Jeffrey Sánchez: Legislative Updates

15TH SUFFOLK/
NORFOLK DISTRICT
State Representative
Jeffrey Snchez
F A L L / W I N T E R
INSIDE
THIS ISSUE:
Hispanic
2
Heritage Month
Holiday Events
Latino Elected
Officials
Health Care
Financing
Solar Power &

Public Records
Development
Updates
Civic Engagement
2 0 1 5
Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Happy Holidays! As we enter the New Year and
experience our first snow storms of the season,
I hope you are staying warm and enjoying time
with friends and family. This Fall
was busy as I chaired two hearings for the Joint Committee on
Health Care Financing, visited
five hospitals around the state,
and helped collect over 700 toys
for the youth in the BromleyHeath housing development.
In this newsletter, you will find highlights of the
work my office has been doing, including events I
held in the State House to celebrate Latinos in
Massachusetts, events in the district to celebrate
the holidays, and an overview of the legislative
Legislative Updates
As the leaves turned color we in the
House of Representatives were busy considering legislation to combat the opioid
epidemic and reform public records laws.
Opioid Abuse Legislation
In my post as Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, I have visited over 20 hospitals and community
health centers across Massachusetts to
listen and learn about the unique issues
that affect them. One of the most common issues I heard is the need to address the opioid epidemic. My visit to
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth highlighted the need for collaboration between the hospital and city. It
accomplishments weve made this Fall.

We have been busy having conversations
around the issues that matter most to
the citizens of Massachusetts. Hearing
personal stories from constituents continues to guide me. The House
has a full agenda in 2016 and I
look forward to tackling these
issues that will benefit the
people of the 15th Suffolk/
Norfolk District, as well as the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Yours in Service,
State Representative Jeffrey Snchez
stressed the changing mentality that we

need to treat addiction as a mental and
behavioral health illness rather than a
criminal offense.
Drug abuse, overdoses, and trafficking
are issues that cuts across racial socioeconomic lines. We see it affect our
communities in Jamaica Plain, Mission
Hill, Roslindale, and Brookline, and I remain dedicated to working in the Legislature to combat this crisis.
We have taken action on the issue in
the House, passing a bill into law that
makes the trafficking of fentanyl a crime.
Further, there is a comprehensive opioid
(Continued on page 3)
PAGE
District Events
Hispanic Heritage Month
Arborway Improvements
Thanksgiving
In September and October, I visited

the Curley School and Madison Park
High School to talk about the meaning of Hispanic Heritage Month and
how students of color can get involved and make a difference in their
community. I also visited La Alianza
Hispana in Mission Hill to explain
how the bond of culture ties together people of all ages.
We capped off the celebration with a
Hispanic Heritage Month celebration
in the State House, where I read a
resolution to the House of Representatives honoring Hispanic Heritage Month in Massachusetts.
After almost 10 years of pressuring

the state to fix the parkways that
run along the Emerald Necklace, the
Department of Conservation and
Recreation (DCR) held three public
meetings in October to present improvements to Perkins St. at Parkman Drive, Centre St., and the Arborway. Thank you to the 200+
community members who joined to
voice their opinions to DCR. It is
encouraging to see this level of civic
engagement and I applaud DCR for
moving forward on these muchneeded safety improvements.
With the help of my staff and MANY

community members I helped host
Thanksgiving dinners in the Mission
Main and Bromley-Heath housing
developments. It was a wonderful
celebration as community members
broke bread and had Thanksgiving
dinner with friends old and new.
Both dinners are important and
show the strength of our community. Thank you to everyone who
helped make these events possible.
Bromley-Heath
Christmas Celebration
Latino Elected
Offical Luncheon
I joined the Bromley-Heath Tenant

Board to host a Christmas celebration in the Bromley-Heath public
housing project. It was a fun night
filled with music, raffles, and over
500 toys donated by the Jamaica
Plain community. It was a great
event that brought together people
from across the neighborhood. As a
result, over 150 children walked out
of the celebration with a toy, when
they might not have otherwise received a Christmas present this year.
I invited nearly fifty elected Latino officials to the State House to celebrate
recent electoral gains in Massachusetts
and to build a support network for
future success. Twenty years ago,
there were just seven Latino elected
officials in the entire Commonwealth
of Massachusetts. After the November
elections, there are now almost 50. It
was a great opportunity to meet and
network with the various officials and
to share experiences so we can continue to advocate not just for Latinos,
but for all of our communities.
FALL/WINTER
2015
PAGE
Health Care Financing Committee Highlights

Update on Sponsored
Bills
I visited over 20
hospitals and
community health
centers
in 2015
Mental Health & Substance Abuse

