My dad will be 92 in March. He was born right in the middle of the Great Depression, raised mostly by a single mother after his father died in an accident at a shellac factory, which was running around the clock during World War II.

Dad remembers combing the railroad tracks with his brothers for coal that fell off transport trains, taking pieces home to heat his house. He went to college and graduate school on the GI bill and became a social studies teacher.

He passed a love of history to me, while also helping me build a love of family and community. Of public service. Of witty commentary or a great old movie. Of hope against all odds. Of natural beauty. Of caring for those around us. Of patience in a storm. Of a government that can and must work in the best interest of everyone. 

The world has changed constantly in dad's lifetime and he's mindful that it's about to change again.



***

To take us into the new year, in this letter to you, I answer a question that constituents have asked repeatedly about what actions Massachusetts should take as we head into January — and a sea change in Washington, D.C.

After some thought — and believing as I do (and my dad does) in the necessary role of state government — I have come to understand we must do three things all at once. (For more, scroll down to “Preparing for the sea change in Washington, D.C.”)

And, since this is our last letter of 2024, we also share a round up on the current legislative session, which ends December 31.  

Let’s get into it.

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

• Catch up on November’s People’s Town Hall 
• A 2023-2024 legislative recap
• Learning from the Fiscal Year 2026 Consensus Revenue Hearing 
• Unpacking economic and regional development wins 
• Report issued on Northern Tier Passenger Rail 
• Honored by Center for Human Development and Association of Early Education and Care 
• Briefing colleagues on pancreatic cancer
• Preparing for the sea change in Washington, D.C.
• Our team is Out and About 

The People's Town Hall

Three hundred constituents joined me and my team on Zoom for a Town Hall on November 21. 

For those who were unable to join or were only able to join for part of the event, the video recording, slideshow presentation, resources we shared, and transcripts (English, Spanish, and French) are available here.

If you missed the great “Highlights of 2024” video produced by intern Ava Pujado, it’s here.

Cheers for Communications and Engagement Director Katelyn Billings for the mountain of work she did so that the town hall would be glitch-free and as accessible as possible. 

Session in review: A look back at the 2023-2024 legislative session

Here are a few numbers to help assess our team’s impact over these past two years: 

• We filed 71 bills (not including Home Rule Petitions, which are bills filed on behalf of specific municipalities). 
• 20 of our bills were either signed into law (in whole or in part) or implemented by the Administration or by ballot measure. Those bills are listed below, and a short blog on what each policy makes possible is here. (Note that we’re still pushing on bills which have advanced to House or Senate Ways and Means. And we will keep pushing through the final minutes of the current session.)
• We worked with House partners to pass 20 Home Rule Petitions into law. 
• We secured $2,365,000 in direct budget earmarks and $44,470,000 in bonding earmarks for the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester district. (This does not include work to secure crucial statewide funding for education, transportation, climate initiatives, and more.)  
• We posted 122 blogs on our website. 
• We sent 22 newsletters (including this one). 
• We sought your engagement 110 times in the legislative process. 
• We brought 43 state officials from Boston to visit the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester district. 
• We wrote 36 letters advocating for issues related to our district and 188 letters of support for state grant applications and initiatives. 
• We opened and closed 832 constituent cases across an array of state agencies. 
• I drove (at least) 37,145 miles to district and State House meetings, hearings, and events. 
• We posted all 252 Senate votes I took on SenatorJoComerford.org. 

Our 2023-2024 bills now law (in the order that they passed). 

• Certified Nursing Assistant Exams*
• Green and Healthy K-12 Schools
• Earned Income Tax Credit for Working Families*
• CHERISH - Higher Education Quality and Affordability Task Force*
• State Disaster Relief Fund
• Gender X on all State Documents
• Stop Home Equity Theft**
• Affordable Community College*
• Birthing Center Regulations
• MassHealth Estate Recovery
• Reduce Embodied Carbon 
• Solar Canopies Over Parking Lots*
• Improve Local Public Health (SAPHE 2.0)
• Strengthen Local Food Systems*

Our legislation that has been implemented by the Healey-Driscoll Administration or by ballot measure (in the order that they were implemented).

• Protect Benefits Owed to Foster Children
• Streamline Higher Education Financial Aid Programs*
• Blue Envelopes*
• Allow Gender-Neutral Bathrooms
• Trails for All
• End High Stakes Testing

* Indicates that the bills were passed or implemented in part. Much more information on all of the above here.

