Vigilance has been the word of the day for weeks now.

Why? Because there’s so much moving on Beacon Hill and in the district, with bills and spending still being passed by the Legislature and significant work well underway to prepare for the next session, which begins on New Years Day.

This is as pithy a round up as we could make it — from energy policy to funding for overdue collective bargaining agreements to maternal health care and more.

To engage in campaign-related work — like Question 2, the ballot effort to end high-stakes testing in the Commonwealth, or national races (have mercy) — please make sure you’re on my campaign list. To get added, please email jo@jocomerford.org.

Let’s get into it.

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

• What’s still on the Legislature’s to-do list?
• Passed comprehensive maternal health legislation into law, including our bill regulating freestanding birth centers
• Passed comprehensive long-term care legislation into law, including our overhaul of MassHealth Estate Recovery
• Ratified Collective Bargaining Agreements and passed funding for services for survivors of crime and abuse
• Established a permanent disaster relief fund based on legislation we introduced last fall
• Blocked policies that aren’t moving forward, and why that’s a good thing
• Time to register for MassDEP’s public information session on FirstLight relicensing
• Take a three-minute, critical action for Northern Tier Rail
• Our team is Out and About
• Thank your Clerk

What's still on the Legislature's to-do list?

In my last newsletter, I shared updates on legislation and the substantial work left to be completed by the Legislature after formal session wrapped up on July 31. 

My colleagues and I have continued working through our to-do list, finalizing outstanding major bills (more on that below). However, some bills remain undone, and we continue to push hard for economic development, climate and energy legislation, and a substance use/mental health bill. I am in touch with my Senate colleagues daily about our priorities in these bills.

In addition to major legislation remaining to be completed, Governor Maura Healey recently filed a supplemental budget to close the books on fiscal year (FY) 2024, known as the “close out supp.” This pro forma vehicle closes the books on the prior fiscal year, which ended July 31.

“Close out supps” are usually all about money. But this year’s close out supp contains extensive policy focused on energy siting and permitting, energy storage, and more. I shared my thoughts on these policy proposals with Senator Michael Barrett, Senate Chair of the Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee. You can read my recent letter here.

Our team engaged robustly on a Senate climate and energy bill a few months ago, mindful of the concerns and aspirations of constituents. Unfortunately, that climate and energy bill has not yet passed into law, and much of what we achieved in the Senate’s bill is left out of the Governor's proposal.

These are uncharted waters. And these topics are red hot in our district. My team and I will continue to be vigilant on behalf of the communities we represent.

Maternal health matters

On August 15, the Legislature passed a comprehensive maternal health bill, An Act promoting access to midwifery care and out-of-hospital birth options (H.4999). 

This new law creates a state licensure pathway for midwives and lactation consultants, establishes a grant program to address maternal mental health and substance use disorder, and expands a universal postpartum home visiting program. It also mandates that insurers provide coverage for postpartum depression and major depressive disorder screenings for perinatal individuals. 

The new law also includes provisions to encourage the creation of more freestanding birth centers, which operate independently from hospital systems. These provisions came from a bill I filed in partnership with Representatives Chynah Tyler and Manny Cruz, An Act updating the regulations governing licensed birth centers in Massachusetts (S.1335). The provisions direct updates to the regulations governing freestanding birth centers to ensure safe, equitable, and accessible birth options. 

Learn more about the final bill that the Governor signed into law on August 23 here. 

I had the privilege of joining the signing ceremony for this legislation, along with House and Senate colleagues, practitioners like Ginny Miller from Seven Sisters Midwifery and Community Birth Center in Florence, and advocates from Bay State Birth Coalition, Reproductive Equity Now, and more. The picture below captures the joyous moment after Governor Healey signed the bill into law. 

A day to remember as we work to implement the new law's provisions AND press forward for more advances.

A long-term care transformation

On August 29, the Legislature passed sweeping reforms to the long-term care and assisted living sectors in An Act to improve quality and oversight of long-term care (H.5033).

This legislation strengthens the Commonwealth’s oversight of nursing homes, provides critical anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ nursing home residents, and permanently allows assisted living residences to offer basic health services. More here.

On September 6, Governor Healey signed this bill into law. 

Included in the law is a bill that I filed in partnership with Representative Christine Barber to scale back the Commonwealth’s Medicaid estate recovery program to the federally-required minimum. 

MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program, is required by the federal government to demand repayment after death from the estates or families of people who received Medicaid long-term health care services after age 55. But the MassHealth Estate Recovery program went way beyond what’s federally required, clawing back reimbursements for hospital care, doctors’ care, prescription drugs, physical therapy, and many other services.

