September 3, 2010 — Sentinel and Enterprise

LUNENBURG -- Construction, health care and the economy were on the minds of residents at the Pearl Brook Senior Housing Complex Thursday, during an ice cream social with state Sen. Jennifer Flanagan and state Rep. Jen Benson.

"A lot of people are concerned about seeing elder services cut in the face of the current economy," said Benson, D-Lunenburg. "These people depend on those services. We have to keep that in mind as we make cuts to the budget."

Pearl Brook is in the midst of a major construction project that involves replacing the roofs of buildings and adding new porches, heating systems, sprinklers and windows to units.

August 28, 2010

State Representative believes in a personal approach to voter outreach

LUNENBURG - State Representative Jen Benson announced today that her campaign has knocked on well over 1,000 doors during the summer, and she is just getting started as the campaign season starts to heat up. While many candidates rely on mailings, automated phone calls, or advertisements to reach voters, Benson is following a more personal approach going door-to-door to meet and talk with voters one-on-one.

"Voters sometimes tune out impersonal communication like mailings and advertisements," said Benson. "While just about everyone appreciates a personal visit and a chance to ask questions and discuss the issues."

August 26, 2010—The Beacon

We are thrilled that our community has such a solid, well-grounded person as State Representative Jen Benson representing much of Acton.

She has continued the tradition of constituent service, thoughtfulness, simple integrity, and plain hard work that characterized her predecessors in this position - Pam Resor and Jamie Eldridge. In fact, many Actonians may recall that she started working on behalf of 37th Middlesex citizens even before she was sworn into office for the first time in January of 2009. If you recall, there was a devastating ice storm the month before and it left many local communities without power for weeks.

So she spent most of that month before in the Lunenburg Emergency Operation Center and in conference calls with utilities and emergency management officials.

August 4, 2010

The last month has brought strong signs of improvement in the Massachusetts economy. CNBC ranked Massachusetts as the 5th best state in the country to do business. Our second quarter growth for 2010 was more than twice that of the nation and we added over 3,000 private sector jobs in the month of June alone. But we cannot be complacent. Many Massachusetts workers are still unemployed. I have continued to work on legislation to improve the economy, helping to pass a slate of bills that will help benefit businesses and provide relief to both employers and working families.

Health insurance and economic help for small businesses

July marked the last month of formal sessions for this legislative cycle. My colleagues in the House and I worked closely with our partners in the Senate to send Governor Patrick legislation to help our businesses and communities. In the coming weeks, bills that we passed providing health insurance relief to small businesses, offering mortgage counseling and foreclosure assistance for struggling families, and creating stricter oversight for prescription drugs, will become law. We also finalized work on a school nutrition bill to provide healthier meals to our students and encourage farm-to-school partnerships to teach students about the benefits of local produce. The economic development reform bill we passed last month will also become law, streamlining our economic development agencies, making Massachusetts more attractive to businesses, and establishing a sales tax holiday in August. I am also proud a bill mandating health insurance coverage for autism treatments will soon be signed into law, helping thousands of families struggling to provide services for their loved ones.

July 26, 2010

BOSTON — State Representative Jen Benson yesterday joined her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in passing legislation designed to control health care costs for small businesses.

"Working families and small businesses continue to suffer from rising healthcare costs," said Benson. "This legislation is a first step towards controlling those costs. It will bring immediate savings to employers and employees faced with drastic health insurance premium increases."

Benson cosponsored and succeeded in passing an amendment to allow small businesses to work together to purchase insurance at group rates, an area where small businesses were at a great disadvantage compared to large corporations. The amendment complements other pro-small business provisions such as increasing small business representation on the Health Care Quality and Cost Council. The Council is required to develop annual cost containment goals to promote affordable, high quality, patient-centered health care.

July 22, 2010

BOSTON — State Representative Jen Benson yesterday joined her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in restoring $12.5 million to the Workforce Training Fund which provides employers with grants aimed at educating and training existing members of the workforce as well as new hires.

"My goal is to help our local businesses retain and hire new employees," said Benson. "Fully funding the Workforce Training Fund helps workers expand their skills and gives employers the financial assistance needed to train new employees."

July 22, 2010 — Coordinates approach to find missing persons with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia

BOSTON — State Representative Jen Benson today joined her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in passing legislation to establish a Silver Alert program to assist in locating seniors with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia who have gone missing.

