Hello all,
October is upon us! It is truly crazy how quickly we have been flung into fall and I can’t believe winter is around the corner. I had a number of different meetings and tours this week and also have information regarding the budget to share.
This week I was proud to sign on to a letter with my Western Massachusetts Colleagues urging Governor Baker to nominate a jurist from Western Mass to one of the two vacant seats on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. There is currently no representation from our region on the Court and it was imperative that they have all perspectives and experiences at the table on our highest State Court. I can also announce today that the first public hearing for the Holyoke Soldiers Legislative Oversight Committee is going to be scheduled for the later part of this month. This first hearing will be an important opportunity for families to speak directly to the committee and this past Sunday I had a meeting with some of my colleagues to go over planning and logistics
On Monday I had an introductory call with Kevin McCaffery from the Holyoke Chamber of Commerce and later had a meeting with Representative Vega and Holyoke Community College President Royal. We discussed a number of different K-12 related initiatives related to HCC including child-care, early college, and dual enrollment options. Our local colleges are so important to our communities and I always love getting involved. Tuesday afternoon, I joined Westfield State University President Roy Saigo to welcome students back to campus and also take a tour of some of their facilities.
Also on Tuesday, I held a listening session for constituents who are concerned about the pending merger of Farren Health Center in Montague and Mount Saint Vincent in Holyoke. There are real and tangible concerns about this type of change during this pandemic and I am grateful to have had these conversations. Later in the week, my office participated in the Department of Public Health’s hearing on this issue, where we brought up these concerns and advocated for our constituents. I hope that this move can be held off until after the pandemic, and my office will continue working and communicating with residents and families.
I began Wednesday with a tour of Savage Arms and a in-depth conversation with CEO Al Kasper. Among many things, we talked extensively about workforce development and how we can provide options for the next generation to get into trades and manufacturing. As assistant vice-chair on the Labor and Workforce Development committee, this topic truly resonates with me. We need to do a better job of teaching students about all the professional opportunities they have and connect them with the resources to succeed. Later on Wednesday, I headed down to the State Police Academy in New Braintree. Col. Mason had invited members of the legislature down to learn about the different types of training and programming that recruits go through. We were walked through de-escalation techniques and use of force defensive tactics, and engaged in productive discussions about policies and trainings. It was an incredibly informative and eye-opening day and I’m grateful to have been a part of it.
Thursday brought with it a lot of budget information and I had a long virtual caucus with legislative colleagues about the state of the budget. I am glad to report that we are closing out Fiscal Year 2020 without having had to dip into any of our state’s “rainy day fund”, but that does not mean that Fiscal Year 2021 will be the same way. Mitigating and preventing painful cuts will be a huge part of our work in the FY21 budget, as we work through these difficult economic times. Next Tuesday, the Ways and Means committee will be hosting a economic round table for the Senate which will result in a new consensus revenue number that that will be the basis of the actual budgeting numbers process. The big unknown is whether or not there will be any federal relief. While there is still an outside chance of that happening, we simply have to keep moving forward on the state level as best we can. There will really be no end to our budgeting work because as soon as we finish the budget for FY21, we will immediately begin work on FY22. These two budget years are structurally intertwined in a way that we really haven’t seen before which means that a lot of work from the FY21 budget is going to carry into the FY22 budget. I have been meeting with groups that depend on state funding all over the district and know how important this budget will be for organizations during this pandemic. I will keep you all updated on the process as it continues.
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.
Sincerely,
John C. Velis