This was a decades-long battle, powered by countless advocates and legislators.

My team and I had the privilege to cross the finish line after fighting to pass this for more than five years. We’re so grateful to have been part of this work.

More here. Catch a beautiful shout out from Governor Healey about the changes to Estate Recovery, during the bill signing (pictured below) here.

Here’s a great piece via MassLive describing the bill’s sea change and its impact. 

More about the recently-passed FY24 supplemental budget

On September 12, the Legislature passed an FY24 supplemental budget that ratifies 38 collective bargaining agreements and directs funding to the health and human services workforce, childcare assistance programs, community services, and more. Governor Healey signed the supplemental budget into law on September 17.

(You might ask, What? Another supplemental budget? Yes, I’d answer. Supplemental budgets are filed throughout the year to close funding gaps, tweak policies, fund collective bargaining agreements, etc.)   

This must-pass bill was a long time coming, having been filed by the Governor back in March. It included $20 million for work with survivors of crime and abuse. I have worked to secure $20 million annually in funding for victims of crime since federal funding was cut three years ago, and each year since the federal cuts there have been concerns about cuts to services for victims. After the supplemental budget passed, we received a really meaningful email from the Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance (MOVA), “Your advocacy and partnership were instrumental in achieving this milestone.”

This critical funding bolsters the life-saving work of organizations in our district including New England Learning Center for Women in Transition (NELCWIT), Safe Passage, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Franklin County and the North Quabbin, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Hampshire County, and many others.

Here’s a quick summary of what was in this supplemental budget:

Disaster relief is made permanent

Last summer, our district felt the impact of escalating extreme weather events. I spent days in flooded fields with farmers and growers and on washed out roads with municipal officials — grappling with costly damage. 

It was because of those days that Representative Natalie Blais and I filed An Act creating a State Disaster Relief Fund for Emergency Management (S.2506) just about one year ago.

This legislation proposed the first-ever statewide fund to support communities and farmers in recovering and rebuilding from disasters. Thank you to Emergency Management Directors statewide for their sharp advocacy for the bill.

Earlier this year, Governor Healey spoke in support of Representative Blais and my Disaster Relief Fund legislation in her State of the Commonwealth address. 

On July 29, with the Governor’s signature on the FY25 budget, the Disaster Relief and Resiliency Fund became law, initially capitalized with $14 million. Recently, the Governor proposed an additional $11 million via the pending closeout supp. 

The rapid uptake of this legislation speaks to the Commonwealth’s need for a fund and program. Representative Blais and I are working with the Administration on implementation and next steps.

And, even as we do, we’re paying close attention to the impact of the $20 million in relief for farmers and $15 million for communities that we were able to secure last year.

What's not moving forward (and why that's a good thing)

(Full disclosure: I have no right to use sports metaphors, but nonetheless I do.)

In the Legislature, sometimes we play offense. That looks like filing and fighting for new legislation or funding for our district — for example reforming MassHealth estate recovery, creating a new state disaster relief program, or securing emergency relief funding. 

Sometimes we play defense. That’s when we block policy or budget items that are unfair or downright injurious. 

In my letters to you, I focus largely on our team’s offensive moves, but sometimes our block or our tackle has an even larger impact. 

This was the case (in part) with the Affordable Homes Act, the housing bond bill that was signed into law in early August.

In the House and Senate versions of the bill there were two provisions that would have been bad for our region: 1) an authorization for $1 billion to send more Quabbin water to eastern Massachusetts without fair recompense for western Massachusetts and 2) a provision to subvert the Interbasin Transfer Agreement, which ensures eastern Massachusetts towns complete rigorous water protection and conservation practices before looking to dip into other sources of water. 

No. Not happening. We blocked and tackled alongside anyone willing to join us on the defensive line.

Thank you to Senate colleagues who heard our concerns and helped ensure that these provisions didn’t make it into the final bill.

I filed An Act relative to the Quabbin watershed and regional equity (S.447) this session with Representative Aaron Saunders to rebalance the relationship between the stewards and the users of this precious resource. This bill didn’t make it to the finish line this session, so I’ll be back to work next session to push with great colleagues to ensure that our communities are fairly compensated for their work and sacrifices to protect this natural resource. 

Read more about the Quabbin and the bill here. 

Learn and ask questions about the FirstLight relicensing

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is holding a Hybrid Public Information Session on the relicensing of Firstlight Power’s Turners Falls Dam and Northfield Mountain Pump Storage Project, on Thursday, October 10 at 6 p.m. at the Shea Theater, 71 Avenue A, Turners Falls. 

