 Good evening and welcome back to Byline. This is a public affairs show here at Amherst Media and it's co-sponsored and developed with the Amherst League of Women Voters. And for those of you who've been following, we've been bringing on our newly elected legislators both at the local level and at the state level so you can get to know more about them and what they're working on and what's going on. And today's guest is our newly elected state representative, Mindy Dom. Hi Stan. Welcome. Thank you very much. It's really great to have you here. Mindy, you're no stranger to the people here in Amherst having run the survival center and guided that wonderful organization through its capital campaign and building a new building and bringing on new programs and serving a lot of people in our community and surrounding communities with a series of programs and ways of helping them be more a part of their community and giving them a hand when they need it. And so we're delighted to have you here. Thank you. This is your first appearance on this show. I know you were here with me on election night. That was fun. That was different. That was, you know, you were still on pins and needles, sort of kind of, but you knew that that was going well. I had a good feeling, but it was great to be here with you that night and be able to anticipate celebrating with you. Very good. So, let's start with your committee assignments because the legislature is organized around subject matter and we have the right of free petition in Massachusetts, which very few states have, which means any resident of the Commonwealth can go to their legislator and say, please file this bill on my behalf. And you may or may not agree with the idea, but you have an obligation to file the bill. And I know you filed some bills, 16, if I remember correctly, of your own. And you co-sponsored a zillion others. Not quite a zillion, about 520. 520. Well, you'll get over that in a few years and you'll recognize how hard it's going to be to follow all those bills. But of course, those 16 are your passions. But let's start with the committees for a minute here. So you were appointed to four committees, three of them were joint committees. Yes, with the Senate. And with the Senate, which means both senators and reps are sitting in the same room. We're together. Hearing the public testimony. There's two chairs. There's two vice chairs, one from each body. Very good. And so those joint committees are? They are the Joint Committee on Higher Education, which I'm thrilled about. How can you be from Amherst and not have higher education on your agenda? Exactly. It was my number one preference. So in the House, leadership sends around a forum about a week into the term. And they say, give us your three preferences. And so I didn't know if they even look at the three preferences, but my first preference was higher education. So I am extremely excited. And you got it. I got it. And you're sitting on that committee with another neighboring legislator? Yes, with State Senator Joe Cumberford. And she's vice chair. Yeah, and she's vice chair on the Senate side. So we'll have very good representation. Plus Rep Aaron Vega from Holyoke is on that committee. So Western Massachusetts, I think is pretty well represented both from UMass Amherst perspective as well as community colleges. And what's your top priority on that committee? More public investment and higher education. And also looking at student debt, student food insecurity, the changing landscape and how that maybe should increase our commitments to public higher education, as well as strengthening the community college UMass sort of connection. But also that committee covers all of higher education as one of our five largest industries in Massachusetts. And we have some 90 or so private institutions. They're dropping like flies. We lost a few last year. And we know there's some work going over at Hampshire College, which we'll reserve that for another time because these shows are taped but broadcast later. So by the time the show is on, a lot of other stuff might have happened to Hampshire. So we'll leave that for another time. But I think that changing landscape is really an important piece to what the committee is going to have to look at. And that's the point that I wanted to make was that it isn't just public higher education and you have three colleges in your district and you are in the five college region and you have a community college, Greenfield Community College that actually does classes in North Hampton now. So you have a lot of responsibility around higher education in general. Absolutely. And in Amherst's Pelham and the first precinct of Granby, higher education is our number one economic sort of driver. So for us, it's both in it. It's a value. It's a product. And it's the economy. Okay. Next committee. The Joint Committee on Revenue. On Revenue. And it was another one that I asked for. And I didn't think I was going to get it. Why did you want it? I wanted it because, well, first of all, I'm not afraid to ask for money for important things. Well, we know that because of your work in the community. Exactly. And throughout the whole campaign, all I kept hearing about and I shared this was a sense that people want things to get done. They want funding for schools. They want funding for transportation. They want funding for infrastructure. Or they want the public transit. They want a better school. All that takes money. So we need to start looking at how we're going to raise revenue. And I'm a big supporter of raising it in a more fair, progressive way than we have in the past. So there's a bill that's been introduced that sort of takes that fair share amendment that was kicked off the ballot and puts it into law. I'm hoping that that's going to come through that committee. And we can really sort of address other ways to sort of make taxation