I hope that you, your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and loved ones are healthy and safe. Like me, I’m sure you found yourself racing through a list of people in your life at various times last week – a week filled with great tragedy, emotion and fear that also demonstrated our tremendous community strength and resilience.

It is important that we remember the despicable attack of Monday, April 15th, Patriot’s Day, at the Boston Marathon that killed Massachusetts residents Krystie Campbell, Lingzi Lu and Martin Richard, and injured over 180 people, and the continued inhumane actions of two psychopathic individuals that led to the murder of MIT police officer Sean Collier, and the serious injury of another first responder, all in just five days.

Since the capture of the remaining suspect last Friday, we’ve all been able to restore our focus to supporting the Marathon bombing victims. Thousands of people across Massachusetts, and the country have already reached out to help, and I know that we will continue to. A fund has been created, onefundboston.org, to provide financial support to these victims.

Closer to home in the district that I represent, two local residents were injured in the Boston Marathon bombings. Brittany Loring, a young woman who grew up in Ayer, was seriously injured last Monday, and a fund has been set up to pay for her medical bills, which I hope you’ll consider giving to. You can read more about Brittany in this Nashoba Publishing story from last week. And seven year-old James Gauntlett of Shirley, suffered injuries from one of the detonated bombs, needs your help, too. You can read about his story here, and donations can be sent to: Recovery Fund for Gauntlett Family, Sovereign Bank, One Park Street, Ayer, MA 01432. Please give.

As a State Senator, I want to make a few observations about last week’s tragedy.

Just one week ago, we saw how the people of Massachusetts respond to a horrific attack. Within seconds after the bombings at the Boston Marathon, police officers, firefighters. EMS personnel, Marathon staff and volunteers, ordinary citizens, immigrants and medical staff responded to the hundreds of victims, in many cases saving lives by the quick and organized response to meet their immediate health needs. This response speaks not only to the courage and strength of Massachusetts residents, but also the strong foundation of public safety personnel, healthcare infrastructure, and emergency training that exists in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. That is something that I’m very proud of.

Finally, we saw last week in the immediate aftermath of Marathon bombing and the pursuit and capture of the bombing suspects by federal, state and local law enforcement displays of great courage and perseverance – by victims, public servants, medical staff, and everyday residents. In each case of bravery, people stepped forward and showed a willingness to put themselves in possible harm, for the greater good – to save a life, to protect a community, to stop the fear that had spread across Massachusetts.

If Massachusetts residents were able to commit these acts of selflessness, at great personal risk, it gives me hope that other public servants, including elected officials, can do the same, to make our state and country a better place to live for everyone. Because if we as politicians are not willing to show the same kind of courage, facing far less severe risks, when considering the decisions that have a impact on the people of Massachusetts, then are we holding ourselves to the same standard as the brave men and women who protected us last week?

Once again, I hope that you and your friends, family, and loved ones are safe and secure, and I look forward to working with you in the coming months on tackling many of the important challenges that we have before us, together.

With Election Day and Thanksgiving now behind us, legislators are spending more time at the State House, meeting with one another, advocates and our legislative staffs to begin crafting legislation to be filed next session, sometime in early January after our swearing-in on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013. In each of our respective districts we are meeting with constituents and attending community events, which are often focused on ideas for legislation and budget priorities for FY14.

One of the benefits of having a competitive election is that I had the opportunity to speak with thousands of constituents on the campaign trail this year, whether door to door, on the phone, at campaign meetings, or at community events. With a little over a month before incumbents and newly-elected legislators get sworn in, here are some initial thoughts on some policies that I plan to focus on. These are difficult challenges to take on and it will take political will “backbone” and grassroots advocacy to work to pass legislation that will address these challenges:

