Yesterday the Legislature passed a fiscal year 2024 budget packed with wins for our district which I’ll detail below.
At the same time, extreme weather in our valley continues to punish farmers, residents, and municipalities.
Read on to learn more about the state's current responses to the floods and where else my team and I focused during this sweltering month of July. Please make sure to get to the end for two wonderful post scripts.
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As you know, much of July was dominated by heavy storms and devastating flooding. The initial floods on July 10 were some of the worst our region had seen in years. And it did not stop there, as the rain has been relentless — washing out roads (including Route 2) and devastating farms and thousands of acres of crops.
I had a plan for what I was going to work on during July, but these natural disasters rightfully turned that plan on its head and my job in July became focused largely on our region's agricultural sector and municipalities – both of which need significant state help.
Government – at all levels – has worked overtime.
On municipalities
DPW workers, first responders, utility workers, and town leadership marshaled resources to keep communities safe amid flooding. I am grateful to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) officials for their swift work, to Governor Healey’s western Mass Director Kristen Elechko, and to our new Rural Affairs Director Anne Gobi for their steadfast support. The rains exposed infrastructure concerns that many knew were present – the result of underfunding for far too long. Now we push forward to repair and rebuild with renewed urgency.
Thanks also to MassDOT and the Healey-Driscoll Administration for understanding that Route 2 (washed out and closed eastbound due to the rains) is a critical transportation artery for Franklin and northern Worcester County. A massive piece of work has already begun on a roughly seven-week project to stabilize and strengthen Route 2, just days after it was closed.
On farms
I spent many of these last days on farms, talking with farmers, so that I could bring the urgency of the hardships they’re facing back to Beacon Hill. It began with a call from Bernie Smiarowski, a farmer in Hatfield who called to let me know what happened on his farm as the Connecticut River spilled over its banks and flooded his fields.
The next afternoon I went to visit Bernie and invited the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner – as well as other officials – to join me. We surveyed the damage and met with farmers in Hatfield, Northampton (at Grow Food Northampton), Hadley (in the fields down Aqua Vitae Road), and Deerfield (in the fields next to and behind Historic Deerfield). That night I wrote a briefing memo for Senate leadership and the Administration so that I could quickly convey the devastation. It’s here.
I returned to these fields with House members like Representatives Natalie Blais and Dan Carey, MDAR officials, and farm advocates in the region to meet with farmers and Governor Maura Healey, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao, Congressman Jim McGovern, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and more.
Every one of us is laser-focused on taking action and providing assistance in the face of more than 2,700 acres of crops lost and the 110 farms affected (and counting).
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Delivering $20 million in relief
On Wednesday, July 26, 16 days after Bernie called my office, the Senate heeded the calls for disaster relief when we debated and voted on a Supplemental Budget which included $20 million in emergency relief for farmers and fruit growers. This passed unanimously in the Senate with bipartisan support.
Amid all of the concern about July’s flooding, it’s important to remember this year’s late frost and freeze which claimed, in some cases, entire crops of peaches, apples, pears, berries, and more. We fought to make sure these impacted fruit growers would also be eligible for emergency relief funding.
A few days before the Senate debate, Senate President Karen Spilka, Senate Ways and Means Chair Michael Rodrigues, Senators Adam Gomez, Marc Pacheco, and staff from Jake Oliveira’s office traveled to Bernie’s field to announce the Senate’s unprecedented proposed response.
Here is that announcement:
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The Senate is not alone in its rapid response, as the Healey-Driscoll Administration has also announced a Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund. Please learn more about the fund here.
Late last night, the House and Senate joined to send the farm aid funding to the Governor's desk, which the Governor signed first thing this morning. Thank you to the many House members who supported that funding. Nothing happens in government without teamwork.
The lasting damage to farms in 2023 will need all of our sustained focus and support. Count me and my team as allies to farms and farmers for the long haul which must also include tackling climate change and strengthening community resilience.