and fees more fair in the Commonwealth to be able to fund some of these really important issues. Great. And perhaps more progressive. Absolutely more progressive. Very good. And let's see, your third committee... Is the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional License. And again, that's another joint committee. It is. House and Senate meeting together. And it is. It's not that I put down as a preference, but I am excited about it. I think that from what I've read about what the committee is, I haven't yet met with the chair, although by the time this show is put on, I will have met. It looks at credit. It looks at potential predatory lending and where credit starts to really affect low income folks in bad ways and how lots of people can be taken advantage by it about that. Student debt becomes a credit issue. So I'm really sort of interested in, are we going to address those issues? On professional licensure, we have a lot of folks in the district who rely on that, but I'm also interested in how that can be used to address shortages. So in Western Mass, we have a primary care shortage. We have a mental health shortage in terms of providers. How does our licensure help that or impede that? And we also have a lot of folks who provide a range of services sort of out of their homes and how do they get impacted by licensing? So it'll be sort of an interesting committee, I think for me. And so it wasn't anything you expected, but you're going to find ways of using the committee to benefit our region and your constituents. I think that's my job, right, is to bring the district there and to also figure out how I can do that. If it's not automatically on the agenda like higher ed, which is obvious, UMass, Amherst, the five college area will be on that agenda. If it's not obvious, how to make it a little bit more comfortable for us to address those issues. And the fourth committee, which is just the House committee, is on bonding capital expenditures and state assets. And yeah, so that's a money. That's a money committee and that's a very important committee. So bond bills, which are filed by the governor, basically is a bond bill is a capital expenditure vehicle. And so let's say it's housing or the environment or higher education of the courts or well, so many other areas where you're going to buy something that you're going to pay for over a long period of time because it's not a one-off expenditure that you buy and use like, I don't know, some gasoline or food in one year, you have to use it over many years. So you pay for it over many years. So you're going to have a direct voice in trying to advance bond bills. But you just pointed out that this is a House committee. There's also a Senate bonding committee. And do you have any insights yet into which areas the committee might be entertaining bills around? I don't know yet. I know that I think of bringing sort of well, coming from this area, there are some projects happening in the district that are going to hopefully benefit from some bonding. For example? Well, I'm thinking libraries or municipal buildings of sorts, schools. So water infrastructure. But I'm also thinking about issues like the Green New Deal that's going on in the federal level and how the Commonwealth can be sort of shovel ready for those kinds of programs and how bonding kind of addresses that. And I'm also thinking about how we can make sure that people get back to work in Massachusetts and how bonding can sort of support, if it's construction, how it can support people from Massachusetts to have some of those jobs. Yeah. You didn't mention transportation in that mix. Yes, I did. And there are projects here. And it's been a few years since it's been a transportation bond. And they're talking about an infrastructure bill in Washington, which includes transportation and also water and sewer. You didn't mention that. So getting ourselves organized and ready with the matching funds that are needed and queuing up projects so that we're ready, so we're ready to go. And how we can sort of address people's, I think, really strong interest, especially from this district in climate action with those bond bills, so even when we look at transportation bond bills. So how do we view transportation then in the next 10, 15 years? We know that we have to start investing more in it as a way to reduce fossil fuels. But then how can we even do more, right? Do we want to look at bonding for an electrified fleet? Do we want to, so it becomes more than just making sure that people can get from point A to point B, but how is that going to mean? That's very consistent with the conversations we've been having with town counselors when they come on and talk about the climate change work that they want to do in our town government. And it's the same attitude that you're now reflecting we should be doing at the state level, which is in every area, as you move your bond bills forward, what kind of policies can you embed? Exactly. That will help us address climate change, greenhouse effect, et cetera. And so there are key choices that could be made when you're making those decisions. I think so. And I'm looking forward to finding out how receptive the committee is to that. I think in the past they have been. So I'm very encouraged and excited. And for the benefit of our viewers, the bond bills typically start in a substantive committee, which is, let's say, housing or transportation. And then it moves to the bonding committee. And then the bonding committee gets their bite at the apple, which means that's where you could do the kind of work you were just describing. And then when it leaves the bonding committee, it goes to the Ways and Means Committee, because they have to decide how much we can afford to spend. And then it goes to the floor, where you get to offer amendments for projects or policies. And then it goes over to the Senate. And