#2023-5, February 17, 2023

Speaker Mariano Names Brighton’s Moran as Majority Leader; 2023- 2024 Leadership and Committee Assignments Announced

On Thursday, Representatives Mike Moran of Boston, Alice Peisch of Wellesley and Frank Moran of Lawrence all received promotions as House Democrats rolled out their committee and leadership assignments for the new term.

House Speaker Ron Mariano tapped Mike Moran to serve as his majority leader, elevating the 10-term veteran from Brighton to the number-two role among House Democrats.  Representative Moran previously served as an assistant majority leader, and he also led the House’s redistricting efforts following the U.S. Census in both 2010 and 2020.  The move fills a role that had been vacant for more than a year following former Majority Leader Claire Cronin’s resignation to become U.S. ambassador to Ireland.  It also puts Representative Moran into a position that Mariano held before he became speaker.

Representative Peisch, who was first elected in 2002, jumped into the top levels of House leadership as assistant majority leader after more than a decade in the policy trenches as co-chair of the Education Committee.  During that tenure, she played a central role in the work to overhaul how state government funds K-12 public schools and has been a friend of the Association assisting with our efforts to promote financial literacy throughout the Commonwealth for many years.  

The other Moran in the leadership hierarchy, Frank Moran of Lawrence, served as a third division chair last session and won a second assistant majority leader role this session.  Representative Moran is another friend of the Association having filed our credit union field of membership legislation each of the past two sessions.  

Rounding out the top echelon of Speaker Mariano’s team are two returning deputies: Representative Kate Hogan of Stow, who will once again hold the title of speaker pro tempore, and Representative Sarah Peake of Provincetown, who remains the other second assistant majority leader.  Five of the nine House leadership positions will be held by women.

Of particular interest to the industry, Speaker Mariano reappointed Representative Jamie Murphy of Weymouth as the House Chair of the Joint Committee on Financial Services.  Joining Representative Murphy in Financial Services will be Representative Bruce Ayers of Quincy who was reappointed as the committee’s Vice Chairman.  

Speaker Mariano also reappointed Representative Aaron Michlewitz of Boston as the House Chair of Ways and Means.  Representative Michlewitz has served in the House since 2009 and has previously served as House Chair of the Committee on Financial Services.

Further, at the joint committee level, Speaker Mariano tasked Representative Denise Garlick of Needham with co-chairing the Education Committee, the role Peisch held last session, at a time when lawmakers are deliberating over early education subsidies, the future of the MCAS, and how to handle an influx of new tax revenue earmarked for education and transportation purposes.  Garlick heads to that demanding committee post after serving as its House vice chair in the 2013-2014 session.  Last term, she led the House Committee on Bills in the Third Reading.  The Third Reading job goes this session to Representative Thomas Walsh of Peabody, who last session led the House Ethics Committee, and replacing Walsh in that role is Representative John Barrett of North Adams.

Nine joint committees will feature new House co-chairs this session: the Advanced IT, Internet and Cybersecurity Committee - Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier of Pittsfield; the Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets Committee - Representative Michael Finn of West Springfield); the Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities Committee - Representative Jay Livingstone of Boston; the Community Development and Small Business Committee - Representative Paul McMurtry of Dedham; the Education Committee - Representative Garlick of Needham; the newly restructured Environment and Natural Resources Committee - Representative Daniel Cahill of Lynn; the Municipalities and Regional Government Committee - Representative Carole Fiola of Fall River; the Tourism Committee - Representative Mindy Domb of Amherst; and the Veterans and Federal Affairs Committee - Representative Gerard Cassidy of Brockton.

New chairs on House standing committees include Representative Daniel Hunt of Dorchester atop the Human Resources Committee and Representative Jack Lewis of Framingham atop the Federal Stimulus and Census Oversight Committee.  The new House Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs will be led by Representative Angelo Puppolo of Springfield.

House Republicans, who now hold just 25 of the chamber’s 160 seats, find themselves spread increasingly thin over the Legislature’s 31 joint committees and the House’s 11 single-branch committees.  GOP members ratified their own assignments in a caucus Tuesday, shuffling who holds many of the ranking minority member positions on those panels.

Representative Mathew Muratore of Plymouth, who previously served on House Ways and Means, scored the new assistant ranking member post on Ways and Means which was created via a successful GOP amendment to the House Rules this month.

Three Republicans who served on Ways and Means last term will no longer be on the budget panel -- former Representatives James Kelcourse and Timothy Whelan, who are no longer House members, and Representative Peter Durant of Spencer, who was left off of Ways and Means this session and instead assumes the role of ranking member on the busy Judiciary Committee.  They were replaced by Representatives Kelly Pease of Westfield, Alyson Sullivan-Almeida of Abington, and Steven Xiarhos of Barnstable.  Ranking member Representative Todd Smola of Warren and Representatives Donald Berthiaume of Spencer and Joseph McKenna of Webster remain on the committee, as does Representative Angelo D’Emilia of Bridgewater, another assistant ranking minority member.  Minority Leader Bradley Jones Jr. of Andover took on a ranking member role on the Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee, a spot formerly held by Representative Lenny Mirra, who ultimately lost his bid to remain in the House earlier this year.