"Establishing the Silver Alert Program will reassure families with relatives suffering from dementia and help police and other first responders more easily locate loved ones who have gone missing," said Benson.

July 20, 2010

BOSTON — State Representative Jen Benson (D-Lunenburg) announced today that the Harvard Snowmobile Club received a $14,766 grant for a new groomer vehicle. This is part of the $1.17 million in grants the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is awarding to local communities and nonprofit organizations to fund 41 trails projects across the Commonwealth under its Recreational Trails Grants Program. The DCR program is part of the national Recreational Trails Program funded by the Federal Highway Administration.

"This grant will help the Harvard Snowmobile Club improve and expand their trail system, increasing access to outdoor recreation for the local community," said Benson.

Recreational Trails Grants are awarded for the construction and stewardship of hiking trails, bikeways, snowmobile trails, and an array of other trails throughout the state. This can include improvements to long-distance trails and rail trail development, ATV trail maintenance, and creation or maintenance of municipal trails. Each recipient matches its grant with at least an additional 20 percent in funding or in-kind services.

July 13, 2010 — Representative Benson Congratulates District Sites

BOSTON — Representative Jen Benson was pleased to announce that nine attractions in her district were included on the list of 1,000 Great Places in Massachusetts.

The Discovery Museum in Acton, the Quilted Crow shop in Boxborough, Carlson Orchards, Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge and the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, the First Church of Christ in Lancaster, the Historic District and the Drawbridge Puppet Theater in Lunenburg, and Shaker Village in Shirley were all named as great places to visit in Massachusetts.

"I am proud that these locations were recognized as some of the best places to visit in Massachusetts," said Benson. "These nine spots are just a few of the wonderful places to visit in the 37th Middlesex District. The district's towns have so many local treasures."

The Acton Children's and Science Discovery Museums offer hands-on fun designed to inspire young children and engage older kids in science, math and engineering concepts through interactive exhibits. Since 1999, the Quilted Crow in Boxborough has offered unique folk-art inspired fabrics, quilting products, and classes, celebrating quilting's connection to American history.

July 8, 2010 — Sets sales tax holiday

BOSTON — State Representative Jen Benson (D-Lunenburg) yesterday joined her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in passing economic development legislation that would streamline economic development agencies, make Massachusetts more attractive to businesses, and establish a sales tax holiday this summer.

"Our local businesses need relief and support to expand and create new jobs," said Benson. "Streamlining our economic development agencies will eliminate much of the headache and red tape faced by businesses in their dealings with the state."

The sales tax holiday was included as an amendment to the economic development bill and was set for August 14th and 15th of this year to encourage consumers to shop at local businesses across the state. "The sales tax holiday planned for August is a win-win for businesses and consumers," said Benson. "It will help boost summer sales and encourage consumers to make purchases."

July 1, 2010 — Benson works across the aisle on bi-partisan law to help Massachusetts restaurant industry

BOSTON — The Restaurant Rejuvenation Act was signed and became law yesterday. The law takes effect immediately and will allow restaurants to start serving alcohol at 10AM on Sunday. The previous law restricted service to start at noon.

Dave Andelman, the originator of the new law, stated upon its passing, "It is a proud day for restaurants, waiters, waitresses and consumers in Massachusetts. I would like to thank all those who played a roll in passing this legislation before the July 4th holiday weekend."

Dave added, "Specifically, we would like to thank and note the bipartisan sponsorship in the Senate of Senators Richard Tisei, Steven Panagiatakos, Jack Hart, and Robert Hedlund and in the State House of Representatives Jennifer Benson, Susan Williams Gifford, Jim Dwyer and Karyn Polito. We would also like to thank Governor Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, Speaker Robert DeLeo and all of the State Senators and Representatives who supported this efforts."

July 1, 2010

As summer begins, the legislative session is coming to an end. This month, my colleagues and I passed the final FY '11 budget that reflects our difficult economic situation and uses reforms and cost cutting measures to balance the budget. I strove to ensure that our local values and concerns are supported by this budget. I have also been active in the district, attending an exciting announcement for the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail and the ever-popular Fifer's Day in Boxborough.

