News from the State House, July 30, 2024

TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2024

Dear Cambridge and Somerville Constituents —

Greetings from the State House, where formal sessions for the 2023-24 legislative term are due to end at midnight tomorrow. Over the past two weeks, we've been busy taking up several major new bills. Meanwhile, House and Senate leaders continue with negotiations on differing versions of other major bills that have already passed each branch.

I recently voted to enact the final version of the FY25 state budget, and yesterday, Governor Healey signed our new budget into law. The House and Senate also recently agreed to a final gun safety bill, and this afternoon, I joined with the Governor, colleagues, and advocates for a ceremonial bill signing.

There's more about these items and other news in the summaries below.

The FY25 State Budget is now signed into law

I recently voted to enact the final conference budget for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25). This budget includes a total of $58 billion in spending, a $2 billion increase over the Fiscal Year 2024 budget.

This spending recommendation is based on a state tax revenue estimate of $41.5 billion for FY25, which is $208 million less than revenues assumed in the FY24 final budget. Back in the spring, I wrote about how this would be our most constrained budget in years. Revenue numbers have been generally weak, and the legislature also passed a $1.1 billion annual tax cut last year (a tax cut I voted against, because it included outsized tax breaks for the very wealthy and big corporations).

Despite these negative revenue factors, and despite the ongoing homelessness emergency and the Steward hospital bankruptcy, this budget manages to make the best of a challenging situation. It takes some major steps forward, keeps our books balanced, and adds to our "rainy day" fund. 

Highlights of the final budget include:

  • Universal School Meals — $170 million to provide free school breakfast and lunches to students, which includes funds from the Fair Share Amendment. As someone who benefited from free school lunch as a kid, I can personally attest to the importance of this program, and I'm proud of our commitment to it in Massachusetts.
  • Housing programs — including $231.7 million for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) and $197.4 million for Rental Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT). Notably, we are finally moving forward with Access to Counsel for people facing eviction, thanks to a $2.5 million pilot program to provide legal representation to low-income families at risk of displacement.
  • Local items — including support for The Dance Complex in Central Square and Groundwork Somerville — these local items are a result of two of my budget amendments being adopted in the final bill, providing a total of $60,000 in earmarked funds to help two organizations doing extraordinary work in our community — the Dance Complex (which needs help renovating its historic building in the heart of the Central Square Cultural District) and Groundwork Somerville, Inc. (which organizes youth sustainability programs behind the Roosevelt Towers in Boynton Yards and also in East Somerville).
  • No Cost Calls — a $10 million transfer to the No Cost Calls Trust Fund to provide free phone calls for people who are incarcerated and their families. I recently visited the Middlesex County Jail and House of Corrections, and got to see firsthand how no cost calls are already working to keep families connected.
  • Closure of MCI Concord — in keeping with our work on criminal justice reform, I'm proud to report this year's final budget initiates the closure of the Concord prison and authorizes DCAMM to convey the real property at MCI Concord.

For a full overview of the final budget, including the investment of $1.3 billion in new Fair Share revenue, visit my State House blog.

Both Chambers Agree to Final Gun Safety Compromise

I recently joined with my colleagues to send sweeping gun reform legislation to the Governor’s desk, and this afternoon, I stood with the Governor and advocates as our bill was signed into law!

The provisions of the final bill cover a wide range of topics including "ghost guns," firearm licensing, dealer inspections, protected areas, updates to our red flag law, and more. 

This bill is the culmination of a multi-year process that began when the Supreme Court issued the disastrous Bruen decision in June of 2022. That ruling meant we had to rewrite many of our state's gun control and gun safety laws.

Shortly thereafter the House, under the leadership of Judiciary Chair Mike Day, led a series of listening sessions. I participated in one of the sessions in May 2023 at Framingham State University. I heard from law enforcement, school administrators and teachers as well as the general public about the impacts of firearms and gun safety. I also shared with Chair Day and the attendees some of struggles we've faced with ongoing gun violence here in Cambridge and Somerville.

After a public hearing and a series of continued deliberations, the House passed our version of the bill in October of 2023. A few months later the Senate passed their version. Finally a conference committee with three members from each chamber was appointed to reconcile the differences between both bills, and they produced the final compromise before us today.

For a full writeup of the bill click here to visit my blog.

House Passes Clean Energy Siting and Permitting Reform 

I recently joined with my House colleagues to pass legislation aimed at increasing the Commonwealth’s supply of clean energy by setting new renewable energy storage targets and by streamlining the state and local permitting process.

Municipalities and the state often face vast amounts of red tape when looking to start new clean energy projects. This bureaucracy can delay clean energy projects for many years and these delays significantly hamper the progress we need to make in transitioning away from fossil fuels.

That's why I voted for legislation overhauling our outdated siting, permitting, and interconnection processes to deploy clean energy projects more rapidly and to create better outcomes for communities, clean energy companies, and utilities. The bill further harnesses innovative technologies to power our green transition such as advanced metering, fusion energy, battery storage, grid-enhancing technologies and the buildout of fast-charging infrastructure and meter socket adapters to support wide scale adoption of electric vehicles and heat pumps.

I am proud to say that in each of my four terms on Beacon Hill, we've passed major clean energy legislation. The Senate recently passed its own version of this bill, which includes several strong provisions not found in the House bill, and so over the next 27 hours conference committee negotiators will hopeful resolve the differences to produce the strongest bill possible.

