EDUCATION
A plaque at the Kirk Street entrance of Lowell High School describes education as “the most powerful lever to a democracy in raising the standard of its citizenship.” Senator Kennedy shares strongly in this outlook, and believes fully funding the Commonwealth’s schools and ensuring every child has the resources they need to be successful is a fundamental responsibility of government. Guided by his unique perspective as the former chair of Lowell’s School Committee, Senator Kennedy has long been a proponent of updating the Commonwealth’s education funding formula, known as the Foundation Budget, established in 1993, which underestimates the actual spending of every district in the state. In the early days of his first term in the Senate, Kennedy co-sponsored the PROMISE Act, a bill aimed at updating the education funding formula to account for costs which soared since the formula was established – including health insurance costs, special education costs, and costs for educating ELL students and low-income students. He has also co-sponsored legislation to create universal access to pre-kindergarten education to ensure every child’s education begins on a solid foundation.
Representing a district that includes a major public research institution and a community college, Senator Kennedy is a strong advocate for keeping public higher education affordable while maintaining quality. In his first term, Senator Kennedy has introduced legislation intended to make critical investments to enhance physical and cyber security measures at institutions of public higher education to make sure Massachusetts students, faculty, and staff are safe on our campuses. Senator Kennedy is also keenly aware of the burden that student loans pose to young people at a pivotal point in the lives, often hindering career opportunities and jeopardizing the financial standing of recent college graduates. He is the sponsor of legislation intended to encourage employers to repay the student loans of employees, and supports other creative solutions to ease the burdens created by the student loan crisis.
THE ENVIRONMENT
Senator Kennedy is a strong proponent of mitigating the effects of climate change, transitioning Massachusetts to clean energy, adequately funding state environmental agencies, and protecting conservation land, waterways, watershed areas, and working farms throughout the Commonwealth. Senator Kennedy is a co-sponsor of innovative legislation filed in the Senate which would seek to curb carbon emissions and ensure that Massachusetts is doing its part to combat climate change by setting a price on carbon. He is also a co-sponsor of “An Act transitioning Massachusetts to 100 per cent renewable energy” which aims to transition the Commonwealth to renewable energy sources for electricity, transportation, heating and other sources of consumption by 2045.
Senator Kennedy is the sponsor of legislation which would re-establish the Clean Environment Fund, previously resolved during the recession, to create a funding source for municipalities to undertake recycling enhancement projects, promote urban forestry, protect water resource, and other important environmental efforts. In addition, he has sponsored legislation which would authorize the study of enhancements to recycling programs in the state.
Rivers have played a critical role in shaping the history and development of the communities that comprise the First Middlesex District. The Merrimack and Nashua Rivers, which in many ways define the landscape of the District, have undergone successful clean-up efforts in recent decades after long being marred by contamination and pollution. This has been due in large part to the devotion of community groups and advocacy organizations leading the charge for clean waterways in partnership with the state and federal government. Senator Kennedy is committed to making sure the state continues to do its part to protect our rivers. He has co-sponsored legislation this session to address the threat of invasive species spreading throughout waterways.
HEALTHCARE
Senator Kennedy believes that access to affordable, high-quality health care is a right and should be available to all. Massachusetts has led the nation on health care in the past, adopting a universal health care system in 2006 that would eventually provide a framework for the rest of the nation. Senator Kennedy believes that we can continue that trend and implement innovative policy solutions to lower costs for Massachusetts consumers. He is a co-sponsor of legislation to move Massachusetts to a Medicare-for-all system, removing profit driven insurance providers from the process and allowing the state to issue reimbursements directly to drive down costs for all consumers.
Senator Kennedy is supportive of efforts to control soaring prescription drug prices and premium costs. He is an advocate for transparency in health care transactions and is the sponsor of a bill (re-filed from his predecessor) that would prevent patients from being billed for unexpected medical expenses by out-of-network providers.
SUPPORTING SENIORS
Senator Kennedy believes the state legislature must pass policies that reflect our collective appreciation for all that seniors have contributed to our communities. This means protecting benefits older adults have worked their whole lives to earn, supporting the right of seniors to retire with dignity and remain in their communities long into retirement, ensuring access to high quality community resources, and preventing excessive increases to prescription drug costs.
Senator Kennedy has introduced legislation which would make it easier for seniors to remain in their homes, including a bill that would rein in interest-rate increases for seniors participating in a local property tax deferral program, and a bill that seeks to evaluate the feasibility of a program allowing eligible seniors to defer their state property taxes, an important step towards ensuring economic stability.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Kennedy is a member of the legislature’s Gateway Cities Caucus, and is committed to finding ways for the state to support economic development opportunities that capitalize on the unique opportunities that exist in former industrial communities in cities like Lowell. He is a co-sponsor of several key pieces of legislation prioritized by the caucus, including Senator Crighton’s neighborhood stabilization bill, which would provide tools to revitalize distressed neighborhoods and improve housing options in urban communities.
Senator Kennedy is committed to meeting with business owners across the First Middlesex District to understand challenges they are confronting and find ways for state government to support them in creating local job opportunities.
HOUSING
Senator Kennedy believes that everyone, at every economic level, should be able to live in a home that is clean, safe and affordable. Communities across the Commonwealth, including in the First Middlesex District, confront challenges in providing housing options to accommodate individuals and families across the financial spectrum. Senator Kennedy supports policies to augment affordable housing options in Massachusetts and is an advocate for programs that allow future generations of young adults to be able to afford to live in the community where they grew up.
This session, Senator Kennedy has proposed legislation aimed at protecting the Commonwealth’s affordable housing stock from inadvertent or statutory scenarios where a property’s affordable housing restriction may not be honored. His bill would provide mechanisms to the holder of an affordable housing restriction to protect the public subsidies that make homes affordable. He is also the sponsor of legislation that would ensure fairness in foreclosure proceedings by establishing a Foreclosure Review Division within the court system, a measure experts believe would help revitalize our real estate markets and strengthen constitutional rights of homeowners.
COMBATTING THE OPIOID CRISIS
While Massachusetts has made meaningful strides to combat the opioid epidemic that continues to devastate communities throughout our state, there is still much work to be done to ensure that residents are provided with the essential services that they need to seek treatment and maintain sobriety.
As the state senator of a district that experienced more than 60 fatal overdoses in 2018, alleviating this public health crisis is of the utmost importance and it is one of Senator Kennedy’s legislative priorities as a member of the 191st General Court.
This session, he has filed and co-sponsored critical pieces of legislation that, upon their passage, will provide the state with unique methods to ease the burden of this crisis by preventing additional and expand access to treatment. Senator Kennedy is the lead sponsor of the RECOVER Act which would provide those in recovery with employment opportunities by creating a competitive grant program to support partnerships between treatment providers and vocational service providers. Employment opportunities play a significant role in the recovery process for those who seek addiction treatment services. By holding a steady job, one establishes a source of income, a structured schedule, and improved self-esteem. This would not only provide a sense of independence and lessen the likelihood of relapse, but also helps fill employment voids in under-served industries.
Additionally, Senator Kennedy has co-sponsored legislation with his colleague Representative Tom Golden, a fellow member of the Lowell State House delegation that would remove burdensome medical insurance barriers that prevent people from obtaining the long-term treatment services that they so desperately need.