Senator Sal DiDomenico was recently honored by the New England Head Start Association at Head Start’s Lobby Day at the State House, where he received the prestigious Champion of the Head Start Children Award. The award was presented to Senator DiDomenico in recognition of his service to Head Start, his advocacy for early childhood education, and his work throughout the district.During the Lobby Day, Senator DiDomenico addressed the parents and children that had come to urge lawmakers to pass funding to the program. “I am a proud product of Head Start, which is why I am so passionate about providing high quality early childhood education to every child in the Commonwealth,” said Senator DiDomenico. “Thank you to the New England Head Start Association for this honor, and everyone who came to the State House to advocate for additional funding and share your stories on why this program is so important to you and your families.”Head Start served 15,128 children from 14,069 families during the 2017-2018 school year, with 52 programs at 28 agencies across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. DiDomenico has been a longtime champion of Head Start in the Massachusetts Senate, and has always advocated for an increase in funding for the program, which sees children improve their proficiency in areas such as math and language development over 20% on average.

BOSTON-Senator Sal DiDomenico was recently honored by the New England Head Start Association at Head Start’s Lobby Day at the State House, where he received the prestigious Champion of the Head Start Children Award. The award was presented to Senator DiDomenico in recognition of his service to Head Start, his advocacy for early childhood education, and his work throughout the district.

During the Lobby Day, Senator DiDomenico addressed the parents and children that had come to urge lawmakers to pass funding to the program. “I am a proud product of Head Start, which is why I am so passionate about providing high quality early childhood education to every child in the Commonwealth,” said Senator DiDomenico. “Thank you to the New England Head Start Association for this honor, and everyone who came to the State House to advocate for additional funding and share your stories on why this program is so important to you and your families.”

Head Start served 15,128 children from 14,069 families during the 2017-2018 school year, with 52 programs at 28 agencies across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. DiDomenico has been a longtime champion of Head Start in the Massachusetts Senate, and has always advocated for an increase in funding for the program, which sees children improve their proficiency in areas such as math and language development over 20% on average.

In his speech at the lobby day, Senator DiDomenico reaffirmed his commitment to fight for Head Start and champion their budget priorities for the new fiscal year. Afterwards, DiDomenico and his staff met with families and educators from his district about the importance of funding for Head Start for low-income families.

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BOSTON — Last week, the Massachusetts Senate passed two comprehensive reports updating the Senate and Joint Rules related to harassment, diversity, and transparency. Senator Sal DiDomenico (D-Everett) served as Chair of the temporary Senate Committee on Rules, charged with reviewing and making recommendations on changes to the Senate and Joint Rules.

Senator DiDomenico led weeks of negotiations amongst his colleagues on the Committee regarding how to update the Senate and House’s policies and procedures for conducting official business. After releasing the Committee’s proposals, Senators had the opportunity to file amendments, and Senator DiDomenico lead the debate on the two rules packages on the Senate floor.

“I would like to thank Senate President Spilka and my colleagues who served with me on the temporary Senate Committee on Rules for their collaboration and dedication to ensuring a safe environment, transparency, and integrity in our body,” said Senator DiDomenico. “These rules are the result of a truly collaborative process, and I am grateful to every member who reached out over the past few weeks to share their thoughts on our rules and suggestions on how we can improve the ways we conduct our business. I am confident that the policy procedures adopted today will lay the foundation for thoughtful debate in our chamber and a productive legislative session.”

“We create the culture of the Senate by how we work together and the respect we show each other,” stated Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “The adoption of these rules will help guide us as we continue to build a Senate that celebrates diversity, seeks to prevent harassment and discrimination, and encourages transparency. I applaud the work of the temporary Senate Committee on Rules for their thoroughness and thoughtfulness, and thank everyone who contributed to this process.”

In May 2018, the Senate Special committee to review the sexual harassment policies and procedures submitted its report with a series of recommendations for updates to the Senate’s policies and procedures. Key highlights to the Senate rules proposal include tightening up existing protocol by creating a new rule that explicitly prohibits harassment, requiring timely training of all members and staff, and including interns in Senate policies. The proposal also requires all rule violations, including harassment, to be referred to the Committee on Ethics.

The Senate also adopted an amendment filed by Senator Diana DiZoglio (D-Methuen) prohibiting the Senate from utilizing nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) or similar clauses in an agreement or contract, and enforcing previously entered into NDAs.

“I want to thank Senate President Spilka and Chair DiDomenico for working with members to send a clear, unmistakable message, that we are committed to protecting the rights of those working in this building and will take no part in protecting politicians or their employees who engage in predatory behaviors or be a party to the silencing of victims of harassment, discrimination or assault,” said Senator DiZoglio.

The Senate rules proposal also includes the creation of the position of an Officer of Diversity and Inclusion, who will be part of the Senate’s human resources department and who will focus on the recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce.

Building on the work of the 2018 Special Legislative Commission on Public Records the Senate adopted amendments to both the Senate and the Joint rules to improve efficiency, transparency and access to records. The Senate rules proposal codifies the current practice of providing copies of Senate session broadcasts upon request to members and the public in a timely manner. It also includes provisions to ensure timely notification of Senate hearings and Senate committee action.

The Joint Rules package:

• Requires both Senate and House chairs to agree to the schedule of committee hearings and executive sessions to avoid confliction with other committees or sessions

• Directs the clerk of the House and Senate to establish temporary rules for joint committees unable to come to agreement on rules

• Requires joint committees to provide text or summaries of legislation to members prior to consideration at executive session

• Requires all recorded votes of joint committees to be posted on the General Court website

• Increases the notification requirement for joint committee hearings and executive sessions from 48 to 72 hours

• Increases the notice requirement of special commissions and task forces from 48 to 72 hours

The Senate Rules adopted will now go into effect. The Joint Rules passed by the Senate will now be reconciled with a proposal by the House of Representatives, where DiDomenico will continue to play a key role in the negotiations.

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