| As 2022 comes to a close, so too does the 192nd Legislative Session of the Massachusetts General Court, our state's legislature.
The 2021-2022 Legislative Session proved to be a historic and exciting time as the Massachusetts State Senate works to address the challenges affecting every one of us.
As our state continues to recover from the public health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we continued to deliver relief to workers, families, and small businesses, centering them in our strategy to promote an equitable recovery for all.
In response to worrying trends at the national level, we expanded Massachusetts residents' access to voting, protected our right to receive reproductive or gender-affirming healthcare, and be safe from gun violence. We also passed two major bills, now law, aimed at combatting climate change, positioning Massachusetts as a leader in this fight.
Of course, no reflection on the last two years would be complete without celebrating passage of my priority issue, bringing long overdue reform to our mental and behavioral health care delivery system and ensuring that everyone can get the mental health care they need, when they need it.
With the signing of the Mental Health ABC Act 2.0 into law in August 2022, all residents will soon be guaranteed a free mental health assessment, we will have tools to enforce parity for mental health coverage and we will take significant steps toward addressing the emergency room boarding crisis. And having spoken with representatives from the White House who believe that our mental health care reform bill can and will serve as model legislation for the United States, I am grateful to know that we will be providing hope for the entire nation.
Our state has an important role to play as a national leader and a beacon of hope to so many. I look forward to tackling the challenges that the new session will bring. | 
