2021 Press
Lawmakers send $4 billion ARPA bill to Baker
Eagle Tribune • December 5, 2021
State lawmakers sent Gov. Charlie Baker a nearly $4 billion spending package Friday packed with money for the healthcare system, housing, workforce development, transportation upgrades and environmental protection. See more here.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signs genocide education bill into law, as Hanukkah puts the spotlight on rising anti-Semitism
MassLive • December 2, 2021
Senate President Karen Spilka and other Massachusetts lawmakers have grown increasingly alarmed over the lack of Holocaust eduction, exacerbated by searing recent anti-Semitic incidents, including in Duxbury where anti-Semitic language and Holocaust references had been used in play calls by a football team. See more here.
Massachusetts Senate approves sweeping mental health bill
AP News • November 17, 2021
The Massachusetts Senate unanimously approved a bill Wednesday that would guarantee Massachusetts residents are eligible for annual mental health wellness exams at no cost — akin to annual physical exams. See more here.
Letter to the editor: Public health thanks Senate President Karen Spilka
MetroWest Daily News • November 15, 2021
This week, the Massachusetts Senate, led by President Karen Spilka, chose to reject the status quo by making a bold investment in local public health. Local health officials have worked tirelessly during the COVID pandemic, yet we work within a system that is fragmented, underfunded, and lacking core workforce and data infrastructure. See more here.
Bill would guarantee annual mental health wellness exams to Massachusetts residents
AP News • November 12, 2021
Massachusetts residents would be eligible for annual mental health wellness exams — akin to annual physical exams — at no cost under a sweeping mental health bill set to be debated by the state Senate next week. See more here.
Mass. Senate Democrats pitch annual mental health exams, more clinicians and an ease on ER care
GBH News • November 9, 2021
"We really, really have a responsibility in this moment to ensure that every resident of the Commonwealth has equitable access to mental health care, no matter who they are, no matter where they live," Senate President Karen Spilka told reporters Tuesday. The Ashland Democrat said the COVID-19 pandemic exposed serious cracks in the state's mental health care system. See more here.
Mass. senators unveil wide-ranging mental health measure
Boston Globe • November 9, 2021
A trio of state senators with personal stories of coping with mental illness — as a child, a parent, and an adolescent — have banded together to back a bill that turns on the notion that mental health is as crucial to a person’s well-being as physical health and should be treated, protected, and nurtured as such. See more here.
Video: Massachusetts state senators propose wide-reaching mental health bill
WCVB - Channel 5 • November 8, 2021
Treating mental health more like physical health is the cornerstone of legislation that is being proposed in the Massachusetts Senate. Senate President Karen Spilka and Senator Julian Cyr are proposing the "Mental Health ABC Act 2.0," which they plan to unveil on Tuesday. See more here.
Massachusetts lawmakers push for genocide education in middle and high schools
Mass Live • October 22, 2021
The state Senate on Thursday passed a bill that requires all middle schools and high schools in Massachusetts to incorporate curriculum on the history of genocide, as lawmakers feared students increasingly lacked Holocaust education amid a rise in anti-Semitism. See more here.
OTR: Mass. Senate President Karen Spilka on spending state's $5 billion in federal stimulus funds
WCVB Channel 5 • October 10, 2021
The president of the Massachusetts State Senate also discusses the sweeping election reform bill that just passed in the chamber. See more here.
OTR: Massachusetts State Senate President Karen Spilka discusses 'Mass & Cass' situation in Boston
WCVB Channel 5 • October 10, 2021
The president of the Massachusetts State Senate also discusses the possibility of expanded sports betting in the commonwealth. See more here.
Massachusetts Senate approves bill to expand voting rights
Associated Press • October 6, 2021
A bill that would permanently write into Massachusetts law early voting options that were temporarily adopted during the height of the coronavirus pandemic was approved overwhelmingly Wednesday by the Massachusetts Senate. Read more here.
Massachusetts ‘must pursue’ intergenerational care in post-pandemic recovery, says Senate President Karen Spilka
Mass Live • October 5, 2021
Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka on Tuesday redoubled her focus on supporting women in the workforce as the state envisions an equitable path for emerging from the coronavirus pandemic. Read more here.
Spilka scores victory on I-90 Allston project
Commonwealth Magazine • October 4, 2021
Karen Spilka believes tolls are incredibly unfair to her constituents west of Boston. If they are such a great way to maintain a roadway, she said, then the principle should be extended broadly so the pain is shared. In the meantime, she wasn’t going to stand for hiking tolls any higher. Read more here.