Reducing vehicle-related fatalities

Common-sense safety regulations have been shown to be an effective tool in reducing vehicle-related fatalities. This month I helped pass two pieces of legislation that work to fill gaps in current safety regulations. An Act Relative to Safe Driving helps prevent vehicle accidents by prohibiting text messaging while driving, prohibiting drivers under the age of 18 from using a cell phone while driving, and requiring a vision test every five years for drivers over 75. After working closely with concerned constituents, I also supported increased off-road safety measures by voting for a bill to improve ATV safety. This bill focuses on both protecting youth operators and maintaining and expanding our state's recreation trails.

May 28, 2010

As I continue to advocate for the district, our economic forecast keeps improving. Homes sales are up for the 10th straight month and 19,000 more residents were employed in April. I'm hopeful we are nearing the light at the end of the tunnel, but we still have to focus on ways to find efficiencies and improve the operations of the Commonwealth. To help this effort, the House worked on prescription rebate and CORI reform legislation and I continued my visits to small businesses in the district. I also continued my constituent outreach, hosting a meeting with area town administrators and attending many events across the district.

Supporting small businesses

Small businesses are the engines of growth for our economy and I have been working with the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce to meet with local small business owners in order to better advocate for them on Beacon Hill. This month I toured the Phoenix Park business complex in Shirley and held a meeting with the owner of the park and owners of small businesses located in the park. I consistently hear about the many strains on small business and continue to work with my colleagues to offer relief and smart solutions to these problems.

April 30, 2010 — Prohibits Bullying and Cyber-bullying; Requires Schools to Establish Anti-Bullying Programs

BOSTON — In a decisive move to help schools address bullying, State Representative Jennifer Benson joined her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in approving comprehensive legislation prohibiting bullying and cyber-bullying, directing schools to implement bullying prevention and intervention plans, and requiring school staff to report incidents of bullying.

"This law will help our schools address the increasing problem of bullying," said Benson. "We need to provide our students with a safe environment to learn and this bill is a step in the right direction."

Sound public policy should trump sound bites in immigration debate

May 10, 2010

An amendment intended to ban illegal immigrants from accessing public services was proposed during our House budget deliberations during the last week of April. While it would have been politically expedient for me to vote for this amendment given the strong feelings about immigration, I voted to further study the amendment because of my concern it would not have the intended effect and would have been detrimental to my district and the Commonwealth. I am not willing to vote for bad public policy for appearance sake or to win an election.

The proposed amendment was taken almost verbatim from a similar law passed in Colorado. I took the time to read the complete text of the amendment and to research its implementation in Colorado. What I discovered was that the law ended up costing the taxpayers of Colorado millions of dollars in implementation costs and that it did not have the desired effect of saving taxpayer money. Colorado discovered that illegal immigrants rarely apply for public services because they are afraid of being discovered and deported.

April 29, 2010

BOSTON — State Representative Jen Benson yesterday joined her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in passing budget amendments aimed at increasing the openness and accessibility of the budget process.

These amendments—coupled with the online, searchable database of government expenditures established by the FY11 House budget proposal—promise to increase the visibility of state spending.

"I have been a long-time advocate of government transparency," said Benson. "These changes will let anyone see how their tax dollars are being spent and will allow us to better analyze the success of our tax credit programs."

Locals demand answers about bills

Sentinel & Enterprise — April 24, 2010

By Dan Magazu

LUNENBURG — State Rep. Jennifer Benson, D-Lunenburg, has invited officials from Unitil and Attorney General Martha Coakley's office to attend a forum next month to answer questions residents have about their utility bills and the billing process.

"I'm still receiving calls from people who are concerned about their bill and have questions about what goes into the bill," said Benson, who will co-host the event with State Sen. Jennifer Flanagan, D-Leominster. "I want to give people the chance to learn about the billing process and ask any questions they might have about their specific bill."

The forum, titled "Be an Informed Utility Customer," will be held on Monday, May 10, at 7 p.m. in Lunenburg Town Hall. It is open to anyone in Unitil's coverage area, which includes Lunenburg, Fitchburg, Townsend and Ashby.

Discusses legislation to improve business climate with Shirley firm's COO — April 12, 2010

SHIRLEY — Today Representative Jen Benson toured Bemis Associates, Inc. of Shirley, a local manufacturer of adhesives, coatings, specialty films and seam tape. Benson arranged the visit in order to learn how a successful local business is weathering the current economic storm, and to find out how the state can better partner with Massachusetts job creators.

