All Posts - Page 6 of 20

Massachusetts Legislature Passes Veterans’ Home Governance Legislation

BOSTON - This week, State Representative Joan Meschino (D-Hull) joined her legislative colleagues in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to pass An Act relative to the governance, structure and care of veterans at the Commonwealth’s veterans’ homes, which makes key reforms to the governance structure of the state’s veterans’ homes, ensures that both homes are federally licensed as health care facilities, mandates increased state management, and provides independent oversight and accountability of veterans’ homes management. Following the tragedy at the Holyoke Veterans’ Home in 2020, which resulted in the COVID-19 related deaths of 78 veterans, the Legislature established the Special Joint Oversight Committee on the veterans’ Home in Holyoke COVID-19 Outbreak to investigate and make recommendations which resulted in this legislation. “After dedicating their lives to the service of our country, our veterans deserve the utmost respect and the highest levels of care in their later years,” said State Representative . . . Read More

Joan Meschino2022-07-29T13:23:08-04:00July 29th, 2022|Seniors + Veterans|

Massachusetts House Passes Legislation to Establish an Effective and Equitable Local Public Health System

BOSTON - This week, State Representative Joan Meschino (D-Hull) joined her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives to pass legislation designed to strengthen local and regional public health and ensure that every resident has access to foundational public health services, regardless of where they live, through the Department of Public Health’s (DPH) State Action for Public Health Excellence (SAPHE) program established by the Legislature in 2020. Across the Commonwealth, there are hundreds of local public health boards with varying degrees of expertise and bandwidth depending on the size and wealth of the community in which they are located. These boards are tasked with functions as diverse as restaurant inspection, sanitary code enforcement, emergency preparedness, and disease control. This legislation builds on the 2019 recommendations of the Special Commission on Local and Regional Public Health and the SAPHE 1.0 legislation passed in early 2020 by establishing a statewide standard . . . Read More

Joan Meschino2022-07-29T13:21:50-04:00July 29th, 2022|Public Health|

Massachusetts Legislature Passes $52.7 Billion FY23 Budget

Fiscal Year 2023 Budget - Conference Committee Report (BOSTON) - Last week, the Massachusetts Legislature unanimously passed a $52.7 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23). This budget upholds fiscal responsibility and makes targeted investments to strengthen the state’s economic foundation, protect the most vulnerable residents and support the everyday needs of communities and families in the Commonwealth. “The budget for the upcoming fiscal year reflects the legislature’s commitment to investments that support and uplift the Commonwealth’s residents,” said Representative Meschino. “I am encouraged to see that my advocacy for statewide and local line items that matter most has resulted in meaningful investments that will benefit our communities here on the South Shore.” Representative Meschino was able to secure funding for several key priorities for the 3rd Plymouth District, including full funding for library technology and automated resource sharing at nearly $4.75 million and increased funding for the Division . . . Read More

Joan Meschino2022-07-26T16:36:44-04:00July 26th, 2022|Budget and Grants|

Massachusetts Legislature Passes Sweeping Clean Energy Legislation

(BOSTON) - This week, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a comprehensive clean energy bill, An Act driving clean energy and offshore wind. The legislation bolsters green transportation, green buildings, and clean power production, including offshore wind, solar, storage and networked geothermal, while creating thousands of new jobs and economic benefits in the process. This bill expands upon the Next Generation Climate Roadmap bill (S.2995,) which contained key provisions from An Act creating a roadmap to a clean and thriving commonwealth, originally filed by Representative Joan Meschino (D-Hull.) S.2995 was passed earlier this legislative session and overhauled the state’s climate laws by putting Massachusetts on a path to reach net-zero limit on greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. “As a heat wave sweeps across the globe and we continue to see the devastating effects of the climate crisis, it is more critical than ever that we take robust action across all sectors . . . Read More

Joan Meschino2022-07-22T13:50:15-04:00July 22nd, 2022|Energy + Environment|

Massachusetts House of Representatives Passes $4.2 Billion Economic Development Bill

(BOSTON) - This week, Representative Joan Meschino (D-Hull) joined her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives to pass an economic development bill, which utilizes American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) surplus funds, and bonds to make significant investments across several vital sectors of the economy, and to give back to low and middle-income residents in Massachusetts by providing one-time rebates and significant tax relief beginning in 2023. Funded at $4.2 billion, the legislation addresses disparities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic through one-time investments in health and human services, the environment and climate mitigation, economic development, housing, and food insecurity. Earlier this session, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a bill appropriating $4 billion in ARPA and FY21 surplus funds. Just over $1 billion remains in ARPA funds, which must be allocated by 2024 and spent by 2026. “The targeted investments and tax relief included in this legislation will . . . Read More

Joan Meschino2022-07-15T13:00:49-04:00July 15th, 2022|Budget and Grants, Other Topics, Transportation + Infrastructure|

