THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, FEbRuARy 28, 2025 Page 11 DIDOMENICO | FROM PAGE 1 workers’ rights.” Below is just a handful of priority bills that Senator DiDomenico will be spearheading this session: Lifting kids out of deep poverty: This legislation would increase cash assistance to families below 50% of the poverty line. Preventing wage theft: This legislation would ensure there is strong accountability for contractors and subcontractors who steal wages from hard-working employees, and it would expand the Attorney General’s enforcement powers to include bringing a lawsuit against those employers. Expanding tax credits for families: This legislation would expand earned income tax credit eligibility, increase the children and family tax credit per qualifying dependent, and allow for periodic payments of the tax credits. Addressing PTSD: This legislation will make it easier for police, firefighters, and other public safety personnel to get the healthcare they need and deserve when suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Healthy Youth Act: This legislation would require that when sex and relationship education is taught in school, it must be medically accurate, cover healthy consenting relationships, and be inclusive of all identities. The SUPER Act: This legislation would remove barriers to the social work field, incentivize social workers to remain in the field and bolster our workforce. Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative: This legislation would expand access to preschool, beginning with high-needs communities, to guarantee high quality education to all our children, regardless of their zip code. Providing identification for individuals reentering society: This legislation would ensure that individuals reentering society from prison or jail receive a state identification card upon release. Promote high-quality comprehensive literacy instruction: This legislation would ensure that Massachusetts schools teach high-quality comprehensive literacy instruction to our students to improve reading and writing outcomes for our children. Establish a Massachusetts children’s cabinet: This legislation would create a Children’s Cabinet under the Governor’s office that would ensure services for children and youth are planned, managed, and delivered in a coordinated and integrated way. Eliminate education inflation cap: This legislation removes the annual inflation cap on education funding so that schools can get the resources they need to account for rising costs each year. Language access and inclusion: This legislation would ensure that public-facing state agencies and departments provide equal access to services, programs and activities serving limited English proficient and deaf or hard of hearing residents. Expand access to pediatric palliative care: This legislation would increase the age of eligibility for pediatric palliative care services to 22 years of age so more young people most in need of care will be able to access life-changing services. Reduce waste and recycling costs: This legislation would require that manufacturers of packaging materials DIDOMENICO | SEE PAGE 16
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