As your advocate in the State Senate, I am proud to share several 2021 accomplishments: 

Safety for You and Your Family: My priority has been advocating for measures that keep you and your family safe and stable throughout this public health crisis. Last year alone, my team and I worked to be accessible with monthly virtual office hours, senior coffees and two legislative forums and helped more than 500 constituents access government benefits and supports, including unemployment assistance and food security. 

In addition to crafting and advocating for school masking legislation and the COVID-19 Vaccine Equity Act, I also worked in partnership with public health experts, community organizations, and legislative colleagues to pressure the Baker administration to implement policies to keep our communities safe and local economy afloat. We achieved universal masking in K-12 schools, paid time off for families and caregivers taking children to COVID-19 vaccinations, implemented a COVID vaccine pre-registration system for mass vaccination sites, and delivered a multi-pronged COVID-19 Action Plan to the Governor.

Safety also means addressing violence and discrimination. We have seen an alarming spike in antisemitism, racism, and xenophobia. It is our collective responsibility to call out hate and injustice. I collaborated with Robert Trestan, Executive Director of ADL New England, to pen a GBH commentary piece explaining the rise in antisemitism within the antivax movement in Massachusetts and our nation. As your State Senator, I have publicly condemned abject acts of hate, offered to engage in constructive dialogue in communities, secured funds toward diversity, equity, and inclusion work in our district, and voted for the Genocide Education Act, now law. 

Funding Our Communities’
Recovery: The Legislature passed a $4 billion bill to allocate federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to equitably invest in our recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. This bill delivers broad spectrum supports for our communities’ health, including mental and behavioral health, housing security, our environment, and workforce development. I secured numerous amendments, including targeted funding to assist women re-entering the workforce, providing post-traumatic stress care for medical personnel, and $1,000,000 in investments for local housing, transportation, water infrastructure, and other projects in our district. 

In the FY 2022 budget, I secured $500,000 for district projects, a pilot program for a statewide youth mental health support text line, funding for the Department of Public Health to hire personnel with expertise in combatting vaccine hesitancy, funding for New Hope’s new domestic violence shelter, and an updated facility for the Attleboro Center for Children.

Legislative Victories: Many bills are moving through their respective committees. Committees must take action on every timely filed bill by February 2, 2022, so expect an increase in floor votes and legislation headed to the governor’s desk. 

My Senate colleagues and I passed comprehensive election reform legislation in October. The bill provides election day voter registration, permanent mail-in voting, improved jail-based voting access, and upgrades to our elections infrastructure. My amendment work elevated issues like ballot drop box ratios and paid time off for voting. We also passed the Mental Health ABC Act to improve access to culturally competent care, boost our Commonwealth’s mental health care workforce, reduce barriers to emergency treatment, and more. This month, we again passed a bill to make government-issued IDs more accessible to people experiencing homelessness. These bills await action by the House.  

As Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA), I also worked to pass the law that improves conditions for egg-laying hens while keeping eggs available and affordable.  

Moving Forward: There is still much to be done. This session I filed more than 40 bills designed to advance election reform, good governance, public health, reproductive justice, climate action, and intersectional justice and equity. In January, my lead climate action legislation cleared the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy.

It is my great honor to represent the Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex District in the Massachusetts State Senate. Please reach out to me at (617) 722-1555, my email is [email protected], and you can sign up for a personal office hours appointment at beccarauschma.com/office-hours. My upcoming virtual office hours will take place Monday, February 7 from 5-6 p.m.