● Building the best transportation system in the nation. Right now, some legislators, business leaders and advocates are focused on the state’s transportation crisis, which we must address. Transportation affects every aspect of what is important to progressives: providing equal opportunities, whether for quality of life, education, or work; doing more to reduce our carbon footprint by increasing investment in public transportation and using less fossil fuels; providing access to human services for the poor, the disabled and the elderly; and stimulating the economy through public works projects. If we are going to fix the state’s transportation crisis, however, let’s make sure we come up with a plan that builds the best transportation system in the country and that addresses all of the Commonwealth’s needs across the entire state.
● Raising adequate revenue to reverse budget cuts and properly invest in our Commonwealth’s future. Now is the time for frank assessment of 30 years of across-the-board budget cuts, which have affected local aid, higher education environmental protection, affordable housing, human services, public health and transportation. With proposals like An Act to Invest in Our Communities and efforts to repeal or reduce corporate tax breaks and tax cuts, what kinds of decisions will Governor Patrick and Democratic legislators make on these fronts?
● Supporting Immigrants. Will the Massachusetts Legislature take further steps to support our state’s immigrants, including passing the full tuition equity bill, and better connecting immigrant students with work and educational opportunities? Our President and Governor Patrick have made a bold start; will the legislature follow?
● Passing Paid Sick Leave. Over 1 million Massachusetts workers do not have any paid sick leave to take care of their children, themselves, or another loved one in need. Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly support passing paid sick leave. Yet this modest proposal has been beaten back every session in the Legislature! Will Governor Patrick truly fight for the bill and move us forward on this policy so important to Massachusetts families’ health and quality of life?
● Updating the Bottle Bill. Is this the year to finally pass the updated Bottle Bill? Last session’s impressive advocacy and organizing led by MassPIRG brought us closer to passage than it’s been in decades. But the bill was removed from the Legislature’s economic development package. What politics, pressure and inside games have to be played to pass this popular legislation? Can we take up that bill early or should advocates bring the legislation to the ballot box as a referendum?

None of this will happen without hard work. As the State Senator for the Middlesex and Worcester District, I will fight for these important policy changes, and many others, to help move us toward a more just Commonwealth. But I need your help.

Public advocacy doesn’t end with the work of legislators, it requires every resident to get engaged and become more active on what kinds of policies will make a difference in your communities and your lives. Progressives accomplished a lot in terms of electoral victories on Tuesday, November 6th, but the work doesn’t stop there. Please share your ideas with me, either through this blog post, or at Jamie@JamieEldridge.com. Thanks!

The following is the final text of the Senate Resolution on Citizens United,  which passed the Massachusetts Senate on a bipartisan 35-1 vote on Thursday, July 26, 2012:

“MEMORIALIZING THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES TO PASS AND SEND TO THE STATES FOR RATIFICATION A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO RESTORE THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND FAIR ELECTIONS TO THE PEOPLE.

WHEREAS, FOR THE PAST 3 DECADES, A DIVIDED UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT HAS STRETCHED THE LIMITS OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT TO ALLOW FOR CORPORATIONS, UNIONS, POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES AND SUPER POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES TO INFLUENCE THE POLITICAL PROCESS AND DEMOCRATICALLY-ENACTED REFORMS; AND

WHEREAS, THE FIRST AMENDMENT HAS BEEN GREATLY IMPACTED BY THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT’S RECENT RULING IN CITIZENS UNITED V. THE FEDERAL ELECTIONS COMMISSION; AND

WHEREAS, THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT’S RULING IN CITIZENS UNITED OVERTURNED LONGSTANDING PRECEDENT PROHIBITING THESE INTERESTS FROM SPENDING GENERAL TREASURY FUNDS IN DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS; AND

WHEREAS, THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT’S RULING IN CITIZENS UNITED WILL ALLOW SPECIAL INTERESTS LIMITLESS AND UNPRECEDENTED CAMPAIGN SPENDING AND THUS DISPROPORTIONATE INFLUENCE, THREATENING THE FAIRNESS OF THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS; AND

WHEREAS, THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES HAVE PREVIOUSLY USED THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROCESS TO OVERTURN SUPREME COURT DECISIONS THAT PRESENT A RISK TO THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS AND SELF GOVERNMENT; NOW THEREFORE BE IT

RESOLVED, THAT THE MASSACHUSETTS SENATE HEREBY MEMORIALIZES THE 112^TH CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES TO PASS AND SEND TO THE STATES FOR RATIFICATION A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO RESTORE THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND FAIR ELECTIONS TO THE PEOPLE; AND BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED, THAT A COPY OF THESE RESOLUTIONS BE TRANSMITTED FORTHWITH BY THE CLERK OF THE SENATE TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, TO THE PRESIDING OFFICER OF EACH BRANCH OF CONGRESS AND TO THE MEMBERS OF THOSE BRANCHES FROM THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.”

