Massachusetts’s coastal New England location makes it particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including more severe storms and rising sea levels. That makes it all the more important to seek a Green New Deal for Massachusetts that includes a transition away from fossil fuels and towards 100% clean and renewable energy.

The Commonwealth took a major step forward when, in March 2021 it passed the Next-Generation Climate Roadmap. This landmark legislation sets a net-zero target of 2050, strengthens building codes, increases access to renewable energy, invests millions of dollars annually in energy efficiency, and for the first time, defines and promotes Environmental Justice. (The Metropolitan Area Planning Council has an excellent summary of the bill.)

Representative Owens serves on the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy, which is working to implement green technologies like wind and solar power and high-capacity battery storage, as well as the House Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change.

Additionally, by making critical investments in transportation and infrastructure, the state can empower labor unions and workers by creating good, high-paying jobs building green facilities, retrofitting the state’s existing housing stock, and encouraging the installation of solar panels on residential and commercial buildings.

It is equally crucial that this initiative pursue environmental justice in order to counteract the effects of both climate change and pollution that have disproportionately affected low-income neighborhoods and communities of color.

Selected Legislation

H.980 relative to the consideration and disclosure of climate change risks in applications for a state permits.

H.983 establishing a Massachusetts flood risk protection program.

H.2230 to improve outdoor and indoor air quality for communities exposed to transportation pollution.

H.2890 relative to an excise for climate change adaptation infrastructure and affordable housing investments.

H.3288 relative to transitioning to clean electricity, heating and transportation.

H.3457 relative to electric bicycles. (Lead Sponsor)

H.3559 relative to electric vehicles and the electrification of public transportation. (Lead Sponsor)

S.2139 to promote zero-emission vehicle fleets by 2035.

S.2265 ​​to create a New Deal for Transportation in the Commonwealth.

Representative Owens is applying his expertise as a longtime transportation analyst to deliver a public transit system that reduces traffic congestion, improves the state's carbon footprint, and benefits marginalized communities.

The MBTA needs state support in order to enhance service and tackle its extensive backlog of repairs, but it also needs to be held accountable to the citizens who both support and rely on it.

● Increase service frequency. This will make the service more accessible and improve social distancing during the pandemic.

● Make buses free. Buses account for only 15% of the MBTA’s fare revenue. Eliminating bus fares will speed up service, benefit high-poverty communities, and relieve drivers of their responsibility for fare enforcement.

● Electrify bus and commuter rail lines. These capital projects will create good, green jobs while also reducing pollution and helping combat climate change.

● Increase municipal bus and bicycle lanes. Buses run faster when they don’t need to compete with cars for the road.

Selected Legislation

H.2036 relative to expanding access to commuter transit benefits offered by employers. (Lead Sponsor)

H.3526 that the MBTA implement a low-income fare program to provide free or discounted transit fares for certain riders.

H.3547 to provide free public transportation service on primary and general election days. Transportation.

H.3558 relative to local community master plan transportation demand management. (Lead Sponsor)

H.3559 relative to electric vehicles and the electrification of public transportation.(Lead Sponsor)

H.3858 (with the approval of the city council) that the city of Cambridge be authorized to provide for electric vehicle charging stations.

S.2265 ​​to create a New Deal for Transportation in the Commonwealth.

S.2292 relative to public transit electrification.

S.2340 relative to fare free buses.

S.2345 to establish fast, frequent, and reliable passenger rail service between Pittsfield and Boston via Springfield.

As the son of a public school teacher and the parent of two students currently in the Watertown Public Schools, Representative Owens has had a lifelong personal connection and commitment to furthering educational opportunities for all students, regardless of ZIP code.

Since entering the State House, Representative Owens has worked to expand access to education, safe environments, healthy meals, and support for students with disabilities across the Commonwealth.

The Covid-19 pandemic, with its lengthy school closures and remote learning, has underscored the need for the state to invest equitably in technology. It also has produced a unique set of challenges as reflected in the most recent MCAS scores. Massachusetts must return its students to their position as the top academic performers in the country.

At the same time, the state must correct historical education inequities in low-income and majority-minority communities. This means not only less reliance on local property taxes, but also a more diverse teaching staff and a curriculum that teaches respect for all, regardless of race, religion, or sexuality.