Massachusetts House of Representatives Passes Legislation Supporting Military Families, Bolstering Veterans’ Services

(BOSTON) - On Thursday, July 7, State Representative Joan Meschino (D-Hull) joined her colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass H.4978, An Act relative to military spouse-licensure portability, education and enrollment of dependents on a unanimous 154-0 vote. The bill increases support for veterans and military families by reforming licensing requirements and expanding access to information about open burn pit exposure. The legislation also authorizes slot machines at veterans' organizations, honors service members who died as a result of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder or other diseases linked to their time in action, and requires formal recognition for the founding dates of various branches of the United States Armed Forces. “This bill reflects the legislature’s commitment to improving the lives of our veterans here in the Commonwealth. It is only fitting that we strive to give back to those who have given so much in the course of their . . . Read More

Joan Meschino2022-07-12T12:25:36-04:00July 12th, 2022|Seniors + Veterans|

It’s Time to Build Stable, Supportive Housing in Massachusetts

In Commonwealth Magazine COVID-19 HAS LAID bare the inadequacy of a safety net system here in Massachusetts, from workforce shortages to the lack of a viable public health response for adults, youth, and families experiencing homelessness on a day-to-day basis. The pandemic has pushed our statewide response system to the limit — further straining the state’s critical services and supports that keep low-income households stable. Many people are stretched thin and need help. Now is the time for the Massachusetts Legislature to take coordinated, comprehensive action to ensure that these resources are deployed effectively and equitably. By transforming our approach to homelessness, we can move from a crisis response to investing in vulnerable adults, families, and youth for more stable lives. And that’s exactly what House Bill 3838 does. An Act to create and implement a Massachusetts flexible housing subsidy pool program to address the medically complex needs of . . . Read More

Joan Meschino2022-07-01T11:29:01-04:00July 1st, 2022|Housing|

Hingham’s Leavitt Sutton and Maguire-Eisen Recognized as Commonwealth Heroines by Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators

(BOSTON) - On Wednesday, Hingham residents Katie Leavitt Sutton and Maryellen Maguire-Eisen received recognition from the Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators during the Caucus’s annual Commonwealth Heroine Awards celebration. Sutton was nominated to receive this recognition by State Representative Joan Meschino (D-Hull) for the work she does to foster community and champion anti-racism in Hingham and beyond, and Maguire-Eisen was nominated by State Senator Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth) for her extensive work to encourage sun safety and skin cancer prevention. Commonwealth Heroines are women who have been chosen by their legislators for their extraordinary acts of service. The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women says that the women who are recognized “perform unheralded acts daily that make our homes, neighborhoods, cities and towns better places to live.” As Chair of the Hingham Unity Council, a non-partisan group that seeks to bridge differences and build a culture of dignity and . . . Read More

Joan Meschino2022-06-27T11:56:06-04:00June 24th, 2022|Other Topics|

House of Representatives Passes Groundbreaking Mental Health Legislation

(BOSTON) - On Thursday, June 16, Joan Meschino (D-Hull) joined her colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass H.4879, An Act addressing barriers to care for mental health on a unanimous 155-0 vote. The bill aims to bolster mental health services in the Commonwealth by taking steps to address mental health parity, increasing access to youth behavioral health care, implementing the federally created 988 crisis hotline, and addressing emergency room boarding, in addition to several other updates related to behavioral health care and substance use disorder treatment. Some highlights in the legislation include: Taking a major step toward implementing and enforcing mental health parity, the concept that insurance coverage for mental health care should be equal to insurance coverage for any other medical condition; Expanding insurance coverage of critical behavioral health services, including annual wellness exams comparable to existing annual physical exams; Requiring MassHealth to cover postpartum depression . . . Read More

Joan Meschino2022-06-17T12:15:40-04:00June 17th, 2022|Public Health|

Representative Meschino Joins MA Hunger-Free Campus Coalition Press Conference

(BOSTON) – This week, Representative Joan Meschino (D-Hull) joined the Massachusetts Hunger Free Campus Coalition, Senator Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester), Senator Joan Lovely (D-Salem), Representative Andy Vargas (D-Haverhill), and Representative Mindy Domb (D-Amherst) for a press conference in support of legislation (H.1368/S.2811) that will establish a hunger-free campus program. The bill would create an Office of Capacity Building Services within the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education to offer funding, technical assistance, and grant opportunities to campuses that hope to address food insecurity. The legislation will also incentivize campuses to leverage existing resources and maximize enrollment in federal nutrition programs. Additionally, the bill will push campuses to create student-led food insecurity task forces designed to explore anti-hunger initiatives that can be considered for grant funding. Representative Joan Meschino (D-Hull) supports this bill as a logical next step following her successful advocacy for legislation she filed with Senator Lovely, An Act establishing . . . Read More

Joan Meschino2022-06-03T15:06:49-04:00June 3rd, 2022|Other Topics, Public Health|