Today we hit the one-week-to-go mark in the Senate, with just a few more days of formal sessions left until the Legislature breaks for the year. After midnight on July 31, the House and Senate will only meet in informal sessions until we return next January, which means any bill that is even remotely controversial must pass this week, or die until next session. (A single legislator can block the movement of any bill in informal session).

A week may seem like a short amount of time, but in fact an enormous amount of work traditionally gets done in this final week of session. We will likely be here late into the night several times, and conference committees will continue to meet and report out bills until the very end. As the old adage goes, “Nothing ever gets done until the last minute” – and that certainly is the case this time of year!

Here’s a brief summary of the bills I’m working to see passed in this final week:

Energy Bill: An excellent bill that improves and updates the Green Communities Act and calls for changes to make utilities more responsive to customers and price concerns passed the Senate earlier this spring.  The final details are the bill are currently being worked out in a Conference Committee. I’m hoping to see this bill brought to the floor for final passage soon, and I’m advocating that it include “Net Metering” provisions passed by the House and Senate that would double the net metering cap and make it easier for residents and businesses to install solar panels by requiring utilities to purchase more alternative energy.

Foreclosure Bill: Another important bill currently in conference is anti-foreclosure legislation aimed at preventing unnecessary and unlawful foreclosures, reducing the number of abandoned properties across the Commonwealth and helping to remove one of the biggest remaining barriers to our ongoing economic recovery. In particular, I’m focused on making sure the final bill includes a provision from the Senate version that gives borrowers the right to go into mediation with lenders prior to foreclosure proceedings to work out renegotiated loan terms through a neutral third-party.

Citizens United: This Thursday, the Senate is scheduled to take up the resolution I’ve sponsored calling upon Congress to send to the states an amendment correcting the disastrous Citizens United decision (after several procedural delays from the Republican Minority Leader over the past few weeks).

I’m also still working to pass the Disclose bill (S304) I’ve filed that would increase disclosure of corporate political spending at the state level. That bill — which was just reported out of committee this afternoon! — has gained a significant amount of bipartisan support. I’m hopeful we can pass it and put the new disclosure rules in place in time for this fall’s elections so the public will know if a corporation decides to spend money to influence an election.

Election Reform: A few weeks ago the House passed an Election Reform bill that would allow for pre-registration for 16 and 17 year olds, put voter registration forms online in PDF format, and require regular randomized election audits to ensure the integrity of our voting machine and processes. I am a strong supporter of this bill and advocating for it the Senate to bring it up this week so it can be passed into law.

In addition to these priorities, two other important bills are currently in conference: the Health Care Cost Control Bill and the Jobs bill passed by the Senate last week. I’m hoping to see good bills emerge from both of those committees and be brought to the floor for passage by the end of session.

At the invitation of the St. Matthews Church in Acton, I joined thousands of other Americans in participating in a Food Stamp Challenge this past week, when families and individuals survive for a week on the same amount of money that food stamp recipients receive.  The point of the Challenge is to give participants a view of what life can be like for the millions of low-income Americans who struggle to feed themselves and their families on a daily basis. For me as a single individual, the Challenge meant eating on $46 a week, or just over $6.50 a day.

Last Sunday, I went to the grocery store and made my best effort to buy food that would fit into that budget, recognizing that my legislative schedule made it a little harder to plan ahead or find time to cook.  I bought yogurt (59 cents) for breakfast, bread and bologna for lunch (a little over $1 for each day), and pasta and macaroni for dinner (between $1-2, including sauce).  I also tried to fit in a banana once in awhile, or a small piece of chocolate. This also left a little bit of room for an all-important cup of coffee each day – a necessity for long days of meetings!

It was not always easy. When the debate at the State House on the health care cost control bill went late, it was challenging to resist going to the vending machine or grabbing take-out for dinner during a break. On other nights, when I was attending district events and getting home at 9 or 10 at night, I felt like I was running on fumes, eager to eat the pasta I had waiting for me back at home.

