Last week, the Senate Ways and Means Committee released their proposed state budget for Fiscal Year 2020, and within that budget was a record amount of education funding for Everett Public Schools – funding that is also known technically as Chapter 70 funds. 

All cities in Sen. Sal DiDomenico’s district received an increase in Chapter 70 funding from the proposal, with the Everett Public Schools receiving a total of $75,001,079- which was a $6 million increase over Fiscal Year 2019 funding levels.

“I am grateful to both Senate Ways & Means Chairman Senator Michael Rodrigues for their dedication to making education funding a top priority in this budget cycle, and I am pleased that the funds I have advocated for have been included,” said Senator DiDomenico. “With this budget, we are making it clear that we are serious about securing more funding for our K-12 public schools and reforming our state’s outdated education funding formula. This has been- and continues to be- my top education priority, and I am proud that my district will receive the additional funds that they deserve in the Senate budget.”

The Senate will debate its Fiscal Year 2020 budget next week, where DiDomenico will work to secure additional funding for his district and local organizations.

Education funding has become the top priority on Beacon Hill this budget cycle, as it was primarily during last year’s contentious budgeting process. Already, students from Everett and surrounding urban cities have crowded into the State House earlier this year to rally for increased funding for the schools.

The Senate Budget was more generous than the House Budget in terms of education funding, which was encouraging to education leaders. 

Still, the Budget must go through a thorough review in a House/Senate Conference Committee – though a reduction in education funding within Conference is rare.

Senator Sal DiDomenico was awarded the Distinguished Advocacy Award, a prestigious honor bestowed by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) in recognition of his leadership and commitment to strong public health policies around tobacco and other cancer issues. 

The award is presented by ACS CAN, the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, to select officials who have demonstrated leadership and commitment in the area of cancer-related public policy advocacy. Sen. DiDomenico received the award during a ceremony at ACS CAN’s annual Lobby Day, which brought over 100 cancer survivors and advocates to Beacon Hill to lobby in support of cancer related policies. This year’s event urged lawmakers to build on the work accomplished fighting Big Tobacco in previous legislative sessions, including a tax on electronic cigarettes, an increased cigarette and cigar tax, and a ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products in the Commonwealth. 

 “Sen. DiDomenico has been a champion in protecting Massachusetts youth from the targeting of the tobacco industry. He was instrumental in making the Commonwealth the first state in the nation to prohibit the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies and other healthcare institutions – an accomplishment that we know will help current users quit smoking and prevent others from ever picking up the deadly addiction in the first place,” said Marc Hymovitz, government relations director for ACS CAN. “His partnership with ACS CAN and dedication to keeping tobacco out of the hands of our youth have demonstrated his commitment to fighting cancer through public policy, and we look forward to continuing to work together to save lives in Massachusetts.”

 “Thank you to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network for presenting me with their Distinguished Advocacy Award,” said Senator Sal DiDomenico, Assistant Majority Leader of the Massachusetts Senate. “I am very proud to have played a role in the passage of last session’s youth tobacco prevention legislation and have my bill banning the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies included as a key provision. It is an honor to receive this award, and I would like to thank ACS CAN for all of their advocacy on this critical issue for our youth and residents throughout the Commonwealth.”

 ACS CAN applauds Sen. DiDomenico’s determination to enact meaningful legislation that benefits public health and saves lives from cancer across Massachusetts.

 The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is making cancer a top priority for public officials and candidates at the federal, state and local levels. ACS CAN empowers advocates across the country to make their voices heard and influence evidence-based public policy change as well as legislative and regulatory solutions that will reduce the cancer burden. As the American Cancer Society’s nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, ACS CAN is critical to the fight for a world without cancer. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.

BOSTON— Last week, the Massachusetts Legislature took the final steps needed to end the state’s family cap policy by overwhelmingly voting to reject a Governor veto and enact Senator Sal DiDomenico’s legislation to lift the Cap on Kids. 

 The Cap on Kids– also called the “family cap”–  denies benefits to children conceived while, or soon after, a family began receiving benefits. As a result of the Cap on Kids, Massachusetts does not provide benefits for nearly 9,000 children living in poverty. Their parents struggle to provide even the most basic essentials for their children, causing everyone in the family to suffer.

“Lifting the ‘Cap on Kids’ is simply the right thing to do to ensure that families are not denied basic benefits simply because of when their children were born,” said Assistant Majority Leader Sal DiDomenico. “I have heard many personal accounts from families who have been hurt by this cap on kids— parents who struggle to meet their families’ basic needs because of this policy. Today, I am proud to say that we have put an end to this ineffective and unjust policy and show that we value all children equally, regardless of the circumstances of their birth.”

This was the sixth time the Massachusetts Senate took bipartisan action to pass DiDomenico’s policy proposal. This session, legislation to lift the Cap on Kids was a top priority for the Massachusetts Senate, with the Senate passing DiDomenico’s bill in March and also including the family cap repeal in its FY19 supplemental budget. In his remarks on the Senate floor, DiDomenico thanked his colleagues for their support and expressed his gratitude to Senate President Karen Spilka for her ongoing commitment to repeal the Cap on Kids: “This is a critical policy change that will help thousands of children across theCommonwealth, and I would like to especially thank Senate President Spilka for continuing to make this a Senate priority and addressing this issue at the very beginning of our session.”

Massachusetts’ ‘Cap on Kids’ policy was established in 1995 and has been detrimental to families across the state.  Since filing this legislation, Senator DiDomenico has passionately disputed certain erroneous assumptions about our Commonwealth’s low-income families: “The facts are crystal clear - this policy hurts our children which is why so many states have already taken action to repeal their family cappolicies. For over two decades, the Cap on Kids has done nothing but move us backward and make it harder for low income families to meet their basic needs, such as food, housing, and warm clothes.”

The new policy begins on September 1, 2019. The repeal of the family cap is also retroactive to January 1, 2019. Upon implementation, children who are, or would be, excluded from grant calculations will now be included. The fiscal year 2019 budget already provides funding for this change, which was included in the House and Senate conference committee report.

Legislators and advocates celebrate Lifting the Cap on Kids

DiDomenico and his legislative staff

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