** Indicates that my bill was included in the passage of a similar bill led by another Senate colleague.

This does not include many other amendments we've filed to bills to ensure they work for our district, the hearings we’ve chaired, State House briefings we’ve hosted, regional initiatives we've tracked and led, Committee and Caucus work, and more. 

Kicking off Fiscal Year 2026

This December we’re grappling with three fiscal years all at once. We’re closing the books on Fiscal Year 2024, which ended June 30, 2024 — focused on paying all the bills, so to speak. To do this, the Legislature has proposed changing (just for this year) the way that capital gains taxes are sent to the Rainy Day Fund, in order to use about $500 million to close current budget gaps.

We’re currently in Fiscal Year 2025, which began July 1, 2024 and ends June 30, 2025 — focused on the spend rate of the appropriated funding and tracking incoming revenues monthly. 

And we’ve kicked off preparations for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) — focused on projecting the revenue we’ll have available in the coming fiscal year, which will begin on July 1, 2025.

Many of you know that I love budgets and that I believe in public investment in public programs. The headwinds are quite intense as we head into the new year — which means that we must be even more focused on a budget that works for all residents of the Commonwealth and can respond to volatility in federal government spending or cuts.  

A Consensus Revenue Hearing kicks off annual budget preparations and revenue forecasting each December.

The Joint Committee on Ways and Means and the Healey-Driscoll Administration met for the FY26 Consensus Revenue Hearing on December 2. Like every year, we heard from the state’s Treasurer and Department of Revenue Commissioner, as well as an array of budget analysts and economists. 

It’s a budget wonk’s dream and I always feel fortunate to participate as I did this year — in part by asking questions about the impact of potential federal spending cuts and how we should prepare.

I wrote a short summary of the hearing and my main takeaways here.

And here’s a graphic to remind you of the budgeting process with a star marking where we are:

Big economic development wins for western Massachusetts

On November 20, Governor Maura Healey signed An Act relative to strengthening Massachusetts’ economic leadership (H.5100) into law, authorizing a nearly $4 billion infusion into key sectors of the Commonwealth’s economy while making wide-ranging policy changes to support Massachusetts businesses and municipalities.

I am very proud of what my team and I accomplished through this legislation. This bill recognizes the unique economic needs and opportunities of rural and western Massachusetts. It includes transformative policies and crucial investments targeting our rural and small town needs, infrastructure, local public health, agriculture, food systems, and more.

Three policy provisions I filed were included in the final bill.

Statewide Action for Public Health Excellence 2.0 (SAPHE 2.0)

Until now, the Commonwealth’s local public health system was fractured, inefficient, inequitable, and underfunded — built on a patchwork of unevenly-funded municipal health departments and boards of health. Unlike almost every other state in the nation, Massachusetts lacked dedicated state funding for local public health. That’s why Representative Hannah Kane and I set out — in partnership with stellar public health colleagues — to change the way we do public health in the Commonwealth. We’ve been at this for four years and finally crossed the finish line.

Because SAPHE 2.0 was included in the final economic development bill, the Department of Public Health must now: 

• ensure that there is uniform access to core public health services for every resident of the Commonwealth; 
• build the capacity of local health departments and boards of health to deliver efficient and effective public health services; 
• develop a set of common local public health standards; and 
• promote and provide adequate resources for local health departments and boards of health.

This is one of the largest bills I’ve passed during my time in the Senate, and the win belongs to all the dedicated public health officials who work every single day to keep us safe and healthy. 

Economic Development Through Agricultural Preservation

This policy will help Massachusetts preserve valuable farmland and help farmers diversify their revenue streams by: 

• allowing the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) to buy and hold farmland when a parcel is being sold, and then sell that land to a farmer, while also considering the state’s goals as identified in the Farmland Action Plan for expanding farm ownership opportunities to traditionally marginalized communities;
• striking the five year limit for special permits that allow nonagricultural activities on land in the Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) program to make it easier for farmers to operate microbusinesses; and
• specifying that land used to create products from horticultural crops (like a kitchen to turn strawberries into jam, or the farmstand where that jam is sold) should be assessed and taxed as horticultural land, providing important economic relief for farmers.

