Happy spring! As we finally welcome some warmer weather, I wanted to share an update from our first 100 days in the state Senate.
Six thousand pieces of legislation were filed to start the legislative session. Our office filed 48 bills that cover environmental protection, housing for working people, data privacy, support for our tourism industry, and protections against Holtec’s attempts to discharge nuclear waste in our community. In addition to the 48 bills we filed, we have co-sponsored many other pieces of legislation based on hearing directly from you and members of our community. You can see all of our bills on the state Legislature website.
Residents of our district deserve access to mental health resources. We spoke out and rallied against the Department of Mental Health’s decision to close the only in-patient mental health center in our district – and we won! Governor Healey listened and committed to keeping the mental health facility in Pocasset open. Our district is geographically isolated with suicide rates higher than the state average. I am grateful to Governor Maura Healey for supporting mental health beds in our region and working with us to keep the Pocasset location open. We saved mental health resources in our community and now, we must push to expand them.
Energy costs are too high. The Department of Public Utilities ordered a 5% reduction in energy rates for March and April in response to our letter demanding relief. Their pledge falls far short of addressing the unprecedented costs burdening us. I joined my colleagues in urging AG Campbell to investigate these drastic rate increases. The Governor recently proposed a path to lowering utility bills by billions of dollars over five years to offer long-term relief which the legislature will take up. When deregulation of utilities occurred in the 1990s, Massachusetts adopted an investor-owned utility model. Many other states kept their utilities public, and, on average, residents of those states pay lower utility costs. Our office is working on forming a commission to study whether or not moving away from the investor-owned utilities would save money for Massachusetts residents.
Committee appointments are in! I’m honored to be named chairman of the Joint Committee on Agriculture & Fisheries, overseeing and supporting vital food security issues for our district and our Commonwealth. This appointment is particularly important for Plymouth, which is home to a robust fishing port and many local farms. I’m also excited to serve as vice chair of the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and the Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy, where there is much work ahead on land preservation, climate resilience, and reforming the cannabis industry.
Beyond these leadership roles, I’ve been appointed to several key committees that directly impact our district: Climate, Utilities, and Energy – supporting lower utility costs; Public Safety and Homeland Security – advocating for first responders and ensuring community safety; Transportation – pushing for investments in public transit, and critical infrastructure like the Cape bridges; and Intergovernmental Affairs – working to bridge relations with the federal government during this unprecedented time. Between all these assignments, it will be a busy session!
This week, we announced our office is leading a Cape Bridges Community Forum Series. This initiative will feature the head of the Cape Bridges project for the state and provide residents with a status update and a forum to ask questions directly to those in charge. Replacement of the Cape bridges is the largest infrastructure project in this region in over 100 years and it will determine our transportation for generations to come. I want to ensure that you and our community have a voice – join us at our first meeting: April 15, 5:30 to 7 p.m., at Mass Maritime Academy.
Our office prides itself on being accessible and transparent. In our first three months, we held a listening tour with public town halls in all eight towns to hear directly from people about their cares and concerns. We also met with every municipality to learn how we can best advocate for our towns at the State House. As always, we want to help support you in any way we can; please reach out any time to dylan.fernandes@masenate.gov or call (617) 722-1330.
Thank the people of the Plymouth & Barnstable district for putting your faith in me to represent you. It is the honor of a lifetime to serve the district where I grew up and which I love.
– Dylan Fernandes
Fernandes is the state senator for the Plymouth and Barnstable district.