More than the actual hunger, however, the biggest impact on my daily life was just the sense of anxiety that sets in when you know that you don’t have the money for additional nourishment if you need it. It was at times hard to focus on my job, whether it was from lack of energy or simply from thinking frequently about how hungry I was!

During the week, I spent a fair amount of time thinking about what it must be like to live on food stamps not merely for one week, but for months or years.  Of course, living on a food stamp budget for one week is not the same as having that longer-term experience, but at least it got me thinking.

In particular, I spent a lot of time thinking of the many poor families I represented, before I first ran for office, as a Legal Aid attorney in Lowell. These families struggled every day just to provide for their children and put a roof over their heads, and most if not all were just one economic hardship  – a lost job, a medical emergency, an unexpected accident – away from falling into deep poverty.  Beyond the very real hunger and nourishment issues, not knowing where your next meal will come from – or your next rent check, or money to pay for medicine for your kids – is incredibly traumatic, with lasting damage to families and especially children.

The Food Stamp Challenge comes at a particularly appropriate time, as the Senate prepares this week to take up the budget. Undoubtedly, we’ll spend many hours of that time debating fraud in the EBT card system and finding new rules and restrictions to place on low-income families receiving temporary help from the government – and almost no time at all discussing ways we could do more to help these struggling families.

There’s no place for fraud in any government program, including the food stamps and cash assistance programs, and of course I don’t believe tobacco, lottery tickets, tattoos and so forth are appropriate uses for food stamp or cash assistance. If reasonable reforms are before me, I will vote for them.

But sometimes I feel that ardent proponents of these restrictions can’t see the forest for the trees. Those receiving government assistance are trying to make ends meet for their families on very little money each week. They aren’t blowing hundreds of dollars on tattoos or fancy jewelry; they’re trying to put a solid meal on the table. Yet the intense focus on the very small percentage of people abusing the system sends the wrong message about our priorities. Why don’t we spend hours during the budget debate talking about how we can really help low-income families break the cycle of poverty? (Here’s one idea I’ve filed as a budget amendment).

At the end of the week, I was deeply grateful to grab dinner after a very long day of meetings in the district, and release that sense of deprivation that I had felt while participating in the Food Stamp Challenge.  It was not only a pleasure to have a full stomach, but to let go of that fear that came with the week’s financial limitations. As we head into the budget debate this week, though, I won’t forget those feelings, or the many families whose food stamp challenge doesn’t end after just one week.

I’ve been a longtime believer in the power of grassroots action, but sometimes – as I watch moneyed interests win policy battle after policy battle at the State House – it can be hard to keep the faith.

Yesterday, my faith was restored.

First, a little background.  The State Senate is currently working on complicated legislation to reduce health care costs. I believe on the whole it is a good bill worthy of support, but I also know it does not go far enough.  In the end, I think the only way to truly control costs AND ensure universal access to high quality health care is to implement a single-payer system, as is currently being done in Vermont.

Bringing single-payer health care to Massachusetts is a long-term movement, however, and I know we have a lot of work to do to convince a majority of my colleagues, and the Governor, of the wisdom of this plan.

In the meantime, I wanted to offer an amendment to the health care bill that would put us in position to transition to single-payer down the road. My amendment  would have directed the agency overseeing health care finance in the Commonwealth to study the cost of a single-payer system and regularly compare it to the cost of our current system. If by the year 2015 (or any year thereafter), the study determined that single-payer would be more cost effective, it would develop a plan for implanting single-payer in Massachusetts and submit it to the legislature for approval.

I firmly believe single payer is the best way to go, but I realize others are more skeptical. This is why I’ve proposed we study the issue – from an independent, unbiased perspective – and see what the numbers tell us.

So what does all this have to do with grassroots activism? My single-payer amendment was debated yesterday, and although we did not ultimately prevail, the vote (15-22) was much closer than I – or anyone else – had expected. Frankly, it’s rare to see an amendment that is opposed by the leadership of the Senate gain that much support. Every co-sponsor of my original single-payer bill stayed with us, and several more senators joined us. The vote caught people by surprise, and sent a message that support for single-payer health care in Massachusetts is strong and growing.

This happened because of grassroots activism.