COVID-19 testing site to open Monday at Ashland commuter rail station
MetroWest Daily News • September 30, 2021
A new COVID-19 testing site will open Monday at Ashland's commuter rail station on Pleasant Street, following an increase in demand for the service throughout the state. Read more here.
MassBay Community College Breaks Ground on New Framingham Campus Building
Framingham Source • September 29, 2021
A new COVID-19 testing site will open Monday at Ashland's commuter rail station on Pleasant Street, following an increase in demand for the service throughout the state. Read more here.
Lawmakers Extending Mass. Paid COVID Leave Program Through Winter
NBC Boston • September 27, 2021
The Massachusetts House and Senate on Monday passed legislation extending the state's COVID-19 emergency paid leave program, which is currently scheduled to expire on Thursday. Read more here.
125 years of 'countless hours of work': Hopkinton salutes B.A.A. ahead of Boston Marathon
MetroWest Daily News • September 25, 2021
The Town of Hopkinton teamed with the 26.2 Foundation on Thursday night to recognize the Boston Athletic Association for its work in promoting and organizing the Boston Marathon. Read more here.
Student nutrition bill, barring ‘meal-shaming,’ on the move
Commonwealth Magazine • September 24, 2021
After three years of advocacy, Massachusetts lawmakers are on the verge of adopting new policies that would provide free lunch to more children while ending the practice of “meal shaming,” placing restrictions on children whose families owe money for meals. Read more here.
Mass. Senate President Spilka Eyes Mental Health Parity Bill For Busy Fall Agenda
GBH News • September 9, 2021
Senate President Karen Spilka wants the Legislature to put a mental health care parity bill on Gov. Charlie Baker's desk by Thanksgiving, adding a tricky piece of policy to Beacon Hill's fall agenda that's already crowded with legislation on federal spending, absentee voting and redrawing political districts. Read more here.
Senate President Spilka Says Project to Add a Third Framingham Commuter Rail Track Needs To Be Expedited
Framingham Source • August 24, 2021
While traffic patterns across Massachusetts return to pre-pandemic bumper-to-bumper congestion, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) recently received the go-ahead on a new project that will add a third commuter rail track on the Framingham/Worcester line and update four stations along Wellesley and Natick. Read more here.
State Senate President Karen Spilka of Ashland backing universal masking in schools
State House News Service • August 6, 2021
The pressure on the Baker administration to require masks in classrooms this fall gained a strong voice Friday when Senate President Karen Spilka formally called on the governor to require universal masking in schools. Read more here.
Spilka defends deliberative approach on fed aid
Commonwealth Magazine • August 2, 2021
“We are no longer in the state of emergency, the major state of emergency at the height of COVID,” Spilka said. “We are no longer in the rescue situation where money needed to be spent urgently and quickly. We are now in recovery mode and back to the more normal budget type of appropriation process.” Read more here.
State remains mum on whether school mask mandates will return
Commonwealth Magazine • July 26, 2021
Senate President Karen Spilka said Monday if case numbers keep rising, the Delta variant keeps spreading, and the CDC continues to recommend masks for unvaccinated individuals, policy makers “seriously need to think about” having unvaccinated students wear masks, whether they be children under 12 or unvaccinated teenagers. Read more here.
Massachusetts Legislature unanimously passes $48.1B budget
State House News Service • July 9, 2021
Both branches voted unanimously to approve the revised spending plan, which calls for permanently enshrining the state’s controversial film tax credit program, continuing to delay implementation of a charitable giving tax deduction, and setting aside $350 million to buttress a multi-year education funding reform law. Read more here.
Massachusetts legislature pass $48.1B state budget without raising taxes
WWLP Channel 22 News • July 9, 2021
The Massachusetts legislature has officially passed a new budget without raising taxes because our revenue projections were higher than expected. Going into the budget season there was a lot of concern around the state of our finances, but lucky for lawmakers the state took in more tax revenue than expected, taking spending cuts and tax increases off the table. Read more here.
Massachusetts workers can now take up to 12 weeks of paid family leave to care for ill relatives
MassLive • July 1, 2021
Massachusetts has entered the next step of the state’s paid family and medical leave program, now allowing residents to take up to three months off to care for a loved one. Read more here.
