Representative Garlick to Chair State Budget Hearing in Needham

As state lawmakers get to work on the 2019-2020 legislative session, one of the first orders of business in the Massachusetts House of Representatives will be developing the Fiscal Year 2020 (FY2020) state budget. The proposed $42 billion budget ensures the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has the funds needed to provide crucial programs and services like public education, public health including healthcare, treatment for those struggling with substance use disorder, addiction and recovery, energy and environmental protection, transportation and public safety.

Needham’s state representative, Denise Garlick, will play a key leadership role in the development of this year’s state budget. She was recently elected by her colleagues to serve as Vice Chair of the Ways and Means Committee, which is charged with developing the annual state budget and considering all legislation affecting state finances. Simply put, all the ways to develop public policy and all the resources to implement it. In this new role, she will work with the House Chair, Representative Aaron Michlewitz, to analyze state funding needs, determine the priorities of the 160 House members, and ensure the issues and concerns of the people of Needham, Medfield, and Dover are heard as the FY2020 budget is developed.

One of Rep. Garlick’s first responsibilities as Vice Chair will take place close to home: she is chairing a Joint Ways and Means Committee hearing on March 11 at Needham Town Hall, starting at 11am. This hearing will focus on health and human services, and leaders from state agencies, such as but not limited to, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Department of Public Health, MassHealth, Department of Mental Health, Department of Children and Families and the Department of Developmental Services will testify on funding needs in the upcoming state budget. The Health and Human Service budget impacts the lives of 1 in 4 residents of the Commonwealth and accounts for more than forty percent of the state budget. With experience serving on all of the Legislature’s health related committees and Chairing the Joint Committees on Elder Affairs and the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use, and Recovery, Representative Garlick is knowledgeable and experienced with the impact of work of these agencies on the lives of people and will use the opportunity to listen and to learn as she helps lead the budget process to reflect our core values as a Commonwealth.

The public is most welcome although testimony is by invitation only. Representative Garlick will also be chairing a Joint Ways and Means Committee on April 2 in the Gardner Auditorium of the Massachusetts State House where the public is invited to testify on all budget issues. The Joint Ways and Means Committee is hosting a total of eight public hearings across Massachusetts on the upcoming Fiscal Year 2020 state budget. For more information, including a list of all hearings, visit www.malegislature.gov. If you have question about the March 11 hearing, contact Representative Garlick at Denise.Garlick@mahouse.gov.