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June of the second year brings the end of the legislative session. Our class photo day. The ice cream social - it’s a real blast. That is at least the party line which I am bound by oath to maintain. In all seriousness it is a good time of the year. Personally it comes down to the weather. The hum of the woods, the trill of the frogs, the sounds of people coming and going as everyone recoups from the struggles of winter. I love the fall, and the spring; I tolerate the winter and I live for the summer. In all of it’s glory.
With the wrap-up of the legislature it is as good a time as any to provide a bit of a summation of the legislation which I sponsored in the 2025 session. I sponsored or cosponsored a total of thirty two pieces of legislation. Eight of which have passed both chambers onto the Governor’s desk. Some of these bills include House Bill 140. Which establishes a voluntary blue envelope program from drivers with autism spectrum disorders and other stressors related disorders. This program, which has been established in State’s across the country, allows for drivers with a communication disorder to put a blue envelope on the windshield of the car which will alert the officer that this driver has such communication challenges. Departments across the State were in favor of this program and many of them were already aware of the idea. Representative Jodi Newell was the prime sponsor on the legislation and through some hard work we got the bill passed unanimously through both chambers.
Another bill which I was on that passed this session was House Bill 457. This legislation, prime sponsored by Diane Pauer, said that the legislative body of a city, town, village district, or county in which there are located unincorporated towns or unorganized places shall not adopt any ordinance that restricts the number of occupants of any dwelling unit to less than 2 occupants per bedroom. Restricting an ordinance of the same from restricting those occupants from being of a non-familial relationship, married, or in school. Essentially stopping towns from restricting landlords from renting to roommates. In this era of nationwide rent hikes the least the legislature could do is stop, often wealthy towns, from restricting a landlord from renting to people who will be rooming together because they see it as distasteful. As I said on the floor in my speech in favor of this legislation, you could have a family of ten living in a house which the landlord could not rent to three veterans who wanted to room together on their fixed incomes. How unfair of a situation is that? Ultimately the House passed the bill by a margin of nine votes, 179 yes to 170 nays. A lot of Representatives write speaking on the floor off as useless as people already have their minds made up. I completely reject that notion, the floor is there to make your argument. When you do so forcefully, but with respect, people listen. You won’t win most of them, but you will win some.
The truly non-partisan work on the House Environment and Agriculture committee is something to be proud of. Despite the State Senate’s inclination to support industry over the people, we were able to get Representative Nicholas Germana’s legislation House Bill 566 passed onto the Governor’s desk. Where she is expected to sign the law which will require that all new permit applications for landfills in the State have a plan for leachate management. Leachate is trash juice. All the heavy metals, gunk, and liquified trash that seeps through the lining of the landfill into the environment around the facility. Wreaking havoc as it is around landfills up and down the State. Poisoning our citizens. Representative Germana, Potenza, and a team of other members from every caucus came together to push this legislation as hard as they could to get it across the finish line. It is another example of what could be possible if we worked with each other to find solutions to the material crises facing our State.
There is no way to sugar coat it. None of the biggest challenges were met with any truly adequate solutions this year. We were able in our sheer brute force of will get a few bits and pieces passed the through the gauntlet, but the fundamental issues of the rising property taxes, home prices, gutted healthcare system, imploding public education system, deaths of despair throughout the State; and the rest. All went without adequate debate. The majority party was more interested in rushing through the process to “complete the business of the session.”
To them completing the business of the session is strictly getting all those annoying bills which members filed through the process as quickly as possible, and speed running the budget process to get us to the summer recess months. It is truly sad how cynical our leaders have become. Where there was once a great inherent respect for the responsibility, now stands a faux stage play put on to maintain the illusion of the once great responsibility our elected leaders once held.
“They don’t really care about us.” - Michael Jackson
Well meaning people not just can have but will have disagreements with one another. People who are working towards the same goal on one issue will find through time that on another they have a totally different view. The politics which will get us out of our current circumstance will be one in which when those differing views arise, we don’t let it undercut the underlying goal which was being worked on prior to the disagreement. Simply put we must be able to disagree without being disagreeable. Have tough conversations about where we are as a society, where we are going, and where we want to be. Those are not easy conversations. They will naturally spark vastly different opinions. It is those who are able to find common ground that will find the most stable answers.
When we all as citizens go out to elect the 170th General Court in 2026. Let us not continue a cynical politics but aspire for the near credulous level of optimism which is required to deal with problems which have seemingly impossible solutions. Climbing out of the black is white, up is down, world that we all find ourselves in. Electing people serious about the role which they run to serve. Serious about addressing the issues their neighbors elected them to. The rising property taxes and home prices. That which is being allowed to implode such as the public education, corrections and judiciary, and healthcare systems. Relieving the average citizens of the burdens placed upon them by the negligence of the 169th General Court and those proceeding it.
In that same timeless jam I quoted above, Mr. Jackson also tells us not to sit back and watch the beating. Let us have the courage to do just that. Stepping out of this reality television show world we are subjected to and into reality; where we can deal with the existential issues facing our time.