In a letter to the Joint Committee on Housing, Rep. Stanley voiced his support for legislation he cosponsored promoting housing stability and homelessness prevention in Massachusetts. The legislation would provide eligible low-income tenants and owner occupants of 1 to 3 family homes full legal representation in eviction cases from the moment a complaint is filed. The Right to Counsel (RTC) program would be funded through a dedicated line-item in the Judiciary budget that would not impact current funding for legal aid programs or housing stability programs. Under the bill, the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC) would solicit proposals from organizations with substantial experience in landlord/tenant law to provide free legal assistance to eligible participants. MLAC would then oversee the program with the assistance of an advisory committee.

Currently, there is a significant disparity between landlords and tenants in evictions proceedings regarding access to legal representation. Approximately 81% of landlords have a lawyer in these cases while over 90% of tenants do not have any sort of legal representation. This inequity leaves many low-income tenants vulnerable to displacement.

Rep. Stanley submitted written testimony to the Chairs of the Education Committee urging for favorable action on legislation relative to universal school meals. Rep. Stanley is also a co-sponsor of the bill which will guarantee every student breakfast and lunch, free of charge, across all public schools in the Commonwealth. The House Ways and Means fiscal year 2023 budget includes $110 million for free breakfast and lunch for next school year (2022-2023).

Under the bill, school districts would still receive federal reimbursement for every meal served, but the state would cover the remaining costs. The bill would also require the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) to work with school districts to promote the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) via application assistance or a direct referral to an outreach partner.

During the pandemic, school meals became a primary source of food for nearly 400,000 children and their families. When schools shut down in March 2020, the federal government made changes to its school nutrition program, opening access to free meals for thousands of families while also relieving overburdened school meals managers from the undesirable tasks of determining which students need to pay full price, a reduced rate, or nothing at all. With these changes, some districts saw an increase of up to 40% of students requesting free school meals.

At a recent City Council meeting, Rep. Stanley and his colleagues on the Waltham City Council met with representatives from Bentley University, Brandeis University, and the Waltham Building Department to discuss complaints about student off-campus housing. The group discussed what the colleges are doing to address problems created by the parties, including disturbances and bad behavior. The group determined that the Waltham Building Department does not have proper authority to prevent overcrowded living conditions at private off-campus residences. The Waltham Law and Building Departments agreed to draft a new ordinance to address this issue.

The long-anticipated 95 South widening project has started. Ninety percent of this work is occurring off hours, so we anticipate very limited traffic impacts from the construction. This is a $2M+ infrastructure improvement and is 100 percent privately funded. This improvement as well as past infrastructure improvements over the years are thanks to our supportive and generous neighbors Boston Properties, King Street Properties, Astra Zeneca, GI Partners and the Massachusetts Medical Society.

Attorney General Maura Healey advised Massachusetts residents to make informed decisions when donating to charities that support people affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing humanitarian crisis. AG Healey recommends that residents take the following steps to make smart and impactful charitable contributions to support those who have been affected: Give to charities you know and can trust; Check the charity’s website; Ask lots of questions; Beware of social media posts or emails soliciting donations to copycat organizations or fake websites; Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone soliciting money; and never pay by cash.

Consumers with concerns about solicitations they have received should contact the AG’s Non-Profit Organizations/Public Charities Division at 617-963-2101 or access the complaint form online.

Rep. Stanley signed onto a letter of support for level funding of $2.7 million in the FY23 budget for the Community Mediation Center (CMC) Grant Program administered by the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration. This program provides excellent services and effective cost-savings to residents across the Commonwealth, and continued investment is critical as we seek to help our most vulnerable residents recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CMC Grant Program is an evidence-based, statutory framework that awards operational funding to 12 qualified local CMCs serving primarily low income and marginalized citizens in all counties of the state. The Centers provide free or low-cost mediation services through trained volunteers for disputes referred through courts, government agencies and the wider community. State funding is critical to the sustainability of the CMCs amounting to approximately 60% of their budgets and has enabled the CMCs to broaden access to services and leverage additional resources through government grants, corporate and foundation awards, and private donations. Through annual program evaluations, the CMC Grant Program has demonstrated a substantial annual return on investment since its inception in FY13, with an ROI now at $14 million in cost-savings and leveraged resources.

