David’s Bills
David’s Work on Legislation
At the beginning of each new legislative session, David files bills intended to improve the lives of residents of our district, our region, and the state. You can learn more about a few of his priority pieces of legislation below.
Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure
H.420: Increasing Professional Licensure Opportunities
Everyone deserves a second chance to pursue meaningful careers. This bill would implement measures to fairly evaluate professional licensure requests irrespective of the applicant’s past interactions with the justice system. Applicants would not be denied the opportunity to pursue professional licensure based on their past criminal history. Careful consideration of the nature of the applicant’s past, circumstances, and their efforts at rehabilitation would be formalized.
H.4073: Fair Medical Debt Reporting and Collection
Nobody should be denied necessary care just because they have medical debt. This bill would impose regulations on the reporting and collection of medical debt to protect patients. H.4073 would ensure reasonable legal fees, restrict how creditors can pursue clients regarding their debt, and prevent hospitals and clinics from denying a patient care based on their medical debt. Crediting agencies would not be allowed to let medical debt influence a client’s credit report.
H.421: Streamlining Licensure, Compliance, and Contracting Opportunities
Local businesses should focus on growing and thriving, not deciphering complicated paperwork. This bill facilitates a one-stop online portal for licensure applications, permitting requirements, and business registrations. This would allow small businesses to access and complete state service requirements without searching through multiple websites and forms. H.421 would create a formal process for evaluating the effectiveness of this portal following its implementation.
H.423: Increasing Language Offerings for Asbestos Removal Licensure Exams
In a national housing crisis, we cannot afford a shortage of certified workers to remodel and refurbish existing units. This bill would require applications and exams for asbestos removal licenses to be offered in English, Spanish and Portuguese, among others. This would increase the number of qualified workers to remodel and refurbish housing, addressing the housing crisis in the Commonwealth by adding asbestos-compliant units on the market.
Housing
H.3990: Relative to Stabilizing Tenants and Small Property Owners
Vulnerable households should have a path toward housing stability before crisis strikes. This bill would remove the Notice to Quit–essentially an eviction notice–requirement for applicants pursuing Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT). The Executive Office and Joint Committee on Housing would establish inclusive criteria to ensure that more households can access RAFT benefits. H.3990 would be an overall cost-saver, keeping people in their homes and out of the court system, guaranteeing rent for their landlords, and preventing costly evictions. Learn more about how rental assistance programs like RAFT save the Commonwealth money here.
Children, Families, and Persons With Disabilities
H.258: Creating an Electronic Backpack for Foster Children’s Educational Records and H.259: Educational Support for Children in Foster Care
All children deserve an equal chance at a high-quality education, and for their individual academic needs to be met. H.258 would create an electronic repository, called a “backpack,” for foster youths with educational records. These records would be available to teachers and other adults foundational in the child’s development, to ensure that each child’s needs are met irrespective of the school district in which they are enrolled. Under H.259, a streamlined policy for enforcing policies pursuant to the education of foster youth will be developed. Regulations will allow for individualized oversight of each child’s education to ensure their best chance at success.
Financial Services
H.4061: Protecting Against Workers Compensation Premium Fraud
There should be protections against Workers Compensation Premium Fraud, and measures should exist for the investigation of this fraud. This bill would authorize the Commissioner of Insurance to maintain a publicly accessible database for certificates of insurance. H.4061 requires insurers to report potential insurance premium fraud, workers compensation fraud, or attempted avoidance of an audit or investigation, and that the Commissioner investigate such reports.
H.1242: Insurers’ Use of Aerial Images
Homeowners with insurance should have regulated, adequate opportunities to appeal home insurance removals. When insurers use drones to conduct aerial imagery on homes, they can use these images to justify removing homeowners from their insurance plans. Referred to the Joint Committee on Financial Services, this bill would regulate how insurers can use aerial images in evaluating insurance plans. This bill would require insurers to disclose the factors involved in risk assessments, adhere to an appeals process, provide the homeowner at least sixty days to appeal, and offer renewal policies for those who successfully appeal.
Additional Legislation
H.849: Inactive Voters and Municipal Census Administration
Voting should be made less complicated to ensure everyone can exercise their right to vote. Under the current law, cities and towns can mark those who fail to complete the Municipal Census every year as “inactive” on the voter register. This complicates voting for “inactive voters,” requiring them to present additional documentation just to vote. H.849 prevents citizens from being marked “inactive” if they miss one Municipal Census, extending the window to two years and conserving vital voter protections.
H.1449: Ensuring Students’ Access to Academic Transcripts
Students already facing mounting debt and expenses should not be financially barred from accessing their academic transcripts. This bill would prevent institutions of higher education from blocking a student’s access to their educational transcripts for courses that they have already paid for. H.1449 continues to allow credits and grades to be withheld for any course for which tuition and fees are not paid in full, but expands opportunities for students to utilize the services for which they have paid.
H.2479: The Massachusetts Lead Law and Promoting Access to Lead-Free Housing
Nobody should have to live in a unit containing elevated lead levels. This bill ensures that families with children cannot be denied access to housing due to the presence of lead paint; instead, the landlord would be given financial support to de-lead the property. In our current housing crisis, it is difficult enough for families with children to access housing–the presence of lead in many of these units only makes it harder. H.2479 would prevent discrimination against families with children and provide financial support for landlords to de-lead their housing.
H.3724: Regional Transit Authority Boards
The Regional Transit Authority Board benefits from a diverse array of voices and perspectives. This bill would create inclusive membership of Regional Transit Authority Advisory Boards (RTA). Each Gateway Municipality will have a Gateway Municipality Representative (GMR), who will serve for a three-year term as a voting member of the municipality’s RTA. The GMR will be appointed by the town mayor or equivalent. To ensure maximum representation, this GMR cannot serve as both the Disabled Representative and the Rider Representative on the RTA.
H.3950: Supporting Parents in Recovery From Substance Use Disorder and Enhancing Child Welfare
A recovery plan for Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) should prioritize parental autonomy and child welfare. This bill would allow a parent in recovery from SUD to direct their recovery plan. Throughout the recovery process, allowing the parent to spend time parenting their children will be prioritized. Parents in recovery from SUDs may use recovery coaches or counselors as advocates in meetings with state governmental employees, who will be trained in issues related to SUDs to provide resources and assistance.
H.4065: Protecting Survivors of Domestic Violence and Protecting Child Welfare
Families shaken by domestic violence (DV) should not be torn apart while seeking refuge from their abuser. This bill would protect DV victims from potentially losing custody of their children when seeking assistance, and would expand the definition of DV to include coercive control. It would require training of state governmental officials on DV and is intended to help families pursuing public programs and aid related to leaving a DV situation.
H.4081: Problem Properties, Enhancing Fire Safety and Addressing Resident Displacement
Landlords should be supported when implementing fire safety protections to protect their tenants. H.4081 prevents landlords from denying inspectors from entering their property in response to a tenant’s health or safety request. Landlords would be required to relocate tenants in the event of a fire on the property, and establish minimum rental insurance plans for buildings with over six units. To support landlords in fulfilling these safety requirements, this bill would provide landlords financial incentives for adding fire safety upgrades to their housing.