Registration via the link below is required for those wishing to attend virtually and encouraged for those attending in-person:

This information session is an opportunity for the public to ask questions directly of MassDEP, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, all of which will present information pertaining to the state’s Water Quality Certificate (WQC) process and share what has been learned from public comments to date.

More updates on the relicensing process are available here. I look forward to seeing you on October 10.

Go time for Northern Tier Rail

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has released the draft Northern Tier Passenger Rail Study report for public comment. The window to comment closes Saturday, October 12. The final report will incorporate comments received.

The report covers the benefits, costs, and investments necessary to restart passenger rail service from North Adams to Boston and includes several options — from all electric service to a fully local option.

Constituent input and advocacy has already been instrumental in demonstrating the game-changing significance of this rail service for the region and the Commonwealth.

Now we need all of us to help bring this home by sharing thoughts and showing support.

Can you take three minutes now and send a comment?

ANY positive statement you make, like “I want passenger rail along the Route 2 corridor” or “Western Mass deserves a robust rail network like eastern Mass” would be terrific and just what’s needed to show public interest.

One of our team’s summer interns, Ava Pujado, created a quick highlight reel of the 2023-2024 legislative session. It’s a fun round up of some of our work.

It’s been a year since the completion of suicide-prevention barriers on the French King Bridge. This was one of the first pieces of MassDOT-related work our team picked up in 2019, securing a $3 million transportation bond authorization in partnership with Representative Susannah Whipps. Recently we learned that Gill and Erving first responders have not been called to the bridge since the barriers were completed. There are countless people to recognize and honor, including the MassDOT team, town officials and first responders, and a fierce mom named Stacey Hamel who vowed to make the bridge safer after her son ended his life on the bridge.



On August 12, the Department of Public Utilities held a technical conference about implementing the net metering Single Parcel Rule. (A LONG time coming.) The slides from the meeting are available here. This process was triggered by a bill I filed with Representatives Blais and Mindy Domb, which passed into law in 2022, to address a rule where only one entity on a single tax parcel of land can participate in net-metering. As a result, solar panels were less affordable and available for residents of, for example, condominiums, housing developments, or apartment complexes, as well as farms or separate buildings on municipally-owned land.

Our team had been working on this issue since 2019, when local solar advocates called a group of legislators to a meeting at Village Hill in Northampton. Now, in 2024, I’m still engaged, because as I’ve said before it’s not enough to pass a bill into law — you have to see it through. 

On August 15, the Boston Globe editorial board wrote about the more than 50 state financial aid programs for higher education. The article outlines the differences between the larger programs, like MassEducate and MassReconnect, which offer free community college, and challenges the Department of Higher Education (DHE) to streamline its communications about financial assistance. I have filed legislation to streamline the state’s financial aid programs for the last three sessions, and am heartened to now be working directly with the DHE to implement these necessary changes. On September 23, DHE launched a website with information on free and affordable college tuition and fees opportunities across Massachusetts. This is a solid beginning but there’s more work to do and we’ll keep pushing.  

CONGRATULATIONS to the authors from the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester district who have been recognized by the Massachusetts Center for the Book for their significant and stellar work. I look forward to celebrating them and their accomplishments at the Awards Ceremony at the State House in October.

Out and about

In this section, we’re offering just a few pictures from events that my team and I attended over the summer.  

On July 6, I joined a packed house at the South Congregational Church of Amherst for a Mass Humanities reading of What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? by Frederick Douglass. 

Honored does not describe how I felt to participate alongside artists, educators, organizers, community members — to hear the Amherst Area Gospel Choir and listen to the charge of Dr. Amilcar Shabazz.

On July 8, I spoke with constituents in Orange about the bill our team has filed with Representative Saunders to achieve just recompense for communities in the Quabbin Reservoir watershed.

Photo Credit: Erin-Leigh Hoffman

On July 22, District Director Elena Cohen celebrated a major milestone: Franklin County’s emergency communication system has been upgraded to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Interoperable Radio System (CoMIRS). This is thanks to years of work and the impeccable collaboration and leadership of Linda Dunlavy and the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG), state colleagues, the federal delegation, and our region’s local officials and first responders. 

On July 24, I joined a sea of skilled and passionate advocates in the State House pushing for the End of Life Options Act, which I have been proud to file in the Senate. While this bill did not pass this session, it came as close as it ever has — and we’re planning to refile in January 2025, hopefully for the last time. 

On August 2, I had a chance to celebrate with the Peace Pagoda in Leverett at the unveiling of a stunning tribute to Wampanoag elder Slow Turtle, his connection with the monks and nuns of the Peace Pagoda, and his call to action more than 40 years ago to change the flag and seal of the Commonwealth.