Strengthening Agriculture, Fishing, and Cranberry Economies

This policy authorizes funds for a grant program to support the growth of the agricultural, commercial fishing, and cranberry-growing sectors, including promotion of climate resiliency and acquisition of eco-conscious gear. 

I boosted funding for the grant program from $15 million to $21 million.

The final bill also featured many other priorities that I fought to include in partnership with my team and Senate colleagues: 

• $100 million bond authorization for a new Rural Development Fund;
• The creation of a Rural Development Program within the Executive Office of Economic Development;
• $30 million bond authorization to develop a regional food science hub at UMass Amherst;
• $90 million bond authorization to improve or redevelop abandoned, vacant, or underutilized properties — more than double the previous funding to help transform abandoned mill buildings; and
• Hundreds of millions in bonding authorizations for existing grant programs for cultural facilities, travel, tourism, the arts, and more.

In addition to the above policy amendments, I also secured $10 million in bonding authorizations for four economic development projects in the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester district. 

Read more about the bill and investments here. 

All aboard for Northern Tier Passenger Rail

More than 100 entities from Berkshire to Middlesex Counties — including 40 municipalities — sent a letter to Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, and Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt asking them to prioritize the restart of Northern Tier Passenger Rail service along the Route 2 corridor.

On November 18, I joined colleagues including Representatives Natalie Blais and Jon Zlotnik and Franklin Regional Council of Governments Executive Director Linda Dunlavy — and a huge group of supporters — at the John Olver Transit Center in Greenfield to call attention to this letter and to ask the Healey-Driscoll Administration to turn its planning into action.

Here’s an excerpt of an editorial in The Boston Globe which appeared just hours after the launch events:

Backers of the plan say that while it would help the whole state by opening up housing options and reducing carbon emissions, there’s also a matter of regional equity at stake in a state where Greater Boston tends to receive a disproportionate share of investment.

“We’ve heard from the Healey-Driscoll administration a very clear message that they understand that western communities have been too long underserved and overlooked and they want to govern 351 cities and towns,” Comerford said.

Giving the Northern Tier a serious look would be one way to show they mean it.

All of this was well-timed, as just days later MassDOT issued its final report on Northern Tier Passenger Rail. You can read the report here. My team and I are strategizing about next steps — because overwhelming support for this passenger rail makes it clear that this train will leave the station. For us, it’s a matter of when, not if.

Recognitions

On November 12, I received the Ascent Award for Government Partnership from the Center for Human Development (CHD) in recognition of my and our team’s hands-on advocacy and support for the organization’s programs and initiatives. 

Time and again, CHD has risen to meet our community’s need for shelter, food, healthcare, and early intervention. My team and I have been proud to lean in to help the organization serve the wider community.

On November 20, I received the Legislative Achievement Award from the Massachusetts Association of Early Education & Care for my and our team’s leadership and advocacy in the Senate for early childcare policy advancements and funding.

The Commonwealth must make childcare more affordable and improve wages for those who serve the youngest among us. I am grateful to the Massachusetts Association of Early Education & Care for its steadfast advocacy for early education and equally glad to be thought of as a staunch and unwavering ally.

Recognizing Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day

On November 20, I joined Representatives Hannah Kane and Carmine Gentile, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to recognize Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day and to brief colleagues on the steps we can take to fight pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is estimated to be the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Massachusetts in 2024. In 2018, the Massachusetts Legislature convened the Special Legislative Commission to Study Pancreatic Cancer to better understand the prevalence of pancreatic cancer, current screening and prevention programs, and to provide recommendations for additional legislation, support programs, and resources needed. The Commission published a report in October 2019 with recommendations for the Legislature. You can read the report here. 

This session, I filed legislation to implement the recommendations of the Special Commission. S.1330, An Act to reduce incidence and death from pancreatic cancer, did not pass during the 2023-2024 legislative session, but my team and I are focused on getting this bill to the finish line in the 2025-2026 session — working with survivors, family members, and advocates from across the Commonwealth. 

• Know Your Rights Training opportunities: 
• If you are interested in attending a Know Your Rights Training hosted by the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), email training@miracoalition.org. 
• Here is the recording of the post-election community call hosted by GLBT Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD). 
• The UMass Amherst Band performed during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. See the band in all its glory here (and pictured below). Go go go UMass Amherst!
• On December 2, Massachusetts began administering the Certified Nurses Aide exam in Haitian Creole. This change is thanks, in large part, to the tireless and steadfast advocacy of the Center for New Americans in Northampton, which brought this issue to my attention and partnered with my team to file legislation to update the languages in which the exam is offered. I am grateful to the Department of Public Health for recognizing the importance of making these certification tests more inclusive. 