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Budget and transportation funding (tax relief still to come) |
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Also yesterday, the legislature sent the fiscal year 2024 budget to the Governor’s desk for her review and signature. I’m extremely proud of this transformative budget – while acknowledging that it’s arriving later than we would have liked. Here’s a roundup of what’s included.
Days before, we sent what’s called a Transportation Bond Bill to the Governor with record spending for transportation needs, from roads, bridges, and culverts to Regional Transit Authorities. I’m glad to report that the bill contains a pot of money to be distributed based on factors which privilege rural communities like the ones in our district. Here’s a roundup of what’s included.
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On July 27, the first of our office’s 2023-2024 bills was voted on by the Senate and passed unanimously: An Act relative to gender identity on Massachusetts identification (S.2429), or the “Gender X” bill. The bill allows people to change their gender on driver's licenses, birth certificates, and marriage licenses, including permitting people to use an "X" to indicate a non-binary gender identity. It also directs the state to develop a plan to provide a non-binary option on all state forms where a gender choice is required. Further, the bill instructs state agencies that work with youth to educate them about the ability to indicate a non-binary gender on state documents.
You can watch my floor speech for the bill here.
I am enormously grateful to all of the advocates who continue to push for this bill to advance the basic human and civil right to self identify. This success would not have been possible without the wonderful people-powered force behind this legislation. And of course, this bill has been led beautifully in the House by Representatives Mindy Domb and Marjorie Decker. Their Gender X bill will have a hearing in the fall.
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July is Disability Pride Month, and July 26 was the 33rd Anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
My team and I wanted to share some of the bills advancing rights for people with disabilities we’ve filed in partnership with House members. We filed these bills thanks to the stellar and unparalleled advocacy of Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester District constituents who have taken the time to make us smarter on a range of disability-related issues and urge us to take meaningful action.
Read more about the legislation we filed in their name and thanks to their work here.
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As we close out the first leg of this legislative session, 32 out of 65 bills that we filed have had public hearings, setting the stage for them to advance in the second half of this legislative session just like our Gender X bill.
Eight of these hearings happened in July. I’ll tell you about a few of them below.
July 6: Facilitate immigrants to become certified nurses' aides
Our first hearing of the month was for our bill An Act expanding access to the certified nurses' aides certification process (S.1336), which does four things:
- Significantly expands the number of available languages for the nurses aide certification exam.
- Gives the Department of Public Health the ability to create the exam based on solid national standards and allows students to take a practice test.
- Mandates that students who do not pass the exam are informed about areas where they need further study.
- Allows for students to work provisionally for six months after passing the clinical exam while they prepare for the knowledge exam.
I was honored to be joined by Laurie Millman (executive director of the Center for New Americans) and Certified Nurses’ Aide Asani Furaha (both pictured) who testified on behalf of this bill. I am grateful for the leadership and partnership of Representative Tackey Chan and Senator John Keenan on this critical issue which is a clear and necessary way to address the health care workforce shortage.
In breaking news, the first provision of this bill, expanding the number of available languages for the CNA exam, was included in yesterday’s budget!
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July 7: Reduce fossil fuels
The next day, I testified in support of three bills focused on climate change and climate resiliency. The first bills were An Act expanding access to the fossil fuel free demonstration project (S.2093/H.3227) and An Act relative to the electrification of new and substantially remodeled or rehabilitated buildings in the city of Northampton (H.3224), both filed with Representative Lindsay Sabadosa.
In 2022, Massachusetts approved an historic law allowing up to ten municipalities to prohibit the use of fossil fuels in new construction. Banning new fossil fuel hook-ups is a necessary first step towards weaning ourselves off of polluting and unhealthy gas, oil, and other fossil fuels. These ten slots filled up quickly, and there’s now a waiting list of cities and towns ready to take strong action to meet the Commonwealth's goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The legislation opens up this local option to any municipality that meets the affordable housing criteria required by the original law and wants to implement a ban on the use of carbon-polluting fossil fuels in new construction.