Benson toured Bemis along with David McKeon of the North Central Chamber of Commerce, Rico Capucci and Kendra Dumont of the Shirley Board of Selectmen, and Jackie Esielionis of the Shirley Economic Development Committee. After a presentation by COO Scott Howard, the group had a productive discussion about the benefits and challenges of owning and operating a business in Massachusetts. The group ended the afternoon with a tour of the factory.

April 1, 2010

As our towns prepare budgets and get ready for town meeting it is clear that we are not yet out of the economic crisis. This month I cosponsored bipartisan legislation that reimburses cities and towns for costs incurred from holding the special election in January. I will continue to fight for our towns at the state level.

I want to extend my congratulations to Acton for having the MBTA accept their alternative design for the South Acton commuter rail station. In Acton, town officials and residents worked tirelessly to share their concerns with the MBTA's proposal to update the train station. After hosting a number of meetings and keeping in close contact with the MBTA, I was pleased to join my colleagues in announcing the town's success and presenting an alternative station design that has been accepted by the MBTA. This success shows what a strong partnership between residents and their legislators can accomplish.

I would also like to congratulate the town of Shirley for voting to regionalize their school district with Ayer. Shirley's decision came after three years of meetings investigating school regionalization. At the special town meeting I was able to announce that the state will provide $300,000 to help the towns combine their districts, money we had fought for as a legislative delegation.

March 29, 2010 — Press Release

BOSTON — State Representative Jennifer Benson joined her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in passing legislation that reimburses cities and towns for expenses incurred from the special election.

"This is a tough economic time and towns can't afford unexpected expenses like the special election," said Benson. "Offering this reimbursement will help towns prevent further cuts this fiscal year."

The bill provides $7.2 million to cities and towns to cover costs of holding the special election.

March 23, 2010 — Press Release

LUNENBURG — State Representative Jen Benson of Lunenburg today announced that she will be running for re-election to represent the 37th Middlesex District. Benson was elected in 2008 and has served the district for just over a year.

"My highest priority is helping the residents in my district who have been hit hard by the recession," said Benson. "The economy is showing signs of recovery, but working families and small businesses continue to suffer. I will continue to focus on creating jobs and providing support for the small businesses that are our economy's engines of growth."

Benson's first days in office were heavily influenced by the devastating ice storm in December of 2008, a month before she took office. She spent her days in the Lunenburg Emergency Operation Center and in conference calls with utilities and emergency management officials. "I requested placement on the Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy committee and helped write and pass a law to protect utility consumers and hold utility companies accountable," said Benson. "I am currently working to pass a law which makes it easier for towns to form their own municipal utility companies."

Sentinel and Enterprise — March 19, 2010

BOSTON — Two groups fed up with the high electricity rates they are paying their current providers delivered a petition to lawmakers Thursday urging the Legislature to pass a bill that would make it easier for cities and towns to set up their own municipal electric companies.

The activist groups — Get-Rid-Of-Unitil and the Massachusetts Alliance for Municipal Electric Choice — presented a petition with 2,275 signatures collected online to state Rep. Barry Finegold, an Andover Democrat and the House chairman of the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy.

Rep. Jennifer Benson, D-Lunenburg, and Rep. Stephen DiNatale, D-Fitchburg, were on hand to drive home the point that residents in their district are extremely dissatisfied with Unitil.

Benson said the cost of electricity in her district is costing constituents jobs.

"This area is the highest of the high," Benson said. "We're a manufacturing region, and we're seeing our major employers leave."

March 18, 2010 — Press Release

BOSTON — State Representative Jennifer Benson joined her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in passing legislation that would prohibit bullying and cyber-bullying while requiring schools to develop a bullying prevention plan and integrate bullying prevention instruction into their curriculum.

"Bullying has become more vicious and harmful with the increasing use of technology," said Benson. "Our bill recognizes that bullying happens both on and off school grounds and puts a plan in place to create safe school environments across the state."

Boston Globe — March 14, 2010

Responding to an outcry from residents and town officials against the design of the new South Acton commuter rail station, state officials have agreed to scrap one unpopular part of the proposal.

Instead of a single platform with a 600-foot-long concrete ramp on just one side of the tracks, the new station will have two platforms, an elevator, and access on both sides, said state Senator Jamie Eldridge, an Acton Democrat.

"This is a great victory for the town of Acton, the disabled community, and commuters," Eldridge said.

