Met with members of the Mass. Coalition for the Homeless. One of their top priorities is legislation establishing a Homeless Bill of Rights, on which I’m a co-sponsor. You can read more about the bill here.
Mass. Legislature’s internal rules
The Mass. Legislature’s internal rules matter. Here’s why citizens should weigh in:
United Teen Equality Center in Lowell
As part of the Senate’s statewide listening tour, my colleagues and I visited the United Teen Equality Center in Lowell. UTEC was founded for local teens in response to gang violence. Had a delicious lunch from Cafe UTEC prepared by some young chefs.
Healthy Eating at the State House
Sonia DeMarta, co-founder of the Farmers Market in Lexington and Healthy Eating consultant at Whole Foods in Bedford, got a State House audience to dig in on the topic of healthy eating.
Military R&D at Lincoln Laboratory
The State Senate’s Commonwealth Conversations Tour stopped at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. My colleagues told me later that they were astonished by what they saw. Among other things, the translation of military R&D to non-military uses is as robust today as it was when ARPANET led to the development of the internet.
Time Capsule at the MFA
Brings you up short. Rivets the mind. Emotional, even. At the Museum of Fine Arts viewing the contents of a time capsule entombed in 1795 in a cornerstone of the Massachusetts State House. Sam Adams and Paul Revere chose these things, arranged them, reaching through time to touch people like us, future residents of a young country they had just fashioned out of passion and ideas.
With Mass. Off Track On Emissions Goal, Advocates Seek 1st State Carbon Tax
WBUR
“This is carbon pricing,” State Senator Mike Barrett said, “and the idea is to make it a little more expensive to pollute, a little more expensive to buy something that results in the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — which is the greenhouse gas that causes climate change — make it a little more expensive to do all that, but then you send the money back so that you spend it on something less polluting.”
Revisiting grad tax
Boston Herald
Massachusetts is one of only 16 states that doesn’t have a graduated tax on personal income. A bill I’ve filed would amend the state constitution to include one. Let’s balance the tax burdens of our citizens and narrow our widening disparities in income. A constituent from Chelmsford, Adithya Raajkumar, makes the case.
Talking legal aid
I heard from two high-ranking constituents on the importance of legal aid for low-income people with respect to non-criminal problems like evictions and heating shutoffs. With Boston Bar Association President Julia Huston of Weston (right) and President-elect Lisa Arrowood of Lincoln (left).
Mass. can lead on greenhouse gas reduction
Boston Globe
In the The Boston Globe, Mike Ross writes on my bill to combat climate change by pricing carbon:
“The idea of a lone state like Massachusetts getting out ahead of the rest of the country and leading a program of this magnitude might strike some as incredulous. But this is precisely what the Commonwealth has been doing on a host of issues — from marriage equality to health care. Being ahead of the curve is a good thing, especially when our future depends on it.”