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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, SEpTEmbEr 6, 2024 Page 15 BEACON | FROM PAGE 14 ing on the rights and care of LGBTQ+ older adults and older adults living with HIV; forbid any long-term care facility and its staff from discriminating based in whole or in part on a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, intersex status or HIV status, whether through the denial of admission, medical or non-medical care, access to restrooms or through room assignments. “This legislation couldn’t have come at a more critical time when more oversight and accountability are needed in long-term care,” said Rep. Tom Stanley (D-Waltham), House chair of the Committee on Elder Affairs. “[The bill] marks the first major legislative reform to our long term care and assisted living industries in over a quarter of a century. This legislation enhances both access to and quality of care in longterm care settings, tightens suitability standards for operators, strengthens supports for the long-term care workforce and permanently allows assisted living residences to offer basic health services to their residents.” “This landmark legislation is the culmination of years of advocacy and collaboration among so many people committed to improving life for our family, friends and neighbors residing or working in longterm care, assisted living and the community,” said Sen. Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville), Senate chair of the Elder Affairs Committee. “There is always more work to do but we have agreed on policy that will surely have a positive impact on quality of care, transparency and oversight and planning for the future.” “This bill is an important step toward ensuring older adults receive the care they need to be safe and healthy,” said Rep. Hannah Kane (R-Shrewsbury). “Strengthening oversight of long-term care facilities, requiring infectious disease outASKS | FROM PAGE 11 attorney and go to that attorney. But if you’re concerned, it’s keeping you up at night and it’s a question you don’t know the answer to, I tell people, “Google does not have a law degree,” and you should seek out somebody who knows what he or she is doing. The program makes it easy for individuals and families that might not have the financial resources to consult with an attorney to be able to do so – for break plans, improving licensing requirements and other reforms … will protect vulnerable patients and provide the commonwealth with the tools needed to enforce the standards for long term care facilities.” CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE (S 2932) – The House last week gave initial approval to a bill, approved by the Senate in July, that would allow victims of child sexual abuse to file a civil suit, any time after the abuse took place, against an individual who sexually abused a minor or negligently supervised a person who sexually abused a minor. This would replace current law that places a statute of limitations which limits the time period during which a victim is allowed to sue, to the later of either 35 years after the abuse or seven years after discovery of damages relating to the abuse, with both timeframes beginning to run when the minor turns 18. Prior to 2014, the law allowed even less time to file a suit. The statute of limitations was limited to three years after a victim turned 18. That law was changed by the Legislature in 2014 to reflect current law. When the Senate first approved the bill on July 31, sponsor Sen. Joan Loverly (D-Salem) said, “Back in 2014, we passed a statute of limitations for civil claims of child sexual abuse that would allow claims up to 35 years after the victim turned 18, or until 53 years old. I questioned then, and over the last decade, what was the magic number of 53, and I couldn’t find one. I couldn’t find that answer. So I decided to dig in, to talk to advocates, to talk to survivors, to talk to the public safety [officials].” Lovely continued, “I want to thank all of the survivors in and out of my district who have come to me, including colleagues, who disclosed to me that at some point in their life they were sexually abused, but they choose not to come forward and disclose because of how painful it is. It really is lifelong pain and trauma.” The bill is a “great thing” for survivors in Massachusetts, said Sandi Johnson, senior legislative policy counsel at the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. “We believe that survivors should have access to justice, regardless of when they’re able to access that justice,”said Johnson. “Eliminating that statute of limitations puts the focus back on whether or not there’s enough evidence, rather than just arbitrary timelines. Trauma is not a timeline and can’t be governed by a timeline.” Reps. Ken Gordon (D-Bedford) and John Lawn (D-Watertown) who filed earlier versions of the bill, did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call asking them to comment on this bill. QUOTABLE QUOTES “We all have an important role to play in protecting civil rights, particularly at a time when societal