Legislative Agenda
I am committed to filing, co-sponsoring, and otherwise supporting legislation that advances our residents’ priorities in the Fourteenth Middlesex District. The bills I am working on span many subject areas that are critical to our community, including public education, green energy infrastructure, workforce development, water infrastructure, and more.
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See below, or for more frequently-updated information, visit Rep. Cataldo’s page on the MA Legislative website.
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Legislation Filed for the 193rd General Court Session
I’m delighted to announce the slate of bills that I have filed or co-filed with colleagues for this legislative session. You can find the full language of bills that have been released from House Counsel on my page of the Legislature’s website.
Education 🍎
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Co-filer: Rep. Patrick Kearney
This bill establishes a Universal Full-Day Kindergarten Trust Fund to provide financial aid to school districts. This financial aid is for the implementation and maintenance of tuition-free full-day kindergarten programs. School committees may request reimbursement for up to full cost of implementing and maintaining these programs.
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Companion Bill Filer: Sen. Pavel Payano
This bill addresses higher education admissions practices that result in unfair, discriminatory, and anti-meritocratic outcomes that are empirically proven to be heavily weighted in favor of admitting wealthy and white applicants. It establishes a regulatory scheme by which higher education institutions can voluntarily terminate (a) their preference for admitting legacy students, (b) their preference for admitting students related to donors to the institution, and (c) early decision policies, or instead pay a public service fee that is calculated based on the institution's endowment per students. The public service fee is then deposited into a trust whose funds are distributed to community colleges in the commonwealth. The attorney general is vested with the authority to enforce the provisions of this bill.
Energy & Environment 🌲
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Buildings are responsible for 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in the Commonwealth. Ten years ago, Massachusetts adopted a Stretch Energy Code, an appendix to the base building code which allows municipalities to build more energy-efficient buildings community-wide and is an important step to becoming a Green Community. In 2021, the legislature passed climate legislation that created a separate, municipal opt-in net zero stretch code. This bill builds off of that work by further defining "net zero buildings" as buildings which are highly energy efficient, disallow fossil fuel applications, and rely on renewable sources of energy; ensuring the stretch code continues to be updated on the 3-year national code cycle; allowing for new technologies to be incorporated as they become more affordable and readily available; bringing all Green Communities into net zero stretch code by 2025 and the rest of the state by 2028; and amending the Board of Building Regulation and Standards (BBRS) mission to include climate, public health, and equity.
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Co-filer: Rep. Carmine Gentile
This home rule petition would allow Concord to establish a checkout bag fee at retail stores.
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Companion Bill Filer: Sen. Jamie Eldridge
This bill enhances the distribution of benefits and burdens of the clean energy transition by ensuring that communities served by municipal utilities meet the same clean energy portfolio standards as the rest of the Commonwealth. In order to support Environmental Justice communities, low- and middle-income residents, and the elderly who are served by municipal utilities as they transition to clean energy, the bill also establishes a $50 million Municipal Utility Equity and Innovation Fund.
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Co-filer: Rep. Sean Garballey
This bill would promote energy-efficient lighting practices throughout the Commonwealth by requiring municipal- and state-funded projects to use fully-shielded exterior lighting in new or replacement installations, requiring these installations to use lower correlated color temperatures, establishing maximum illumination thresholds, requiring MassDOT to review and update its criteria for roadway lighting, requiring Mass DPU to establish reduced-rate tariffs for low-wattage LED streetlights and for streetlights that are dimmed or turned off during the night.
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Co-filer: Rep. Carmine Gentile
This home rule petition will prohibit the issuance of building permits for any new on-site fossil fuel infrastructure in the town of Concord. This includes any piping for coal, oil, natural gas or other fuel hydrocarbons, including synthetic equivalents, or other fossil fuels that are in a building, in connection with a building, or otherwise within the property lines of a premises, extending from a supply tank or from the point of delivery behind a gas meter.
Water Infrastructure 🚿
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Co-filer: Rep. Sean Garballey
Through this bill, DEP, in consultation with the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, will create an initiative to specifically work with municipalities within economic target areas in addressing their water infrastructure needs. The initiative shall include direct outreach to municipalities for purposes of assisting with the development of strategies to coordinate and plan for the upgrading of water infrastructure resources.
Voting & Democracy ☑️
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Co-filer: Rep. Carmine Gentile
This home rule petition would allow the Town of Concord to implement ranked choice voting in local elections.
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Companion Bill Filer: Sen. Michael Barrett
Clarifies the description of governor’s councillor on the ballot.
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Co-filer: Rep. Sean Garballey
This bill establishes a commission within the Office of Technology Services and Security for the purpose of studying and making recommendations relative to the use by the Commonwealth of automated decision systems that may affect human welfare, including but not limited to the legal rights and privileges of individuals. The commission shall evaluate government use of automated decision systems in the Commonwealth and make recommendations to the legislature regarding appropriate regulations, limits, standards and safeguards.
Workforce Development 👷
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Co-filer: Rep. Sean Garballey
Improves pay and benefits for workers who provide support and services for individuals with disabilities to be consistent with other positions in the Commonwealth with similar responsibilities.
