Updates from Jo

On June 11, the Joint Committee on Public Health heard testimony on three bills that I filed with fierce colleagues in the House:  An Act to reduce incidence and death […]

On June 3, my team and I faced a potentially impossible task: I was Chairing a hearing of the Joint Committee on Higher Education, at the exact same time two […]

On Thursday, May 22, after months of work and four days of debate, my colleagues and I passed the Senate’s fiscal year 2026 (FY26) budget. You can watch my opening […]

On May 21, I received the 2025 Senate Champion for Children Award from the Children’s League of Massachusetts. It was a heartfelt honor and meant a great deal to me. […]

On May 12, my team and I helped launch the Indigenous Legislative Agenda.  Speakers at the launch included Indigenous leaders from across the Commonwealth representing Massachusetts Tribal [...]

On May 15, I received the Senate Legislator of the Year Award from the Disability Law Center. It was a tremendous honor and meant a great deal to me personally—and […]

On May 8, I joined my colleagues in the Senate as we debated a proposal to spend $1.33 billion in surplus funds generated by the Fair Share Amendment. Amid waves […]

On Friday, April 25, I had the distinct pleasure and privilege of giving a keynote speech at “Policy in Action: I Am a Policy Maker, Now What?” an event hosted […]

For decades, sewage sludge — a byproduct of wastewater treatment — has been promoted as a safe, sustainable fertilizer.  But striking evidence shows that spreading sewage sludge can poison [...]

On March 31, I was honored to share a few words with the new inductees to the Pi Sigma Alpha organization at UMass Amherst, which is the National Honors Society […]