Earlier this week, a number of grassroots advocacy groups, including Mass Care, Progressive Massachusetts, the Progressive Democrats of America, and the League of Women Voters, put out the call: it’s time to contact your Senator and ask him or her to support the single-payer amendment.

And people responded. Many of my colleagues told me the phone just kept ringing with single-payer supporters. Some legislators who may have been wavering stood with us because they knew their constituents were watching. Others gave the amendment more serious consideration after initially dismissing it.

Over 250 amendments were filed to the health care bill. The sad truth of the speed and complexity of the legislative process is that legislators simply can’t focus on and come to a thoughtful position on every single amendment. We have to choose which amendments to focus our energy on — and because of the calls and emails of grassroots activists, a lot of senators decided this was an amendment worth caring about.

We didn’t win on our amendment yesterday, it’s true. In the long-term movement to create a truly universal health care system in Massachusetts, however, yesterday’s vote was absolutely a victory – and it was a victory because of the grassroots.

This is how we do it, and how we should keep doing it. Looking forward, if we want to continue to see progress on this and other progressive issues, we need to work together to develop an agenda for next session, narrow in on a few key priorities, and execute a plan in a strategic, grassroots fashion. There’s power in the grassroots, so let’s use it!

Last week, the U.S. Attorney’s office indicted three former Probation Department employees for conspiring to create a phony hiring system that rewarded politically-connected individuals.  These charges are extremely serious, and all Massachusetts elected officials need to consider the cultural, political, and legal realities of state government that led to this level of public deception – and ways those realities could be changed.

That same week, most legislative committees had to decide whether or not to advance many important bills that could improve the quality of life for the residents of Massachusetts. The differing fates of these often demonstrates the extraordinary amount of influence corporate interests have over which bills become law, and which die a quiet death at the end of each session.

Why do I mention these two seemingly unrelated news items in the same blog post? It’s because the problem of undue influence in state government goes far beyond who gets a job in the Probation Department.  Unfortunately on Beacon Hill these days, corporate interests often hold the trump card over the greater public interest when it comes to passing – or blocking – legislation.

The opinions of business owners on pieces of legislation that might affect their industry are certainly important and worthy of consideration – but they shouldn’t be able to single-handedly kill a bill that has both strong public support and strong policy reasoning behind it.

Let me give you two examples:

An Act Establishing Earned Paid Sick Time would allow all employees in the Commonwealth the opportunity to earn sick time so they can take care of a sick child or spouse, or simply take a day to get better themselves without fear of losing income – or their job.

Employees would earn one hour of paid sick leave for every thirty hours of work, up to 56 hours of paid sick time for businesses with more than 10 employees. (Businesses with fewer than 10 employees would have to offer less time and/or unpaid sick time instead, depending on their size).

In Massachusetts, over 1 million workers are not able to earn a single paid sick day. As a result, workplaces are less healthy and stable, workers are less productive, and – most unfortunately – many workers are unable to properly care for themselves or their families when sick. In a recent poll, 74% of Massachusetts voters supported establishing paid sick leave in Massachusetts.

This bill would make a huge difference in the lives of millions of Massachusetts families and enjoys strong public support, and yet I am concerned that this bill will go no further this legislative session. This is because the bill is opposed by an array of powerful corporate interests, who will claim that this bill – that could very well save money in regained worker productivity and reduced turnover! – will impose a substantial financial burden on business owners.

I suspect that these same corporate lobbyists and business owners have never given themselves a pay cut when they have to leave work early to bring their child to the doctor or stay home because they have the flu. Yet they argue against extending this same right to lower-wage  workers.

An Act Updating the Bottle Bill is another bill that received attention last week. This bill would apply the 5 cent bottle deposit to water, juice, and flavored drinks, expanding the fee beyond the current soda and alcohol products.  The Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy decided to extend its review of the bill, which means it still has a chance of passing…but it remains an uphill battle.

The Bottle Bill is an excellent pro-environment and pro-community bill that also enjoys strong public support, yet has just as vigilant a group of corporate opponents slowing its passage.  In this case, the Massachusetts Food Association, Polar Beverage, Ocean Spray, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and convenience stores are all opposing the bill, using the preposterous claim that adding 5 cents to a bottle on the consumer end (which can be redeemed, of course) will add to the “cost of doing business.” What about the cost in litter clean-up and trash disposal that our cities and towns face because water bottles and the like have no deposit incentive for people to recycle?

