Exploring legal sports betting in Mass.

   After   New Jersey took a legal victory from the  United States Supreme Court which has already led to more states legalizing sports betting, we have joined lawmakers across the country in determining whether we should bring sports betting from an illegal overseas market into a taxed, regulated market.  

     As the House Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development, and with experience in both sports management and sports journalism, Rep. Gordon has been tasked to help the Committee determine whether Massachusetts should join states such as New Jersey, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and others in offering legal sports wagering to Massachusetts residents.

     While it is still unclear how the legislature will come out on this issue, the representative is working diligently to hear both said of the issue, while taking into consideration if legal sports betting could positively add to the state's economy. 

Providing help with the right resources 

     As the opioid crisis continues to affect residents all over the state, police departments and hospitals are seeing an increase in those battling not on

Sheriff Peter Koutoujian.

ly addictions, but also mental health issues. In most cases, the same people are battling both.  Police currently face a choice when they encounter someone on the streets in obvious need of mental health or substance abuse treatment.  They must either take the person to the emergency room for an expensive and largely inappropriate stay, or to jail where nobody wins.  This is why Rep. Gordon has joined with Bedford Police Chief Robert Bongiorno and en. Friedman members of the Middlesex County Restoration Center Commission.  Chaired by Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, the Commission is tasked with identifying a way that we can bring a space and program that provide a more suitable setting for these individuals.   

     After one year of due diligence, including monthly meetings and trips to visit centers in Springfield, Worcester, San Antonia, TX and Pontiac, MI, the group submitted its report to the legislature.  Read the report here.

 

   

Focus on early education and child care    

     Rep. Gordon is well known for having co-authored, filed and advocated for the Paid Family and Medical Leave law that was signed by the governor last year.  But he's not stopping there.  This session he filed a bill calling for a subsidized form of day care and preschool, that will allow all Massachusetts families who choose to do so to find safe, effective childcare for their children.

     You can read more about it here.

     "This is the issue," said Rep. Gordon.  "Paid Family Leave will help families stay together for 12 weeks after the birth or adoption of a child, and that's important.  But what happens after that?  The average cost of a private day care center is almost $2,000 a month for an infant, and the cost for preschool for a 4-year-old is not much more.  How can the lower wage earner from middle-class families afford to go back to work?"

    Rep. Gordon joined Senator Friedman (D-Arlington) as the Senate sponsor.  The program would provide a larger subsidy to lower-paid workers, but all families will benefit to some extent. It will help the lower wage earner to return to continue a career, and help the employer retain an important employee.

   The bill has the backing of 41 advocacy groups, representing not only workers but business groups, faith groups and social advocates.

Standing Up for Working Families   

        Rep. Gordon refiled a bill that will make sure that if a company hires a Massachusetts worker in Massachusetts, all of the Commonwealth's employment laws will protect that worker.  Currently, a company can require that a worker sign a waiver that requires that any dispute such as a claim for unpaid wages, discrimination, sexual harassment or others must be litigated in another state, following another state's laws.  Massachusetts has one of the best systems of legal protection for its workers, and it's time all workers get those same protections.

Get Involved    

       

Lost and Found    

    Ken is helping Treasurer Deb Goldberg identify residents of the district who have unclaimed money held by the treasurer. More than a million dollars is sitting with the Commonwealth, waiting to be claimed.
    We urge you to visit www.findmassmoney.com to see if there is lucre awaiting your claim. It is easy, and certainly worth the effort.