Welcome to the new and improved Rausch Report!

The newsletter was shortened for publication here. To view the full contents please visit ->  https://mailchi.mp/masenate/monthlynewsletter-17024605?e=0c2c9810fe

Your monthly Beacon Hill update from Senator Becca Rausch. 

View this email in your browser Happy snow day! Hope everyone is staying safe and warm and that shoveling hasn't been too bad.  This month on Beacon Hill, we finalized the Senate Rules (the House did theirs too), officially formed legislative committees, and assumed committee and other leadership roles. I am proud to be reappointed as Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources! This term I'll also serve as the Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on the Census and the Senate Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities, in addition to serving as a member of the Joint Committees on Education, Agriculture, Revenue, and Emergency Preparedness and Management.  Soon, the clerks will perform their Hogwarts sorting hat job of assigning 6000+ bills to committees of jurisdiction and legislative hearings on those bills will begin shortly.  The rules may seem mundane, but they're actually really important to the functioning of our government. For example, a silver lining of COVID was that the Legislature figured out how to hold hearings remotely. We've been back in the State House for a long while now, but we're keeping committee hearings hybrid so people have easier access to government. Also, the Senate will continue to publish all Senate committee votes online. These are real positives for our democracy.   I heard from several of you about the now-adopted proposal to strike term limits for the Senate presidency. Everyone who reached out opposed that proposal. As I recently discussed on GBH's Talking Politics, I was one of only three Democrats in the Senate to vote against removing term limits.   While I heard and appreciated the concern from colleagues about having different rules for just one of the three primary policymakers in the Commonwealth, as a matter of principle, I could not support striking term limits. Term limits are an important part of small "d" democracy, ensuring space for different approaches and visions to emerge in an ever-changing society. I believe our democracy is stronger for that refresh, and one of my core pledges to you has always been to push for good government, with transparency and accountability. My no vote notwithstanding, term limits for the Senate presidency no longer exist.  This month's Rausch Report includes legislative and #BeccaBunch updates, local event highlights, a sneak peek into our Women's History Month series, and information on upcoming office hours.   For real-time updates, please follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. If you are a constituent and need assistance, please don't hesitate to call me and my team at (617) 722-1555, email me at becca.rausch@masenate.gov, or attend upcoming office hours. We are here to help.    Yours in service,     Senator Becca Rausch    Sign up for a 15-minute appointment here Our mailing address is: The Office of Senator Becca Rausch Massachusetts State House, Room 218 24 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02133