Massachusetts State Senator
“I hope that Massport appreciates that what is done today on climate is inadequate, and I hope it also appreciates that the policies have changed,” Barrett said. “I don’t pretend to be able to predict particular outcomes on particular projects, but I do know that Massport needs to take this seriously.”
After months of writing, rewriting, and negotiating a major climate bill, it was nice to take a victory lap with climate leaders as we gathered to watch the Governor sign it into law. (I’m the one on the left with the slightly misshapen head.) There are multiple pathways to clean energy, and the superpower of this legislation is that it’s bulked up and versatile. If climate bills were gadgets, this one would be a Swiss Army Knife. When the fossil fuel interests lock up one tool, we’ll flip open another and keep working. Credit to Josh Qualls for the photo.
Watch my remarks: https://www.youtube.com/live/FUjoio2rP7w?si=pV-2gf8NN9OHfzul&t=2010
A beaming Sen. Barrett greets climate activists outside the Senate chamber minutes after the body’s final approval of the 2024 climate bill on Oct. 24. Credit to Steve Wenner for the photo.
Honored to be named a Legislative Champion at an event promoting disability awareness in employment. Despite the progress, the particulars of the workplace can be tough for anyone, and one’s disability often leaves a person at an additional disadvantage. Your employers and your coworkers can believe that they’re behaving well, but bias and discrimination are insidious. The result, whether intended or not, can add considerable stress to the day-to-day of holding down a job. We have to stay vigilant and we have to be insistent on receiving reasonable accommodations.
Months after the close of the formal legislative session, when lawmakers on Beacon Hill came oh-so-close to passing significant reforms only to fall short at the eleventh hour, House and Senate negotiators announced a comprehensive bill on Thursday that addresses the climate crisis and promotes more clean energy adoption. The legislation would again put Massachusetts near the front of the pack of state houses fighting climate change.
Despite the rainy weather, it was all smiles at Minute Man Arc’s annual march in Concord. The event brought in over $160,000 for the 1,400 people with disabilities served by Minute Man. Big shoutout to everyone who helped make it happen.
The audacity of actually believing in the American Dream and the idea that all men and women are born free, we have Quock Walker to thank for that courage and for that persistence. Terrific job to all the folks in Lexington who helped commemorate the occasion.
The Senate on Tuesday approved another complex set of reforms to accelerate the spread of clean energy in Massachusetts, along the way hearing concerns about potential ratepayer burdens and embracing an expansion of the state’s bottle redemption law.
“The energy grid needs updating. It needs renewing every 30 years. But it’s pretty boring stuff,” said State Senator Mike Barrett, adding that it’s decarbonization of buildings and vehicles that gets his constituents excited. “It’s a source of emotional reinforcement, to the people who vote for me, that we’re not only doing the esoteric thing — which is the grid; important, but exotic — we’re also getting off fossil fuels with respect to cars and houses.”
State Senator Michael Barrett, who helped write the last two laws and is taking the lead in the Senate on this one, said the latest bill will be voted on later this week. But the aim is clear: “Here in Massachusetts, we have a number of medium-sized and small-sized discrete problems that we need to address,” Barrett said. “We have an opportunity to address them now.”
For at-risk infants and their families, early relationship support services can be a major help. In the Senate budget, I offered a successful $500,000 amendment for two early relationship programs. Project NESST helps new mothers in early recovery from opioid abuse and provides education and training services for clinicians. Fragile Beginnings, the other program, supports parents of premature infants.