Dear friends,
I am writing to you today with legislative, Cambridge, and public health updates.
Table of Contents
Legislative Updates
Cambridge Updates
Public Health Updates
A Glimpse at the Past Week
Mental Health Services and Resources
Legislative Updates
Last week, I shared with you many bills I filed that were reported favorably out of their respective Committees. As I mentioned previously, while this is a significant step forward in the legislative process, there are still many many more steps ahead before these bills are advanced through the Legislature.
This week, I would like to share with you a list of bills I filed that have been granted extensions. Extensions allow Committees to take additional time to thoroughly review bills and do their due diligence (research, editing, redrafting, etc.) to ensure that bills are ready to advance. The granting of an extension should be received positively:
Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery
An Act establishing a child and adolescent behavioral health implementation coordinating council (H.1979)
An Act relative to ending unnecessary hospitalizations and reducing emergency department boarding (H.1980)
Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security
An Act relative to fire safety education in schools and colleges (H.2313)
An Act enhancing the safety of high-rise buildings (H.2310)
An Act requiring licensed gun owners to submit a yearly affidavit (H.2306)
An Act making firearm owners civilly liable for damage caused by lost or stolen firearms (H.2308)
An Act relative to the reckless discharge of firearms (H.2309)
An Act authorizing the voluntary disavowal of eligibility to purchase a firearm (H.2311)
An Act relative to firearms in certain public buildings (H.2305)
An Act relative to crime gun data and reporting (H.2307)
An Act relative to ghost guns (H.2312)
An Act to strengthen family and community connection with incarcerated people (H.2314)
An Act to improve transparency and accountability in correctional facilities (H.2394)
Joint Committee on Election Laws
An Act requiring major policy makers to disclose donations to entities engaging in political activity (H.676)
Joint Committee on Education
An Act relative to recess for elementary school children (H.452)
An Act to ensure equitable access to education, including special education services, for all students in Massachusetts (H.454)
Joint Committee on Housing
An Act providing upstream homelessness prevention assistance to families, youth, and adults (H.1312)
An Act to create affordable homes for persons with disabilities (H.1305)
Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy
An Act relative to fuel standards (H.3859)
An Act to expand the bottle bill (H.3690)
An Act transforming Massachusetts to clean electricity, heating and transportation (H.3689)
An Act to ensure safety and transparency in pipeline repair (H.3194)
Joint Committee on Health Care Financing
An Act regarding medicare savings programs eligibility (H.1248)
An Act advancing health care research and decision-making centered on patients and people with disabilities (H.1183)
Joint Committee on Public Service
An Act relative to a petition for a special law re: fire cadet program for the city of Cambridge fire department (H.2496)
An Act relative to the retirement benefits of certain employees of the department of mental health (H.2497)
Joint Committee on Revenue
An Act authorizing the city of Cambridge to impose a real estate transfer fee (H.4063)
Joint Committee on the Judiciary
An Act relative to access to justice (H.1438)
An Act relative to expungement of juvenile and young adult records (H.1451)
An Act concerning furnishing transcripts of notes and fees (H.1453)
An Act relative to juvenile fees, fines, and restitution (H.1461)
Please click here if you would like to see a summary of each of the bills listed above.
Cambridge Updates
Cambridge Public Health Helpline Supports Residents with COVID-19
To speak with someone, call the confidential COVID-19 Hotline at 617-933-0797. Learn more here.
City Offering Free At-Home COVID Tests in Partnership with the Cambridge Health Alliance
The tests can be picked up Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM in the CHA lobby at 119 Windsor Street. Cambridge businesses or organizations that would like free rapid tests to provide to customers can call the COVID-19 hotline at 617-933-0797 to request them. The at-home COVID test expiration date can be checked here.
Public Health Updates
CDC Proposes Dropping Five-Day COVID-19 Isolation Recommendations
This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced plans to relax its COVID-19 isolation recommendations to better align with its flu and RSV guidance. Under the CDC’s planned guidance, those who test positive for COVID-19 would no longer be advised to isolate for five days. Instead, the CDC intends to recommend that people infected with COVID-19 end isolation on their own accord based on the clinical symptoms they are experiencing. Those with mild and improving symptoms would no longer need to stay home if fever-free for at least 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medication and if their symptoms are mild and improving. These proposed recommendations exclude healthcare settings. The CDC’s plans to abandon the five-day isolation requirement in favor of symptom-based guidance come after Oregon and California relaxed their COVID protocols in similar manners in May 2023 and January 2024, respectively. Health officials state that they need to provide people with “more practical guidelines for COVID-19” given that very few people are following current guidance last updated in December 2021. The CDC is expected to release its updated COVID-19 recommendations for public comment in April, after which they will need to be approved by the Biden Administration to take effect.
MA Ramping Up Monitoring of Steward Health Care Hospitals
Amid financial challenges faced by Steward Health Care, the third-largest hospital owner in Massachusetts, state officials will expand their regular monitoring of safety-net hospitals owned by Steward, which consists of nine facilities in Massachusetts. Monitors are evaluating and assessing adequate staffing levels and the availability of services, supplies, and equipment to ensure hospitals are equipped to deliver safe and high quality care and will investigate any quality or safety concerns that arise. Earlier this month, Steward announced it had secured a financing deal to help keep its Massachusetts hospitals open and stabilize the company to allow them to continue operations. So far, the hospital system has announced the closure this past December of one of its facilities in Stoughton, the New England Sinai rehabilitation hospital, and has started the process for it to close this spring due to multi-million dollar incurred. No additional closures have been announced.
