Education

As House Chair of the Joint Committee on Education, Marty is working to ensure that all children in Massachusetts have the educational opportunities they need in order to reach their full potential. She wrote the nation’s most comprehensive anti-bullying law and was the primary architect of An Act Relative to the Achievement Gap. This reform act will provide educators and communities with the tools they need to eliminate the state’s persistent achievement gap.

As chair, she fights for adequate funding for early childhood education and our K-12 schools. Marty knows that funding isn’t enough, and this is why she supports longer school days and a longer school year. Children need more time to learn, and our teachers require more time for professional development, so they can provide the high quality education our children need and deserve.

Jobs and the Economy

Marty keeps a strong focus on economic development, creating new jobs and preserving existing ones. She led the successful fight to preserve the Hynes Convention Center, a key economic driver for the Back Bay. She was an early supporter of the Life Sciences Initiative, the Green Jobs Act and film tax credits, all of which are stimulating job growth. Marty also worked to halt the 2010 unemployment insurance rate increase, which would have hurt businesses by increasing their costs. She continues to work each day in collaboration with other elected officials to drive jobs back into Boston and Cambridge.

Reform

Marty believes reform should not only cut costs but also improve efficiencies and restore confidence in government. Improved accountability is a main priority of her work. As the former Vice Chair of the House Ethics Committee, she was instrumental in drafting the ethics, campaign finance and lobbying reform law.

She supported reforms of the state pension and transportation systems in order to increase fairness and restore voters’ trust. Marty worked to scale back excessive pension benefits for state workers and eliminate Suffolk County-only holidays. She also worked with her colleagues to eliminate the Turnpike Authority and reduce the use of paid police details. And, on an issue near and dear to this district, she led the charge to prevent the transfer of Storrow Drive and Memorial Drive to the highway department.

Fiscal Responsibility

Unlike the federal government, Massachusetts must have a balanced budget each year. Marty understands that our state government cannot afford to fund every worthy program or initiative. She is committed to making the hard choices required annually during the legislature’s budget debate to ensure that we don’t spend beyond our means. As it has in years past, the legislature in 2010 approved a balanced budget and did so on time, something that many other states have been unable to accomplish.

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Our Communities

Keeping our streets clean and safe is a major priority for Marty. She authored the Green Ticket Law, which allows cities to collect fines from people who improperly put out their trash or who don’t clear snow and ice from their sidewalks. We all benefit when our neighbors do what is right.

The Charles River, from Magazine Beach to the Esplanade, is a precious resource that must be protected and enhanced, so everyone can continue to enjoy the river basin. Marty led the fight to stop the re-routing of Storrow Drive into the Esplanade when the Arlington-Clarendon Street tunnel is rebuilt. A majority of the bridges over the Charles, including the BU Bridge and the Longfellow Bridge, are currently being restored. Marty actively participated in the planning processes to ensure that pedestrians’ and bicyclists’ needs had an equal weight to those of motorists. Recognizing how important it is to her constituents in the West End, Marty supports rebuilding the Leverett Circle pedestrian bridge.

Marty serves on the Charles River Water Quality Commission, the goal of which is to study the feasibility of once again making the Charles River safe for swimming. And, she secured funding for the restoration of Community Boating’s docks, allowing construction to begin later this year. Marty consistently fights for the longest possible hours at the Magazine Beach pool and works to improve its cleanliness and maintenance.

Recognizing the importance of sunlight for our parks, Marty is a sponsor of An Act to Protect Certain Public Parks, which will prohibit new shadows on the Esplanade, the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, Copley Square, and Magazine Beach.

Marty was the lead sponsor of a new law reducing property taxes for co-op owners, giving them the same residential exemption tax benefit enjoyed by owners of condominiums.

Lowered groundwater levels threaten buildings in the Back Bay and on the flat of Beacon Hill. While in the state legislature, Marty continues her longtime advocacy on this issue, working closely with the city and state agencies responsible for finding a solution to this critical problem. She is also a lead sponsor of legislation relative to groundwater protection.

As the only elected official standing with the Beacon Hill community, Marty led the fight to stop Suffolk University from building a mega-sized dorm in the neighborhood. She continues to work with the Beacon Hill Civic Association to ensure Suffolk abides by the agreements it has made with the neighborhood.

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Transportation

Like many of her constituents, Marty relies on the MBTA. She understands the importance of reliable and affordable public transportation. This past session, Marty fought the proposed fare hike and has consistently advocated for enhanced service. As a result of the legislature’s financial support, the T is the only major transit authority in the U.S. that hasn’t raised fares or cut service in the last two years. This, of course, means more money in everyone’s pockets.

To enhance the safety of our roads, Marty supports the legislature taking a comprehensive approach to the issue of impaired drivers, only some of whom may have reduced driving skills due to the effects of aging. She also supports legislation that would prohibit cell phone use while driving, unless a driver is using hands-free technology. Marty voted to ban texting while driving, an important step in making our roads safer.

Marty supported the tougher drunk driving penalties in Melanie’s Law. There are repeat offenders who should have their driver’s licenses revoked sooner, and who should serve jail time if they continue to drink and drive. In addition, she voted in favor of increased driver’s education requirements for first- time drivers and better enforcement of the laws that govern teenagers, too many of whom are driving illegally. Since that law went into effect, the state has seen a significant drop in the number of teen fatalities on our roads. Marty also voted in favor of primary enforcement of our state’s seat belt law.

Health Care

Because she believes everyone is entitled to affordable and accessible health care, in 2006, Marty joined with her colleagues to pass the sweeping health care reform law that resulted in 97% of Massachusetts residents now having health insurance. While proud of this accomplishment, Marty understands that more needs to be done to control ballooning health care costs. Marty is also a supporter of a single payer health care system.

Environment

Marty believes we are stewards of our environment. She is a co-sponsor of An Act to Improve Recycling Rates in the Commonwealth, also known as the Bottle Bill, which would expand the types of beverage containers for which a deposit is required to include nearly all containers of carbonated and non-carbonated drinks. She has voted for numerous bills that will curb global warming and harness green energy to improve both our economy and the environment. Marty also supports the Safer Alternatives Bill to limit the number of toxic chemicals in our lives.

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Equal Rights

Marty supports equal marriage rights for all people, and is proud to have voted to stop the proposed amendment that would have put the civil rights of gay and lesbian people who wish to marry on the ballot. Because Marty believes all people regardless of their gender identity or gender expression, including transgender people, deserve the same rights and protections under the law as all other residents, she is a co-sponsor of An Act Relative to Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes.

Reproductive Freedom

Marty believes women should have the right to make their own reproductive choices. She voted in favor of the Emergency Contraception law that gives women easier access to emergency contraception in local pharmacies and requires hospitals to offer emergency contraception to rape survivors. Marty was a lead sponsor of the Buffer Zone law establishing a fixed 35-foot buffer zone surrounding the entrances and driveways of all of the reproductive health facilities in the state, providing essential protection for patients and medical personnel. The law has been upheld by two federal courts and the United States Supreme Court recently turned down an appeal challenging the law’s constitutionality.