Twenty of our bills (almost 30%) were either signed into law (in whole or in part*) or implemented by the Administration or by ballot measure. A list of them follows, with a short description on what each of the bills makes possible.
Bills signed into law:
An Act expanding access to the certified nurses’ aides certification process*
Language included in the FY24 budget directed the Department of Public Health (DPH) to offer Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Exams in multiple languages, allowing more CNA applicants the opportunity to join and strengthen the healthcare workforce as licensed professionals. DPH has since made exams available in Spanish, Chinese, and Haitian Creole.
An Act establishing a Green and Healthy Schools working group and implementation plan
Language included in the FY24 budget established a competitive grant program, known as Green School Works, to provide financial support to eligible K-12 public schools or districts for projects to install or maintain clean energy infrastructure. The program was funded at $50 million in FY24 and $10 million in FY25. This followed a provision passed in a 2022 climate bill which required the Department of Public Health, in consultation with the Massachusetts School Building Authority, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Department of Energy Resources to study and issue a report on methods, best practices, and standards for achieving green and healthy schools, with the report due by December 31, 2024.
An Act improving the earned income credit for working families*
Language included in omnibus tax reform legislation (An Act to improve the commonwealth’s competitiveness, affordability, and equity) increased the value of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) from 30% to 40% of the federal credit. This increase will provide crucial support to working individuals and families, benefitting nearly 400,000 taxpayers with incomes under $60,000.
An Act committing to higher education the resources to insure a strong and healthy public higher education system (CHERISH)*
Language included in the FY25 budget established a Commission to study and make recommendations on improving the quality and affordability of higher education in the Commonwealth. The Commission on Higher Education Quality and Affordability (CHEQA) has since been established, with Senator Comerford serving as a commission member, and its final report is due by March 31, 2025.
An Act creating a state disaster relief fund for emergency preparedness
Language included in the FY25 budget established the Commonwealth’s first permanent disaster relief fund to provide funding to municipalities, businesses, nonprofits, and individuals following a natural disaster. The fund was capitalized with $14 million in the FY25 budget.
An Act relative to gender identity on Massachusetts identification (Gender X)
Language included in the FY25 budget, which has since gone into effect, requires the Registry of Motor Vehicles to allow a non-binary option on drivers licenses, enables parents and caregivers to choose a non-binary option on their child’s birth certificate, allows adults to change the gender on their birth certificate, and directs the state to develop a plan to provide a non-binary option on all state forms where a gender choice is required.
An Act protecting equity for homeowners facing foreclosure (Home Equity Theft)**
Language included in the FY25 budget puts an end to “home equity theft” — the process whereby a municipality was allowed to keep the full proceeds of a home sold because of foreclosure, above and beyond what the homeowner owed in back taxes. Under the new law, home equity theft stops, and the “excess equity” — the remaining value of the sale after the taxes and other charges are paid — will be returned to the homeowner.
**My bill was included in the passage of a similar bill led by another Senate colleague.
An Act improving access to affordable community college*
Language included in the FY25 budget makes community college tuition free for all students who are enrolled in at least 6 credits (starting in the fall semester of 2024) and creates a public outreach campaign to inform Massachusetts residents of this opportunity.
An Act updating the regulations governing licensed birth centers in Massachusetts
Language included in an omnibus maternal health bill (An Act promoting access to midwifery care and out-of-hospital birth options) directs the Department of Public Health (DPH) to promulgate updated regulations that are consistent with the licensed practice of midwives and physicians and national standards to maximize safety and expand access to birth options. DPH recently had a public health comment period on these new regulations.
An Act protecting the homes of seniors and disabled people on MassHealth (Estate Recovery)
Language included in an omnibus long-term care reform bill (An Act to improve quality and oversight of long-term care) limits the state’s estate recovery program. MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program, demands repayment after death from the estates or families of low-income people who received Medicaid health care services after age 55 (with 90 percent of these repayments coming from the sale of a family home), above what’s required by the federal government. This new law pairs back the state’s estate recovery program so that repayment is only sought where it is required by the federal government, strengthens advance notice requirements, and expands hardship waiver criteria.