A major step toward the latter goal came in December 2021 when the State mandated Holocaust and genocide education in all public schools. Representative Owens continues to advocate for education legislation that promotes mutual respect and tolerance from an early age.

Selected Legislation

H.675 relative to addressing racial and cultural bias training in educator professional development. (Lead Sponsor)

H.2393 relative to improving environmental conditions to reduce asthma in schools. (Lead Sponsor)

H.3030 relative to tax exemptions of certain forgiven student debt and tax credits for contributions to student tuition accounts. (Lead Sponsor)

H.565 to ensure equitable access to education and special education services for all students.

H.583 relative to diversity in public education.

H.584 relative to anti-racism, equity and justice in education.

H.605 relative to affordable and accessible high quality early education and care to promote child development and well-being and support the economy.

H.612 relative to expanding opportunities to demonstrate academic achievement.

H.682 to develop an alternative process for granting educator licensure to achieve educator diversity.

H.714 relative to universal school meals and requiring schools to promote the supplemental nutrition assistance program to families.

H.1325 to provide adequate funding for the Commonwealth’s public institutions of higher education.

H.1339 relative to free public higher education.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts must combat systemic racism in order to right historical wrongs. This includes taking steps to reduce violence and institutional discrimination, and expanding access to quality health care, affordable housing, decent schools, and accessible transportation for communities of color.

Now is also the time to rethink public safety more generally. Police response is appropriate and necessary to prevent and respond to violent crime. But for years, police departments have served as overburdened first responders for every type of conflict, from domestic disputes to arguments over unleashed dogs in public parks.

Cambridge and Watertown have spearheaded common-sense criminal justice reforms, like implementing non-jail diversion programs and having police officers work side-by-side with social workers and mental health professionals.

Real public safety should focus on social intervention and smart, effective solutions that allow police to combat crime while ensuring that society respects the dignity of all its citizens, rather than spending the state’s valuable resources furthering a destructive culture of incarceration.

Selected Legislation

H.675 addressing racial and cultural bias training in educator professional development. (Lead Sponsor)

H.294 to address inequality, promote equity and inclusion and create and expand opportunity for people living with low incomes and to end poverty.

H.565 to ensure equitable access to education and special education services for all students.

H.581 prohibiting the use of Native American mascots by public schools in the Commonwealth.

H.583 relative to diversity in public education.

H.584 relative to anti-racism, equity and justice in education.

H.651 to require the teaching of Native American culture and history in public schools.

Massachusetts continues to be one of the most desirable places to live, work, play, and study in the country. But due to its coastal location, it also has a limited supply of housing stock. That combination has sent prices soaring in recent years and put housing out of reach of many of the most vulnerable residents.

State government has a responsibility to promote inclusive communities, so residents can afford to live close to family and work. Representative Owens supports legislation that helps protect residents who have not yet benefited from the booming economy so they can continue to remain in and contribute to their communities.

● Continue the eviction and foreclosure moratorium, as well as offer financial assistance to individuals who missed payments due to the Covid-19 pandemic and economic crisis.

● Promote the construction of affordable housing.

● Work to undo decades of racist, exclusionary zoning policies that have created segregated neighborhoods and substandard public housing.

● Seal eviction records after three years so tenants can escape the stigma of eviction.

Selected Legislation

H.202 relative to emergency housing assistance for children and families experiencing homelessness.

H.1378 to remove the prohibition on rent control and to provide tenant and foreclosure protections.

H.1385 that the Department of Housing and Community Development administer a residential assistance for families in transition homelessness prevention program.

H.1417 relative to construction and development of state-aided or federally assisted public housing projects.

H.1434 to establish ongoing stabilization of the housing market for renters and homeowners during the COVID-19 emergency and recovery.

H.1436 to establish a statewide right to counsel program for evictions to promote housing stability and prevent homelessness.

H.1440 ​​relative to rent and evictions.

Massachusetts has a proud history of working to ensure the right to health care among all its citizens. Its first-of-a-kind health insurance guarantee paved the way for the national Affordable Care Act.