As a State Senator, I will be fighting hard to pass these two bills this session, while continuing to propose ways to reduce the outsized influence corporations have on our legislative process.

But a greater sense of outrage about these facts from the general public would go a long way towards upending the status quo, too. If the uncertainly over these two bills outrages you as much as it does me, I encourage you to become active in the movements to pass them:

Earned Paid Sick Leave: http://www.masspaidleave.org/

Bottle Bill: http://www.sierraclubmass.org/ubb/index.htm

Tomorrow marks the two-year anniversary of the misguided, destructive Supreme Court decision, Citizens United vs FEC, which allows corporations to spend unlimited amounts to influence elections at all levels of government, and to set the political agenda through multi-million dollar advertising campaigns.

As a public servant and representative of the people, I hold the following truth to be self-evident: that democracy should not be bought or sold. As the only Clean Elections candidate elected to public office in Massachusetts history in November 2002, I understand the critical need to reduce the influence of special interest money on elections, and in my time as a legislator, I have continued to fight the influence of money in our political system because it breeds corruption and drowns out the voices of ordinary citizens.

Earlier this week, I was joined by a courageous group of state legislators and advocacy groups in support of a resolution – S722: A Resolution Restoring Free Speech — I’ve filed calling upon the U.S. Congress to send to the states a constitutional amendment that would overturn the decision reached in Citizens United and restore our ability to regulate corporate political spending.

You can watch video of the press conference here:

We are already seeing the effects of the Citizens United decision on our elections. Just a few days ago, Las Vegas casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson cut a $5 million check to support Newt Gingrich’s presidential bid. Super PACs have already spent $28.5 million on advertising in the Republican presidential campaign—and we are nearly a year away from the election!

If we are to live up to our ideal of a democracy of the people, for the people, and by the people, we must end the system of politics-to–the-highest-bidder.

In the short-term, I have proposed S304: An Act Relative to Disclosure of Political Spending, which would require corporations to disclose their political spending and to identify themselves in advertisements that they fund. Additionally, I have filed S305: An Act Relative to Accountability for Corporate Political Spending, which would require corporations to receive prior approval from the board of directors before committing funds for political purposes, and to notify shareholders of those expenditures.

The only long-term solution, however, is to pass a constitutional amendment overturning the decision.

Massachusetts has been a pioneer in progressive causes, from universal health care to gay marriage. Let’s make Massachusetts a first again—this time in calling upon Congress to pass this critical amendment.

If you support these bills and want to see them become law, please be sure to contact your representatives and let them know. You can look up your State Representative and State Senators and find contact information  here.

The bill will be heard by the Judiciary Committee on February 28th at 1pm.

By enacting these reforms we can ensure that elections are truly decided by “we the people,” and not corporate special interests

Growing up in Acton, Massachusetts (home of one of the W.R. Grace-created toxic sites on the Superfund cleanup list), I’ve long been aware of the problem of cancer-causing chemicals in our water and soil. In my time in the Legislature, filing and passing bills to keep these toxic chemicals out of our environment has been one of my top priorities.

I’m particularly pleased to note, then, that two top-priority environmental bills – An Act Relative to Information Technology Producer Responsibility and An Act for a Competitive Economy Through Safer Alternatives to Toxic Chemicals — received a favorable report from the Joint Committee on the Environment & Natural Resources a few weeks ago. Receiving a favorable committee report is the first big step in the legislative process, and it’s good news that both bills were reported out in the first year of the two-year legislative session.

An Act Relative to Information Technology Producer Responsibility, commonly referred to as the E-waste Bill, is based in part on a bill I filed earlier this session, An Act to Require Producer Responsibility for Collection, Reuse and Recycling of Discarded Electronic Products. The bill requires producers of electronic waste, such as computers, televisions and printers, to be financially responsible for the proper disposal of their products.

E-waste makes up the fastest growing portion of trash collected by cities and towns in the Commonwealth, with Massachusetts residents discarding over 8 million pounds of e-waste in 2006.  These products contain significant amounts of toxic substances, including lead, mercury, cadmium and beryllium, which are both harmful to the environment and cause various health problems, including brain damage and kidney problems.  Currently, when disposed of, these products often go into landfills, where toxic chemicals can leach into our water and soil, or are exported to developing countries, contributing to high levels of pollution and serious health risks.