The third bill was An Act incorporating embodied carbon into state climate policy (S.2090/H.764), which I filed in partnership with Representatives Michelle Ciccolo and Steve Owens.
The building sector is a major consumer of energy and a major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to a commitment to building energy efficient or net-zero energy buildings, which reduces operational carbon (carbon emitted as a result of operating the building), the Commonwealth must also reduce embodied carbon, which refers to carbon in the building materials.
The bill creates a statewide body to:
- Oversee the rollout of best practices in measuring and tracking carbon,
- Help boost carbon counting literacy for all those engaged in the building sector, and
- Change building codes with a goal of reducing the carbon embodied in buildings and carbon emissions.
Some may remember that one of the first bills my team and I worked on and passed was the net zero building bill, which updated the specialized stretch building code to require net zero construction. I think of tackling embodied carbon as the next necessary step.
July 11: Fund special education
On July 11, I testified in support of An Act establishing a special education funding reform commission (S.241), with my House partner Rep. Dan Carey.
The current state formula for funding special education is shortchanging districts, hurting students and schools, and straining municipal budgets.
The bill sets up an urgently-needed Commission to review the Commonwealth’s system for funding special education and make recommendations for a more equitable system that will provide adequate funding to local school districts to meet the costs of providing high quality education to students with disabilities.
July 17: Strengthen farming and school nutrition
On July 17, I had the opportunity to testify in support of An Act establishing farm to school grants to promote healthy eating and strengthen the agricultural economy (S.243/H.558), which I filed along with Representative Smitty Pignatelli in the House and would establish a robust Farm to School Grant Program.
Providing fresh, locally grown agricultural products to schools strengthens local farms and fisheries and promotes healthy communities by increasing the availability of nutritious food. The successful “Farm to School” grant program provides all students with access to nutritious, high-quality, locally grown food so they are ready to learn and grow. The program also provides an important financial boost to the Commonwealth’s food system, creating new jobs and strengthening the local economy.
July 18: Expand access to job opportunities
The Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development heard An Act relative to state employment postings (S.1150/H.1840), which I filed with Rep. Carey, on July 18.
We must have equal opportunity in hiring practices. The state falls short of this goal because there is no requirement that open state jobs be posted publicly online. The bill directs state officials to create a single, comprehensive online system to list all job openings for positions within state agencies.
July 26: Count emissions accurately
On July 26, An Act relative to making methane accounting truthful helps (S.2920/H.873), or the MATH Act, was heard. I filed this bill in partnership with Rep. Owens.
Methane has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide (CO2) over the first 20 years after it reaches the atmosphere. Even though CO2 has a longer-lasting effect, an estimated 25% of global warming is driven by human-caused methane emissions. Yet, Massachusetts’ clean energy policy uses inaccurate factors for the climate impact of methane and dramatically undercounts methane emissions. This inaccurate accounting leads to insufficient policy.
The bill directs the use of scientifically accurate warming impact factors for methane emissions and requires regular, accurate updating of greenhouse gas emissions estimates.
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Supreme Court decision on affirmative action |
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On Thursday, June 29, a misguided Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Court’s ruling is expected to lower the number of Black and Latino students at undergraduate institutions, medical schools, law schools, and other professional degree programs.
I am proud to have joined the Senate President and several other senators in signing on to a statement of opposition from the Healey-Driscoll Administration. (The statement and full list of signers is here.)
This decision threatens to turn back the clock on decades of racial justice progress. Thankfully Massachusetts will not yield. As a Commonwealth, Massachusetts has always valued access to higher education as a key tool to advance opportunity for all. Education can help close the racial wealth gap, dramatically improve health outcomes, and open up myriad doors to opportunity and equitable economic growth.
At this moment – perhaps more than ever before – I am heartened by the Senate’s generational investment in public higher education in the fiscal year 2024 budget and the work ahead to make community college free.
