A Gourd Year in the General Court

A "Gourd" Year in the General Court

11/27/2019

As we head into Thanksgiving, I want to wish you and your families the best for time spent with loved ones reflecting on the year.

Hopefully many of you have met or interacted with my phenomenal Legislative Aide, Mason Heilman, without whom I'd have a tough time juggling all the work happening in the office. He and I share a passion for government and gardening, and it has been a treat to grow plants in our State House windowsill and share in the gourd harvest from his community garden plot!

Gratitude and Greetings

I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I know the holidays can be difficult for some, and if this is your first without a dear family member or friend, please know that my thoughts are with you. Whether traveling far or staying near, I hope you have a safe journey and time to consider what you are grateful for this Thanksgiving.

Thankful for You

While reviewing many of these newsletters, I realized that I have referred to myself as a "first year legislator" on multiple occasions. The significance of this to me has been the steep learning curve that has accompanied the beginning of this exciting job, and I want to thank all of you who have been such an instrumental part of my experience thus far.

From my husband Phil to my two sons Dylan and Foster, my parents, my extended family, my fellow first year legislators, my more seasoned colleagues, my staff, my interns, and my phenomenal constituents in Lexington and Woburn—this year would not have been half as engaging, fun, or successful without all of you who worked alongside me to do the hard work of democracy. Thank you!

Photo: The "Woburn Delegation," Sen. Cindy Friedman, Yours Truly, and Rep. Rich Haggerty, served up the ice cream at the Woburn Senior Center on November 21st.

A Year of Accomplishments

Throughout the course of the year, the House of Representatives passed several important pieces of legislation to fully fund Massachusetts schools, protect public health, keep children safe and healthy, shield LGBTQ youth from the harmful practice of conversion therapy, revitalize the Community Preservation Act, and preserve collective bargaining rights, among many others. Below are some of the major pieces of legislation we voted on before the General Court adjourned until January.

Student Opportunity Act, providing an unprecedented, once-in-a-generation change in the Chapter 70 education funding formula that will allocate $1.5 billion for our K-12 public education system, ensuring schools have the resources to provide high-quality education to students across the commonwealth, regardless of zip code or income level (signed into law by the Governor on November 26, 2019).
Flavored Tobacco Ban, prohibiting all flavored tobacco products and taxing vaping products in an effort to protect youth from the harmful effects of tobacco usage (enacted by both the House and the Senate on November 21, 2019; awaiting action by Governor Baker).
Hands Free Driving, restricting drivers from using hand-held electronic devices in vehicles unless they are in hands-free mode (signed into law by the Governor on November 25, 2019).
Children's Health and Wellness, securing health care benefits for foster children, requiring insurance companies to maintain accurate provider directories for health plans, creating childhood behavioral health centers of excellence, and focusing on children with medical complexities (signed into law by the Governor on November 26, 2019).
Campaign Finance, requiring state level officials and legislators to file campaign finance reports more frequently, in the same fashion as local officials (signed into law by the Governor on November 26, 2019).
Veterans Mental Health Care, improving mental health care for student veterans and honoring the military service contributions of one of our earliest female veterans, Deborah Sampson (both measures passed by the House on November 6, 2019; awaiting further action in the Senate).
Fiscal Year 2020 Supplemental Budget, increasing Massachusetts' “Rainy Day Fund” to $3.2 billion, investing in local infrastructure projects, and fighting the opioid crisis (Conference Committee appointed by both the House and the Senate to resolve differences on November 20, 2019).
Higher Education Transparency, enabling the commonwealth to closely monitor the financial health of private colleges and universities in Massachusetts and provide transparency and security to students (signed by the Governor on November 14, 2019).
Greenworks, investing $1.3 billion to help cities and towns across Massachusetts fund infrastructure projects aimed at fighting climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (passed by the House on July 24, 2019; awaiting further action in the Senate).
Fair Share Amendment, amending the Massachusetts Constitution to place an additional four percent tax on annual taxable income in excess of $1 million (must still be passed by the next General Court in 2021, then passed by the voters at the ballot box in 2022).
Chapter 90, providing $200 million in funding to help municipalities complete road, bridge, and infrastructure improvement projects (signed by the Governor on June 6, 2019).
Fiscal Year 2020 Budget, making major investments in education, housing, substance use disorder services, and health care, and including two of my amendments to study local transportation priorities in Lexington and Woburn (signed (in part) by the Governor on July 31, 2019).
Conversion Therapy Ban, prohibiting practices that attempt to change an minor's sexual orientation or gender identity (signed by the Governor on April 8, 2019).
Lift the Cap on Kids, eliminating a decades-old family welfare cap (passed by the General Court over the veto of the Governor on April 25, 2019).
Title X Funding, making $8 million from the FY19 supplemental budget available to women's reproductive health organizations in Massachusetts to offset the loss of federal funding due to the Trump Administration’s changes to the Title X program (signed by the Governor on March 29, 2019).
Janus, protecting public sector employees’ rights following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Janus decision (passed by the General Court over the veto of the Governor on September 19, 2019).

My First Bill!

Photo: the official parchment signed by House Speaker Bob DeLeo, Senate President Karen Spilka, and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker.

On Friday, November 22, 2019, the Governor signed H.4035, legislation that I introduced on behalf of the Town of Lexington relative to the Chair of the Capital Expenditures Committee.

With the help of Lexington's Senators, Mike Barrett and Cindy Friedman, I was able to see my first bill make its way into the Massachusetts General Laws!

Being able to serve Lexington and Woburn in the State House never gets dull, and parts of this job (like receiving my first "parchment" from the Governor's office after he signed the bill!) keep me engaged and excited about doing this important work on behalf of the citizens of the 15th Middlesex District.