On behalf of Environment Massachusetts, the statewide environmental advocacy organization, Rep. Stanley recently submitted a statement in support of transitioning Massachusetts to 100% renewable energy. Rep. Stanley supports the 100% Clean Act which will transition Massachusetts to 100% clean electricity by 2035 and 100% clean heating and transportation by 2045.

Statement: As Chairman of the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, state representative representing portions of Waltham and Lincoln and a Waltham City Councilor, I fully support transitioning Massachusetts to 100% renewable energy which will put us on the path to a cleaner, safer state. Burning fossil fuels for energy pollutes our air, harms our health, and contributes to the dangerous effects of global warming. I am committed to maintaining and expanding Massachusetts’ nation-leading clean energy and climate policies, which will create a cleaner, healthier future for all of us.

In a letter to House and Senate Ways and Means leadership, Rep. Tom Stanley, Rep. John Lawn and Senator Mike Barrett expressed their strong support of budget line items to be included in the FY22 Conference Committee Report. The budget items will support Waltham as the City recovers from the pandemic, from addressing food insecurity, to empowering our youth and preserving our natural spaces. The House and Senate passed the Conference Committee report, and the following Waltham earmarks/programs were included.

The delegation’s requests include: $200,000 for 240 Beaver Street Improvements (Waltham Field Station); $50,000 for Waltham Fields Community Farm from House Budget; $100,000 for Healthy Waltham from House Budget; $150,000 for the revitalization and dredging of Purgatory Cove in Waltham from House Budget; $75,000 for the Waltham Tourism Council from House Budget; $100,000 for More Than Words, Inc.’s Young Parents Program from House Budget; $75,000 for Waltham Partnership for Youth, Inc. from Senate Budget; $75,000 for the Community Day Center of Waltham, Inc. from Senate Budget; $50,000 for More Than Words, Inc.’s vocational program for system-involved youth from Senate Budget; $75,000 to support staffing and housing clinic expansion at WATCH CDC from Senate Budget. For more details, click here.

Waltham Boys & Girls Club Received $47K DESE Grant

If you work in Massachusetts and you need time off from work to care for yourself, a new child, or a seriously ill or injured family member, Paid Family and Medical Leave may give you up to 26 weeks of paid time off, while protecting your job for you to come back to. Since January, Massachusetts’ paid family and medical leave program, passed by the legislature in 2018, has allowed workers to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected paid leave to care for a new child, up to 12 weeks to meet family needs arising from a family member’s active duty military service, up to 20 weeks to recover from a serious illness or injury, and up to 26 weeks to care for a seriously ill or injured service member.

The final piece of the legislation took effect on July 1, and workers are now able to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected paid leave to care for a seriously ill or injured family member. “Family” means different things to different people, and this caregiving leave accounts for every unique situation. Family Leave can be taken to care for spouses, children, parents, in-laws, domestic partners, foster children, parent-like figures, siblings, and more. The law is not gender-specific, and where a seriously ill or injured family member lives does not affect their eligibility. Find out more information and apply for benefits.

In a letter to Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Commissioner James Montgomery, Rep. Stanley and his colleagues expressed concern with the recent DCR decision to indefinitely ban open water swimming at Walden Pond in Concord, and asked that this ban be lifted very soon. Subsequently, following a thorough review of safety protocols, beginning on Friday, July 9, 2021, DCR announced that Walden Pond would be open to open water swimming with enhanced safety measures.

Rather than pursuing swimming bans or draconian fines, Rep. Stanley urged DCR and the Baker Administration to immediately expand efforts statewide that will improve water safety and help prevent further tragic drownings. These efforts could include, but not be limited to, hiring more lifeguards, increasing pay for lifeguards, expanding swimming classes and other water safety programs, launching water safety public awareness campaigns, and adding more signage at popular swimming locations.

The Baker Administration published a new, interactive online tool that displays a breakdown by municipality of the $3.4 billion in direct federal aid awarded to local governments across MA by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). This direct aid to local governments is part of a total of $8.7 billion awarded to Massachusetts through the new Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, which was created by ARPA. This total also includes the $5.3 billion awarded directly to the Commonwealth, and last week Governor Baker outlined a plan to spend $2.8 billion of these funds on urgent priorities that support the communities hardest-hit by the pandemic.