Eldridge, state Representative Jennifer Benson, and Selectmen Peter Berry met with Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials Monday and made the announcement to residents Thursday at a meeting of the South Acton Train Station Advisory Committee.

"I think when they realized we weren't giving up and expected more cooperative planning, they were quick to turn around the plan," said Benson, a Lunenburg Democrat.

Benson said what helped the town's case was that it presented a viable alternative instead of simply rejecting the state's design.

Buying from local farms provides a boost for the economy, protects the environment, and is healthier for our kids

March 9, 2010

In 2008 the town of Lunenburg was faced with a decision whether to purchase a 50 acre plot of land on Howard St. for $575,000. The land had once been Aro's Poultry Farm, a local farm which had gone out of business. The difficult choice for Lunenburg was whether to spend precious resources to protect open space and the rural character of the town, or allow the land to be sold to a developer for subdivision. This is a familiar story in Massachusetts communities as family farms struggle to compete in a culture where most foods are purchased at giant supermarket and restaurant chains.

The family farms that have survived in New England have found innovative ways to compete in this new world. Some farms have focused on higher end and higher margin products. Others have removed the middle man and now produce, process, package, and distribute their product themselves. A good example of this is Stillman Dairy Farm in Lunenburg which milks, processes, bottles, and distributes milk to its customers. This has shielded the Stillman Dairy from the ups and downs of the wholesale milk price, allowing them to survive in this difficult economy. But these farms still need your help.

January 26, 2010 — Worcester Telegram

LUNENBURG — An online petition asking the Legislature to make new municipal electric companies possible was launched one week ago and has already collected more than 1,200 signatures.

The Get-Rid-of-Unitil group of Central Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Alliance for Municipal Electric Choice have joined in this endeavor with an online petition.

"I cosponsored this legislation and am working aggressively to ensure its passage," said Representative Benson. "The bill will allow municipalities to more easily form their own municipal utility companies and provide competition which is missing in our current system, making it harder for utility companies to ignore or mistreat their ratepayers. I have sent information about this petition to the Chairman of the Public Utilities Committee to show the high level of public support for the legislation. I want to thank Cathy Clark and everyone who signed this petition for helping us move this process along."

January 7, 2010 — Press Release

BOSTON - After intensive lobbying from state representatives in the Regional School Caucus, including Representative Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg), as well as school and teachers advocates, Governor Patrick has fulfilled his promise to restore cuts he made three months ago to regional school transportation. Last week, the Governor had announced his intention to come up with a plan to restore the funds; yesterday his office announced he had followed through and restored the full $18 million.

Benson joined a bipartisan group of 63 members of the General Court in co-signing a letter to Governor Patrick asking him to reconsider his 9c cut to Regional School Transportation Reimbursement. The account was cut nearly 50% by the Governor and represented a 63% reduction in regional school district aid since Fiscal Year 2009.

January 7, 2010 — Press Release

BOSTON — State Representative Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) today announced that the town of Harvard has been awarded $35,707.26 from the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust for a project that furthers the Commonwealth's clean energy goals.

This grant will go towards installing a 5.3 kW solar photovoltaic array at the Bromfield school. The system will both reduce the school's energy costs and serve as an educational tool to teach students about clean energy technology.

The funding comes as a result of efforts by citizens of Harvard to purchase clean energy through their electric utility bills, which generated matching funds from the Trust for use toward clean energy projects.

"This grant will go a long way in helping Harvard reduce their energy bills and their carbon footprint" said Benson. "That the system will be installed at the Bromfield school will help remind students of the importance and benefits of clean technology."

November 5, 2009 — Press Release

BOSTON — State Representative Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) joined her colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in passing legislation that provides veterans of the Commonwealth with improved services and support as they return from war during these difficult economic times. The bill establishes the Massachusetts Medal of Liberty to honor fallen service members and offers increased housing opportunities for veterans.

"With Veterans Day around the corner, this bill recognizes the sacrifices veterans and their families make for our Commonwealth and our country," said Benson. "This bill provides the support our veterans deserve and eases the transition from combat to civilian life."

November 3, 2009 — Press Release

BOSTON — Representative Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) strongly disagrees with the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) decision not to impose fines on Unitil for its lack of adequate response to the devastating ice storm of December 11th, 2008. While the DPU confirmed that the Unitil response was inadequate and put in place recommendations for preventing the situation from happening again, the department stated that it did not have the authority to impose monetary penalties against Unitil.