Sixteen other states and New York City already have similar legislation in place to regulate the disposal of electronic waste. I believe passing this legislation will both boost recycling industry in Massachusetts and help to ensure that Massachusetts does not contribute to the pollution problems of other countries.

An Act for a Competitive Economy through Safer Alternatives to Toxic Chemicals, known as the Safer Alternatives Bill, is a bill I’ve proudly cosponsored for several sessions now. This bill will create a pragmatic and flexible program in Massachusetts to replace toxic chemicals with safer alternatives wherever feasible.

There is growing evidence that the use of toxic chemicals contributes to the development of chronic diseases and disorders, including asthma, birth defects, cancers, developmental disabilities, diabetes, endometriosis, infertility, Parkinson’s disease, and others.  Reducing our reliance on toxic chemicals will help us protect our health. This legislation will help protect our health by establishing a unique program to promote non-toxic alternatives to chemicals currently in use.

Passing these two bills would make a big difference in the fight to keep toxic chemicals out of our soil and drinking water, and I’ll continue working to see them brought to the floor of the Senate and passed into law this year.

Want to know how your taxpayer dollars are being spent, down to the last dime? Thanks to a new website launched yesterday, now you can.

The Open Checkbook Project – www.mass.gov/opencheckbook — is an easy-to-use, comprehensive state spending website that includes “checkbook level” detail about spending at all levels of state government: executive, legislative and judiciary.

Increasing transparency in government has been a top priority of mine during my time in office. At a time when we are making massive cuts in every area of our budget, it’s more important than ever that we examine where every single public dollar is going, and what impact it is having. This new transparency tool will promote efficiency, discourage waste, provide a check on corruption, and give us all valuable insight into how our dollars are being spent.

The project is the result of years of work from the Legislature, the Patrick-Murray Administration, Treasurer Steve Grossman, and advocacy groups such as Common Cause and MassPIRG.

Last year, the Legislature passed new transparency and accountability reforms as part of our FY2011 budget. I was proud to be a co-sponsor of the original bill – SB1410, An Act Relative to Transparency in State Revenues and Expenditures – and worked with a team of fellow legislators to see the reforms incorporated into the budget last year. The launch of the Open Checkbook website is a great reminder that it is possible to create change with the actions of just a few individuals — you just have to be persistent, collaborative, and know what you want to change.

In particular, I worked to make sure that information about refundable tax expenditures would be included in this public website. At a time when yet another state budget has made serious cuts to core essential services, it is outrageous that corporate subsidies continue to flow to corporations unexamined and  we don’t have the public information or data to determine if this is the best investment of taxpayer dollars.

Although that information is not yet posted on the website, the details will be included — as required by the initial statute we passed — in the second phase of the website, along with more spending information by quasi public agencies and municipalities.

The website currently includes detailed spending information for:

• All state agencies who are funded via the state budget
• Judiciary – courts and departments
• Legislature
• Constitutional Offices (Governor, Treasurer, Auditor, Attorney General, Secretary of State)
• Independent agencies, boards and commissions – Library Commissioners, Comptroller, Campaign Finance, Ethics, Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, Inspector General, etc.
• District Attorneys (with the exception of FY10 and FY11)
• Sheriffs
• Agencies within Executive Branch secretariats (Executive Office of Administration and Finance, Executive Office of Education, etc.)
• Most Agencies within Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Registry, Highways, Aeronautics, Merit Rating Board)

I hope you’ll check out this new website, and let me know your thoughts!

Even as we celebrate this step forward, there’s always more to do. Just today, we learned that former Governor Romney spent $100,000 in state funds to hide his administration’s records from the public, an outrageous but apparently legal loophole that the Legislature should act quickly to close.

You can learn more about the bills I’ve filed to increase government transparency here in the Commonwealth. Whether it’s increasing public access to information about state spending, promoting transparency and accountability for corporate tax subsidies, or strengthening our public records laws, I’m committed to the work of making our government more transparent and more responsive to the people, as it was meant to be.