Preparing for the sea change in Washington, D.C.

As I told The Boston Globe, I would have to be asleep to not be concerned about the likely turbulence ahead. We’re at a pretty staggering precipice and there’s only one way forward: The intensity of our concern must be matched — simply and unequivocally — by the level and focus of our work.

Together, we must do three things all at once. As you read these three things, know that I am suggesting we must do them together. Government works best when people — you — make it work. You are needed to engage and hold government accountable, now more than ever. 

1. We implement the gains we’ve made and take advantage of the momentum we have built. These last years have been full of some significant policy and budget wins — but it’s not enough to pass a bill or secure an earmark, we have to see it through to implementation. We have raised our voices for western Massachusetts priorities and we must maintain our advocacy. When we show up and advocate together, we win. 
2. We protect and defend the most targeted in our midst. This means that we are reading Project 2025 with an eye toward where we may be the most vulnerable. It looks like legislative, budget, and policy decisions that rise to meet this moment head on. It looks like caring for each other.
3. We innovate. State government can attempt creative solutions to pressing problems where there is no consensus federally. Massachusetts’ innovative approach to health care became the model for the Affordable Care Act. We need to identify the areas where the federal government has not led, and then drive innovative solutions forward at the state level. In doing so, states like ours can lay the groundwork for future federal government action.

Here are a few examples where Massachusetts has rightly protected the civil liberties and rights of all constituents — where we’ve played defense and offense at the same time. I share these so that you can hold us accountable for more of the same in the years ahead.

• 2018 Legislature passed legislation to remove archaic and dangerous anti-abortion and anti-reproductive health care statutes
• 2019 Legislature passed new spending to replace funds cut at the federal level, for initiatives including the state’s Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) which helps mostly elders pay their energy bills
• 2020 Legislature passed legislation, at the height of the pandemic, to expand access to safety net programs for all Massachusetts residents
• 2020 Legislature passed police reform legislation
• 2020 Legislature ensured that COVID-19 benefits, public health protections, and health care services were accessible to all, regardless of immigration or citizenship status
• 2020 Legislature passed legislation to further expand abortion access by removing unnecessary and burdensome laws that delayed or denied care
• 2022 Legislature passed legislation to protect providers offering and individuals seeking reproductive care and gender affirming care in Massachusetts from laws in other states targeting people traveling out-of-state to seek care
• 2022 Legislature passed legislation to ensure all Massachusetts residents, regardless of immigration status, have access to a driver’s license and the ability to purchase car insurance
• 2022 Legislature passed legislation to expand voting access
• 2023 Legislature passed tuition equity, ensuring all Massachusetts residents, regardless of immigration status, have the opportunity to pay in-state tuition for public colleges and universities
• 2023 Healey-Driscoll Administration issued an executive order guaranteeing access to emergency abortion care 
• 2023 Healey-Driscoll Administration led and Legislature supported funding to stockpile 15,000 doses of mifepristone
• 2023 Legislature enacted a program to make school breakfast and lunch free for all public education students
• 2023 Healey-Driscoll Administration implements legislation to change the state’s building code to allow for gender neutral bathrooms
• 2024 Legislature passed legislation to strengthen gun safety laws
• 2024 Legislature passed legislation to ensure a Gender X option on all state documents
• 2024 Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Advisory Council to Advance Representation in Education released a groundbreaking report in the wake of the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision to ensure that Massachusetts continues to ensure equitable access to higher education, particularly for historically marginalized students

Out and about

As always, we’re only able to share a few highlights of the past month. But as you scroll through, please know that my team and I have also met with the Orange Selectboard, attended the Franklin County Chamber breakfast dedicated to agriculture, joined the North Quabbin Community Coalition’s Legislative Roundtable, joined the Pelham Democratic Town Committee for a town hall in the Pelham library, participated in a Climate Action Now monthly gathering to speak with advocates about what comes next for the climate movement, and much more. 

On October 31, I had the pleasure of joining UMass Professor Bridgette Davis’ public policy class where the students are using an op-ed I authored with Representatives Natalie Blais and Susannah Whipps, “11 Ghost Town Busters,” to guide their research on solutions to concerning economic and social trends in rural communities. 