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Fighting food insecurity and strengthening the state's food system |
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On July 20, the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources announced that 165 organizations across the Commonwealth will receive a total of $22.6 million in grant funding through the Food Security Infrastructure Grant (FSIG) program.
These organizations include farms, dairies, food pantries, a food cooperative, a food producer, and a community kitchen. (Happily, some of the farms affected by the flood, frost, and freeze were among the awardees.)
The FSIG program grew out of the state’s Food Security Task Force, which began during COVID as a multi-agency initiative to tackle food security. I was glad to serve on the subcommittee that recommended the creation of this program. FSIG’s goal is to strengthen our entire food system. It’s one of the most strategic and most sought after grants that the state offers – and the legislature has funded year after year.
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On the last day of June, I spent part of the afternoon with brilliant visiting scholars from around the world. Thank you to the UMass Amherst Donahue Institute for extending the invitation to join these international leaders for a conversation. We exchanged ideas on a range of topics including voting rights expansion. It was thrilling. |
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Later that afternoon, I joined Representatives Susannah Whipps and Natalie Blais to honor Dean Cycon of the legendary Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Company (an early leader in the organic/fair trade movements) who is leading the transition of his company to a worker-owned collective. Thanks to Rep. Whipps for wrangling a legislative resolution in Dean's honor. We’re pictured below with Dean and new executive director Beth Spong. |
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July 4 remains one of the best days of the year, as I have the privilege of celebrating the Fourth by attending a naturalization ceremony for new citizens organized by the Center for New Americans. This year, 49 new Americans took the citizenship oath and there wasn't a dry eye in the Courthouse during an exquisite ceremony. |
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On July 21, District Director Elena Cohen joined Congressman McGovern, Rep. Blais, Rep. Whipps, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Project Bread, and others to learn about the Summer Eats program and visit the meal sites in Greenfield and Turners Falls. |
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On July 25, I had the privilege of speaking to the Summer 2023 State House Legislature Interns. I talked about my own journey, about the work we do in our office, the importance of their work in our success, and more. I also urged them to run for office – as a powerful, rising generation.
A big thanks to our State House intern Julia Burm who introduced me (pictured below in the middle, along with Senate Office of Education and Civic Engagement Director Anne Ziaja).
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If you’ve made it this far, please know that we appreciate you. Constituents in our district are the most passionate, informed, and engaged in the state. Of that we’re both sure and grateful. |
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Sending our love to you,
Jo, Katelyn, Rachel, Brian, Jared, and Elena
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P.S. Constituent service is among the most important work we do. The work is often unsung and doesn’t make headlines, but it’s the work that’s perhaps the most immediate and tangible. I want to shout out to Constituent Services Director Rachel Klein who completed a long haul piece of work for a veteran who was owed a payment from the state and couldn’t get it, though he had tried for years. Through her dogged advocacy, we made the case to willing state colleagues – and Rachel followed through with assistance from a local veterans’ service officer and the constituent. On Monday, I received a call from Veteran’s Affairs Secretary Jon Santiago that our constituent will get the money he’s owed, and with the money relief and respect. While being deeply grateful to the Secretary and his team for their quick due diligence, I’m especially proud of Rachel for making government work day after day after day – opening and winning 265 complex cases in the last 12 months, including this one.
P.P.S. Thank you to Governor Maura Healey for taking the time to read Northampton Third Grader pleas for more school funding for City schools. Thanks also to Mayor Sciarra, School Committee members, and City Councilors for your excellent advocacy. Most especially, cheers for the eight and nine-year-olds with courage and vision.
I appreciate the Governor’s western Mass director, Kristen Elechko, for her stellar work to help make this happen.
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Did you find the content of this email useful?
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Boston office
(617) 722-1532
State House
Room 410
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Amherst office
(413) 367-4656
UMass Amherst
Isenberg School of Management
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Please send all mail correspondence to the Boston office. |
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