divisions and political polarization have resulted in decreased civility and increased intolerance. The Healey-Driscoll Administration remains focused on developing and supporting the programs, policies and initiatives that strengthen Massachusetts’ ability to uphold our values and embrace our differences.” ---Public Safety and Security Secretary Terrence Reidy on the Healey administration’s convening a statewide Civil Rights Symposium for 200 law enforcement officers to promote justice, equity and civil rights protections for all Bay State residents and visitors. “One of my first commitments as governor was to launch this assessment across our administration with the goal of applying an equity lens to everything we do. If we want to break down barriers to accessing government service and ensure we are reaching every community, we need to be able to measure what’s working well and what needs improvement – and then we need to act.” free. People can meet an attorney to have their basic questions answered and to obtain referrals to other organizations that may be able to help them for free. And there’s no age requirement. People under 65 can participate in the program. Witt: It’s a really good opportunity. A lot of people come in very nervous because they don’t feel comfortable talking to a lawyer. But when they leave, they say they’re really glad they came here. They tell us, “You were very easy to talk ---Gov. Healey upon releasing a report on equity assessment which analyzed how each state agency can improve equity, accessibility and accountability. “We are thrilled and honored to be recognized once again by The Princeton Review. This ranking is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our entire Umass Dining team, who are committed to delivering an outstanding dining experience for our students every day. We believe that good food is essential to the well-being of our community, and we will continue to push the boundaries of what campus dining can be.” ---Ken Toong, assistant vice chancellor of Umass Auxiliary Enterprises, which includes Umass Dining, on Umass Amherst being rated number 1, for the 8th consecutive year, by The Princeton Review’s list of Best Campus Food, for its exceptional campus dining experience. “Today, the Massachusetts Republican Party is standing against the veil of secrecy and the obstructionist efforts of the Healey-Driscoll administration and the Democratic supermajority. We stand with the Massachusetts press corps in declaring: enough is enough. The public deserves transparency. Release the details on the vendors profiting from this crisis and the public safety issues affecting our communities. On behalf of Massachusetts residents, we are demanding accountability.” ---Massachusetts Republican Party Chair, Amy Carnevale, upon submitting FOIA requests for documents she says might expose $1 billion in Secret Migrant Crisis Spending as well as detailed information on 600 incidents involving police, fire and medical emergencies in state-funded emergency housing. HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in sesto. I didn’t realize this wasn’t such a big deal.” I think we’re good for that. While we’re wearing suits today, I rarely go to the Senior Center wearing suits. It’s not necessary. It can be somewhat intimidating. It’s a good opportunity to sit down with someone and comfortably feel you can talk out a problem. I think they leave feeling they were glad that they came and feeling better that they got to talk about whatever they wanted to talk about. sion 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 filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible latenight 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 August 26-30. the House met for a total of one hour and 15 minutes and the Senate met for a total of three hours and 50 minutes. Mon. August 26 House11:01 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. Senate 11:13 a.m. to 11:18 a.m. Tues. August 27 No House session No Senate session Wed. August 28 No House session No Senate session Thurs. August 29 House 11:00 a.m. to 11:56 a.m. Senate 11:16 a.m. to 3:01 p.m. Fri. August 30 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com Bob founded Bea - con Hill Roll Call in 1975 and was inducted into the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) Hall of Fame in 2019 ELECTION | FROM PAGE 5 in the outcome of Saugus voting in the state primary. The 3,299 of the 22,205 registered voters who turned out – close to 15 percent – mirrored the overall results. In the Republican race for the U.S. Senate, Deaton (807) easily beat out challengers Antonellis (501) and Cain (82). Saugus voters favored Driscoll over Doherty for the Clerk of Courts seat by a 1,222 to 396 margin. Eileen R. Duff received 1,184 votes while her Democratic challenger Joseph Gentleman received 456 votes. Duff will face Republican Jonathan Edward Ring in November. As of Aug. 7, there were 22,154 total registered voters in Saugus. That included 4,928 Democrats, 2,110 Republicans, 14,852 unenrolled and 59 Libertarians.

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