Senator Kennedy has testified or submitted letters of support on several important pieces of legislation. His testimony on each can be found below.
June 4, 2019: Senator Kennedy sent a letter of testimony on behalf of S.464 – An Act relative to environmental justice and toxics reduction in the Commonwealth.
June 4, 2019: Sen ator Kennedy submitted a letter of testimony regarding H.724 – An act providing more efficient wetlands:
August 29, 2019: Senator Kennedy testified alongside Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan on S.1426 – An Act relative to the discharge of firearm, large capacity weapon, rifle, shotgun, sawed-off shotgun or machine gun without regard for the risk of harm:
September 24, 2019: Senator Kennedy testified on S.493 – An Act Re-Establishing the Clean Environment Fund :
September 24, 2019: Senator Kennedy testified on S.1692 – An Act Providing Property Tax Relief for Older Adults:
September 24, 2019: Senator Kennedy provided written testimony regarding S.962 – An act encouraging the donation of food to persons in need
October 7, 2019: Senator Kennedy serves as the Senate Chair of the Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development alongside his House counterpart, Representative Paul McMurtry.
October 15, 2019: Senator Kennedy testified before the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight regarding H.2681: An Act Ensuring Equitable Representation in the Commonwealth
Also On October 15, 2019: Senator Kennedy testified before the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture regarding S.495 which would create a commission to study mattress recycling.
December 10, 2019: Senator Kennedy testified before the Joint Committee on Public Health regarding S. 492, An Act decreasing food waste by standardizing the date labeling of food.
January 22, 2020: Senator Kennedy testified before the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy on S452 and H2881 An Act Relative to the Proper Disposal of Mattresses.
July 13, 2021: Senator Kennedy testified before the Joint Committee on Higher Education on S.841 – An Act investing in public education, which would provide adjunct faculty at state colleges and universities with health insurance.
July 19, 2021: Senator Kennedy testified before the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery on S.1300 – A Resolve to ensure the delivery of mental health services to adults with acute mental illness
November 10, 2021: Senator Kennedy testified before the Joint Committee on Financial Services regarding two very important pieces of legislation: House Bill 4145 filed by Representative James Arciero and House Bill 1098 filed by Representative Colleen Garry. Both bills seek to tackle the rise in colorectal cancer diagnoses in the adult population of the Commonwealth. House Bill 4145 would lower the age mandate for insurance-covered colorectal cancer screenings and treatment to 30 years of age, drastically lower than the American Cancer Society’s recommended screening age of 45. This lower age mandate would address the belated diagnoses of this disease in our young adult population. Although House Bill 1098 has a higher age mandate, it goes one step further in that it creates a commission to study colorectal cancer in adults under 50 in the Commonwealth. This commission will be charged with ascertaining the prevalence of this disease in the under-50 population, as well as the unmet needs of those individuals and their families, and providing recommendations for additional legislation, support programs, and necessary resources. As someone who lost a loved one to colon cancer at a young age, he was honored to offer support for both of these bills.
January 4, 2022: Senator Kennedy testified before the Joint Committee on Revenue in support of legislation I filed, S.1891 An Act encouraging employer student loan repayment. This bill seeks to provide relief to recent college graduates in Massachusetts from the financial burden of student loan debt.
S.1891 would offer a tax deduction of up to $2,000 per year to employers to match principal payments made towards the student loan debt of an employee. Some companies have already introduced student loan repayment as an employee benefit to seek and retain talent. Employees are more likely to remain in jobs and more likely to perform at a high level if their employer pays a share of their student loans.
This legislation would alleviate the financial hesitation companies may have associated with initiating a repayment, while also enabling those working to pay off loans to contribute more our economy more fully.
January 16, 2022: State Senator Ed Kennedy testified before the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs recently in support of Senate Bill 2326 and House Bill 3507. Both Bills are Resolutions condemning political oppression and encouraging free and fair elections in Cambodia. Senate Bill 2326 was filed by Ed Kennedy and House Bill 3507 was filed by State Representative Vanna Howard.
Senator Kennedy first filed this legislation in a previous session in response to the 2018 election—the first in Cambodia following the dissolution of the opposition. That year, Senator Kennedy was a member of the Lowell City Council that voted unanimously on a resolution recognizing the election as fraudulent. In the years since this legislation was first pursued, the government of Cambodia has held other sham elections, most recently last summer.
This issue has widespread support in the City of Lowell, which is home to the second largest Cambodian American population in the United States and it has bipartisan support nationally. Congresswoman Lori Trahan of Lowell has co-sponsored bipartisan legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to direct the President to impose sanctions on Cambodian officials who are responsible for anti-democratic actions and human rights violations. Additionally, United States Senator Edward J. Markey has joined other federal lawmakers from both parties in announcing a resolution commemorating the landmark Cambodia Paris Peace Agreements.
The Resolutions filed by Kennedy and Howard would send a message to our federal partners and Massachusetts constituents, particularly those of Cambodian American descent, that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts stands with them in opposition to political oppression and joins with them in the hope that free and fair elections will finally arrive in Cambodia as was promised way back in 1991.
May 16, 2023: Senator Kennedy, as Co-Chair of The Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures, and State Assets, facilitates a public hearing with members of the Governor’s Administration & Finance Team in Room 222 to discuss Governor Maura Healey’s capital budget plans.
June 16, 2023: State Senator Ed Kennedy joined with Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan on Tuesday, June 13 to testify in favor of Senate Bill 1015, An Act prohibiting gunfire directed at dwelling houses. Senator Kennedy filed the legislation which would increase the penalty for shooting a firearm at a dwelling from a misdemeanor to a felony.
July 17, 2023: Senator Ed Kennedy served as the Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Assets, and State Expenditures alongside House Chair Michael Finn. This public hearing featured testimony from the State Treasurer’s office. Testimony was provided by Deputy Treasurer Sue Perez and Kathy Bramlage, the Debt Management Department’s Senior Debt Analyst.