I worked with Senator Jason Lewis to secure $100,000 in funding in the FY25 budget to complete the work begun by a special commission to change the state’s flag, seal, and motto. I'll stay on this until we have a new flag flying across the Commonwealth.

Also on August 2, I cheered for 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 that advocacy.

On August 3, I joined a chorus of congratulations for the Town of Leyden for muscling through significant public safety challenges to rebuild its fire department. Delighted to have secured $100,000 to help with the purchase of a much-needed truck. (In my calendar, I called this a “kiss the beautiful truck” event.)



Thank you to Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro who quickly and passionately answered my call for help to support the town with procurement complexities.

On August 6, I celebrated National Farmers Market Week at Grow Food Northampton’s stunning and transformative Tuesday Market, joined by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner Ashley Randle. 

We can do it all — end food insecurity, increase access to healthy and nutritious food, support farms and farming, and increase the economic wellbeing of our region. All of it via farmers markets like the Tuesday Market.

On August 7, I joined DPH Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein; Dr. Hafsatou Diop, DPH Assistant Commissioner of Health Equity; Julia Mathis from the Office of Representative Lindsay Sabadosa; and Northampton’s Deputy Commissioner for Health and Human Services Michele Farry at Seven Sisters Midwifery and Community Birth Center to meet with Owner and Clinical Director Ginny Miller and her team. We toured the birth center and learned directly from Ginny and the team about what's needed to better support their work now and in the days ahead.

Dr. Diop has been leading DPH's work on maternal health for a good long while and was a central leader on the Racial Inequities in Maternal Health Commission I chaired for the Senate during the 2021-2022 session. 

On September 6, I attended a glorious celebration hosted by the Franklin County Agricultural Society at the Franklin County Fair in Greenfield, recognizing 175 years of being rooted in community and agriculture. 

I was thrilled to celebrate $1.6 million in investments, $600,000 from Massachusetts alone — and so glad to support this work. Joining in the joy were Representative Blais, Rural Affairs Director Anne Gobi, Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism Director Kate Fox, Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Director Jessye Deane, Greenfield Mayor Ginny Desorgher, MDAR officials, and more.

On September 9, I co-hosted a day-long tour of the Schell Bridge for federal and state officials with Representative Whipps and determined Northfield officials. 

The goals of the day were to explore the significance of the bridge and its links to the regional recreation tourism economy, address questions, and to help build excitement among key stakeholders for the project’s future.

Earlier that day, I was glad to join an academic year launch with some of the region’s higher education campus leaders. 

On September 13, I joined District Director Elena Cohen and Representative Blais at Hired Hand Signs in Turners Falls to celebrate the fabulous Jess Marsh Wissemann and tour her hand-painted signs studio. I was honored to join Representative Blais to nominate Jess for the Outstanding Leadership Skills in the Manufacturing Industry Award. 



Jess is a placemaker as much as she is an artist and producer. We're so lucky to have her art and her work in our midst. Much more: https://www.hiredhandsigns.com/.

On #NationalCitizenshipDay (September 17) I joined Representative Domb, Congressman Jim McGovern, and Amherst Town Council President Lynn Griesemer to welcome 50 new citizens from 29 nations. Thank you to the Jones Library for leading and hosting.

On September 18, I joined Valley Community Development and federal, state, and local officials to break ground on the re-development of the former Northampton Nursing Home — which will become 60 new affordable apartments for families at a currently blighted, vacant property. Complete with geothermal energy and a solar array no less. This project needed 19 different sources of funding from multiple municipal, state, and federal sources.

Also on September 18, Elena Cohen joined Representative Domb and town officials at a Topping-Off Ceremony for Amherst's Centennial Water Treatment Plant. Kudos to the Town for this successful project. The plant will treat up to 1 million gallons of water every single day.

The Big E is the perfect place to see the state's investments in travel, tourism, and agriculture in action — on Massachusetts Day (September 19). Glad to join Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, and legislative colleagues.

Let's finish the 104 mile rail trail, linking Northampton to Boston: https://www.finishtherailtrail.org/. I was delighted to cheer the September 19 kickoff in Northampton for the Mass Central Rail Trail statewide ride.

I could go on, but we’ll end this newsletter here and send our love to you.

BUT before we close, let’s all acknowledge that local officials have the hardest jobs in government — especially CLERKS.

Their days are long, their lists of things to do are longer, AND their work has grown more intense these last years in the wake of legislation passed to break down barriers to voting.

Thank you CLERKS for being the champions of truly fair and accessible elections. You are the catalysts of democracy, helping people exercise their greatest superpower — to choose a government that best represents them. 

Onward to the general election! 

Jo, Elena, Jared, Rachel, and Katelyn 

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.

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