August 1, 2011

As summer heats up, I have continued to be busy at the State House and in the district. I joined my colleagues in debating a number of important pieces of legislation, and I have had fun seeing many of you at events across the district. I am also pleased to announce that Massachusetts has started a new fiscal year with a balanced, responsible budget. I hope this newsletter finds you well and that you enjoy the updates on some of my recent activities.

In July, I joined my House colleagues in unanimously passing a bill to reform guidelines for determining the form, amount and duration of alimony payments.

The bill creates four new categories for alimony: general term alimony, rehabilitative alimony, reimbursement alimony, and transitional alimony. Each is designed to give payors and recipients a clear understanding of how long alimony payments will be made or received in a given circumstance.

The bill sets forth numerous items to be considered by courts determining the form, amount and duration of alimony. The factors include length of marriage, age and health of the parties, income of both of the parties and employment and employability of both parties, among others. This is a common-senese reform that will help all parties involved in a separation. Read More

I also stood with a number of my colleagues and advocates in support of updating the state's bottle bill. This proposal would expand the 5 cent deposit on bottles and cans to include sports drinks, water bottles and juices. The current bottle bill has helped decrease litter and increase recycling of covered drinks by 80%. I hope we can enact this smart legislation and help keep our streets and parks clean.

The House and Senate also finalized the FY'12 budget process by overriding a few of Governor Patrick's vetoes and approving a sales tax holiday for August 13-14. During this weekend, the sales tax will not be applied on purchases up to $2,500. This is a great opportunity to support our local retailers and to save money on some of those big ticket items you may want to buy! While our budget stayed largely the same, one of the veto overrides will allow certain state-run facilities, like nursing homes, to return or recycle unused prescription drugs. This will help save the state save money on expensive medications.

This summer, I have enjoyed spending time at numerous events in the district. I had a wonderful time, as always, at Boxborough's Fifer's Day celebration in June. I ran into many old friends and met even more new ones. The same day, I was honored to recognize Johnathan Brownell and Kenneth Swain, the two newest Eagle Scouts from Shirley. Congrats, to both!

I also took the opportunity to invite Rep. Garballey, House Chair of the Public Higher Education Caucus, to join me for a tour of UMass Medical School in Worcester. I was very impressed, not only by the excellent work and research being conducted, but by their commitment to promoting primary care. We need to boost the ranks of primary care practitioners in order to meet the demand of all our residents in a thoughtful and cost effective manner. UMass has shown its dedication to Central Massachusetts by investing heavily in construction, employment and intellectual pursuits. It was a pleasure to better understand their programs and investment.

In the coming weeks, I plan on attending a breakfast at the Shirley Senior Center and taking a tour of P.J. Keating Co. in Lunenburg. I also enjoy visiting the thriving farmers markets throughout the district and I hope I see many of you at the markets to enjoy delicious, locally grown produce.

I would like to extend my congratulations this month to Shirley resident, Frank Mastrangelo. Frank was recently honored with the Henri Schein Scholastic Athletic Trainer Award for his dedication to the professional advancement of athletic training at the 63rd Eastern Athletic Trainers Association Convention in Pennsylvania.

Frank currently works at the Dexter School in Brookline and has been a certified athletic trainer for over 15 years. He is also a passionate advocate for stroke awareness, having suffered a stroke himself four years ago. I have had the pleasure of working with Frank as he spreads awareness about the signs and prevention of stroke. "Without the constant support of Rep. Benson and her office the issues pertaining to youth health and wellness and stroke initiatives would not have been heard at the State House," said Frank. "Thank you Rep. Benson." The real congratulations go to Frank, who works tirelessly to support his causes. Thank you Frank, for everything you do to improve our communities!