State Representative Carol Doherty Announces Committee Assignments and Legislation for the 2021–2022 Legislative Session

Committees and Bills Reflect Commitment to Children and Families

TAUNTON — Today, State Representative Carol Doherty (D-Taunton) announced her committee assignments and legislation that she has filed for the 2021–2022 legislative session.

For this legislative session, Representative Doherty will serve on the following committees:

• Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities
• Joint Committee on Election Laws
• Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets
• House Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change

“I am pleased to be assigned to these committees by Speaker Mariano,” said Representative Doherty. “I am eager to work with my colleagues on these committees to fight for the children and families of the Commonwealth, strengthen our elections, review state bond authorizations, and tackle the existential threat of climate change.”

Representative Doherty has filed eight pieces of legislation for this legislative session that reflect her commitment to serving the children and working families of the Third Bristol District.

• HD1439 — An Act to provide pathways for certified nursing assistants

This bill directs the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) to develop a comprehensive strategic plan for filling expected shortages in Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) personnel. It instructs EOHHS to create education and training programs at the scale required and match those programs with clinical slots and employment opportunities at nursing homes, hospitals, and with other health care providers across the Commonwealth. The bill also creates an Incumbent Health Care Worker CNA Certification Pilot Program to demonstrate the impact of new work-based learning programs that offer paid training of incumbent health care workers unable to take advantage of current CNA certification training.

• HD1446 — An Act providing federal and state budget information to residents of the Commonwealth

This bill directs the State Treasurer, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to send residents of Massachusetts annual reports detailing the total amount of income tax paid to the state and federal governments and what that money was used to fund. The purpose of this bill is to increase transparency and educate the residents of Massachusetts as to how their tax dollars are being spent.

• HD1735 — An Act to discourage employers from closing call centers and other customer service operations in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and relocating overseas, and for other purposes

This bill aims to protect call center jobs and disincentivize outsourcing and offshoring. The bill requires call center employers with 50 or more FTE workers who relocate at least 30% of call volume in a year to notify the state. The state will compile a semi-annual “bad actors” list of all call center employers that move at least 30% of calls overseas. Companies on this list will lose all grants, loans, tax benefits, and state contracts and the state can claw back the outstanding value of any taxpayer money or benefits the company received.

• HD1802 — An Act to provide a retirement enhancement opportunity for certain members of the Massachusetts Teachers Retirement System

The workplace safety and health issues that COVID-19 has raised in our schools and the ensuing economic crisis caused by the pandemic are the impetus for this bill. The goal of this legislation is to provide some level of economic relief to our K-12 public schools by allowing teachers who are currently eligible to retire the opportunity to purchase service/age in order to retire during the summers of 2021 and 2022. The legislation was designed to ensure that vacancies created by this legislation are backfilled with qualified teachers and that this transition does not create unnecessary turnover during the school year. In addition, the bill’s purchase-of-service provisions are designed to ensure that this bill has no negative impact on the financial security of the state’s pension system.

• HD1803 — An Act expanding reasons for excused absences from school to include mental or behavioral health

This bill requires school districts to allow a minimum of two excused absences in a six month period for mental or behavioral health reasons without a diagnosis by a medical professional. Parents/guardians do not need to provide a further explanation for such an excused absence. Students who utilize these excused absences would be offered the opportunity to meet with a certified school counselor but would not be required to do so. Similar legislation has already been passed in Oregon, Maine, Colorado, and Virginia, and there are more bills pending in numerous other states.

• HD2177 — An Act establishing a special commission on creating a more diversified teaching workforce in the commonwealth

This bill creates a special commission to study, make recommendations, and create a comprehensive plan around teacher diversification in the Commonwealth. The plan will result in the development of a new cadre of teachers who represent the diversity of our students who are committed to teaching in high-needs communities. The commission will be composed of a variety of stakeholders from early, elementary, secondary, and higher education to examine the entire education continuum for opportunities to diversify the teacher pipeline. The commission will also look specifically at these issues in gateway cities. It will be charged with making its recommendations and creating this plan within one year of being established.

• HD2507 — An Act establishing a livable home modification grant program

This bill creates a grant program under DHCD with the assistance of the Massachusetts Rehab Commission to provide funding for the elderly and people with disabilities who need modifications to make their homes livable, such as ramps and lifts. It would allow eligible homeowners and renters to retrofit their residence to nationally recognized accessibility standards and receive 50 percent of the total sum spent, up to $5,000, to retrofit their existing residence. The bill is modeled after similar Rhode Island legislation that has created a successful program.

• HD2508 — An Act banning the publication of judicial and law enforcement officer addresses

This bill bans the publication of the home addresses and unpublished telephone numbers of judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers. It is modeled after Daniel’s Law in New Jersey, which is named in honor of Daniel Anderl, the late son of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas. Daniel fell victim to a senseless act of gun violence committed by an individual who had compiled a dossier of personal information about Judge Salas, including the judge’s home address.

“Protecting jobs, creating workforce training opportunities, providing resources for the elderly and people with disabilities, increasing the diversity of our teaching workforce; all of these pieces of legislation are aimed at improving the quality of life for my constituents and the residents of the Commonwealth,” said Representative Doherty. “I am excited to get to work with my colleagues in the legislature to advance these and other pieces of legislation to address the issues facing our constituents.”

Questions can be directed to the Office of State Representative Carol Doherty by email at carol.doherty@mahouse.gov or by phone at (508) 802–4291.