An Act incorporating embodied carbon into state climate policy
Language included in omnibus clean energy legislation (An Act promoting a clean energy grid, advancing equity and protecting ratepayers) creates an Embodied Carbon Coordinating Council to oversee the roll out 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.
An Act promoting solar energy canopies on large parking lots*
Language included in omnibus clean energy legislation (An Act promoting a clean energy grid, advancing equity and protecting ratepayers) creates a stakeholder working group to develop recommendations for regulatory and legislative changes that may be necessary to encourage the construction and operation of solar power generating canopies, with a report due on their findings by June 31, 2025.
An Act relative to accelerating improvements to the local and regional public health system to address disparities in the delivery of public health services (SAPHE 2.0)
Language included in an economic development bond bill (An Act relative to strengthening Massachusetts’ economic leadership) sets statewide practice and training standards and provides funds to ensure that everyone in the Commonwealth has access to a core set of public health protections.
An Act strengthening local food systems*
Language included in an economic development bond bill (An Act relative to strengthening Massachusetts’ economic leadership) contains two provisions from An Act strengthening local food systems. First, a provision allows the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) to buy and hold farmland while a buyer is identified, and then sell that land to a farmer, while also considering the state’s goals as identified in the Farmland Action Plan for expanding farm ownership opportunities to traditionally marginalized communities. Second, a provision specifies that land used to create products from horticultural crops (like a kitchen to turn strawberries into strawberry jam, or the farmstand where that strawberry jam is sold) should be assessed and taxed as horticultural land.
Bills implemented by the Administration or by ballot measure:
An Act protecting benefits owed to foster children
My bill reverses the state’s longstanding practice of intercepting monthly Social Security payments and veterans benefits paid to foster children whose parents have died or have become disabled, using the funds to offset the state’s cost of foster care. It directs state officials to preserve these funds for the child to use as they transition to adulthood and independent living. The Department of Children and Families has committed to ending this practice and to creating accounts to steward children’s funds until adulthood.
An Act improving access to affordable higher education*
My bill directs the Department of Higher Education (DHE) to improve our fragmented and overlapping higher education financial assistance programs, increasing access to higher education for all students. DHE has since undertaken work to streamline state financial aid offerings and to ensure all high school graduates are notified about the tuition assistance available to them.
An Act facilitating better interactions between police officers and persons with autism spectrum disorder (Blue envelopes)*
My bill creates a voluntary program to make special “blue envelopes” available for drivers with Autism Spectrum Disorder that hold the driver’s license, registration, and insurance cards, as well as specific instructions for police officers on how to best communicate with the driver. The Massachusetts State Police have since created and distributed blue envelopes to more than 12,000 Massachusetts residents (and counting).
An Act establishing gender-neutral bathrooms
My bill directs changes to the state building code to allow gender-neutral bathrooms in renovations or new construction, as sex-segregated restroom facilities fail to accommodate the needs of every person, posing special difficulty to transgender and gender nonconforming students. In August 2023, the State Plumbing Board promulgated regulations to permit non-gendered bathrooms by right without needing a variance.
An Act expanding access to trails for people of all abilities (Trails for All)
My bill establishes a state policy to maximize equitable access to trails, outdoor spaces, and outdoor recreational activities for people of all abilities. It also establishes a working group consisting of state agencies, representatives of groups focused on disability access, conservation organizations, and others to review current access status and make recommendations on how to best implement effective access policies and procedures. The Healey-Driscoll Administration recently launched the Trails for All Initiative through the Massachusetts Office of Outdoor Recreation. The initiative creates a Multi-Stakeholder Trail Access Working Group and requires the completion of a needs, barriers, and opportunities assessment and an accessible and adaptive outdoor recreation opportunities report.
An Act empowering students and schools to thrive (The Thrive Act)
My bill directs the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to permit students to demonstrate the competency required to graduate high school without passing a standardized test like the MCAS. On Election Day, Massachusetts voters approved Ballot Question 2, eliminating the MCAS as a high school graduation requirement. I was glad to be part of the Question 2 campaign and am now engaged in conversations about implementation.
