With legislative committee assignments now officially doled out, local legislators will begin crafting state laws in earnest after a slow start to the legislative session.
State Sens. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) and Joan Lovely (D-Salem) both earned chair positions on key committees, while state Reps. Jenny Armini (D-Marblehead), Dan Cahill (D-Lynn), Pete Capano (D-Lynn), Jessica Giannino (D-Revere), Bradley Jones Jr. (R-North Reading), Sally Kerans (D-Danvers), and Donald Wong (R-Saugus) were all assigned to multiple committees. State Rep. Thomas Walsh (D-Peabody) received one assignment, a chairmanship.
Committee work represents the heart of the legislative process. Bills filed by legislators are referred to committees, which then take each piece of potential legislation under consideration before deciding whether to bring it to the floor of a particular branch of the Legislature.
Crighton will continue serving as the chair of the joint committee on transportation, while Lovely retains her seat as chair of the rules committee, which governs policy procedures for the Senate. Crighton joined Lovely on the rules committee and also secured positions on the ethics committee, the joint committee on mental health, substance use and recovery, as well as the vice chairmanship of the senate committee on personnel and administration.
In addition to serving as chair of the rules committee, Lovely secured positions on the ethics committee, the committee on global warming and climate change, the committee on juvenile and emerging adult justice, the joint committee on agriculture, and the vice chairwomanship of the committee on state administration and regulatory oversight.
Armini, the only freshman legislator of the bunch, received four committee assignments. She will serve alongside Cahill on the committee on environment and natural resources, which he chairs, as well as on the committees on higher education, global warming and climate change, and steering, policy, and scheduling. The steering, policy, and scheduling committee “assists the Speaker in setting the schedule of legislation to be heard by the House of Representatives,” Armini said.
“These assignments offer a tremendous opportunity to shape environmental policy at a critical juncture for the 8th Essex District and the entire Commonwealth,” Armini said in a statement.
In addition to chairing the committee on environment and natural resources, Cahill joins Crighton and Lovely on the rules committee, serving on the house committee in addition to the joint committee comprised of members from both chambers.
Capano, who represents West Lynn and Nahant, will serve on the transportation committee as well as the cannabis policy committee. He was also appointed the vice chair of the committee on veterans and federal affairs.
Giannino, who represents parts of Saugus, was assigned to serve as the vice chair of the committee on children, families, and persons with disabilities, as well as on the committee on election laws.
“I am thankful to Speaker [Ron] Mariano for appointing me to this leadership position; and to my Democratic colleagues for ratifying my nomination”, said Giannino in a statement. “I am eager to get to work and I am excited to work alongside … my House and Senate colleagues on the committee to prioritize the welfare of those in our communities who need it the most.”
The House minority leader, Jones, who represents Lynnfield, will serve as the ranking minority member on the joint committee on telecommunications, utilities, and energy, as well as on the joint committee on election laws.
Kerans, whose district includes West Peabody, will serve alongside Giannino on the committee on election laws. She was also assigned to the ways and means committee, among the most powerful in the chamber, and the committees on substance use and recovery, financial services, mental health, and transportation.
Wong will serve as the ranking minority member on four committees: the joint committee on labor and workforce development, the joint committee on racial equity, civil rights, and inclusion, the joint committee on rules, and the joint committee on tourism, arts, and cultural development.
Walsh’s lone committee assignment was as the chair of the house committee on bills in the third reading, which is tasked with considering “all bills and resolves prior to their final reading, and examine, correct and recommend such amendments as may be necessary concerning duplication, grammatical errors, constitutionality, etc,” according to the legislature’s website.