"There needs to be a mechanism to protect utility consumers," Benson said. "If the DPU cannot hold utility companies accountable, who can?"

October 22, 2009 — Press Release

BOSTON — Representative Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) wants her constituents to know about the Mass Law Reform Institute's Emergency Assistance Advocacy Guide. With a record number 3,000 families in state funded shelters, the MLRI created a guide to answer families' questions about access to emergency shelter and rehousing resources. The Guide has contact information for the Department of Housing and Community Development, emergency assistance eligibility requirements, disability accomodations, and information on emergency assistance placements and termination procedures. The Guide can be accessed at http://www.masslegalservices.org/emergencyassistanceadvocacyguide.

October 1, 2009 — Press Release

BOSTON, MA &mdash The Acton Democratic Town Committee and Representative Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) are hosting an education forum Monday, November 9th at 7:30pm. Education Committee Chairwoman Marty Walz (D-Boston), Jeffrey Wulfson, Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and Acton School Committee member Jonathan Chinitz will speak on education issues facing the Commonwealth and North-Central Massachusetts region today.

The forum will be held in the R.J. Grey Regional Junior High School auditorium, located at 16 Charter Road in Acton. The panel will take questions from the audience and discussion will end by 9pm. "This is a great opportunity for residents to ask questions and present ideas directly to key education policy-makers for the Commonwealth" Benson said. Acton Town Democratic Chair, Bob Ferrara added that "this is the third in a series of Issues Forums sponsored by our Acton Committee this year, and the one that will likely garner the most local interest, given the value our community places on education."

July 28, 2009 — Jen Benson was profiled as a Woman Legislator to Watch by the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus:

On December 11, a severe ice storm devastated a number of communities in central Massachusetts. The inadequate response by certain utility companies in the period that followed left some residents without power (and heat) for weeks.

For incoming State Representative Jennifer Benson (D - Lunenburg), the storm was a call to action. She met locally with elected officials and residents before she even took office to try to make things better and ensure a faster cleanup and response by utility companies.

Upon taking office, Rep. Benson filed "An Act regarding accountability of public utility companies."

June 26, 2009 — Press Release

BOSTON — Thursday night, Representative Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) joined her colleagues in passing landmark legislation that strengthens current ethics, lobbying and campaign finance laws, enhancing the integrity of the political process and helping to restore public trust. This completes an historic cycle of legislative reform, which includes recent approval of landmark pension and transportation reforms. The consensus bill not only bans gifts to public officials, but also increases the authority of the Ethics Commission to investigate and prosecute alleged ethics violations.

"I am proud to have contributed to these landmark reform bills in my first session," said Benson. "The public needs to know that we are serious about ethics in the legislature, and this bill goes a long way in restoring public trust in our state government."

June 19, 2009 — Press Release

BOSTON — Friday night, Representative Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) joined 45 of her colleagues in voting against the House and Senate Conference Committee's budget for fiscal year 2010. Due to falling state revenue projections, the $27.4 billion budget represented a $1.5 billion decrease from the House budget passed earlier in the year. The budget included a number of new revenue sources, including raising the state's sales tax to 6.25%, removing the sales tax exemption on alcoholic beverages and allowing towns to increase meals taxes by 0.75%.

Despite this new revenue, the towns in Benson's 37th Middlesex District would still see a 41% decrease in non-Chapter 70 local aid. "While I commend the Conference Committee for presenting a reasonable budget in this difficult economic time, the local aid decreases would mean deep cuts to important town services," said Benson. "Creating a budget is a matter of setting priorities, and I feel that local aid was not prioritized highly enough in this budget."

June 3, 2009 — Press Release

BOSTON — Representative Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) rose before her colleagues in the House today to give her maiden speech in favor of "An Act regarding accountability of public utility companies." The bill, which passed unanimously, came in response to the December 11th ice storm that devastated much of Benson's district. "Unitil's inadequate response to the December ice storm highlighted the need for more regulation" said Benson. "My constituents lived through a nightmare, and I don't want to see this happen to anyone in Massachusetts again."

The bill strengthens oversight of public utilities, requiring companies to seek approval of their emergency management plans and mutual aid agreements from the Department of Public Utilities. Privately owned utility companies must also undergo annual reviews of their service quality by the DPU, and are subject to penalties if they do not meet industry standards. Finally, the bill increases fines to act as a disincentive for failure to follow emergency plans, and as the maximum penalty, allows the DPU, in conjunction with the Attorney General, to replace failing management by putting the company in receivership.

