Massachusetts State Senator
Reducing carbon emissions in buildings is a tough nut to crack. At a marathon hearing, Sen. Pacheco and I heard about topics ranging from embodied carbon — the carbon footprint of a material through its whole lifecycle — to networked geothermal — connected systems of ground-source heat pumps.
Congrats to the girls’ lacrosse team from Lincoln-Sudbury High, this year’s Division I state champs!
The boys track and field team at Lexington High School just won the Division I state title. Here they are with the gov, who bonded with them over her own athletic accomplishments. I wish I could take some credit for their win, but I just wanted to bask in their glory. Congrats guys!
To me, progressive climate policy in the MA Legislature turns on the Senate and the House remaining equal in power. For my take on today’s tensions, watch this.
Appreciated being named Legislator of the Year by The Arc of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council. Last year, with the help of tireless proponents, we achieved a number of wins, including my proposal to create a first-of-its kind commission to study the history of state institutions for those with disabilities. After the awards event, advocates fanned out around the State House to talk to legislators. There’s more work to do.
Sen. Michael Barrett, who co-chairs the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, said Healey’s fiscal 2024 budget proposal is “the best executive branch budget I’ve ever seen” and is “a leap over anything a governor has proposed before.”
“Making inroads against global warming is a massive job, and here’s a budget that takes up the nitty-gritty, the nuts and bolts,” the Lexington Democrat said. “It calls for training more people because we’re short on everybody from HVAC techs to solar installers to electricians to electrical engineers. It puts the Mass Clean Energy Center on a stable financial footing for the first time ever. It commits to protecting water supplies because PFAS are a major threat. It bumps up funding for DCR and the state parks, which are starved for attention. All of which takes money, so, yes, this budget asks for money.”
The budget also calls for the hiring of 28 full-time environmental justice employees across the various agencies within the executive office and the establishment of a environmental training program for governmental and nongovernmental agencies.
Sen. Michael Barrett of Lexington, the co-chair of the legislative committee dealing with energy and climate change issues, hailed the focus on the environment and climate. “For efforts in this area, this is the best executive branch budget I’ve ever seen. It’s a leap over anything a governor has proposed before,” Barrett said.
The major funding hike prompted Sen. Mike Barrett, a Lexington Democrat who co-chairs the Telecommunications, Energy and Utilities Committee, to call Healey’s plan “the best executive branch budget I’ve ever seen” and “a leap over anything a governor has proposed before.”
Barrett’s bill would essentially reorganize the program from the ground up. The proposal would create an entity dubbed the “commonwealth clean heat initiative” — though Barrett said he would expect day-to-day operations to continue under the brand name Mass Save, which has wide recognition in the state.