Senate leader Karen Spilka voices support for extension of mail-in voting rules
State House News Service • June 28, 2021
Senate President Karen Spilka has described herself as a "huge proponent" of voter options like mail-in and early voting, days before pandemic-era expansions of those measures are set to lapse. Read more here.
Bill would secure egg supply, upgrade conditions for hens
AP News • June 26, 2021
The Massachusetts Senate has approved legislation designed to create a more secure egg supply chain and raise the state's farm animal welfare standards to be on a par with other states. Read more here.
(Interview) Senate President Spilka: Baker's Two-Month Tax Holiday 'Probably' Not Happening
State House News Service • June 25, 2021
Senate President Karen Spilka told Boston Public Radio Friday the she expects the legislature to reject Gov. Charlie Baker's proposal for a two-month tax free holiday this summer. Read more, and hear the full interview, here.
Senate President Spilka Nominates Doak For 2021 Commonwealth Heroine Award
Framingham Source • June 24, 2021
Senate President Karen E. Spilka nominated Framingham resident Nicole Doak to receive a 2021 Commonwealth Heroine Award. Read more here.
Mass. Pandemic Policy Extensions Signed Into Law
State House News Service • June 16, 2021
Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday morning signed into law a bill extending pandemic-inspired authorizations for remote public meetings, to-go cocktail sales, eviction protections and more, according to Senate President Karen Spilka. Read more here.
Massachusetts Legislature overwhelmingly advances proposed tax on top earners to 2022 ballot
Boston Globe • June 9, 2021
Massachusetts lawmakers overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to advance a sweeping change to the state tax code to the 2022 ballot, kickstarting what’s expected to be a bruising political debate over whether the wealthiest residents should pay more in taxes. Read more here.
Voters To Decide On Constitution Change That Allows 'Millionaire's Tax' On Income Over $1 Million
State House News Service • June 9, 2021
The House and Senate, meeting jointly in a Constitutional Convention to consider proposed amendments to the state's Constitution, voted 159-41 Wednesday to let voters decide on the 2022 statewide ballot whether to impose a new 4% surtax on annual household income over $1 million. Read more here.
Massachusetts Senate votes to close loophole involving rape kits
WCVB News • May 31, 2021
The Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed an amendment in its budget on Monday that would require untested rape kits to undergo DNA testing. Read more here.
Massachusetts Senate Passes $47.7 Billion Fiscal Year 2022 Budget
Framingham Source • May 28, 2021
The Massachusetts State Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a $47.7 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22), after adding $63.7 million in targeted investments over the course of three days of robust deliberations. Read more here.
Senate President Karen Spilka plans more legislation to address issues at Soldiers’ Home
State House News Service • May 27, 2021
Senate President Karen Spilka said Thursday she expects to see legislation filed to address the failed governance of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home that led to the deaths of 77 veterans from COVID-19, but she did not call for Gov. Charlie Baker to be forced to testify before the Legislature. Read more here.
Massachusetts legislature unanimous on funding for soldiers’ home, changes to sick leave and unemployment
Lowell Sun • May 23, 2021
The Senate and House approved and sent to Gov. Charlie Baker a bill authorizing $400 million to fund the construction of a new Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, following the deaths of 77 veteran residents last year as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak at the current facility. Read more here.
Senate Democrats roll out $47.6 billion budget proposal including child care tax credit for Massachusetts families
State House News Service • May 12, 2021
Senate Democrats rolled out their $47.6 billion fiscal year 2022 state budget proposal on Tuesday, proposing an annual spending plan that reforms taxes for pass-through companies, overhauls the film tax credit program, and expands support for lower-income residents in the wake of the pandemic’s devastation. Read more here.
Massachusetts Senate’s $47.6B budget boosts aid to needy families, slashes reliance on rainy day account
Boston Herald • May 11, 2021
The bottom line of a $47.6 billion budget unveiled by state Senate leaders is nearly identical to one produced by House lawmakers last month, but “dug deeper” into federal reimbursements to reduce the Bay State’s reliance on rainy day funds while boosting support to poor families and without raising new taxes. Read more here.
Mass. Senate Leaders Unveil $47.6 Billion Budget Plan
State House News Service • May 11, 2021
Massachusetts Senate Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a $47.6 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2022 that aims to repair economic damage from the pandemic. Senate President Karen Spilka said the budget bill "seeks to put us on a stable fiscal footing and build a more inclusive and resilient commonwealth for all of us." Read more here.
