Watch Sen. Barrett's interview with Cheddar News here. ...
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After passing a landmark climate law, Mass. officials now face the hard part: how to wean the state off fossil fuels – The Boston Globe
After months of pressing Baker to sign the climatebill, Barrett said he’s now focusing on ensuring his administration implements it. He has threatened legal action if the administration seeks to “evade legislative intent and substitute the weaker preferences of the executive ...
Lexington Sen. Barrett’s climate bill signed at last – Lexington Minuteman
Sen. Michael Barrett, who led the negotiations for the Senate and said he is concerned that the Baker administration has tried to “evade legislative intent” of the new law, said Friday that everyone in state government now must start “pulling in the same direction” now that ...
Legislators Push To Reopen Walden Pond To Open Water Swimmers – WGBH.org
State Sen. Jason Lewis — who is also an open water swimmer — said he and State. Sen. Michael Barrett are gathering legislators’ signatures on a letter to the DCR, which asks that the swimming ban be lifted and other safety measures be issued instead, such as a requirement that swimmers wear colorful buoys that make them easier to see.
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Massachusetts’ Ambitious Climate Law Facing First Tests – WGBH.org
The new goal means offering incentives for consumers to adopt technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, like replacing an oil-burning furnace for an electric heat pump, Barrett said. It’s essentially the reverse of a carbon tax — a carrot instead of a stick.
“Carbon pricing penalizes energy sources that pollute. Social values pricing rewards energy sources that are clean,” Barrett said. “That should have been a no-brainer.”
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Bill Could Uncover Buried Histories Of Institutions Like Fernald – Waltham Patch
If passed, new legislation proposed by Sen. Michael Barrett and a Waltham resident, could establish a special commission to unearth the history of state institutions like the Fernald School for people with developmental and mental health issues.
Advocates who testified before legislators on June 21 said progress toward equity and inclusion in the commonwealth depends on a deeper understanding of those who lived through the time in the 19th and 20th centuries when state institutions served as sites for medical experiments involving residents that today are recognized as violations of human rights.
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Concord gains a seat on State Commission on American Revolution – Concord Journal
“The Battle of Lexington and Concord reverberated through the colonies and around the world,” Barrett said. “250 years on, in 2025, the six communities that endured that show of force on April 19th can expect a flood of visitors. Coordination will be challenging. The Senate amendment recognizes that each of the six towns needs a voice in the Massachusetts planning process.”
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Bill seeks to uncover the buried histories of state-run Institutions – Waltham News Tribune
“We live in a time of historic reckonings,” said state Sen. Mike Barrett, a longtime advocate for people with disabilities. “With respect to Massachusetts citizens with developmental and mental health challenges, and as regards our better understanding of human rights and humane treatment, the past can be a guide, but only if we truly know it. This commission will add impetus to the acknowledgement and restoration of these hidden Massachusetts lives, to the same degree and in the same ways that we’re able to know about the lives of everyone else.”
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