I filed several bills in the Leg- I have been actively following
islature this session, including MassHealths plans to intea bill to protect children
grate mental health and subfrom the harmful effects of
stance abuse care with physilead, a bill that seeks to recal health services. In Noduce health care disparities in vember, I participated on a
the Commonwealth, and a
panel hosted by the Massabill that would allow certified chusetts Health Policy Forum.
medical assistants to adminis- I discussed drug-related inter immunizations to patients carceration, which disproporunder the direct
tionately affects minority
supervision of a
populations, and increasing
licensed primary
substance abuse treatment
care provider. I am for drug offenders.
happy to report all
of those bills were MCO Working Group
voted favorably
In the summer newsletter, I
and moved forshared that the Speaker of
ward in the legisla- the House, Representative
tive process.
DeLeo, named me the Chairman of a working group to

study MassHealth Managed
Care Organizations. The
Working Group examined the
cost drivers and potential savings of managed care including
a closer look at pharmaceutical costs and case management. The report was released in October and made
several recommendations
including continued transparency, data sharing and reporting and the need for strategies
to address high drug costs.
This work was merely the
start of more in-depth dialogue about MassHealth reform. I look forward to being
a part of those conversations.
Legislative Updates
(Continued from page 1)
abuse bill in my committee that

will be a priority in January
2016.
Solar Power
It is important that we encourage a resilient and sustainable
energy sector in Massachusetts.
This is why I voted for a bill that
continued to incentivize solar
power (Net Metering), allowing net metering projects currently in the development pipeline to progress. It is important
that we continue to support
solar power in Massachusetts.
I would like to thank the many
constituents who contacted me
about this issue. The House
expects a comprehensive energy
bill to be considered in 2016.

I am hopeful that this package
will continue to incentivize
investment in sustainable
energy like solar power.
Please continue to share your
thoughts and stories as energy
remains at the forefront of
the Commonwealths agenda.
requested public records

online.
Affordable Housing
I testified in favor of two bills
that seek to increase affordable housing in Massachusetts:
H1111, An Act relative to
housing production, and
H2815, An Act providing for
Public Records Reform
disposition of surplus state
I am proud to have voted for
real property based on smart
a bill updating the public recgrowth land principles. They
ords law to increase transwould lower the cost of land
parency and improve access
for affordable housing develto public documents. This
opments, which has been idenlegislation requires municipaltified as a main driver of the
ities and agencies to create a
costly housing market.
predictable timeline for responses, for records to be
provided electronically, and
that agencies post commonly
Development Updates
Emmanuel College: Plans to replace Julie Hall dorm
to build approximately 691 beds, a net increase of
471 beds, helping bring students back on campus to
open up housing for families on Mission Hill.
Jackson Commons Ribbon Cutting: 37 affordable

rental apartments came to the Jackson Square area in
September. 8 units are dedicated for homeless households, who will benefit from an on-site resource coordinator. This is the latest installment of the Jackson
Goddard House: Community members have indicatSquare Redevelopment team, which has been instrued a desire for more affordable units to be included in
mental in revitalizing the neighborhood after the land
the project. Currently, 13% of the 167 rental aparthas been vacant and underutilized for decades.
ments are affordable. Similar developments along
South Huntington have higher proportions of afforda- Mara Snchez House Naming Ceremony
ble units.
In December I had the pleasure and honor of joining
105A S. Huntington: Many have asked why I supmy mother the Roxbury Crossing Senior Building was
ported approval of off-site affordable units for this
named after her. I continue to be inspired by my
project. The reason is because a higher net total of
moms work as a
affordable units will be created, up from 32 to 42.
community organizFunding for affordable housing is the hardest its ever er, which influences
been, so these linkage funds from 105A will be crucial me in every aspect of
in supporting affordable developments. At the end of my public service.
the day, I support creating more affordable housing in
order to keep working families in Jamaica Plain and
Mission Hill.
Civic Engagement 2015: Year in Review

In case you havent noticed, my team has overhauled my website and social media. Weve started livetweeting events and responding to constituent issues. I encourage you to check them out and provide feedback with what you want to see! How can I improve the website? What do you want to hear from me on
Facebook and Twitter? Looking forward to hearing from you!
Tweets
Retweets
Impressions
Likes
Followers
425
361
196,378
525
2,720
@Jeffrey_Sanchez
/RepJeffreySanchez
[email protected]
Most common words on Twitter
Office of State Representative Jeffrey Snchez

Massachusetts State House Room 236
Boston, MA 02133
617-722-2430
www.jeffreysanchez.org

Jeffrey Sánchez: Legislative Updates

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Jeffrey Sánchez: Legislative Updates

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Jeffrey Sánchez: Legislative Updates

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

15TH SUFFOLK/

Solar Power &

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

accomplishments weve made this Fall.

State Representative Jeffrey Snchez

stressed the changing mentality that we

In September and October, I visited

After almost 10 years of pressuring

With the help of my staff and MANY

I joined the Bromley-Heath Tenant

Health Care Financing Committee Highlights

Mental Health & Substance Abuse

DeLeo, named me the Chairman of a working group to

abuse bill in my committee that

bill to be considered in 2016.

requested public records

Jackson Commons Ribbon Cutting: 37 affordable

Civic Engagement 2015: Year in Review

Office of State Representative Jeffrey Snchez

You might also like