Courses like this are reasons to hope. I met a powerful, rising generation interested in innovative, intuitive, strategic, and heart-centered approaches to public policy. 

On November 6, I was beyond thrilled to join a group of powerful advocates including constituent Meg Bandarra to celebrate the launch of Trails for All by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA). Meg is pictured with EEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper, Director of Massachusetts Office of Outdoor Recreation Paul Jahnige, and Appalachian Mountain Club New England Conservation Policy Specialist Rae Ettenger.

Years ago, Meg asked our team to pay attention to the fact that Massachusetts didn’t have a standard definition of what made a trail accessible, or any real understanding of where accessible trails were located. We also didn’t track how much funding for trails goes for accessibility purposes. Now, with the Administration’s embrace of a bill our team filed with Meg and the Unpaved Trails for All Coalition (which includes Northampton-based All Out Adventures), the state will convene a Trail Access Working Group, review current access on all paved and unpaved trails in Massachusetts, and make recommendations for improving outdoor trail access for all.

On November 15, District Director Elena Cohen joined Deerfield officials and state and federal partners to celebrate the completion of a new electric vehicle (EV) fast charging hub in downtown South Deerfield.

On November 19, Constituent Services Director Jessie Cooley attended a Farmer Appreciation Dinner hosted by UMass Amherst. It was a fabulous event honoring local farmers and celebrating the students working at the UMass farm. MDAR Commissioner Ashley Randle and UMass Executive Director of Auxiliary Enterprises Ken Toong shared how local food is the key to the success of the award-winning UMass dining services. 

Earlier that day, Katelyn presented a Senate citation to Mary Gabis, owner of Iridescence Healing Arts in Northampton for being recognized as a 2024 Woman Entrepreneur by the Center for Women & Enterprise.

On November 20, Elena presented a Senate citation to Gary Yuhas, Executive Director of LifePath, celebrating LifePath’s 50th anniversary at its annual meeting.

On November 25, I attended the opening of a new Community Health Center of Franklin County (CHCFC) site in Turners Falls. At a moment when health care access is threatened statewide and there is a critical primary care crisis in western Mass, CHCFC is expanding again (as it did into the North Quabbin) to meet the needs of our region. 

On November 26, I began my day with some of my very favorite humans, Monte Belmonte and Congressman Jim McGovern, as they began Day 2 of a 43-mile walk to end hunger, from Springfield to Greenfield, to support the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Thank you to everyone who donated to support my walk and this beautiful annual tradition. Monte and Jim raised close to $600,000!

On December 3, I visited the Rabbit Run Trail project with Athol Town Planner Eric Smith. This project runs through South Athol and into New Salem along the rail bed of the former "Rabbit Run" railroad, which made stops between Athol and Springfield before the state disincorporated and flooded four towns of the Swift River Valley to create the Quabbin Reservoir. This trail will be the first trail of its kind in the North Quabbin region. 

I then joined a roundtable gathering of City and Town Clerks, who are some of the hardest working people in government. I joined with colleagues to listen to concerns and suggestions for how the Legislature can build on the successes of the VOTES Act and fix the places we didn’t get it right. I am immensely grateful to every clerk in my district and especially to Athol Clerk Nancy Burnham who organized and hosted this gathering. 

On November 4, I helped host the annual State House meeting of the Food Policy Council. I serve on the Council for the Senate and offered a 2023-2024 legislative and budget round up.

Right after the Food Policy Council meeting, I joined constituents from the Warheads to Windmills Coalition as they delivered a letter to Governor Healey asking her to establish an Advisory Committee on Nuclear Weapons and Climate Change. The letter was signed by an array of elected officials, faith leaders, and state-based organizations like 350 Mass and Physicians for Social Responsibility. Grateful for this steadfast advocacy.

I could go on, but we’ll end here and send our love to you. On January 1, I’ll be sworn in for a fourth term — a fourth opportunity to serve our beautiful district.

Onward, 

Jo, Elena, Jared, Rachel, Jessie, and Katelyn

P.S. For timely updates, you can always follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky (no longer Twitter/X), and LinkedIn. Never hesitate to email jo.comerford@masenate.gov to let me know what matters most to you.

P.P.S. Help us reach more people by forwarding this newsletter to family, friends, and neighbors. You can also invite people to receive newsletters like this directly by signing up here.

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