Statement from Senate President Karen E. Spilka on Reopening & Recovery

As we reopen the state’s economy, the Massachusetts State Senate is focused on the actions we need to take to support the recovery of our residents, our businesses and our communities.

To that end, the Senate will soon begin holding a series of listening sessions to hear from chief stakeholders, policy experts and others on the key factors we should consider when creating policy proposals related to reopening and recovery.

The sessions, which are designed to complement the normal joint committee oversight process, will be led by the Senate chairs of the relevant legislative committees and attended by Senate committee members. As my designee on reopening and recovery, Senator Adam Hinds will participate in each of these sessions.

An initial session, led by Senators Eric Lesser and Pat Jehlen, will look at the economic development and workforce implications of reopening, followed by another session on public health and health care requirements for a safe reopening, led by Senators Jo Comerford and Cindy Friedman. Future sessions will focus on the implications of reopening and recovery on other aspects of our economy, our infrastructure—including childcare and transportation—and the daily lives of our residents.  

These listening sessions are the latest in a series of efforts undertaken by the Senate Coronavirus Working Group to guide our work as we shift from the immediate public health crisis posed by COVID-19 to our state’s economic recovery. These efforts have included informational briefings for Senate members and staff on testing and tracing, the impacts on higher education, and the federal response to COVID-19, among other things.