For a full list of all Democrats appointments in the House, click here.  For a full list of all Republican appointments in the House, click here.

President Spilka Shuffles Deck; Leaves Leadership Locked In

On Wednesday, Senate President Karen Spilka of Ashland handed down leadership and committee assignments, keeping in place all of her top deputies from last session but putting different senators in charge of most committees for the six-week-old two-year legislative term.

The assignments, which were ratified in caucus, will lead to new perspectives atop two-thirds of the joint committees and five of the 11 Senate standing committees as President Spilka shuffled the deck.

The top of the Senate hierarchy -- the tier of positions from which the next Senate president is likely to emerge whenever a leadership transition takes place -- remains the same, though the Senate president emerita position that former President Harriette Chandler held until her retirement has been eliminated.

Senator Cynthia Creem of Newton is majority leader, Senator Will Brownsberger of Belmont is Senate president pro tempore, Senators Joan Lovely of Salem, Michael Barrett of Lexington and Sal DiDomenico of Everett are assistant majority leaders, Senator Michael Rush of West Roxbury is majority whip, and Senator Julian Cyr of Truro is assistant majority whip.  Senator Michael Rodrigues of Westport will once again chair the Senate Ways and Means Committee with Senator Cynthia Friedman of Arlington again serving as the committee’s vice chair.

Among Senate standing committees, Senator Jason Lewis of Winchester will take over as chair of the Ethics Committee, Senator Rush will move from Intergovernmental Affairs to the Personnel and Administration Committee while Senator Mark Montigny of New Bedford slots in as chair of Intergovernmental Affairs.  Senate Dean Marc Pacheco of Taunton will take over from Senator Michael Moore of Millbury as chairman of the Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee.

Most joint committees will have new Senate chairs this session.  That includes the Housing Committee, which could play a role in reviewing Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s home rule petition to allow Boston to impose rent control measures and will be chaired in the Senate by Mayor Wu ally Senator Lydia Edwards of East Boston.

The Higher Education Committee, which could be tasked with dealing with legislation tied to President Spilka’s call to make community college free for all (and Governor Maura Healey’s slightly different plan), will this term be led by Senator Jo Comerford of Northampton.  The Revenue Committee newly under the leadership of Senator Susan Moran of Falmouth will likely get bills related to the state’s new income surtax, the division of its revenues between transportation and education initiatives, as well as the annual flood of tax relief ideas.

Even without a shuffling of the deck, President Spilka had a few vacancies to fill based on the departure of senators at or near the end of last session.  Senator Barry Finegold of Andover will take over for former Senator Eric Lesser as Senate chair of the Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee; as noted above the Revenue Committee will be led in the Senate by Moran (replacing former Senator Adam Hinds); Senator Adam Gomez of Springfield will take up former Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz’s chair atop the Cannabis Policy Committee; and Senator Liz Miranda of Boston was tapped to lead the Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion Committee that Senator Chang-Díaz also chaired.

All five first-term Democrats got chairmanships, as is typically the case in the Senate but not the House, which has 160 members.  Senator Robyn Kennedy of Worcester will chair the Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities Committee; Senator Paul Mark of Becket will lead the Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development Committee; Senator Miranda chairs the Racial Equity, Civil Rights, and Inclusion Committee; Senator Jake Oliveira of Ludlow was assigned to chair the Municipalities and Regional Government Committee; and Senator Pavel Payano of Lawrence will chair the Community Development and Small Businesses Committee.

Just 10 joint committees will have the same Senate co-chair as at the start of last session: Senator Lewis remains Senate chair of Education, Senator Patricia Jehlen of Somerville will continue as Senate chair of both Elder Affairs and Labor and Workforce Development, Senator Becca Raush of Needham will stay on as Senate chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, Friedman will still be Senate chair of Health Care Financing, Senator Jamie Eldridge of Acton again helms the Judiciary Committee, Senator Walter Timilty of Milton will chair the Public Safety Committee again for the Senate, Senator Michael Brady of Brockton remains Senate chair of the Public Service Committee, Barrett will again serve as Senate chair of the Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee, and Senator John Velis of Westfield will once again lead the Veterans and Federal Affairs Committee for the Senate.

The Senate’s Republican caucus is sure to be very busy this session covering all the committees mentioned above between the three elected GOP senators. 

For a full list of all Democrats appointments in the Senate, click here.

Division of Banks to Host Special Webcast Featuring MBA’s Tanya Duncan

On Monday, February 27, member bankers are encouraged to join the Division for a “DOB Connects” live webcast featuring a special interview with Tanya Duncan, EVP, Revenue & Strategy for the Massachusetts Banker’s Association (MBA) and Division of Banks’ Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel, Barbara Keefe.

Throughout her career, Tanya has served community bankers throughout New England and in 2012 she started the MBA’s Women in Banking Conference, which brings together women from New England states for a day of leadership, networking and recognizing outstanding women leaders.  Tanya will discuss her vision for a more globally diverse and inclusive financial industry and offer important action steps to be considered by Black leaders, people of color, banking professionals, and cross-sectors organizations.

The conversation will take us through Tanya’s personal and professional experiences, ultimately establishing her impactful role at the MBA.  Members are encouraged to attend.

For more information and to register, click here.