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Co-filer: Rep. Sean Garballey
Defines responsibilities of warehouse workers, such as quotas and work speeds, and requires that employers maintain and preserve records of these responsibilities. Allows employees to bring an action for injunctive relief to obtain compliance by the employer.
Tax Relief 💲
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Co-filer: Rep. Adam Scanlon
This bill exempts any citizen over the age of 65, whose annual income is at or below the federal poverty guideline, from the motor vehicle excise tax on one vehicle owned and registered for personal use.
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Co-filer: Rep. Adam Scanlon
This bill exempts any veteran, whose annual income is at or below the federal poverty guideline, from the motor vehicle excise tax on one registered vehicle owned or leased for personal use.
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Co-filer: Rep. Adam Scanlon
This bill allows any city or town to impose a cap on property taxes for low-income seniors. Cities and towns may choose to impose a property tax cap for homeowners aged 65+ as long as single filers income is $50,000 or less or married filers income is $60,000 or less and assets (not including primary residence and 1 motor vehicle) are $75,000 or less.
American History 📚
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Co-filer: Rep. Michelle Ciccolo
Companion Bill Filer:Sen. Michael Barrett
Establishes the 250th American Revolution Anniversary Public Safety and Operations Fund of an amount no greater than $1,000,000 to provide support to the towns of Lexington and Concord for state- and federal-level security protections and operational support pertaining to the commemorative events of the 250th American Revolution Anniversary to occur throughout 2025 and 2026.
Public Safety & Opioid Epidemic 🚒
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Under current law, there is little room for prosecutorial discretion regarding sentencing for threats to use deadly weapons, explosives, and other substances. This act would enable prosecutors to have flexibility and discretion in sentencing.
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Co-filer: Rep. Kate Donaghue
Companion Bill Filer: Sen. Jason Lewis
Naloxone is a critical tool in addressing opioids-related death, however, not every person can access naloxone due to cost. This bill establishes the Naloxone Co-Pay Assistance Program to improve access to naloxone, or other federally approved overdose-related life saving drugs, by supplementing the cost of insurance copayments so that the cost is obtaining Naloxone is significantly reduced for individuals. To support the Co-Pay Assistance Program, the bill creates the Opioid Stewardship Fund, a mechanism for ensuring pharmaceutical companies foot the bill to addiction, rather than individuals and consumers.
Housing Stability 🏠
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Companion Bill Filer: Sen. Jamie Eldridge
Currently, to access homeless shelters, individuals must fall below a certain asset limit. However, this does not account for assets that are not actually usable income. This bill eliminates that asset limit to ensure that anyone in hard times is able to access homeless shelters as long as they meet the other criteria for entry.
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Co-filer: Rep. Carmine Gentile
This home rule petition would establish an affordable housing building permit surcharge in the Town of Concord that may be assessed by the town on any project that exceeds a minimum construction value as determined by the Select Board.
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Co-filer: Rep. Carmine Gentile
This home rule petition would establish a real estate transfer fee of 1 percent on any sale amount in excess of the first $1,000,000. These fees shall be deposited into the Concord Municipal Affordable Housing Trust.
Parenting 👪
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Co-filer: Rep. Steve Owens
Requires that all public buildings have at least one baby changing station accessible to any caretaker with appropriate signage near the entrance.
Legislation Co-Sponsored in the 193rd General Court Session.
Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity:
H.74 HD.215
Agriculture:
H.101 HD.1171
H.150 HD.2737
Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities:
H.128 HD.376
H.134 HD.2673
H.141 HD.424
H.144 HD.507
H.206 HD.1926
H.214 HD.78
Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure:
H.318 HD.2081
H.357 HD.3698
Education:
S.257 SD.2312
H.489 HD.2794
H.490 HD.2054
Economic Development and Emerging Technologies:
H.402 HD.1562
Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture:
HD.1558
H.467 HD.2208
H.489 HD.2794
H.525 HD.3156
H.527 HD.3170
H.571 HD.3102
H.576 HD.1004
H.579 HD.3566
H.603 HD.766
Elder Affairs:
H.615 HD.3443
H.629 HD.830
H.649 HD.2201
Financial Services:
HD.3005
Judiciary:
H.1485 HD.2339
H.1707 HD.1852
H.1731 HD.3657
H.1820 HD.2243
Labor and Workforce Development:
H.1849 HD.2814
H.1867 HD.1781
H.1882 HD.2569
H.1940 HD.4039
Municipalities and Regional Government:
H.2099 HD.933
H.2111 HD.744
Public Health:
H.2131 HD.2474
H.2133 HD.2263
H.2174 HD.2582
H.2183 HD.1609
H.2192 HD.1065
H.2197 HD.3324
H.2225 HD.2238
H.2231 HD.2287
Public Safety and Homeland Security:
H.2288 HD.2459
H.2289 HD.1257
H.2313 HD.2265
H.2330 HD.1835
H.2353 HD.2858
H.2657 HD.2532
Public Service:
H.2505 HD.2901
H.2512 HD.2486
H.2630 HD.3384
Revenue:
H.2747 HD.2857
H.2761 HD.3288
H.2839 HD.2442
H.2894 HD.2510
H.2923 HD.2823
H.2932 HD.2376
H.2954 HD.176
H.2974 HD.2933
State Administration and Regulatory Oversight:
H.2986 HD.3504
Sorted by committee.