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THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2022 Page 13 on missions that take them away from their installations. “When you are in the military, the focus is always on the mission at hand,” said sponsor Sen. John Velis (D-Westfi eld). “We as a commonwealth have an obligation to make this process as easy as poss ible so that our military members can exercise their right to vote and get back to their mission. At the most fundamental level, this amendment is about making it easier to vote for those who have given us our right to vote.” (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment.) Sen. Lydia Edwards Not yet a senator ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL SCHOOL CUSTODIAN DAY (S 2126) – The House gave initial approval to a Senate-approved bill declaring every October 2nd as School Custodian Day, in recognition of “the dedicated contributions provided by school custodians to ensure children of the commonwealth have clean, healthy and safe learning environments.” The measure has already been approved by the Senate but still needs further approval in both chambers prior to it being sent to the governor for his signature. “This legislation codifi es into the Massachusetts General Laws the governor issuing a yearly proclamation designating Oct. 2nd as School Custodian Day,” said sponsor Sen. Walter Timilty (D-Milton). “This will commemorate, rightfully so, the contributions provided by our dedicated school custodians who ensure that ou LOWER VOTING AGE TO 16 – A bill lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 in the city of Boston for local municipal elections will soon be on its way to the Legislature after being approved 9-4 by the Boston City Council. This “home rule petition” needs the signature of Mayor Michelle Wu, approval by the House and Senate and fi nally the signature of Gov. Baker before it becomes law. “The notion that young people may not be mature enough to make decisions like this, I just want to quickly acknowledge oftentimes it’s young people who are educating their parents and their uncles and aunts and older folks about who’s running for office and why they should vote,” said Councilor Julia Mejia, a co-sponsor of the proposal. No one spoke against the measure at the meeting of the Boston City Council but opponents generally say that 16 and 17 is simply too young for people to vote. Many cities and towns over the past few years have approved home rule petitions lowering the voting age to 16 for their municipal elections. But none of the proposals were approved by the Legislature and most were shipped off to a study committee where they died. Mejia knows what she is up against. “We know what happens at the Statehouse. Most things go there to die,” she said. STATE AWARDS $2.5 MILLION TO 32 BAY STATE POLICE DEPARTMENTS FOR BODY-WORN CAMERAS – The Baker administration announced the state has awarded $2.5 million to 32 cities and towns to increase the number of police who wear body cameras. “Strong relationships between police and the communities they protect are vital to ensuring public safety,” said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. “Body-worn cameras help improve trust in these relationships and help make everyone safer. These grants are an important investment in our communities.” “Body-worn cameras are a transformative tool for law enforcement,” said Public Safety and Security Secretary Terrence Reidy. “This technology strengthens transparency and accountability while promoting best practices and improving police-community relations.” COMMISSION ON CLEAN HEATING ISSUES REPORT – The state’s Commission on Clean Heat, established by Gov. Baker, issued its fi nal recommendations and report. “As we work to reduce the release of carbon emissions and achieve Net Zero in 2050, the creation of the fi rst-in-the-nation Commission on Clean Heat served as a critical step forward in engaging with a diverse group of experts to provide recommendations that will help Massachusetts decarbonize the building sector,” said Baker. “This set of recommendations is the result of hard work and commitment from the commission members, and we thank them for their dedication to this process.” “By creating the Commission on Clean Heat, Massachusetts was able to utilize expertise from a diverse group of respected professionals and stakeholders,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Beth Card. “The thoughtful work of the commission members in developing innovative policies and strategies provides critical support to our work to implement aff ordable and equitable solutions that reduce emissions from homes and buildings throughout the commonwealth.” The recommendations include creating an equitable approach to decarbonization of both existing and new buildings; on creating an equitable approach to decarbonization of both existing and new buildings; the development and implementation of a Clean Heat Standard; analyses of the potential impact of other associated regulatory changes; the reorganization of existing energy effi ciency and clean energy transition programs to be more user friendly for residents, businesses and contractors. QUOTABLE QUOTES – The State House News Service has compiled a numbers profi le of the senators and representatives as a result of the November election. 40 ---Current number of senators (There is one vacancy) 153 ---Current number of representatives (There are seven vacancies) 40 ---Number of senators who will be sworn into offi ce in January 2023 160 ---Number of representatives who will be sworn into offi ce in January 2023 5 ---Number of new senators who will be sworn into offi ce in January 2023. 21 or 22 ---Number of new representatives who will be sworn into offi ce in January 2023 (There are two recounts pending) 3 ---Number of representatives who were elected to the Senate HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been fi led. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of November 28-December2, the House met for a total of 28 minutes and the Senate met for a total of 23 minutes. Mon. Nov. 28 House 11:02 a.m. to 11:14 a.m. Senate 11:06 a.m. to 11:19 a.m. Tues. Nov. 29 No House session No Senate session Wed. Nov. 30 No House session No Senate session Thurs. Dec. 1 House 11:02 a.m. to 11:18 a.m. Senate 11:12 a.m. to 11:22 a.m. Fri. Dec. 2 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com

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