BOSTON—Following a robust debate over three days, the Massachusetts Senate approved a $55.9 billion state budget for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) on Thursday, May 25. As the Commonwealth continues to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Senate’s budget supports the economic health of the state while upholding fiscal discipline and responsibility. The Senate budget delivers historic levels of investment in education, housing, healthcare, workforce development, climate preparedness, and more, as part of a comprehensive strategy to make Massachusetts more affordable, equitable, and inclusive.

“I’m proud that this budget, passed with bipartisan support, will deliver significant resources for our public schools and communities, and make our state more affordable for working families by helping to address the high costs of housing, childcare, college, and healthcare,” said State Senator Jason Lewis. “I want to thank all the advocates and constituents who shared their priorities and helpful feedback with me throughout the budget process.”

The Senate’s FY24 budget includes $1 billion in revenues expected to be generated from the Fair Share Amendment, approved by voters last November, to strengthen the state’s education and transportation sectors. To safeguard this new source of revenue, the Senate’s budget establishes a dedicated Education and Transportation Fund to account for all Fair Share revenues in an open and transparent manner.

Some highlights of the Senate’s FY24 budget include: 

• $6.59 billion in Chapter 70 funding for K-12 public education, an increase of $604 million over FY23, ensuring that the state remains on schedule to fully implement the landmark Student Opportunity Act by FY27.
• $1.5 billion for early education and child care programs, including $475 million for Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants, to improve quality, access, and affordability for families.
• Almost $20 billion to fund MassHealth, providing more than 2.3 million people with continued access to affordable, accessible, and comprehensive healthcare services.
• $1.3 billion to support a spectrum of mental health services and prevention programs for adults and children, including investments in staffing, inpatient placements, and supportive housing.
• Over $1 billion for housing development and programs that support housing stability, residential assistance, and homelessness prevention.
• $100 million to enable the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to make supplemental grants to school building projects that experienced unprecedented cost increases due to the pandemic. These projects include Stoneham High School and Northeast Metro Tech Regional Vocational High School.
• Significant new funding for community college and public higher education, as part of a plan to make community college free for all students by the fall of 2024. Undocumented students who graduate from Massachusetts high schools and meet certain other criteria would also become eligible to pay in-state tuition rates at our public colleges and universities.

Senator Lewis was also successful in securing $500,000 to fund a variety of local projects and programs in our communities, including funding to help open an inclusive cafe to be operated by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Stoneham and Wakefield that will employ adults and teens with developmental disabilities. 

The FY24 Senate Budget will be available on the Massachusetts legislature’s website: https://malegislature.gov/Budget/FY2024/SenateBudget. A conference committee will now be appointed to reconcile differences between the versions of the budget passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, before being sent to Governor Healey for her signature.

State Senator Jason Lewis is seeking candidates for a summer internship with his office. Senator Lewis proudly represents the people of the Fifth Middlesex District of Massachusetts, which includes the cities and towns of Malden, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield, and Winchester. Senator Lewis is a member of Senate President Karen Spilka’s leadership team, and serves as the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Education and the Chair of the Senate Ethics Committee. He also co-founded and co-chairs the legislature’s Zero Waste Caucus and Middlesex Fells Caucus. He has been a leader in shaping public policy on a range of issues important to his district, region, and the state, including education, healthcare, and economic opportunity for all. 

Interns will support the Senator’s staff in a variety of ways, but we are specifically looking for interns with interest in one or more of the following:

• implementing the Senator’s communications strategy,
• supporting local projects and our work with organizations in the district, or
• assisting with constituent services.

Tasks may include: 

• attending project briefings, 
• researching information and statistics, 
• creating pamphlets and charts, 
• drafting social media posts, and 
• event planning. 

Interns will have the unique opportunity to engage with policymaking, politics, and government from the inside. Although unpaid, interns will obtain meaningful experience by witnessing and participating in the day-to-day functioning of a State Senate office with a special focus on our work with the Education Committee.

Interns must have strong written and verbal communication skills and attention to detail. Candidates must also be comfortable with Microsoft Office, Google applications, and major social media platforms. Preference will be given to applicants with a high school diploma or equivalent. Applications from the Fifth Middlesex District are strongly encouraged. Hours and duration of internship are flexible, though ideal applicants will be available 8-10 hours per week. This position will be in-person, hybrid, or fully remote. 

Our office does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, gender identity, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, or age. Applicants of color are strongly encouraged to apply.

Candidates should send a resume and a brief letter of interest to Jason.Lewis@masenate.gov by Thursday, May 4, 2023. References should be available upon request. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so interested parties are encouraged to apply promptly. With questions, please call (617) 722-1206.

BOSTON (2/10/2023)—State Senator Jason Lewis joined his colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate in voting for a rules package on Thursday, February 9 that will require all legislative public hearings to be conducted in a hybrid manner, which means that members of the public can participate either in-person at the State House or remotely. The rules package governs the operations of the state legislature for the duration of the new legislative session (2023-24).

Prior to the pandemic, almost all public hearings held by the state legislature — where members of the public can provide testimony in support or opposition to proposed legislation — took place at the State House in Boston and required in-person attendance. During the pandemic, public hearings were held online and members of the public were able to testify remotely. Hybrid public hearings offer the flexibility and convenience for public participation in the legislative process to be either in-person or remote. This maximizes the opportunity for all members of the public to participate in state government, making the process more inclusive and encouraging civic engagement.

“I strongly support all measures that increase transparency and public participation in our government,” said State Senator Jason Lewis. “This builds greater trust in our public institutions, improves the lawmaking process, and ultimately strengthens our democracy.”

The Massachusetts House of Representatives has also voted to require legislative public hearings to be conducted in a hybrid format during this legislative session.