Now is the time for Massachusetts to again lead the way. Representative Owens strongly supports House Bill 1267, which would establish a single-payer “Medicare for All” system to provide equitable, cost-effective, efficient access to health care for all residents of the Commonwealth. Specifically, the new legislation will:

● Replace the current mixture of public and private health insurance plans with a uniform and comprehensive health care plan available to every Massachusetts resident.

● Eliminate co-insurance, co-payments, deductibles, and any other form of patient cost sharing.

● Ensure that all residents have access to dental care, behavioral health, eyeglasses, hearing aids, home health care, nursing home care, and other important needs.

● Work to reduce health care costs for residents, municipalities, and businesses.

● Reduce administrative cost and inefficiencies and use savings to expand covered health care services, contain health care cost increases, promote innovation, and expand primary and preventative health care.

Representative Owens is also a strong supporter of reproductive health care, and of protecting the right to abortion services. He is a cosponsor of several measures currently under consideration in the State House that will ensure the rights of women in Massachusetts.

Selected Legislation

H.1246 relative to the adjustment or recovery of medical assistance and protecting the homes of seniors and disabled people on MassHealth.

H.1267 relative to providing access to health care services for all residents through a single payer Medicare for all health care financing system.

H.1290 relative to nutrition assistance programs and the development of a common application portal for state-administered needs-based benefits and services.

H.2066 relative to ensuring access to addiction services to residents of secure facilities approved by the Department of Public Health or the Department of Mental Health.

H.2081 to establish the behavioral health crisis and suicide prevention trust fund.

H.2088 relative to preventing overdose deaths and increasing access to treatment.

H.2264 ​​to further regulate access to emergency contraception.

H.2329 relative to improvements to the local and regional public health systems to address disparities in the delivery of public health services.

H.2362 relative to health care worker overtime and maximum hours of working.

H.2399 relative to medical abortion or medication abortion at health centers at public institutions of higher education.

Massachusetts has a long history of welcoming immigrants from around the world, educating them, and allowing them to succeed and thrive. We must further that tradition.

To that end, Representative Owens is a cosponsor of the long-overdue Safe Communities Act, which allows undocumented immigrants to contact, assist, and seek the protection of law enforcement without fear of retribution for their legal status. This in turn protects all residents of the Commonwealth by helping law enforcement take violent criminals off the streets.

Representative Owens is also a supporter of the Work and Family Mobility Act, which ensures equal access to driver’s licenses, regardless of immigration status, so families can travel to school and doctor’s appointments without fear of arrest or separation. By ensuring that these drivers meet Massachusetts’s driving standards, the Act will make roads safer for everyone.

Selected Legislation

H.2418 relative to local and state law enforcement involvement in federal immigration enforcement.

H.3456 relative to eligibility for application for motor vehicle learners' permits and drivers' licenses.

The federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) offered Massachusetts $2.5 Billion as part of the Covid-19 pandemic economic recovery. The House took care to spend this windfall wisely and view it as an investment in our shared future, not as an excuse to spend recklessly. By combining this money with an additional $1.5 Billion in state surplus funds, Massachusetts was able to support schools, local communities, and public health, and invest in infrastructure projects:

● $617 Million for housing and to combat homelessness.

● $278 Million to schools, including $100 Million for improved HVAC systems.

● $400 Million for behavioral health services.

● $500 Million to support frontline essential workers.

● $500 Million in business support (including expanded Unemployment Insurance).

● $578 Million for a range of workforce measures.

Locally, this included several significant projects:

● $400,000 to improve sewer lines and reduce stormwater flooding along the Watertown-Cambridge Greenway, the newest public bike path.

● $125,000 for mental health services in Watertown.

● $57,000 to study public housing redevelopment in East Watertown.

Obviously, this type of grant will not arrive every year, so the state must take a long view. Massachusetts should adopt an Environmental Social Governance (ESG) investment policy for its pension fund that pursues not only monetary returns, but social returns as well. By leveraging its significant financial resources, the state can invest in companies that are actively working to mitigate climate change and pursue social justice.

Selected Legislation

H.4170 relative to public pension fund divestment from climate risk investments and negative economic impacts from carbon producing industries.