Opinion: A rocket for the caregiving 'moonshot': The need to expand federal and state programs
Milford Daily News • May 7, 2021
Directly investing in family caregivers is a crucial step in the state legislature’s consideration of shifting our economic priorities to make Massachusetts more resilient after the pandemic. Read more here.
Senators push intergenerational care center ‘moonshot’
Boston Business Journal • May 4, 2021
State lawmakers are gearing up to conceptualize and develop Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka’s “moonshot” idea of a network of intergenerational care centers across the commonwealth, with a Senate committee scheduled to discuss the idea on Wednesday. Read more here.
Senate President Spilka Tours New Behavioral Health Unit at MetroWest Medical
Framingham Source • April 30, 2021
The team at Metro West Medical Center toured the new behavioral health unit with Senate President Karen Spilka today, April 30. Read more here.
Massachusetts Senate OKs $400M bill for new soldiers’ home
Associated Press • April 29, 2021
The Massachusetts Senate voted Thursday to approve a $400 million bond bill to pay for a new facility to replace the existing Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, the site of one of the nation’s deadliest coronavirus outbreaks at a long-term care facility. Read more here.
Ambitious Climate Legislation in Massachusetts Sets the Bar for Other States
The Nature Conservancy • April 21, 2021
An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy is formative legislation that could be emulated across the U.S., bringing people together across the aisle and leading to important and impactful changes for the future of people and nature. Read more here.
Local Massachusetts Politicians React To Guilty Verdicts In Chauvin Murder Trial
GBH News • April 20, 2021
State Senate President Karen Spilka, a Democrat, said in a statement that the verdict brought "a glimpse of hope for more accountability, and ultimately, justice." Read more here.
Grant For Marketing Program Awarded to Ashland, Natick, & Framingham
Framingham Source • April 15, 2021
This program was established to support recovery solutions based on the specific economic needs of individual regions of the Commonwealth and was designed to fund projects that uniquely address local concerns. Read more here.
Senate President Karen Spilka eyes new goal — intergenerational care for all
State House News Service• April 14, 2021
With many workers "sandwiched" between aging parents and young children, Senate President Karen Spilka on Tuesday proposed a "moonshot" to reimagine an intergenerational care system that would support families, particularly women, who have been forced to give up careers to care for family of all ages. Read more here.
Our View: Young and old together (Editorial)
Eagle Tribune • April 14, 2021
One of the top priorities for Massachusetts coming out of the pandemic must be figuring out what child care looks like in a post-COVID-19 world. State Senate President Karen Spilka offers an intriguing place to begin. Read more here.
Spilka pushes for intergenerational care centers to alleviate ‘caregiving crisis’
Boston Business Journal • April 13, 2021
Millions of women were forced out of the U.S. labor pool to focus on caregiving amid the Covid-19 pandemic, driving women's participation to levels not seen since 1988 — a fact Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka on Tuesday said is “more than sad and disappointing.” Read more here.
Spilka calls for major investment in caregiving to help women return to workforce
Boston Herald • April 13, 2021
Senate President Karen Spilka is warning of a “caregiving crisis,” as women have been ripped from the workforce to care for children and sick relatives amid the pandemic, and vowed to make Massachusetts a national leader in supporting caregivers by using federal stimulus funds. Read more here.
Pandemic's effect on working women: 'A full decade of progress is gone'
State House News Service • April 4, 2021
Women re-entering the workforce was a highlight in the national jobs report for March, but why they were forced out in the first place has advocates looking for solutions — especially when pre-COVID-19 hurdles remain. Read more here.
Pandemic Hits Working Women Especially Hard
GBH • April 2, 2021
The pandemic has had an outsized impact on working women. Now advocates say workplaces and the state legislature should take steps to lessen the burden. Read more here.
Genocide education urged after US high school’s anti-Semitic football play calls
Associated Press • March 28, 2021
Massachusetts lawmakers are renewing a push for mandatory genocide education after a high school football coach was fired following reports that the team used anti-Semitic language, including a mention of Auschwitz, in its on-field play calling. Read more here.
‘Back to better’; Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka says COVID exposed longstanding inequities
Mass Live • March 26, 2021
On Friday, speaking at an executive forum hosted by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, Senate President Karen Spilka altered what the state should strive for in the aftermath of the pandemic. Read more here.
