The People's Blog

In mid-November our team celebrated work with 100 interns and fellows over the past four years I’ve been in office and the team has been working on behalf of our […]

The Community One Stop for Growth grants for the Fiscal Year 2023 were recently announced. Our district has been awarded a whopping $8.25 million. The Community One Stop grant process […]

The House and Senate reached agreement on $3.76 billion spending package that will help ease the financial strain brought on by challenging economic conditions in Massachusetts and across the [...]

On September 28 more than one thousand people from across the United States with the stated goal to end hunger in the United States by 2030 and tackle preventable, nutrition-related […]

Greetings from your State House, Election Day 2022 and the beginning of the next session (the 193rd session of the Massachusetts Legislature) are fast approaching. This newsletter is packed with [...]

I offered the following remarks at the September 18 celebration of the life and work of Dr. Marty Nathan in Florence:   “Every moment is an organizing opportunity. Every minute […]

The following are remarks I delivered at the UMass Amherst Elaine Marieb Center for Nursing and Engineering Innovation’s first annual symposium on nursing and engineering innovation on September [...]

I offered this reflection at the UMass Amherst School of Public Policy kick off on September 1, 2022. Thank you to the School of Public Policy for inviting me to […]

Written remarks offered at Pioneer Valley Regional School District’s school year kick off on August 29, 2022. (I cut them a bit on the spot for time!) So honored to […]

There is an upcoming opportunity to provide comments about the way the Commonwealth’s public lands are managed.  The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is holding public listening [...]

Greetings, I’m still catching my breath from the final month of our two-year legislative session. July was a sprint at the end of a marathon as the House and Senate […]

Right before we finished our work for the year, the legislature passed a sweeping mental health bill, titled the Mental Health ABC Act: Addressing Barriers to Care (ABC) with my […]

We’re writing about a both timely and time-bound opportunity to engage in a process, the outcome of which has the potential to affect the health of the Connecticut River Valley […]

Yesterday, in the final days of the legislative session, the House and Senate both passed legislation that makes key reforms to the governance structure of the state’s veterans’ homes. The […]

I offered the following remarks in a floor speech on July 29, 2022 to support a bill I filed to transform public health in Massachusetts:   Thank you Mr. Presdient, […]

Today, the Senate and House passed H.5090, An Act expanding protections for reproductive and gender-affirming care. I was delighted to vote YES and proud that many of the Senate’s equity-driven [...]

Yesterday, the Senate passed a comprehensive $4.4 billion economic development bill that invests equitably in local communities and in people across the Commonwealth. I was proud to secure 11 [...]

Yesterday morning at 6:30 a.m., before I hit the road to Boston, I saw the final bill produced by the Clean Energy and Climate Conference Committee which was set up […]

On July 18, I voted YES to send the legislature’s final FY23 budget to the Governor’s desk.  The FY23 budget process kicked off back in December 2021, when economists told […]

This blog was written by Tavi Wolfwood, an intern in our office this summer, in response to constituent questions and concerns and our office’s prioritization of work on monkeypox and […]

Yesterday I was so proud to vote YES as the Senate passed comprehensive legislation to add further protections for reproductive rights in Massachusetts by a 40 to 0 vote. The […]

July is Disability Pride Month. On July 26, 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). That same year, Boston held the first ever disability pride event and this […]

This blog was written by Tavi Wolfwood, an intern in our office this summer, in response to constituent questions and concerns and our office’s prioritization of work on so-called estate [...]

Yesterday, July 7, the Senate passed S.2973 An Act to expand access to high-quality, affordable early education and care, a transformational bill to expand access to high-quality, affordable [...]

Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA does not have broad authority to regulate emissions from power plants. While the Supreme Court works to set our country back, our […]

Today the Senate passed S.2954, An Act establishing a foster parents’ bill of rights, one of the legislative proposals I filed this session. The bill creates a framework to ensure […]

Greetings from your State House, Devastated. Furious. Grieving. We all expected the Supreme Court to end the right to abortion, but reading that decision – on top of the Court’s […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 – […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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. […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]