Massachusetts State Senator
January 1st brought a measure of relief for many working families in Massachusetts. The state minimum wage bumped up to $10 per hour and the state Earned Income Tax Credit grew by more than 50%.
“Since the early 1980s there’s been a widening gap between pay for people at the top and pay for everyone else,” said State Senator Mike Barrett, D-Lexington, Senate Vice Chair of the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. “These initiatives will help bridge that gap.”
Read moreBoston – Inside a packed State House hearing room, businesspeople, economists, faith leaders, civic groups and concerned citizens pushed for a ground-breaking proposal to tackle global warming. The standing-room only crowd urged the legislative committee to approve S.1747, An Act combating climate change, filed by State Senator Mike Barrett, D-Lexington. The bill places a charge on dirty fuel emissions that contribute to global warming and then returns the money — in direct rebates — to residents, businesses and non-profits.
“We have to step up our fight against climate change,” Barrett told the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities & Energy. He explained that the idea is “effectively a user fee on pollution.”
A bill before the State Legislature aims to establish a Homeless Bill of Rights for Massachusetts. The proposal outlines seven fundamental rights for people experiencing homelessness, including the right to move freely in public spaces, to equal treatment by government agencies, to emergency medical care, and to vote. At a recent public hearing, advocates urged the Legislature’s Housing Committee to move the bill forward.
Local Senator Mike Barrett, D-Lexington, supports the measure. “Massachusetts has experienced a rapid increase in its homeless population,” Barrett said. “Because these families lack permanent addresses, many are deprived of some of the most basic rights others may take for granted.”
Read moreBoston – Ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft were at the center of a recent State House hearing. With passions riding high on both sides, State Senator Mike Barrett, D-Lexington, says he wants to make sure the needs of people with disabilities aren’t left out of the conversation.
While the packed auditorium — Uber drivers in a sea of blue, cabbies in all yellow — heard primarily about issues related to public safety and insurance, Barrett told the Committee on Financial Services this is a “golden opportunity” to make on-call transportation for people with disabilities “convenient and affordable.”
Read moreBoston — Responding to recent Division of Insurance approvals of big hikes in home insurance rates, the State Senate’s oversight body is launching an inquiry into the increases. State Senator Mike Barrett (D-Lexington), Chair of the Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee, says he wants to hear explanations from insurance executives and Division of Insurance regulators, and comments from consumer advocates.
“Last winter, insurers shelled out real money to pay for damage from ice dams and water leaks — but hikes of eight and nine percent deserve a very close look by regulators and legislators,” Barrett said. “The industry is supposed to set aside reserves in advance for the occasional tough year. I hope the Division of Insurance went to town with its due diligence before approving these big increases. Let’s see if they did. We want to make sure residents are protected.”
Read moreIn concert with activists and advocates, State Senator Mike Barrett, D-Lexington, and State Representative Denise Provost, D-Somerville, recently launched a Disabilities Caucus within the Massachusetts Legislature. The inaugural event took place at the State House.
Barrett and Provost founded the Caucus to promote cohesive advocacy for people with disabilities. “Groups representing the disabled don’t have the State House clout other minority groups have,” said Barrett, who has served as Senate Chair of the legislative committee that oversees policies related to people with disabilities. “The difficulties posed by each physical, emotional, and cognitive challenge seem so distinctive. But distinctiveness needn’t mean fragmentation. The Caucus will help foster broad awareness.”
State Senator Mike Barrett, D-Lexington, is supporting a new “right to dry” for Massachusetts residents. His bill would extend the right to hang laundry on clotheslines to all state residents.
Barrett introduced the legislation at the initiative of environmental activist Peggy Brace, a constituent from Concord. He recently testified in favor of the idea at a public hearing at the State House.
Read moreAdvocates packed the State House recently to back legislation to reduce the length of prison sentences for a host of drug-related offenses. State Senator Mike Barrett, D-Lexington, supports the reforms, calling excessive prison terms a “huge drain of taxpayer dollars” with “no added deterrent effect” on those eventually released.
Massachusetts spends more than $46,000 per year to imprison each non-violent offender, many of whom have mental health and substance abuse problems. Oftentimes, Barrett says, they should instead be in treatment clinics where they can get help, an alternative that is not only more effective but costs less money.
Thanks to the efforts of state Senator Mike Barrett, D-Lexington, the Massachusetts Senate’s recently passed state budget includes additional funding for the Secure Jobs Initiative, a statewide program geared towards assisting low-income parents.
Barrett’s amendment increased funding for the initiative by 25%. The program helps parents in temporary living situations get connected with job training services and find employment.
“When you’re in very tough financial shape, you and your kids likely need both a roof over your heads and help finding work,” Barrett said. “But the state seldom brings together housing and job training for the same person. Secure jobs is that rare coordinated approach.” Read more
On the heels of a new report backing the idea, State Senator Mike Barrett, D-Lexington, has refiled his bill to prevent employers from running credit checks on job applicants. Crittenton Women’s Union (CWU), which authored the year-long study, named Barrett’s legislation as a top way to stop the cycle of poverty associated with severe debt.
CWU — a group that advocates for low-income women — said in its report that the practice of employers checking credit scores of job applicants “is not a proven indicator for future job success” and one that “places undue hardship on low-income job seekers.”
“This idea is gaining serious momentum,” Barrett said. “Ten other states have passed bills restricting this practice. Massachusetts should be next.” He directed praise at U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who is leading the charge on the federal level.
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