For a full writeup of the House's version of the legislation, check out my State House blog.

Update on Statewide Truck and Bicycle Safety Regulatory Process

Last month, I joined with community members at Cambridge City Hall to mourn the loss of Minh-Thi Nguyen, a young graduate student fatally struck by a box truck in the Cambridge part of my legislative district. This fatality was the second bicycle tragedy in our community in a span of weeks. Minh-Thi's death is a reminder that we cannot go backward on bike safety. We must do more at every level of government to make the goal of Vision Zero a reality.

I also recently joined with state and local partners to participate in a MassDOT hearing where important bicycle and truck safety regulations were being discussed. These new regulations are being promulgated pursuant to legislation we passed at the very end of the previous legislative session, An Act reducing traffic fatalities. I was an original cosponsor of this bill and testified at hearings in support of it over multiple sessions. My office was also involved in early planning discussions that led to the initial filling of the bill. This new law:

  • Requires state-contracted trucks to be equipped with safety side guards, specialized mirrors, and backup cameras.
  • Defines Vulnerable Road Users to include people walking and biking; roadside workers; people using wheelchairs, scooters, skateboards, roller skates, etc.
  • Requires a safe passing distance of 4 feet for automobiles passing vulnerable road users, bringing us in line with other states.
  • Clarifies the process for municipalities to lower speed limits in thickly settled areas from 30 mph to 25 mph both on state and municipal roads. Slower speeds save lives.
  • Develops a standardized tool to report crashes and incidents involving vulnerable road users.
  • Requires cyclists to have rear red lights at night.

In my written testimony to MassDOT, I urged regulators to promulgate the strongest possible regulations pursuant to our new law and to resist efforts by the Mass. Municipal Association to exempt certain trucks from regulation. I encouraged DOT to apply these new regulations to all contracts funded under Chapter 90 so as many trucks as possible will be equipped with these safety tools. Regulators now have the fall to revise and publish the final regulations, which will go into effect on January 1st, 2025.

Saying Goodbye to Starlight Square (for now!)

What started as a vision of creating a “square within the square” — Central Square’s Starlight Square became the lifeblood of our very own cultural district during the worst of the pandemic. I was proud to advocate for Starlight over the past four years. But on June 30, I was in community for a bittersweet afternoon: the final event at Starlight Square.

In the Fall of 2023, the City engaged in a study of municipally-owned parking lots in and around Central Square. The aim of the study was to see how these lots could be best used to expand city services, increase housing supply and civic engagement, and maintain flexibility to meet infrastructure and open space needs. That process concluded in February of this year with the release of this report. As you may know, Starlight Square was situated on Lot 5 (84 Bishop Allen Drive), Cambridge’s largest municipal lot of the ten in and around Central Square. The report concluded the best use of the lot should include a mixed-use building which provides a significant amount of housing and which should "integrate a flexible indoor/outdoor performance space, an outdoor public plaza, and retail/market space” with a “significant focus on affordable housing and commercial space.” 

I support the goal of more housing in Central Square, and yet, I also think it might have been possible to allow Starlight to continue on an interim basis. Now that Starlight has been torn down, I am supporting the organizers in thinking through next steps. Enter: the Starlight Forever Fund!

The Starlight Forever Fund’s mission is to establish a permanent home for cultural life in Cambridge modeled on the success of Starlight Square by raising funds and building momentum for this grassroots, community-led concept. Follow along with the team on Instagram as they keep Starlight’s spirit alive, and please consider donating to the Fund here.

Celebrating STEM Programing for Area Youth

On July 9, I was excited to join Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Executive Office of Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao, Senator Sal DiDomenico, Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang, and other state and local officials to celebrate the ribbon cutting of Biogen’s newly imagined CoLab.

In 2002, Biogen founded the Community Lab, the first hands-on community science lab in the United States. The Community Lab was the longest-running program of its kind, reaching more than 64,000 students across 40 countries. CoLab is the next iteration of this successful student outreach program, and I’m excited to see Cambridge and Somerville students take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about STEM.

In conversations with state policymakers, I often point out how many of the youth who live in the neighborhoods around Kendall Square aren't often sure how to connect to opportunities in biotech. It is my hope that with the expansion of programs like this community laboratory, Kendall Square becomes even more welcoming and inclusive for our young people and all those looking to explore STEM careers.

Upcoming Events and Community Notes

The Somerville Mobile Farmers Market is back for the summer season across multiple locations throughout the week:

  • Thursdays: 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm, Clarendon Hill Towers – 1372 Broadway Somerville, MA 02144
  • Friday Morning: 10:30 am – 12:30 pm, Council on Aging 167 Holland Street Somerville, MA 02144  
  • Friday Afternoon: 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm, Somerville Public Library East Branch, 115 Broadway Somerville, MA 02145 (new location)
  • Saturdays: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm,  Mystic Housing Dev. (25B Memorial Road, at the playground) Somerville, MA 02145

All produce is sourced from local farms and priced at low-cost to make good food affordable and accessible. Cash, SNAP, Farmers Market Coupons, Debit/Credit accepted. All are welcome! More info here.

Thank you, once again, for being an informed and engaged constituent. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Yours in service,

Rep. Mike Connolly