During this 2007-2008 legislative session, I am sponsoring a number of different bills -- environmental bills, bills of concern to the town of Brookline, bills that constituents have asked me to file, and bills that reflect some of my other areas of interest and expertise. In addition to the bills listed below (for which I am the chief sponsor), I am a co-sponsor of dozens of other pieces of legislation that I support as they make their way through the process up on Beacon Hill.

1. An Act relative to recycling discarded electronic products – Refile of H.4764

This bill requires manufacturers who sell certain electronic products in Massachusetts to take financial responsibility for recycling those products at the end of their life to relieve the financial burden on cities and towns.

2. An Act relative to genetically modified pharmaceutical crops – Refile of H.4598

The Commissioner of the Department of Agricultural Resources is directed to promulgate regulations designed to protect non-genetically modified crops from contamination by pharmaceutical crops.

3. An Act to provide certain materials, funding and staffing levels for school library media centers – Refile of H.1196

The purpose of this bill is to create a change in the foundation budget that would include librarians, books, and media in the foundation budget formula.  In 1993 the legislature left school libraries out of the formula for determining the foundation budget.  While education reform has been successful in increasing resources to our school this bill seeks to ensure that the libraries in many school systems will no longer be short changed.  In order for a school system to be successful school libraries must have the ability to provide students with the tools to do research; the equipment to find information and the librarians to provide instruction to help children learn how to succeed in the information age. 

4. An Act concerning the rights of persons receiving services from programs or facilities of the Department of Mental Health to daily access to fresh air and the outdoors – Refile of H.2871

The purpose of this bill is to ensure that psychiatric inpatients have the right to time outdoors each day and to fresh air access by inserting a sixth right of persons receiving services from programs or facilities of the Department of Mental Health.

5. An Act to require environmentally safe alternatives to harmful cleaning products – Refile of H.5018

The purpose of this bill is to reduce asthma and other health threats from emissions of toxic chemicals from cleaning products used in schools, hospitals and other health care facilities, day care centers, public buildings, and public housing. The bill requires that no cleaning product may be used in schools, hospitals and other health care facilities, day care centers, public buildings, and common areas of public housing unless the product is included on the “Safer Cleaning Products” list established every two years by the Commission of the Department of Public Health (DPH).

6. An Act to regulate the medical use of marijuana by patients approved by physicians and certified by the Department of Public Health – Refile of H.2742

This bill would permit Massachusetts’ physicians to prescribe marijuana to critically ill persons who are not able to find medication to alleviate pain and other symptoms that make their lives unbearable.

7. An Act establishing the Commonwealth Community Fund

This bill creates the Commonwealth Community Fund (CCF), a quasi-governmental entity that will assist community-based non-profit organizations that are serving local needs within Massachusetts.  The CCF will achieve this purpose by providing grants and technical assistance as provided in this legislation.

8. An Act relative to rights of students, teachers and legal guardians to diagnostic use of MCAS test scores and to the MCAS appeals process – Refile of H.1206

This bill enables parents to utilize MCAS test scores for “diagnostic” purposes.  Current DOE policy effectively precludes parents from obtaining their children’s test booklets to see their written responses, thus denying them the information needed to assess their progress or problems in any meaningful way.  This bill also addresses problems with current DOE performance appeals process.  Most parents do not know what the appeals process entails or where they can get information about it.  This bill mandates that information be included in the report that goes to parents containing MCAS information. 

9. An Act to remove satisfaction of competency determination as a condition for high school graduation – Refile of H.1194

The proposed legislation would end the use of the MCAS tests or any other state-developed standardized tests to determine which students may graduate from high school. This bill is intended to ensure a truly comprehensive and fair assessment system for students, schools, and districts.

10. An Act establishing a moratorium for Commonwealth charter schools  - Refile H.1195

This bill amends Chapter 71 of the General Laws and provides a moratorium on charter schools until a special commission determines the effectiveness of Commonwealth charter schools based upon criteria set forth.  The objective of this bill is to suspend the current practice of approving new Charter Schools in the Commonwealth which threaten the financial stability of every Massachusetts public school. Charter schools divert dollars from school districts to programs that are not accountable to the taxpayers in your community and are not proven, in many cases, to be more effective.

11. An Act concerning the MCAS test

This bill states that the Board of Education be authorized to provide multiple forms of assessments in determining the level of competency under the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) for students in the Commonwealth.

12. An Act relative to reducing emissions from idling vehicles

This bill is relative to reducing emissions from idling vehicles. No owner or operator shall cause or permit such vehicle from idling for more than 5 minutes in any 60 minute period.

13. An Act to establish a working group to assess the risks as a result of global warming

The superintendent, in consultation with the commissioner of the department of environmental conservation and such other agencies as may be designated by the governor, shall convene a special working group for the purpose of conducting an insurance risk assessment of the potential consequences of climate change in Massachusetts. To the extent that can be determined from available data, the group shall identify potential sources of insurance loss exposure as a result of climate change in Massachusetts, including but not limited to potential climate change-related health, property and liability insurance losses, and predict measurements of the financial consequences of those losses occurring at five year, ten year, twenty year and fifty year increments from the present. Within one year of the effective date of this section, the group shall report to the governor and legislature on its conclusions, including recommendations for steps that could be taken to minimize the negative impacts of climate change on insurance loss exposure in this state

14. An Act authorizing municipalities to protect low and moderate income tenants and units of governmentally involved housing

This bill is to authorize municipalities to protect many low-income families and individuals residing in such housing, particularly those elderly and disabled, who may be threatened with displacements a result of a number of varying factors. It is the Commonwealth’s policy to encourage owners of this governmentally involved housing to accept incentives to keep such housing affordable and avert displacement.

15. An Act relative to the birth certificates of certain adopted children

This bill stipulates that if a child who was in the custody of the department of social services is adopted and the adopting parents surrender the child to the department, such child shall have the right to change his birth certificate back to this biological name.

16. An Act to place certain job titles in the Division of State Parks and Recreation in the Department of Conservation and Recreation under the civil service system

This bill allocates that certain positions be made permanent, whereas before these positions were temporary.

17. An Act relative to the University of Massachusetts Boston lecturers' retirement

This Bill deals with retirement benefits for University of Massachusetts Boston staff.

18. An Act concerning the science and technology MCAS test

The board, prior to requiring a science and technology MCAS test to measure the competency of students, shall insure that each secondary school has the appropriate materials and staff resources in place at least one year prior to the administration of such a test to provide adequate laboratory and field experience. The board shall not use the MCAS test as the sole competency determination for high school graduation, and shall provide for multiple competency assessments.

19. An Act authorizing the transfer of the former Fisher Hill Reservoir in the Town of Brookline

This bill requests that the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance be authorized to transfer a certain parcel of land located in the Town of Brookline to said town. The parcel is currently open space and after conveyance, the parcel shall be used for open space.

20. An Act relative to cosmetologists

This bill is relative to increasing the civil administrative penalties for certain violations by licensees of professions and occupations under the supervision of the Division of Professional Licensure.

21. An Act relative to the sales tax on pesticides

This bill removes the sales tax exemption for sales of chemical fertilizer and pesticides unless its purchased by a licensed applicator, or as an agricultural import.