The new online resource consists of an interactive map that shows the breakdown of the $3.4 billion that is available to local cities, towns, and counties through the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. The website also contains detailed information on funding allocations and the distribution process, as well as general information on the usage of these funds. To view the interactive map and this municipal funding information, please click here.

In a letter to the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, Rep. Stanley submitted written testimony in support of H.869, legislation to reduce single-use plastics from the environment. Foam polystyrene and solid polystyrene are types of plastic common in food take-out food containers and other every-day items. They are non-biodegradable material. Continued usage of polystyrene plastics threatens significant harm to our wildlife populations and ecosystems. When these materials are littered, they break down into extremely small parts and eventually enter into the food-chain of various species, blocking their digestive tracts and causing starvation.

Under H.869, food establishments in the Commonwealth would be prohibited from using, selling, offering for sale, or otherwise distributing products made from foam polystyrene and/or solid polystyrene including: disposable food service ware; meat trays, fish trays, seafood trays, vegetable trays, or egg cartons; and distributing packing materials, including packing peanuts and shipping boxes that are not wholly encapsulated within a more durable material.

Rep. Stanley submitted testimony to the Joint Committee on Public Health supporting H.2230/S.1447, legislation to improve outdoor and indoor air quality for communities burdened by transportation pollution. Air quality affects every area of our public health. Ports, bus stops, train tracks, airports, and high-density traffic, especially in concentrated areas, can all cause harmful and detrimental breathing problems for people who live in Environmental Justice Communities that have high exposure to these pollutants every day.

The bills provide both indoor and outdoor air quality solutions that will bring about sustainable, long-lasting outcomes, particularly in dense urban areas. The legislation will expand outdoor air monitoring for black carbon, ultrafine particulate matter, and criteria pollutants in pollution hotspots; set and achieve ambitious air quality targets by 2030 and 2035; require installation of air filters in existing eligible buildings, such as schools, residential buildings with more than 2 tenant-occupied units, certain commercial buildings, and correctional facilities within 200 meters of congested roadways; require advanced HVAC filtration systems (e.g., MERV 16) for new eligible buildings, such as day care facilities, residential developments, hospitals, schools, long-term care facilities, school aged childcare programs, temporary shelters, nursing homes; update the state sanitary code to improve mold enforcement; and upgrade building codes to prevent the installation of new gas stoves

Rep. Stanley submitted written testimony to the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery in support of H.2090/S.1257, legislation to establish a special commission to study and report on the history of state institutions for people with developmental and mental health disabilities in the Commonwealth. The passage of this legislation is essential to studying the impact the Commonwealth’s former institutions had on people with mental health and developmental disabilities.

H.2090/S.1257 would establish a Commission charged with studying the history of state institutions for people with developmental and mental health disabilities. The Commission would have a disability-majority of 18 people, with representation by state agencies and disability advocacy groups. Moreover, the Commission would specifically be tasked with reviewing the following: the status of former institutional residents living independently today; the location of all documents from the former state institutions; the availability of such records to former residents, descendants, and the general public; the location of burials for all residents who died in the care of the Commonwealth; and the potential for unmarked graves at former state institutions.

In a letter to the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, Rep. Stanley expressed his support of H.1950 which would require all companies and employers covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) to provide a transparent, open pay scale The bill will help achieve wage equity for all residents in Massachusetts, and help close the pay gap across all professions and in all companies. Under the bill, employers would be mandated to release this information if an applicant or an employee asks. H.1950 will not only lead to more open, equitable wages for employees and companies, it will also decrease the amount of unequal and pay discrimination complaints and lawsuits filed every year.