Rep. Stanley and his colleagues in the House passed legislation that would prohibit discrimination based on natural and protective hairstyles. The House also passed legislation that would create a Women’s Rights History Trail program promoting education and awareness of the struggle for women’s rights in Massachusetts.

The bill to prohibit discrimination based on natural and protective hairstyles would define natural hairstyle in statute, prohibit discrimination in schools, employment, housing and business, and ban school policies that restrict natural and protective hairstyles. This legislation would also expand criminal law prohibiting assault and battery for purposes of intimidation to include natural hairstyle and adds natural hairstyle to hate crime data collection and reporting requirements.

The Baker Administration launched a new hiring and training employer grant program, “HireNow,” which will help employers quickly hire and train new workers and get more people back to work. The new program provides eligible employers with a $4,000 per employee grant, which can be used to cover training costs or as a signing bonus for new employees. By providing employers with these flexible funds to facilitate quick hiring, the Administration is focusing on addressing continued hiring challenges faced by employers and increasing labor force participation.

Employers can learn more about the program and apply at mass.gov/HireNow. The program is open to all Massachusetts employers, including both for-profit and non-profit entities (excluding federal, state, and municipal governments).

Rep. Stanley and Senator Jehlen recently hosted a legislative briefing for members of the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs as well as members with Rest Homes in their districts. The Massachusetts Association of Residential Care Homes (MARCH) updated attendees on how rest homes provide industry leading care for their residents, the impacts and continuing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial barriers currently facing the industry, and MARCH’s priorities for the upcoming FY23 Budget.

The Waltham Chamber of Commerce and Mass Farmers Market, based in Waltham, received travel & tourism grants from the Mass Office of Travel and Tourism. The Waltham Chamber of Commerce received $65,000 to create a Small Business Spotlight, 30-45 second "commercials" videos, to be posted on both Waltham Chamber and Waltham Tourisms websites, and on social media. In addition, partners will use the videos use as they choose, for social media, websites, or TV. The Mass Farmers Market will receive $100,000 to create a statewide marketing campaign "Eat Like A Local" and "Eat Like A Local Here" that reverberates across Massachusetts visitors and connects to their experiential desire to be part of the community they're visiting.

The Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development and the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism (MOTT), announced $4 million in awards to 80 tourism organizations, chambers of commerce, and municipalities as part of the Travel and Tourism Recovery (TTR) Grant Program. Funds from the TTR Grant Pilot Program are dedicated to marketing projects that support the My Local MA campaign, enhance tourism recovery, and have the potential to increase non-resident visitation. The program’s goal is to strengthen the Massachusetts economy through the development and enhancement of the state’s tourism industry.

Rep. Stanley urged Leader Moran and Speaker Mariano to bring H.2032, a bill to protect injured workers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, up for a vote in the House. Rep. Stanley is a co-sponsor of the bill and submitted written testimony to the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development in May 2021 when the bill received a hearing. The Committee reported the bill out favorably in February and the new draft (H.4606) is now before the House Committee on Ways and Means.

The legislation provides injured workers who are retaliated against for filing a workers’ compensation claim or exercising their rights under the Massachusetts workers’ compensation law with an administrative complaint remedy and investigative process for enforcement. All workers in the Commonwealth, especially frontline workers that have kept our economy running throughout the pandemic, deserve these worker protection rights as law.

The Baker Administration announced the start of distribution of the first round of $500 payments for low-income workers under the COVID-19 Essential Employee Premium Pay Program. The payments will be mailed to approximately 500,000 people. These payments were previously announced last month and represent the first round of a $460 million program passed by the Massachusetts Legislature and signed by Governor Baker as part of a $4 billion spending plan for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Under this program created by the Legislature, the Administration was provided flexibility to design the program and develop eligibility parameters to ensure this critical support is provided quickly to workers across the Commonwealth.

Massachusetts residents will be eligible for first round payments if, based on filed 2020 Massachusetts tax returns, their income from employment was at least $12,750 – the equivalent to working 20 hours/week for 50 weeks at minimum wage as of 2020 – and their total income put them below 300% of the federal poverty level. Individuals who received unemployment compensation in 2020 will not be eligible for the first round of payments, nor will Commonwealth executive branch employees who received or will receive a one-time payment from the state as their employer. Eligible individuals will receive the payment in the form of a check mailed to them. Checks will be mailed in batches in the coming days.