Happy End of July Everyone,
This summer is flying by. I cannot believe that I’m already hearing back-to-school ads on the radio. I hope everyone gets out to enjoy the summer while it lasts. It might be hot this week, but the leaves will be turning soon enough.
Despite being mid-summer too, the legislature has been jam-packed. Session is formally coming to a close and as such, any legislation from this session needs to be passed or it will need to be reproposed in the new year. Luckily, with so much session going on, I was able to get two of my interns out to Boston on Thursday to observe just how much work it takes to create law. Big shout out to them for sticking it out through mid-summer session.
After much deliberation in both branches of the legislature, The Economic Development Bill has been sent to conference committee. This is the final step before being sent to the Governor’s desk for final approval. This bill will have profound impacts on our local economy in the form of tax relief and a tax rebate. In times like these, helping out our middle class is more important than ever.
In addition to the Economic Development Bill, I’m hoping to push two other important pieces of legislation passed the finish line and onto the Governor’s desk before the end of session. The first is the SPEED Act. This bill would allow spouses of military personnel to expedite their re-licensure of out of state profession licenses such as therapists, teachers, and counselors. The SPEED Act would also allow children of these families to quickly enroll in new schools and designates certain schools as “Purple Star” which would mean these schools have resources in place specifically for oft-uprooted children of military personnel.
The second would be the legalization of sports betting in the Commonwealth. The passage of this legislation would provide an important source of tax revenue for the state government as well as attract tourism. This would put Massachusetts on an equal footing with more than two dozen other states that have legalized sports betting in some form or another.
Last Monday my team held office hours at the Westfield Council on Aging and they will be holding them again next week on Monday from 10:30pm to 11:30pm at the Agawam Council on Aging and again on Friday from 10:00am to 11:00am at the Southwick Council on Aging. Please feel free to stop by with any questions or concerns–we are always happy to help!
As always, if there is anything I can do to assist you, please never hesitate to reach out to my office. I can be reached at my email: john.velis@masenate.gov or by phone: (413) 572-3920 and you can find me online at senatorjohnvelis.com where you can also sign up for my newsletter!
Sincerely,
John Velis