June 4, 2009 — Press Release

BOSTON — Wednesday night, Representative Jennifer Benson (D-Lunenburg) joined her colleagues in passing a supplemental budget for the 2009 fiscal year. Benson and other local colleagues successfully lobbied to have critical funding for ice storm relief included in the budget.

"I am glad that my colleagues recognized the importance of providing storm cleanup relief to towns that are struggling to provide basic services like public safety, schools, and road maintenance in this difficult economic climate," said Benson. "I will continue to advocate for the remaining 12.5% in next year's budget."

May 20, 2009

BOSTON, MA &mdash Rep. Jennifer Benson, 37th Middlesex, has filed a bill exempting child car seats from the sales tax. The current sales tax law includes many exemptions for necessities such as food, clothing, and home heating oil. As state law also requires proper restraints for children under five in automobiles, Benson wanted to make sure families would not have to pay extra for a legally required item.

"These hard economic times have driven everyone to look for savings wherever they can," said Benson. "I want to make sure that families can still afford necessary equipment, like car seats, and hopefully this exemption will help."

April 15, 2009 — Today the House Ways and Means Committee released the following preliminary budget.

• Preliminary House Budget for 2010
• Executive Summary

Quote from the Executive Summary:

Faced with a rapid and substantial decrease in tax collections, the Committee chose to balance the budget through a careful analysis of the Commonwealth’s core programs and services.  This document outlines a balanced budget reliant on existing tax revenue streams and will not further encumber the citizens of the Commonwealth with increased spending levels.

Although the loss of revenue has led to many difficult choices, the Committee felt it fiscally prudent to refrain from utilizing reserve funds.  Although the state projects to close out Fiscal Year 2009 with a relatively strong Stabilization Fund balance of $1.3B, there is still reason for concern.  To finish Fiscal Year 2009 in balance, the Commonwealth is likely to draw on close to $1 billion from the state’s “rainy day fund.” This fact, coupled with the state’s projected reliance on funding made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will lead to a structurally imbalanced state budget.  To account for this, the Committee has resisted the “quick fix” solution of tapping reserves, and has realigned spending to more sustainable levels, consistent with the amount of revenue the state expects to collect.  The balance of the state’s “rainy day” fund will be useful to minimize further budget cuts in Fiscal Years 2011 and 2012.

February 24, 2009 — Press Release

BOSTON, MA - Rep. Jen Benson, State Representative for the 37th Middlesex District, has been named to serve on three committees for the 2009-2010 legislative session. Benson will serve on the Committee on Education, the Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, and the Committee on Personnel and Administration. Benson was also elected by her peers as Vice President of the incoming class of freshmen representatives.

Rep. Benson will use her experience as former member and Chair of the Lunenburg School Committee to work for stronger schools on the Education Committee. She has already introduced a special education reform bill for this legislative session. "I proposed a system for tying funding to students rather than school districts during my campaign and this legislation is the first step toward achieving that goal," said Benson.

February 21, 2009 — Sentinel and Enterprise

LUNENBURG — State Rep. Jennifer Benson will donate a portion of her legislative raise to the Lunenburg Eagle House Senior Center during a Mardi Gras celebration on Tuesday.

"(Benson) is taking the lead in putting her raise back into the local towns," Senior Center Director Doreen Noble said Thursday. "We are going to receive a portion of it, and she is giving the rest to other groups in her region."

Noble said the money will go toward programs that help seniors maintain their independence.

January 16, 2009 — Press Release

BOSTON, MA - Jen Benson, State Representative for the 37th Middlesex, has filed two major pieces of legislation for the 2009-2010 legislative session, a special education reform bill, and an environmental protection bill.

Benson has introduced a special education reform bill that works towards identifying administrative efficiencies and cost savings for schools districts, while providing more consistency for special education students with high needs. The bill proposes tying funding to students rather than school districts. "Our current special education funding system is overly complicated and is problematic to both school districts and children," said Benson. "I proposed a system for tying funding to students rather than school districts during my campaign and this legislation is the first step toward achieving that goal."

