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Date: 5/2/2023
SPRINGFIELD — To update Springfield constituents on what their legislators are working on, state Sen. Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow) and state Sen. Adam Gomez (D-Springfield) visited the City Council Chambers on April 24 for a legislative briefing.
Oliveira represents a small portion of the city which is primarily in Ward 7, along with two precincts in Ward 6 near Forest Park. Gomez represents the remaining wards.
“I am pleased to say that [state Senate President Karen Silka (D-Ashland)] has appointed both Sen. Gomez and myself to several committee leadership assignments,” Oliveira said.
Oliveira chairs the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government which deals with home rule petitions that come from the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. If the petitions require legislative action, it first goes to the committee. The committee recently hosted its first hearing to “play clean up” on some bills that did not make it over the finish line in the last legislative session, he shared.
Oliveira said the committee sees hundreds of bills each year, adding that he will prioritize any bills that the city of Springfield plans to submit to the Legislature and try to move them along in the legislative process.
Oliveira currently serves as the vice chair of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development, as well as the Public Health Committee. He also sits as a member of several other committees including the Joint Committee on Election Laws, Financial Services Committee, Emergency Management and Preparedness Committee and the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure.
“The 57 bills that I’ve filed this legislative session are a culmination of the work I’ve seen not just as a [state representative] representing the city of Springfield, but also having to deal with some of the inequities that I see in our funding mechanisms,” Oliveira said.
He continued, “A bill that I am particularly proud of this legislative session — working with the [Massachusetts Association of Superintendents], [Massachusetts Association of School Committees] and the [Massachusetts Municipal Association] — is making sure we take a wholesale look at the way we fund special education here in the commonwealth.”
“Right now, we are seeing double-digit increases to many school districts with out of district placements, but also the support services that special education students deserve and need,” he added.
Oliveira said his bill establishes a commission to report back to the Legislature and make funding recommendations to ensure that special education is fully paid for. It also ensures that the state partners with the school districts to “blunt a lot of these increases” that many are facing, he shared.
As the fiscal year 2024 budget debate will soon commence, on the Senate side, Oliveira said they will be prioritizing local aid, Chapter 70 and special education costs because those are essential components of municipal finance for their districts.
“You can find a partner in me working with Sen. Gomez to ensure that city councilors, School Committee members, the council president and the mayor have a voice for the city of Springfield on Beacon Hill,” said Oliveira.
Gomez began his remarks by saying, “We’re never too great to also give kudos to our staff that [are] here with us. Without our beautiful staff we wouldn’t be able to do the things that we could do, and it’s been truly an honor to represent the city of Springfield and Chicopee in the Massachusetts state Senate.”
Gomez went on to share Senate session highlights from the 2021-22 season.
The Work and Family Mobility Act, which Gomez sponsored and signed into law, allows Massachusetts residents who lack federal immigration status to apply for standard drivers’ licenses. “The [Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles] is prohibited to ask about immigration status when processing a driver’s license application for registration,” said Gomez. “One must still satisfy all driving tests and eligibility criteria to receive a driver’s license.”
This will start on July 1.
One “big ticket item” that Gomez and Oliveira were able to work on together was getting two bills signed into law for the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home.
“Following the tragic events that resulted in the death of 77 veterans at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home in the early days of the pandemic, the Legislature passed laws to increase the access to long term care and services for veterans in Massachusetts,” said Gomez. This includes the construction of a modern facility for veterans in Holyoke, increasing public oversight and more.
Another bill that Gomez sponsored and will sign into law is the Crown Act. The Crown Act ensures that no person is discriminated against and allows them to feel comfortable wearing their natural hair to school or work.
Gomez also sponsored an act relative to equity in the cannabis industry and will be signing that into law.
One of the biggest bills Gomez worked on was the sports betting legislation. “After years-long push for legalization of sports betting in the state of Massachusetts, this session has moved to legalize sports betting with strong consumer protections on professional and some collegiate contests,” said Gomez.
He went on to say that he was a “proud sponsor” of one of the various versions of the sports betting bill that “finally” made it through the Legislature.
An issue being faced across the nation is certain states controlling a woman’s reproductive rights. In the last legislative session, Gomez said they took action to protect reproductive freedom in the light of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision of the overturning of Roe v. Wade and signed it into law. This law expands projections, reproductive and gender affirming health care.
Gomez said the fiscal year 2023 budget provided additional provisions to protect people from outside the state to get abortions and provide access to healthcare services for women to make these decisions.
Other bills Gomez has sponsored include the Votes Act, which provides Massachusetts residents with several voting options, driving climate policy forward and Chapter 90.
Gomez has filed 84 pieces of legislation. Of those, a few that are of interest to Springfield residents include a foreclosure bill to make sure people stay in their homes, an act ensuring diversity in public education and an act relative to telehealth and digital equity for patients, to name a few.
On behalf of the Springfield City Council, President Jesse Lederman thanked Gomez and Oliveira as well as their staff for all their hard work and responsiveness to happenings in the city.