The People's Blog

Welcoming our Summer 2022 Interns and Fellows! Tavi Wolfwood (he/him) is a district native, growing up in Amherst, MA. Tavi is in his fifth of a 5 year joint BA/MPH program at Yale University’s [...]

On Thursday, June 16, the Senate adjourned in memory and honor of the extraordinary Sarah Etelman. I offered the following remarks to commemorate Sarah’s life and legacy. A recording of my [...]

I offered the following remarks on Saturday June 11 in Greenfield as part of Franklin County Pride! *** Hello Franklin County Pride! Hello extraordinary family. Let’s give a cheer for the PRIDE [...]

Yesterday, the Senate passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2023 state budget by a vote of 40 – 0. I kicked off budget week with a short intro video. You can watch it here. Though budget [...]

Greetings from your State House, Oh my friends, in any other email to you, I’d dive head-first into updates. But not today. Not after Uvalde, Buffalo, Milwaukee, Laguna Woods – racist, [...]

I had the honor of joining Massachusetts Teachers Association, Citizens for Public Schools, and amazing speakers on May 17, 2022, at a really critical moment for public education – on the first [...]

Moved by JFK Middle School Principal Desmond Caldwell’s courageous letter to the school community, I reflected on what message I should offer the 2022 Peacemaker Awardees on Wednesday, May 18. [...]

Thank you everyone who joined me and my team at last week’s Town Hall. The video recording, slideshow presentation, and transcript can be found here.  This was our team’s fifth report back since [...]

The following is an update I sent to Senate colleagues on May 4 as Senate Chair of Public Health. I wanted to make sure to share it with you: Colleagues, On Friday, I attended a very informative [...]

Earth on Track to Be Unliveable. I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since I saw that newspaper headline in the wake of the most recent United Nations IPCC report. It’s been on my mind [...]

Greetings from your State House, April showers will bring a flurry of legislation, bond bills, and a $48 billion budget all before the end of July. This newsletter is packed. Here’s what my team [...]

This letter was offered to the American Nurses Association Massachusetts (ANAMASS) as part of their newsletter. Massachusetts is often celebrated nationally as a leader in health care. But if we [...]

I am so pleased to formally introduce myself and the team. Because of redistricting – and should the voters agree – I will have the honor of representing Athol, Ashburnham, Petersham, and [...]

On March 24, the Senate passed a $1.65 billion Fiscal Year 2022 Supplemental Budget. The legislation makes investments in the state’s long-term COVID-19 response; addresses staffing shortages in [...]

When I took office in January, 2019, the Town of Amherst had recently passed a net zero building ordinance locally. Organizers – rightly – asked for a meeting to make sure I understood what [...]

Greetings from your State House, I blinked and it’s February 10th. Time feels like it’s speeding up in this second year of our legislative session. While it’s not action-packed in the same way as [...]

The PACT Act 2022 is comprehensive pharmaceutical cost control legislation. This legislation puts the Senate at the forefront of the state’s efforts to tackle rapidly rising prescription drug [...]

The legislature has just passed Joint Rule 10 Day (JR10). JR10 is an insider term for an important and quite a pressing matter: The fate of bills in committees. After holding public hearings, [...]

Greetings to you! It’s hard to believe that my team and I have served our district for just about three years. Our work together on behalf of our region has been the honor of my life. So I begin [...]

Posted on Dec. 1; Updated on Dec. 5 Over the weekend, news about the Omicron variant spread quickly and with the news, concerns and questions. Omicron, like the Delta variant you’ve likely heard [...]

There are few things more wrenching than the call of a parent or caregiver asking for help for a child who’s in the throes of a mental health crisis. The ravages and trauma of the pandemic have [...]

Greetings all, I write with big news about public health and American Rescue Plan Act funds.  On Wednesday, the Senate voted to pass S.2564 – An Act relative to immediate COVID-19 recovery [...]

Today, the Senate unveiled S.2572 – An Act addressing barriers to care for mental health, also called the Mental Health ABC Act, thanks to the inspired, fearless leadership of Senate [...]

