By Katie Trojano, Reporter Staff
February 17, 2021
Katie Trojano, Reporter Staff
Speaker of the Massachusetts House Ronald Mariano unveiled the first committee slate of his speakership last week, and Senate President Karen Spilka released assignments for her branch as well.
Sen. Nick Collins, who represents large parts of Dorchester and Mattapan in the 1st Suffolk District, will chair the Senate committee on Community Development and Small business. He was also named vice chair of the committee on Bonding and Cannabis Policy.
Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, who also represents parts of both neighborhoods, will chair a joint committee on Cannabis Policy and she will serve on panels focused on redistricting and “reimagining” the state’s post-pandemic resiliency.
The Milford Daily News
Last week, Speaker of the Massachusetts House Ronald Mariano released a letter announcing a delay to the House rules vote. Typically, I wouldn’t bat an eye at a move like this, since the rules are one of the first votes of a session and are given little-to-no thought. There are far more important, life-saving moves on the table like COVID relief or comprehensive climate legislation that deserve our attention.
This time was different, though. After joining a team of constituents in the 4th Middlesex to learn more about state House rules, we learned something our state representatives would rather keep us in the dark about: these rules were deliberately written to thwart constituent involvement and maintain opacity in the legislative process. Naturally, we requested to meet with Representative Gregoire to discuss her stance and request she vote to change the rules this session.