Rep. Stanley submitted a letter to Joint Committee on Transportation urging favorable action on legislation he cosponsored relative to work and family mobility. The legislation will increase public safety in the Commonwealth by reducing the number of unlicensed and uninsured motorists on the road. Currently, an estimated 185,000 undocumented immigrants live in Massachusetts – approximately one-fifth of the immigrant population. While these folks contribute billions to the Commonwealth’s economy, in addition to paying state and local taxes, they are unable to become properly registered and licensed to operate a motor vehicle. As a result, some lose out on employment opportunities or are forced to operate on the road without a license, jeopardizing the safety of themselves and other motorists.

In March of 2018, Massachusetts instituted a two-tier system for driver’s licenses: identification cards (The Read ID) and the Massachusetts standard license. H.3456/S.2289 would simply enable all qualified state residents to apply for a standard Massachusetts driver’s license, regardless of immigration status. Massachusetts would still maintain compliance with REAL ID requirements under the bill. Moreover, with less unlicensed and uninsured motorists on the roads, everyone in Massachusetts will be safer. In fact, a recent A 2017 Stanford University study found that a similar statute in California reduced the number of hit and run accidents. Fourteen states already have laws on the books allowing residents the right to apply for driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status, including Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico, demonstrating the bipartisan appeal of this policy.

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In a letter to the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, Rep. Stanley supported the so-called Military Spouse-license Portability, Education, and Enrollment of Dependents Act, or Military SPEED Act of 2021 (H.3697), legislation relative to military spouse-licensure portability, education and enrollment of dependents. The Military SPEED Act of 2021 seeks to assistance our service members and their families as they move to the Commonwealth via licensure enhancement, military spouse teacher certification, advance enrollment, virtual schools, in-state tuition continuity and the Purple Star School program.

H.3697 would eliminate the ‘substantial equivalency’ licensure requirements in current law, which require state agencies to determine whether other states’ licensing requirements are substantially equivalent to those in Massachusetts. The bill would also require the Department of Professional Licensure (DPL) to accept a spouse’s application or notify of them of what criteria they did not meet within 30 days of applying, the timeframe recommended by the United States Department of Defense (DOD). H.3697 also waives the initial proof of residency requirement for school enrollment. This will allow military children to begin attending school immediately upon arriving in the Commonwealth.

In a letter to the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, Rep. Stanley requested favorable action on legislation that would limit insurance companies use of Fail First and Step Therapy policies. Fail First (also known as step therapy) is a harmful practice many insurers use in a misguided attempt to control costs. Under Fail First, patients are required to try and fail one or more medications specified by insurance companies –not health care professionals - before receiving the best treatment option. Fail First policies negatively impact patients dealing with a wide range of medical conditions including cancer, diabetes, arthritis, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, auto immune diseases. Delays in getting these patients the best treatment lead to more inpatient admissions, days of hospitalization, outpatient visits, lost days of work and increased medical costs.

As Chair of the Elder Affairs Committee in the House, Rep. Stanley has seen that Fail First and Step Therapy policies are disproportionately impacting elders. The legislation, H.1331/S.756, would limit insurers’ use of these policies, ensuring that patients are able to access vital, medically necessary treatment prescribed by their health care providers.

Rep. Stanley cosponsored H.305, legislation to regulate pet daycare facilities in cities and towns, also known as Ollie’s Law. Ollie’s law would create statewide licensure for pet daycare and boarding facilities in addition to standards for training and animal care for the protection of animals and staff. The bill would also establish a committee to advise the Department of Agricultural Resources on the promulgation of regulations and to annually review them once released. Rep. Stanley sent a letter to the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure expressing his support of this bill.

Currently, there are no state regulations overseeing those who operate dog daycare facilities, nor licensing standard to open such a facility. Many dog owners are unaware that these businesses are not required to receive a license from the state or that employees do not need to be certified in any aspect of the business. The lack of any meaningful training or education for business owners and their staff can lead to disastrous consequences - in Ollie’s case, the mauling and death of an innocent puppy.

With summer weather approaching, and as COVID-19 related restrictions on daily activities begin to lift, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) reminds residents to take recommended precautions to keep young children safe this summer. The guidance features helpful information on preventing tick bites, preventing mosquito bites, water and pool safety, window fall prevention and car safety. Read the full update.