MWRTA Receives $400,000 Grant For Sunday Service To Golden Triangle in Natick & Framingham
Framingham Source • March 23, 2021
The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority received a $400,000 grant to expand its service to Sundays and to the Framingham-Natick Golden Triangle. Read more here.
'The hardest year of their lives.' Educators, experts tackle emotional learning
Milford Daily News • March 20, 2021
The importance of student emotional safety, the “COVID slide” and the benefits of social-emotional learning were among the topics tackled by local school officials and experts during a virtual panel last Friday on student mental health. Read more here.
State Senate passes COVID relief bill to help companies, workers
Boston Globe • March 18, 2021
The state Senate passed its version of a multipronged COVID-19 relief bill on Thursday, with plans to get legislation on Governor Charlie Baker’s desk within the next week. Read more here.
Mass Vaccine Site Coming To Westborough: Sen. Spilka
Patch • March 18, 2021
A mass COVID-19 vaccine site will be opening in Westborough, according to State Senate Majority Leader Karen Spilka, D-Ashland. Read more here.
Senate President Karen Spilka calls for local boards of health to vaccinate teachers, essential workers
WCVB • March 8, 2021
Senate President Karen Spilka is calling for a change in the state's plan for distributing COVID-19 vaccine to teachers and other essential workers. She tweeted Monday morning in favor of using local boards of health to administer the vaccinations to those individuals. Read more here.
Spilka: 'Aggressive' Vaccine Program For Teachers Needed This Month
State House News Service • March 2, 2021
With the state expecting to see its supply of COVID-19 vaccine increase over the coming weeks, Senate President Karen Spilka on Tuesday said Gov. Charlie Baker must let teachers get vaccinated this month and should set aside a percentage of doses for teachers and school staff. Read more here.
Massachusetts planning for post COVID-19 environment critical step (Editorial)
Mass Live • March 1, 2021
The pandemic has upended most of the norms with which we are accustomed. In response, the Massachusetts Senate has created a special committee to reimagine what life may be like post pandemic. The committee will examine some of the short- and long-term challenges that will follow the pandemic. Read more here.
Spilka looks to 'continued vibrancy' beyond COVID pandemic
State House News Service • February 11, 2021
Looking beyond the state's ongoing public health and economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, Senate President Karen Spilka announced plans Thursday to launch a Senate committee that will function as a clearinghouse of policies, practices and ideas that could prepare Massachusetts for whatever waits on the other side of the pandemic. Read more here.
Natick Mall To Become COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Site
Framingham Source • February 10, 2021
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts announced the Natick Mall, managed by LabCorp, will open as a mass vaccine clinic later this month. “It was incredible to me to look at a map and see no sites in our region, and so I pressed for one in my conversations with the Administration about the vaccine rollout. This is a matter of public health and regional equity, and so I’m glad the Administration has responded,” said Senate President Karen Spilka. Read more here.
MetroWest environmental enthusiasts say Biden presidency is breath of fresh air
Milford Daily News • February 8, 2021
Energy experts generally agree that successfully addressing climate change requires a unified effort from individuals and all levels of government. That’s why state Senate President Karen Spilka is encouraged by President Joe Biden’s efforts to address the issues head-on — in stark contrast to the Trump administration, which did not help fix the problem, she said. Read more here.
Massachusetts Senate president says state's vaccine plan is creating confusion
WCVB • January 24, 2021
Karen Spilka says clear communication and increased information are needed from the administration of Gov. Charlie Baker. See Part 1 here. See Part 2 here.
Greater Framingham Community church goes virtual for 34th MLK Jr. celebration
Metro West Daily News • January 18, 2021
Nyosha Danika Homicil is frustrated that she still has to make it clear that Black lives matter. Read more.
Spilka: No Mass Pike toll increases to help pay for Allston Multimodal Project
Metro West Daily News • January 12, 2021
MetroWest and Central Massachusetts commuters will not bear the financial burden of the upcoming Allston Multimodal Project if a provision in the $16.5 billion Transportation Bond Bill is passed. Read more.
Craft breweries score a long-awaited victory at the State House
Boston Globe • January 8, 2021
Craft brewers in Massachusetts can pour a cold one now and celebrate the last-minute approval of compromise legislation on Beacon Hill to help them break free of relationships with their distributors that may be hindering their growth. Read more.