Warm Greetings (literally), I write from Tampa, where I traveled to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Legislative Summit, joining Senate President Karen Spilka who serves on [...]

Greetings, This week, the Massachusetts Senate passed a sweeping voting rights bill to expand access to our most important super power: our right to vote. S.2545, An Act fostering voter [...]

Greetings!  I write amid the waning days of summer to give you a sense of what’s ahead this fall. Our team has so much to share that you’ll find this newsletter packed with links so you can [...]

Greetings all, Things are hopping as we barrel toward mid-summer. That’s why this newsletter is jam-packed with links to updates, invites, and legislative highlights. Before we dive in, I want to [...]

Two important bills, at the intersection of the environment and our health, are coming up for a public hearing next Tuesday, June 22, before the Joint Committee on Public Health. I warmly welcome [...]

Greetings, We have a Senate budget!  Read on for a summary of our team’s budget priorities, followed by a calendar of events (and pictures of the cutest possible goat and lamb). On Thursday [...]

Greetings, MassDOT will be terminating the proposed roundabout project at Hatfield and North King Streets. MassDOT has expressed that its decision stems largely from the public comments they [...]

Greetings,  The top of this newsletter is all about redistricting. The bottom half contains a lot of important updates. Once every decade, the U.S. takes a census — a count — of the people living [...]

As part of my commitment to equity and opportunity in education, I introduced legislation to amend state law requiring the MCAS test to be used as a high school graduation requirement and as the [...]

Join me in celebrating the dozen incredible humans who are helping to power the Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester State Senate team. These interns and public health fellows are engaged in issue [...]

Greetings, Beginning Monday, April 19, all Massachusetts residents ages 16 and older become eligible for a COVID vaccine. Since the vaccine first became available, Sam Hopper from our team has [...]

Greetings,  Read on for an invitation to an April 26 Town Hall where we’ll look together to the future of our district, post-COVID. The legislature jumped right into the 2021-2022 session. In [...]

Today the Senate passed important legislation that aims directly at workers and employers recovering from the COVID pandemic and economic crisis. As shots go into arms, and federal American [...]

Today the Senate sent an omnibus climate — A Next Generation Climate Roadmap — bill to the House, before it goes to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law. Here are 10 things to know: [...]

On Wednesday, February 24, the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG), Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC), and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) collaborated with our [...]

Greetings, This Thursday, I am convening a Legislative oversight hearing on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout as the Senate Chair of the newly-formed Joint Committee on COVID-19 and Emergency [...]

Greetings,  We’re writing with a reminder of MassDOT’s virtual public meeting and virtual public information platform which will stay open through this evening.  Related documents and meeting [...]

At the beginning of every legislative session, the House and Senate vote on their own chamber’s rules and what are called “Joint Rules.” In Massachusetts, the initial consideration of bills takes [...]

Greetings,  What follows is another update regarding the Northampton roundabout project. As we shared on January 12, MassDOT explained that it would be conducting a public process to evaluate and [...]

It’s a new day. Yesterday, all eyes were on Washington, D.C. as President Biden and Vice President Harris were sworn into office — elected by a people determined to make this nation a place [...]

Greetings, We’re writing again in partnership with Representative Sabadosa to share a fourth update on the archeological site in Northampton and the construction of the roundabout.*** You may [...]

Tuesday was a whirlwind. There’s really no other word. I came to think on Wednesday morning (Jan. 6), mindful that our last day of the previous session (Tuesday, Jan. 5) stretched until 4:30 [...]

Greetings from our district, We won’t soon forget 2020 and the countless ways that people and communities rose to the daunting challenges of a historic global pandemic, massive economic crisis, [...]

On December 15, Representative Jim Hawkins and I sent the following letter to the Joint Committee on Education Chairs Lewis and Peisch regarding the urgent need to waive the MCAS graduation [...]

Conference Committee Report on S.2963, An Act Relative to Justice, Equity, and Accountability in Law Enforcement in the Commonwealth In June, in the wake of the brutal murder of George Floyd and [...]

It’s outrageous — the pesticide the state uses in its mosquito spraying program has been found to contain PFAS, a group of highly toxic chemicals. In a Boston Globe article that was published [...]