Franklin County’s legislative delegation has received its committee assignments for this session.
Rep. Stephen Kulik, D-Worthington, again assigned to be be vice chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.
Rep. Paul Mark, D-Peru has been named House chair of the Redistricting Committee, while Rep, Susannah Whipps, R-Athol, is a member of the committees on Ethics, on Higher Education and on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery.
Mark, now in his fourth term and formerly vice chair of the House Committee on Rules, said, “It is a great honor to be chosen to serve as chair of a committee after only six years in the House. My district has not had a chairmanship since the 1980s, and there aren’t many subjects more important to western Massachusetts than ensuring that our voices are properly represented at the State House and in Washington, D.C.”
Redistricting is charged with reviewing and implementing recommendations issued by the 2010 Special Joint Committee on Redistricting as well as preparing for and establishing best practices for the upcoming legislative division following the 2020 census.
“Redistricting directly impacts the voice of the people and how they will be represented” in the Statehouse and Congress. “It’s a process that must be undertaken fairly, deliberately, and with time for public comment in order to ensure that every region, and every person, has equal representation under the law.”
On the Senate side, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg nominated Sen. Adam Hinds, D-Pittsfield, to become Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development, as well as Senate vice-chair of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies.