doing on Governor Maura Healey’s Anti-Hunger Task Force which is expected to issue strong recommendations very soon.

Speaking of fighting hard and smart, the Legislature lost one of the most strategic and brilliant, scrappiest fighters who ever served. A deeply kind, generous, and courageous colleague. Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante died on November 27 at the too-young age of 53, after too-long battling pancreatic cancer. Rep. Ferrante served her district with absolute distinction. I and everyone around me learned from her example. I join colleagues in mourning her loss and celebrating her beautiful life. My deepest condolences to her loved ones and to House colleagues. May Rep. Ferrante's memory and example forever be a blessing and a beacon.

Let’s get into it.

Make it to the P.S. for:

1. Ways to support residents of Olympia Drive in Amherst
2. An opportunity to sign up for our December 10 Town Hall
3. District Director Elena Cohen’s baby news!

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

• Massachusetts continues to grapple with the impact of federal funding cuts. 
• The Senate passes legislation to protect free expression in schools and public libraries. 
• The Legislature wraps up Fiscal Year 2025 with the closeout supplemental budget. 
• The Senate’s Response 2025 initiative is passing legislation protecting and defending Massachusetts residents and values. 
• Hitting the December deadline for action on bills in Joint Committees (and other important productivity and transparency updates).
• The Senate passes legislation modernizing cannabis laws. 
• Constituents speak out in support of K-12 education funding reform.  
• Hosting timely briefings on higher education policy.
• Celebrating our superstar Fall 2025 interns and fellows.
• Check out the latest Cup o’ Jo with Dr. Tatishe Nteta from UMass Amherst. 
• Honored to receive an inaugural award from the Massachusetts Caregiver Coalition. 
• Celebrating economic development grant awardees across the district. 
• Answering your calls to action on legislation and pressing issues.

Navigating the consequences of federal policy changes and funding cuts

In my last newsletter I wrote that governing amid continued federal volatility is like trying to work atop an active volcano. And while it’s a wild ride at the state level, nothing is harder than grappling with the impact of cuts and changes at the local level or as an individual or family. 

Federal changes to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility have gone into effect, making an estimated 100,000 Massachusetts residents newly ineligible. Fuel assistance payments to states were delayed due to the federal shutdown. And, as health care open enrollment takes place, many people are seeing or will see shocking premium increases or devastating plan changes. 

If you or someone you know has questions or concerns, please reach out to jo.comerford@masenate.gov or fill out our Constituent Assistance Form and we’ll jump in right away to help.

The Senate takes action to safeguard free expression

On November 13, the Senate debated and passed An Act regarding free expression (S.2762) which protects Massachusetts residents from improper book removals by establishing clear, uniform guidelines for how schools and libraries choose materials, how local officials evaluate whether a book should remain available or be taken off the shelf, and protects librarians from professional or personal liabilities.

Constituent and award-winning author Jarrett Krosoczka (pictured below) came to the State House to speak at a press conference held prior to debate. 

Jarrett and I caught up a bit later. I was able to tell him how his advocacy spurred my action on the bill.

During the debate, I joined a few Senators who filed successful amendments to strengthen the bill’s protections for authors and creators. My amendment ensured that materials must be considered in their entirety when facing a challenge, rather than a picture or a page being cherry-picked out of context as sometimes happens.

Watch my remarks from the Senate floor:

Wrapping up fiscal year 2025 (FY25) with a closeout supplemental budget

On November 19, the Legislature voted to enact the FY25 closeout supplemental budget (the “supp”) and send it to Governor Healey for her consideration and signature. 

Like other closeout supp budgets, this spending bill closed the books on the prior fiscal year. But this is not an ordinary time and this was no ordinary closeout supp. You can tell that from the summary list below.

I was able to include a bill I filed in the closeout supp: S.1045, An Act Protecting Personal Security. This bill was a priority for constituents, LGBTQ+ advocates, and the Senate’s Steering and Policy Committee (more on Steering and Policy below). It protects the privacy and safety of residents who are changing their legal name. You can read more about this policy here.

It’s hard to believe, but even passing this discrete, modest-in-size bill took dozens of hours of work, including extensive meetings with the Trial Court, District Attorneys, Registers of Probate, advocates, and colleagues. I am grateful to all of these individuals, to my partners in the House Representatives Jack Lewis and Lindsay Sabadosa, and to Legislative Director Rachel Klein who worked hard and with surgical precision to shepherd this bill from concept to completion.

Rounding up this year's Response 2025 work

In April, Senate President Karen Spilka announced that the Senate Committee on Steering and Policy, on which I serve as Vice Chair, would become the hub of work for the Senate’s Response 2025 initiative. 

The Committee’s directive has been to assess federal actions and identify and prioritize policy solutions to protect our residents and defend our values. Senator Cindy Friedman has chaired the Committee into an efficient, productive formation, convening weekly and frequently multiple times a week (or even in a day) to evaluate and advance state responses to federal actions. 

Since then, the Steering and Policy Committee has worked to pass numerous policies through the Senate. I’ve included a handful below: 

• A new shield law strengthening reproductive and gender affirming care protections for patients and providers and closing loopholes in existing laws;
• A data privacy bill to protect personal and sensitive data, including allowing consumers to opt-out of having their data sold to third-parties and banning the collection and sale of minors’ personal data;
• A new law to protect education supports for immigrant and special needs students attending K-12 schools amid federal policy changes; 
• A new law (described in the section above) to strengthen privacy protections for individuals seeking to change their legal name;
• A bill (also described above) preventing politically-motivated or improper book bans;
• A policy increasing the penalty for impersonating a federal law enforcement officer;
• A policy decoupling the state's childhood vaccine guidelines from federal recommendations;
• A Joint House and Senate resolution rescinding previous Article V Constitutional Convention resolutions in response to concerns that prior Massachusetts resolutions could be used to call a 50-state Article V Constitutional Convention to strip away constitutional rights;
• And more to come.

We’ve also focused on budget priorities, which I’ve written to you about over the last months.

Here’s a recent example of what we’re up against and how we're responding: The federal government is now requiring states to pay a percentage of the costs of administering the SNAP program, as well as to pay a percentage of SNAP benefits if the state does not bring its error rate below 6%. (In FY24, 44 states/territories, including Massachusetts, had an error rate over 6%, with the average error rate being 11%.) The Committee prioritized $10 million in funding in the FY25 closeout supp for the Department of Transitional Assistance for technical upgrades necessary to lower the error rate.

Joint Rule 10 Day and updates on rules reform

The Joint Rules (which govern the interactions between the House and the Senate) always include a date by which Joint Committees must have held public hearings and taken action on all of the timely-filed bills in their committees.

The details get pretty complicated, pretty quickly. For example, the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing has a separate deadline. The Senate Committee on Ways and Means is not a Joint Committee. Committees can seek an extension order for particularly complex bills. You get the idea…

This year, three things are special about Joint Rule 10 Day:

1. It’s earlier. In previous sessions, the deadline was in February of the second year of session. Now it's the first week of December in the first year of session, meaning committees have completed their work two months earlier than previous sessions, and bills advance through the legislative process more quickly. I strongly supported this change which gives bills a better chance to come up for a vote on the floor of both Chambers.
2. Legislators’ votes on bills in Joint Committees are now public. Each bill that has been voted on by a joint committee will have a tab showing how committee members voted. (Here’s an example.) I strongly supported this change to increase transparency and accountability.
3. The new rules on voting means that more bills are already on the move. By December of 2023, way fewer than half of the bills I filed had advanced favorably. This year, 67% of the bills our team filed have already advanced, with more to come.

Passing a bill to modernize the Commonwealth's cannabis laws

On November 19, I joined my colleagues in the Senate to pass An Act modernizing the Commonwealth’s cannabis laws (S.2722). This legislation will increase oversight of the cannabis industry and restructure the Cannabis Control Commission. 

This session I filed a bill (S.54) to regulate intoxicating products made from synthetic hemp. These products have been found in gas stations and other stores and contain chemicals that are dangerous for both children and adults. Our team has engaged deeply in this emerging issue that’s getting rightful attention from constituents, press, and the federal government alike. 

Due to recent and complicated federal action on hemp, the Senate bill mandates a study on how Massachusetts should act to regulate these new intoxicating substances. 

Learn more about the legislation here. 

This bill now heads to a conference committee as the House previously passed its version of cannabis (and hemp) reform. In conference, members of the House and the Senate will negotiate the differences between the two bills before bringing final legislation to the floor in both chambers for a vote. 

Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester residents turn out in support of K-12 education funding reform

On November 6, representatives from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Department of Revenue’s Division of Local Services (DLS) were in Greenfield for a public hearing as part of a Chapter 70 Local Contribution Study.

DESE and DLS heard from impassioned western Massachusetts community members and elected officials about the urgent need for education funding reform. Some of us gathered again on November 18 for a virtual hearing.

I was proud to be among you.

THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to share your profound expertise and clarion calls to action.

If you weren't able to attend, I encourage you to send in written remarks to C70PublicComment@mass.gov. Please cc jo.comerford@masenate.gov when you write.

To explain the study, Representative Natalie Blais and I made a short video with Noah Berger from the Massachusetts Teachers Association. You can watch it here.

Here is my written testimony and here is the oral testimony I gave in Greenfield. Sharing your personal perspective will help our state agency partners make informed recommendations.

This comment process is an important moment in a long journey. We're making progress but we're far from finished. I'm pretty darn grumpy about this a lot of the time and like you, I am tremendously impatient.

I promise you that equitable education funding for our district is my and my team's top priority. I will stay with this work until we prevail, together.

On November 14, I joined Rep. Blais on a panel at the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) and Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (MASS) conference in Hyannis.

We joined Sunderland School Committee Chair and educator Jessica Corwin, Mohawk Superintendent Sheryl Stanton, and Mohawk School Committee Chair Martha Thurber on a panel focused on rural and low/declining enrollment schools — and the actions the *state must take* to ensure equitable opportunity to students in schools across our region. Grateful for the passionate group that assembled to strategize on next and necessary steps. You can see us below, gathered for a picture after the panel, sporting Rural School shirts!

A focus on higher education policy

Over the past several weeks, my team and I have convened a series of briefings to help our colleagues better understand both the challenges and opportunities facing higher education in Massachusetts.

On October 29, we held a briefing for legislators and staff on the consequences of recent federal funding cuts. The Department of Higher Education outlined significant impacts to student financial aid, Pell Grant stipends, and related supports.

A week later, on November 6, we partnered with EdTrust in Massachusetts and the Hildreth Institute to highlight the success of the aptly-named SUCCESS (Supporting Urgent Community College Equity through Student Services) program. We learned how its wrap-around services are helping low-income students persist and complete their degrees.

Most recently, on November 18, the House passed An Act to Build Resilient Infrastructure to Generate Higher Education Transformation (H.4769), also known as the BRIGHT Act. This major capital bond bill authorizes billions of dollars to modernize the state’s public colleges and universities. Filed by Governor Healey, the bill leverages Fair Share surtax revenue to issue bonds to address deferred maintenance, build new infrastructure, and support decarbonization across public campuses.

(I participated in a Higher Education Capital Working Group, which did a deep dive into the state’s higher education infrastructure and made recommendations that formed the basis of this bill. You can take a peek at our super nerdy report here.)

I look forward to taking up this legislation in the Senate. It will be a boon to our district’s Greenfield Community College and UMass Amherst, as well as other public institutions in Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Worcester counties. 

Celebrating our Fall 2025 interns

This fall, my team and I worked with a superstar team of interns and fellows.

From left to right, starting at the top: Kainoa ChesmoreWalling (Mount Holyoke), Miles DeRiggi (UMass Amherst), Depre Carr (UMass Amherst), and Janine Nanez (Northeastern University School of Law).

I am grateful for their service and their stellar work for our district. On our team, interns expand our reach, bolster our efforts, and inject much-needed urgent and new perspectives. 

Please join me in wishing them well as they embark on new adventures. Our future is in very good hands.

Latest on Cup o' Jo: Dr. Tatishe Nteta

In the latest episode of Cup o’ Jo, I spoke with the extraordinary Dr. Tatishe Nteta, Provost Professor of Political Science and the Director of UMass Poll at University of Massachusetts Amherst. 

We discussed how Dr. Nteta came to work in political science, his analysis of recent polling results, and Indigenous issues in the Commonwealth.

Deeply grateful to Dr. Nteta for ... well ... for everything.

Awards

On November 5, along with Representative Brandy Fluker-Reid, I was honored to receive the inaugural Policy Trailblazer Champion Award from the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) and the statewide Massachusetts Caregiver Coalition.

My team and I are grateful for this recognition of our leadership on major family caregiver legislation, including a bill we filed this session with Representative Mike Kushmerek to support family caregivers (S.1938).

District event conflicts prevented me from attending in person, so I shared a video message accepting the award. You can watch it here. 

Chief of Staff Jared Freedman represented me and is pictured with EOLWD Secretary Lauren Jones.

Celebrating grant awardees across the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester district

More than $10 million is on its way to the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester district in economic development and housing infrastructure grants. These state awards are even more urgent given the continued and acute absence of a federal partner. 

Thank you to the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Legislature for continuing to invest in western and north central Massachusetts cities and towns, and to our local officials for their painstaking and vigilant work applying for these grants.

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 issues they support. Thank you for allowing this “bulk” reply to some of the issues I've heard most about in recent weeks. 

2030 climate goals 

I’ve heard from many constituents expressing deep concern about recently released legislation that would weaken Massachusetts’ 2030 climate commitments. I do not support weakening our climate goals. Now more than ever, we must advance policies that protect our environment, uphold our climate responsibilities, and safeguard the green energy future our planet depends on.

Energy affordability

I also hear from many constituents who are struggling to afford utility bills. With the federal government delaying the release of funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and utility companies like Eversource and Berkshire Gas announcing rate hikes for this winter, I am engaged with my colleagues and the Healey-Driscoll Administration to find viable solutions to energy affordability. 

If you need assistance paying your utility bill, we’re here to help. Please fill out this form and we’ll reach out ASAP. 

As for a long term solution, I filed legislation to limit the rates that utilities can charge, and this session Governor Healey also filed significant energy affordability legislation. I expect the legislature will take action on this issue this session.

Professional Staff Union (PSU) bargaining concerns

Many of you have reached out with concerns regarding UMass Amherst Professional Staff Union bargaining. As I do with all things UMass Amherst, I partnered with Representative Mindy Domb to convey concerns to the UMass Administration. I’ll stay engaged with Rep. Domb on behalf of constituents.

Protections for immigrants

YES! I have heard from many of you who are interested in what the state can do to thwart ICE, for example blocking what are known as 287G agreements. I am tuned in, and meeting with colleagues and advocates on a range of provisions, in addition to the one already passed criminalizing the impersonation of a federal officer.

What is the status of the End of Life Options Act? 

On November 17, the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing reported favorably on An Act relative to end of life options (S.1486), which I filed in partnership with Representatives Jim O’Day and Ted Philips and Senators Will Brownsberger, Dylan Fernandes, and Jake Oliveira. This legislation is now before the Senate Committee on Ways and Means for its consideration.

Smart Meters 

I have heard from many of you regarding your concerns on the smart meters being installed by Eversource. Because of your advocacy, I am a co-sponsor of An Act relative to smart meters (S.2306). 

This legislation gives constituents the right to retain and operate a mechanical analog meter at no cost. 

Will you advocate for S.551, An Act prohibiting the sale of newly farmed fur products?

YES! I was an early cosponsor of this legislation to ban the sale of factory-farmed fur products in the Commonwealth.

Ways to engage

Office hours in December —  Legislative Aide Lauren Howard will be hosting remote office hours via Zoom on Friday, December 19 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 also participated in events hosted by Engage Deerfield and Gill Indivisible; joined a “Meet and Greet” in Chicopee with recently appointed Massachusetts Department of Transportation Interim Secretary Phil Eng; attended the Western Massachusetts Fire Chiefs Association and Cooley Dickinson Hospital legislative breakfasts; hosted my colleague Senator Barry Finegold as he toured UMass Amherst; participated in the annual UMass Amherst Health Care Summit; attended a Franklin County Chamber breakfast focused on farms and the food system; attended a meeting of the Bernardston Board of Health; participated in the North Quabbin Community Coalition legislative forum; presented on PFAS in soils to Mothers Out Front; spoke with Selectboards in Ashburnham, Erving, and Shutesbury. And more.

***

On October 31, officials from the Department of Agricultural Resources, MassHealth, and the Department of Public Health (DPH) joined farmers and producers at Just Roots in Greenfield to explore how locally grown, nutritious food can serve as medicine — improving health outcomes while strengthening local economies.

What’s happening at Just Roots — through its partnerships with state agencies and regional growers — is revolutionary, necessary, and inspiring. That’s why I teamed up with Representatives Susannah Whipps and Natalie Blais to invite state colleagues to see firsthand the powerful intersection of farming, food access, and public health.

Later that afternoon, I joined Rep. Whipps, Congressman McGovern, and others at the groundbreaking for NewVue Communities’ Residences at the Park — a transformation of two abandoned schools into much-needed new housing for seniors and families in Athol.

On November 3, I joined Franklin Regional Council of Governments Director of Community Health Phoebe Walker and Rep. Whipps to welcome officials from Massachusetts Health and Human Services (HHS) and DPH to speak with local and regional public health officials, team members from the Community Health Center of Franklin County, and leadership from the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing at UMass Amherst.

Among this group of officials were the recently-sworn in HHS Secretary Dr. Kiame Mahaniah, Director of Health Policy and Strategic Initiatives Eliza Lake, and DPH Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein. 

This Public Health Excellence Tour highlighted public health shared-services in a largely rural region, the role of community health centers, and the impact of new statewide commitment to consistent and accessible training for local public health.

Photo credits: Paul Franz at the Greenfield Recorder

On November 4, I joined Rep. Blais and Kelly O’Reilly from her team on a three-stop tour of local farms in the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester district — celebrating local excellence in agriculture. 

At our first stop, we visited Our Family Farms to celebrate its Manufacturer of the Year Award. Shout out to Angie and Randy Facey at Bree-Z-Knoll Farm in Leyden, a member farm of the Our Family Farms collective, for their commitment to innovation in bringing quality products to local communities. (Thanks to Team Blais for leading this nomination.)

In the middle of our tour, we stopped in at Clarkdale Fruit Farms for an apple or two or three.

We then ventured over to Bar-Way Farm to celebrate its 2025 Massachusetts Dairy Farm of the Year Award.

On November 13, Director of Constituent Services Jessie Cooley celebrated the grand opening of the new satellite office for the Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) of Franklin County & North Quabbin. Located in Orange, this new site provides greater access for children and families from North Quabbin communities who are in need of the CAC's vital services. We are grateful to District Attorney Dave Sullivan and the phenomenal staff, board, and supporters of the CAC who made this happen.

On November 14, I participated in a webinar hosted by the Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts titled Rural Realities: Advancing Health Equity in Western MA’s Rural Communities. I talked about the challenges and opportunities facing rural municipalities and how the state can and must help them thrive. Watch the webinar here. View the slides from the webinar here. 

On November 17, I joined a crowd of supporters to cheer for 60 new units of affordable housing for families and individuals in a reclaimed former Northampton nursing home. 

It took 19 separate sources of funding, beautifully wrangled and managed by Valley Community Development Corporation (CDC). It took the investment by the City of Northampton. It took amazing architects, contractors, builders, artists, experts, all pulling together with Valley's staff and Board of Directors to meet a deadline. It took the goodwill of neighbors and supporters.

The state agency leading housing, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (HLC), had a $9.2M investment alone, followed by several other quasi-state organizations. (HLC Secretary Ed Augustus is pictured speaking to the crowd with Valley CDC's ED Alexis Breiteneicher looking on.)

Also pictured: A breathtaking mural and its artists and a playground that screams, "Come live and play here."

On November 20, I joined Rep. Blais to present on the Legislature’s recent work on agriculture to a packed house at the Massachusetts Food System Collaborative’s 2025 Forum. 

We discussed a piece of legislation we filed, An Act fostering agricultural resilience in Massachusetts (aka the FARM bill) (S.55/H.112), which just received a favorable report and is headed to Ways and Means in both the House and Senate. 

I am grateful to work alongside passionate and knowledgeable advocates, farmers, and growers across the Commonwealth to secure a better future for our farmers and improve food security for our residents.

On December 2, students, staff, and faculty of Northampton High School had a fabulous visit with Attorney General Andrea Campbell. The AG spoke passionately and candidly about her personal journey and her work. It was a gift.

Thanks to the Northampton Youth Commission for organizing with great support from Superintendent Dr. Portia Bonner and Principal Ben Taglieri. Glad to join Rep. Sabadosa, Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, and other community leaders to listen and to cheer on the AG!

We could go on, but we'll stop here and send our love to you. 

Jo, Elena (and Ida Lou), Katelyn, Lauren, Jessie, Rachel, and Jared

P.S. Thinking of our neighbors — On November 7, there was a devastating fire at a housing complex on Olympia Drive, near the UMass Amherst campus. Thank you to first responders from Amherst and surrounding communities, the Town of Amherst, as well as officials from UMass, MEMA, and the Red Cross for their tireless and ongoing efforts. The outpouring of support for the residents and students displaced by the horrific fire has been inspiring. Here is more information from UMass, with ways to help. 

P.P.S. Save the date for a December 10 virtual Town Hall — from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 10 via Zoom. 

Registration is required for this free event — via this link.

After registering, you will receive an email from Zoom with information on how to join. Please check your spam folder for this email. If you do not receive this email, please email katelyn.billings@masenate.gov.

A reminder to keep hold of that registration confirmation email — it will contain your unique link to join the Zoom on December 10.  

P.P.P.S. At long last — Welcome to the world, sweetest-ever Ida Lou, daughter of District Director Elena Cohen and her husband Jake Krain, born at the beginning of November. Sending love to all three of you!

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