(The Westfield News/MassLive – Michael Ballway) John Velis and Paul Mark, the two state senators serving Greater Westfield, will both chair committees in the 2023-2024 legislative session on Beacon Hill.
Velis, a Democrat from Westfield, will continue to serve as Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, and is taking on the additional role of Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery, after serving as vice chair in the previous session.
“I am honored to be appointed to serve as chairman of the Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery Committee, and am excited to build upon the work we achieved last session with the passage of the Mental Health ABC Act 2.0,” said Velis. “In my mind, mental health and substance use are the biggest problems in the commonwealth that not enough people are talking about. And as someone who has had their own struggles in recovery, I know firsthand how these two issues can so often be co-occurring for people. We know that we must do more to help those struggling, and I look forward to working with members of the committee to accomplish just that.”
Velis was also recently appointed to a National Mental Health Task Force convened by the Council of State Governments and the National Conference of State Legislatures.
As for his continuing role on the Veterans and Federal Affairs Committee, Velis — a war veteran and a major in the U.S. Army Reserve — said “this is an area I will always be passionate about.”
“From securing funding to rebuild the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, to reforming the governance structure of both our Soldiers’ Homes, to passing the SPEED Act to support service members and military families, we are coming off of an incredible productive session in terms of veterans’ affairs,” he said. “I want to build off that momentum this session and focus on expanding outreach to women veterans, ensuring that the new cabinet-level veterans secretariat has the support they need, and increasing benefits for veterans throughout our communities.”
Velis was also named vice chair of the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, and a member of four other joint committees: Housing; Judiciary; Public Safety and Homeland Security; and State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.
Velis represents Westfield, Montgomery, Russell and all or part of six other communities.
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