Public hearings on bills that have been filed this session are well underway — 53 of the 68 bills we filed on your behalf this session have now had a hearing and will continue into the fall.
If you would like to be notified about opportunities to testify on legislation, sign up to be added to an email list corresponding with your priority issue area(s).
Below are hearing summaries from September. Remember, these are just the bills I filed, not the bills I’ve cosponsored like Smart Meters, Same Day Voter Registration, etc.
Local option for a real estate transfer fee
On September 9, the Joint Committee on Revenue heard a bill I filed in partnership with Representatives Mike Connolly and Carmine Gentile, S.1937/H.3056 – An Act enabling a local option for a real estate transfer fee to fund affordable housing.
Skyrocketing rents, first-time homebuyers being shut out of the market, long waitlists for affordable housing: we have a housing crisis in Massachusetts.
Last session, we passed a $5.1 billion housing investment bill, but even this hefty sum won’t build the more than 200,000 units that Massachusetts needs.
The bill gives cities and towns the option to levy a local fee on the transfer of luxury real estate, with the money generated from the fee going into that municipality’s affordable housing trust fund. More information about the bill is available here.
Read my testimony here.
Watch my testimony here.
Eliminating the danger posed by nuclear weapons
On September 10, the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security heard a bill I filed, S.1649 – Resolutions to embrace the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and move the U.S. back from the brink of nuclear war.
Enough nuclear weapons currently exist to end human life on earth forever. The United Nations has moved to address this existential threat, and although the United States continues to produce and stockpile nuclear weapons, our Commonwealth can and should be part of the solution.
This resolution declares the Commonwealth’s support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and directs the Legislature to take action towards the elimination of all nuclear weapons.
Read my testimony here.
Fostering agricultural resilience
On September 16, the Joint Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries (of which I am a member) heard a bill I filed in partnership with Rep. Blais, S.55/H.112 – An Act fostering agricultural resilience in Massachusetts (the FARM bill).
Many farmers are struggling to make a profit and to keep their farms and businesses afloat. Between 2017 and 2022, Massachusetts lost farmland at twice the national rate, losing approximately 27,000 acres, and American Farmland Trust estimates that Massachusetts could lose an additional 89,000 acres of its remaining farmland by 2040 without significant new investments and policy changes.
The bill makes a number of reforms to support farms and farmers and preserve valuable farmland, including directing the state to maximize the amount of local food that is distributed through state food assistance programs, creating a grant to support training for new farmers, allowing farmers to use state grants for used farm equipment, facilitating agritourism, and other initiatives to strengthen the state’s food system and help farmers remain competitive and viable.
Read my testimony here. (As I’m a member of the committee, I did not provide oral testimony.)
Protecting soil and farms from PFAS
Also on September 16, the Joint Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries heard a bill I filed in partnership with Rep. Arena-DeRosa, S.56/H.109 – An Act protecting our soil and farms from PFAS contamination.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals that build up in our bodies and do not easily break down in the environment — which is why they are known as “forever chemicals.” Very small doses of PFAS have been linked to cancer, reproductive and immune system harm, and other diseases.
When PFAS is introduced to soils used for growing crops, it contaminates the food grown in that soil and can then pass on to farmers and consumers. PFAS contamination in soil happens most frequently from the application of fertilizers made from treated wastewater, or sewage “sludge.”
The bill bans the land application of sludge, requires manufacturers to test fertilizer for PFAS, provides important legal and financial protections for farmers, and provides funding to help farmers address PFAS contamination. The bill also requires the Department of Environmental Protection to support municipalities in disposing of toxic sludge.
Getting this issue right is a priority for me and my team. Recently, we organized a Massachusetts delegation visit to Maine, where we spoke directly with farmers and well-owners impacted by PFAS contamination. We also met with Maine legislators and agency officials to learn about their work to enact strong policies to support farmers and to safeguard soil, water, and food from further contamination. More on the visit here.
Read my testimony here.
Supporting family caregivers
Also on September 16, the Joint Committee on Revenue heard a bill I filed in partnership with Representative Mike Kushmerek and Dave Rogers, S.1938/H.3159 – An Act supporting family caregivers.
Family caregivers provide care and support for a relative with a physical or mental health problem, allowing their loved one to receive dignified care and remain in their home. While providing this essential care and service, family caregivers often experience hardships including a loss of income if they have to leave their job, workplace discrimination, and their own mental and physical health challenges.
The bill creates new benefits and policies to support family caregivers and their loved ones, including providing a tax credit to family caregivers, allowing spouses to be paid as caregivers by MassHealth, expanding unemployment insurance eligibility to people who leave their job to care for a relative, protecting family caregivers from workforce discrimination, and creating a permanent advisory council on family caregiving. Read my testimony here and watch my testimony here.
Codify the Health Incentives Program (HIP)
Finally, on September 16, the Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities heard a bill I filed in partnership with Representatives Mindy Domb and Andy Vargas, S.104/H.222 – An Act relative to an agricultural healthy incentives program.
The Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) provides Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) users with extra benefits each month when they buy healthy, local fruits and vegetables from participating farm vendors.
HIP provides critical nutrition and food access for food insecure residents, essential revenue for farmers, and jobs and increased economic development activity in communities across the state.
Despite its importance, HIP is not enshrined in statute and can experience abrupt funding cuts. This bill establishes a permanent, year-round Healthy Incentives Program in statute, ensuring stability for residents and farmers alike.