New Study Reveals Long-Term Impacts of Smoking on Immune Response
A new study suggests that the harmful effects of smoking on immune responses are more prolonged than previously thought. The research, part of the Milieu Intérieur project in France, involved 1,000 participants who provided blood samples for laboratory tests. Results showed that while the inflammatory responses increased temporarily with smoking and dropped after quitting, the effects on adaptive T cell responses persisted for many years after quitting. The study linked these effects to epigenetic changes caused by smoking, modifying DNA sequences and affecting gene activation or deactivation related to immune responses. The researchers emphasized the long-term consequences of smoking on the immune system and stressed the importance of never starting to smoke and taking steps to quit smoking as soon as possible. The next step is to observe how this cohort has fared during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts recommend vaccination for smokers to compensate for potential immune system impairments.
FDA Approves First-Ever Treatment Option for Severe Frostbite
On Wednesday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of iloprost injection, marking it as the first medication to treat severe frostbite in adults to reduce the risk of finger or toe amputation. Frostbite can occur in several stages, and severe frostbite can freeze the skin and underlying tissue, limiting blood flow to the area. According to the FDA and CDC, frostbite can cause permanent damage and require amputation in severe cases. Marketed under the brand name Aurlumyn, the injection contains the active ingredient iloprost, a vasodilator that dilates blood vessels and prevents blood from clotting. Iloprost originally received approval in 2004 for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension. Its efficacy in treating frostbite was demonstrated through a controlled trial that showed one group of individuals who received iloprost alone did not require amputation compared with other groups.
A Glimpse at the Past Week
It was an honor to join the families of Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey and National Grid worker, Cambridge’s Roderick Jackson at the Waltham Super Sunday Run. It was incredible to see so many come together in community to race and raise funds for families whose loved ones were killed in the line of duty serving the public. I spent time with Roderick’s mother Norma and sister Esmerelda, and it was beautiful to see people from Waltham, Cambridge, and beyond grieve collectively and celebrate the lives of two people taken too soon.
Roderick’s family is developing a foundation to continue to honor his life, and we will provide more information as it becomes available. Special thanks to Rep. John Lawn, Rep. Tom Stanley, Mighty Squirrel, and RACE Cancer for organizing this event in such a short time and for providing resources to the families.
It was great to attend Head Start’s advocacy day at the State House on Wednesday. As some of you may know, both Senator DiDomenico and I are Head Start alumni. For those who may not be familiar, Head Start and Early Head Start are federal programs administered by local area agencies that serve designated communities, which provide funding for children ages 0-5 years from low-income families to receive quality early education services. In the past 12 years in the legislature, I have taken a leading role in addressing key issues related to childhood poverty. One of the most important factors in combatting poverty is ensuring children have access to high-quality early education. I am grateful for the work Head Start teachers, staff, and administrators do every day to ensure every child in the Commonwealth can thrive academically and socially. I know without Head Start I would not be where I am today. A special thank you to Speaker Ron Mariano for his ongoing support of Head Start.
I had the pleasure of meeting staff and advocates from Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS) — an organization that provides essential Head Start services in Cambridge — and parents who benefit from them. I listened to their concerns about the Governor’s 9C cuts, which have reduced Head Start’s funding to FY22 levels, and the effects funding cuts will have on programming and services for their communities.
Also on Wednesday, I participated in the American Heart Association's (AHA) annual Wear Red Day event at the State House. It was great to witness the strong support from my colleagues in raising awareness about the prevalence of heart disease and stroke among women. According to a 2017 report by the AHA, heart disease and stroke rank as the second and fifth leading causes of death in Massachusetts, respectively. In 2021, more than 5,500 women in MA lost their lives due to complications from heart disease, as reported by the KFF. Moreover, there's a concerning trend of rising heart attacks among young women aged 35 to 54. Such advocacy days serve as a poignant reminder of the ongoing work required to address these issues.
Finally, for Valentine’s Day, my staff and I dressed up in our best festive apparel.
Mental Health Services and Resources
If you or a loved one are struggling, please know you are not alone. There are some great resources here: decker4rep.com/2021/mental-health-services-and-resources/
Intimate Partner Abuse Prevention Helpline
This initiative is designed to prevent intimate partner violence by fostering accountability and change in people who harm or may harm their partner. You can find more information at 10to10helpline.org or by calling 877-898-3411.
Overdose Prevention Helpline
The Massachusetts Overdose Prevention Helpline is a virtual spotting/overdose detection service for people who use drugs. Learn more at massoverdosehelpline.org or access it by calling 800-972-0590.
De Novo Center for Justice and Healing
De Novo is a Cambridge-based nonprofit that provides free civil legal assistance and affordable psychological counseling to people with low incomes. You can learn more about their services at denovo.org.
As always, please contact me with questions or concerns at Marjorie.Decker@mahouse.gov.
Sincerely,
Marjorie
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