Benson's environmental protection bill will require customers to pay a surcharge of five cents for each plastic bag used at grocery stores. Customers would pay no surcharge for paper bags, reusable bags, or plastic bags brought from home. The surcharge would go to the Clean Environment Fund to be used for environmental projects. "Plastic bag surcharges have been shown to produce real benefits to the environment, reducing plastic waste and greenhouse gas emissions," said Benson.

• Draft of Benson Special Education bill
• Draft of Benson Environmental Protection bill

January 9, 2009 — Press Release

BOSTON, MA - Rep. Jennifer Benson, 37th Middlesex, has decided to donate her 5.5% pay raise to local charities throughout the district. On January 8th, Governor Deval Patrick announced that the base pay of legislators would increase $3,203 to $61,440. The raise came as part of a Constitutional amendment approved a decade ago which disconnected the legislative pay decisions and the political process.

Recognizing the difficult fiscal situation across the state, Rep. Benson decided to donate her raise to charities in the district. "Our Nation is going through a very difficult time and there are those who need help," said Benson. "This is why I've decided to support charitable organizations which serve our communities. These organizations are struggling as well, even though their services are needed now more than ever."

January 5, 2009 — Sentinel and Enterprise

LUNENBURG — The ice storm that battered the region on Dec. 11 also wound up influencing one of State Rep.-elect Jennifer Benson's committee requests at the Statehouse.

"The storm and the response to the storm has helped me think about some legislation I haven't thought about before as far as how utilities operate in the state," Benson said during a recent interview.

"I'm very interested in helping investigate exactly what happened and what went wrong with Unitil's response to this storm. I want to take it head on."

Benson has requested a seat on the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, where she hopes to play a lead role in overseeing the state's public utilities. Many residents and state officials are blaming utility provider Unitil for not responding quickly enough to the ice storm, which left thousands of residents in the dark for nearly two weeks.

Letter to the Editor — January 5th, 2009 — Sentinel and Enterprise

I had a birds-eye view of Lunenburg's response to the prolonged power outage crisis after the ice storm, and I am profoundly grateful for the dedication of our town leaders.

The Board of Selectmen, fire and police chiefs, CAFO, DPW director and superintendent of schools coordinated their response, and were tireless in their efforts to restore service and protect residents throughout. Their entire staffs were exceptional in execution of their duties, while apart from their own families for long shifts.

Jen Benson, not yet even sworn in as our representative, took our need to the governor in person when it became apparent that Unitil's response needed his help. She and Jen Flanagan were on the job every day, making sure the resources we needed were delivered. And the many local volunteers who left their unpowered homes to create and staff an emergency shelter for 11 days demonstrated the best human qualities.

In particular, Sue Glenny, Sue Deming and Jerri Sampson made a safe haven for our most vulnerable, with heart and soul in it. Even in the darkest storm, Lunenburg was lit from within.

Milree Keeling
Vice-Chair, Lunenburg School Committee

• June 4, 2009 – Press Release: Storm Funding Bill Passes
• June 3, 2009 – Press Release: Utility Accountability Bill Passes
• May 26, 2009 – Op-Ed: Demanding assurances for the future
• May 7, 2009 – Op-Ed: Best option to prevent drastic cuts
• May 20, 2009 – Press Release: Benson files bill to exempt car seats
• May 4, 2009 – Press Release: Jen Benson Urges Pension-Reform Passage
• April 15, 2009 – Press Release: House releases preliminary budget
• March 23, 2009 – Press Release: Jen Benson Discusses Transportation Reform with Governor
• February 24, 2009 – Press Release: Jen Benson Named to Education and Utilities Committees
• February 21, 2009 – Sentinel and Enterprise: Benson to donate part of pay raise to senior center
• January 23, 2009 – Worcester Telegram: AG joins Unitil ice storm probe
• January 16, 2009 – Press Release: Rep. Jen Benson Files Special Education and Environmental Legislation
• January 9, 2009 – Press Release: Rep. Jen Benson Donates Pay Increase to Local Charities
• January 9, 2009 – Sentinel and Enterprise: Unitil hearing scheduled in Lunenburg
• January 8, 2009 – Sentinel and Enterprise: New faces arrive at Statehouse
• January 5, 2009 – Sentinel and Enterprise: Benson's first order of business: Examine ice storm response
• January 5, 2009 – Sentinel and Enterprise Letter: Response to storm devastation in Lunenburg
• December 11, 2008 – Acton Beacon: Lawmakers hear from area voters