Thank you for taking the time to visit my website! I am honored to represent Lynn, Lynnfield, Saugus, and Wakefield in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. As someone who grew up in our district, I know firsthand the difficulties faced by individuals and families living and working on the North Shore. I know that it is my duty to fight for education, healthcare, and local aid, to ensure that everyone has the opportunities and support they need to succed personally and for our Commonwealth to flourish. During my tenure in the legislature, Lynn has seen weed removal in Flax and Sluice Ponds, Lynnfield has received state funding to build and renovate multiple new school buildings, Saugus has joined the State GIC and built the Shops at Saugus, and Wakefield has seen a major and much needed clean up of Lake Quannapowitt. I have been privileged to have been able to participate in these and many other essential improvements for our district, and look forward to working together with state and community leaders to continue this progress.

Representative Mark Falzone and Minority Leader Richard Tisei announced that the Stalking Protection Bill, which enables stalking victims to file for restraining orders without having had a prior relationship with their stalker, has been signed into law. This new legislation provides additional protection for our citizens by providing that once a person commits three or more acts of willful and malicious conduct against a specific person with the purpose of causing fear, intimidating or abusing them, or damaging property, the victim can take out a restraining order.

Representative Falzone stated, “This is an extremely important piece of legislation. Ensuring that all residents of the Commonwealth are protected is essential to our security and quality of life as a community. I am very pleased that this legislation, which will help to save many lives, has now become law.”

State Representative Mark Falzone is pleased to announce the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Formula Grant award to the Saugus Council on Aging. The Saugus Council on Aging will receive $41,356, which it plans to use to employ a program/volunteer coordinator, provide for newsletter printing/distribution, and utilities. The Executive Office of Elder Affairs will soon mail the Formula Grant award notices to municipal councils on aging in 348 cities and towns in Massachusetts.

Representative Mark Falzone announced his sponsorship of legislation to include electronically generated or transmitted materials in the definition of “obscene matter”. This legislation a response to counteract the recent Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Commonwealth v. Zubiel that unfortunately currently permits the transmission of obscene material to minors.

Representative Falzone stated “This bill is extremely important to the Commonwealth. It provides the tools necessary to prosecute and convict sexual predators, and it gives additional protections to our children. We must continue to be proactive in revising our laws as technology develops.”

State Representative Falzone announced job-creating legislation passed by the Massachusetts House of Representatives that will halt a scheduled increase in the unemployment insurance that all employers pay.

As a result of increased claims to the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund during the current economic slowdown, the contribution rate employers pay into the fund was scheduled to increase dramatically. The bill passed by the House of Representatives will freeze the rate at the 2009 level.

Representative Falzone commented, “It is important to keep as many people as possible working and creating less pressure on unemployment benefits. The passage of this legislation signifies a commitment to job creation and economic growth in Massachusetts by allowing employers to retain and as soon as possible rehire employees. Increased costs of operation are difficult to sustain for businesses in the current economy, and in order to rebuild our prosperity, Massachusetts must remain committed to assisting businesses to restrain their cost increases so they can provide the vital engine to regrow our Commonwealth’s economy.”

Representative Falzone joined with more than a dozen Senators and Representatives from across the Commonwealth to create Massachusetts’ first Legislative Cultural Caucus. This caucus has been formed in order to harness the job-producing assets of Massachusetts’ $4 billion cultural sector and help the state’s economy recover from the recession.

Representative Falzone emphasized, “The cultural sector has always been a crucial part of our Commonwealth’s economy, and in these difficult economic times it is important that we find the best ways to support it. Tourism and the arts contribute greatly to our economy and our communities by providing jobs as well as supporting the overall quality of life of our citizens. As a member of the Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development, I know that this Caucus is essential to the job-producing development of the cultural sector of our state’s economy.”

Representative Mark Falzone announced the passage of a school nutrition bill in the House of Representatives. The bill, which will apply to public elementary, middle and high schools, bans unhealthy foods and beverages that do not meet scientifically based nutritional standards and are not part of federal meal programs. In addition to banning unhealthy competitive foods of little nutritional value, the bill also requires schools to sell non-fried foods and vegetables at any location where food is sold. It is modeled after the recommendations of a 2007 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report.

Change without solutions does not equal the reform that we need in Massachusetts. Beacon Hill’s recent attempt at “reform” of our transportation system provides a ready example of how Beacon Hill fails our citizens if reform is superficial or merely cosmetic rather than addressing the root problems that are crying out for solution. Public skepticism becomes cynicism when “change” and “reform” supposedly take place, but the basic problems that need addressing are left behind. Short-term expediency and bureaucratic reshuffling are not an adequate response.

A careful study of our state’s transportation needs showed a short fall of funding over the next twenty years to address the maintenance demands on our current highway, bridge, transit and rail system. In addition, the state is not adequately funding the expansions we are currently engaged in or proposing. Our Massachusetts transportation system is fundamental to the success of our state’s economy and to the production of the jobs we need in these economic times. It must provide an infrastructure that supports investment in the rest of our Commonwealth’s economy, and we cannot let it become a bottleneck or allow it to lapse into dangerous disrepair.

As part of the Patrick-Murray Administration’s Massachusetts Recovery Plan, Governor Deval Patrick is moving forward with funding to support the design of a multi-use trail on the former Boston & Maine Railroad corridor in Wakefield and Lynnfield.

This first stage of the project will design a multi-use path along 4.4 miles beginning near Galvin Middle School on Main Street in Wakefield and continuing through Lynnfield and the Reedy Meadow to the Peabody town line. The path will connect residential neighborhoods, commercial and recreational areas, schools, the Reedy Meadow National Natural Landmark, and the MBTA station in Wakefield.

Representative Mark Falzone announced the formation of the Caucus of Coastal State Legislators to address the economic, resource, and environmental issues especially pertinent to United States coastal states. The specific agenda of setting goals will be a first priority as this new caucus gets off the ground.

Representative Falzone emphasized, “This important new national initiative will add to our state’s new Coastal Zone Management Legislation to help strengthen the voices of the communities in our district, and form valuable connections between Massachusetts and other US coastal states. Especially in these trying economic times, it is crucial that states act together in the direction of environmental and economic progress that will provide employment opportunities to those in our region. The cooperative nature of this caucus promises to effect positive change here on Beacon Hill and in Washington.”

The latest episode of Representative Falzone's Local Access Cable Television Show, The Beacon, can now be viewed online. This episode, which will air on the Local Access Cable Stations throughout January of 2010, is the first current episode to be available through the website. It features Philip Guidice, Commissioner of the Massachsuetsts Division of Energy Resources, discussing the new programs available in the state for individuals and small businesses to take advantage of the growing need for solar energy. Future episodes will also be posted online.

For more news stories and updates from Representative Mark Falzone, please visit the News Archive, where the articles can be read by date, topic, and municipality.