bond bills usually start in the house. And then they go over to the Senate. They don't have to start in the house, but they usually do. And then the Senate goes through the same process. And then eventually you reconcile the differences, and it goes to the governor's desk. And he signs it. Or he doesn't sign it. Well, actually, governors usually sign those bond bills. They may send back an amendment or two with some of the details that they disagree with. That almost always gets signed. But then the real work begins, because there's always more authorized than dollars to do. So just because you've got a streetlight or a project in there doesn't mean it's going to happen next year. The legislator then has to work with the administration to get them to fund it and actually release the money. So that's a big part of the job that you'll be. That's good. Taking on. I like taking on. I like having very clear benchmarks of when you need to advocate strongly for things. So it's good. Terrific. Now, committees, that's one way to participate in the policy development and in the decisions. But you don't get to sit on every committee. And there's some 22 or three joint committees now. We're probably up to about 25 joint committees in our legislature. And then there are the House committees and the Senate committees, which are separate. But you can't sit on all committees and you're sitting on four of them. But you want to have an impact on some other issues like, say, regional transportation or tourism or arts or whatever. And so we've got caucuses. And the caucuses are voluntary gatherings of members. They self-organize. They declare themselves to be a caucus. Nobody has to give you permission to form a caucus. And you figure out your own structure. You're going to have officers, who's going to chair it, how often you're going to change the chairs. And then you have to decide what you're going to do. You can educate. You can develop an agenda and try to push the substantive committee. So what caucuses are you looking at joining and why? So I'll be joining a couple of different caucuses. Because for me, I'm looking at it as an educational opportunity. Even if it incorporates specific advocacy around legislation, it'll give me more exposure to information as well as other elected officials who are also concerned about those issues. So number one, I'll be joining the higher ed caucus. And even though I'm on the committee, I see them as sort of companions. Not everybody who's going to be in the caucus is on the committee and vice versa. So it's a good way of also reaching more of my colleagues. I'll be joining the Regional Transit Caucus, Medicare for All Caucus, which is new. It'll be co-chaired by both Senator Cumberford as well as Representative Sabadosa from North Hampton. And that's going to be, I think, both an action-oriented, but also very much geared towards education and self-education. The Massachusetts Women's Legislators Caucus, which will deal with about two or three specific issues. Trying to think what else. And the Progressive Caucus. And the Progressive Caucus, from what I've seen so far, has been very effective in utilizing our best resource, which is our staff people, to really sort of brief members on the legislation that's coming up that other members have introduced. What it consists of, what it doesn't, and what we can do to support it. Terrific. So as a constituent, I want to ask you to look at the Arts Caucus. That'll be on my agenda. I did ask for that committee, but I didn't get it. Well, hopefully you'll be able to join the Arts Caucus and lend your voice. And interestingly, as I was getting to know our town councilors, four or five of them actually have some background in the arts, dancer, painting, just various art forms. And so that you'd be able to team up with them and think about how. Well, you know, Emmerst is remarkable. We have about five or six museums, galleries, lots of folks who do work in their homes or bring it out. And for me, I look at it as it's not only an asset and a value here, it's also a way for economic development. So put that next to the transportation and it's a nice little niche. I'm also joining one other caucus, which is new, which is a food systems caucus, which looks at both food insecurity as well as food production. So it's the way to bring farms and hunger activists together. And I'm really looking forward to that as well. Great. Well, let's take a few minutes and talk about some of those 16 bills that you filed. Obviously, they're like your children now and it's going to be hard to choose one or two or three of them to push. But tell us which ones you particularly want your constituents to know that you're working on and why are you focusing on those among others? Well, the first bill that I want folks to know about is to establish a diaper benefit program in Massachusetts. And I'm working with two other elected officials on it, Representative Pignatelli from the Berkshires and Senator Loveley. And so it's been introduced in both houses, the House and the Senate. And it would essentially establish a pilot program that would fund organizations to buy, store, and distribute children's diapers to low-income families across the state. And initially, it would set up 12 of these programs. And then hopefully from there, with evaluation, it would grow. And this comes directly from my experience at the Amherst Survival Center. Diaper insufficiency is something that many people experience. One out of every three families doesn't have enough resources to adequately diaper their baby. You can't use snap or wick to buy diapers, and they're expensive. You can go to the store, and if you're going to buy a big box, it's going to cost you about $30, $40, and kids wear them, and they go through them. And the consequences, when you don't have enough diapers, not only are there health consequences for the baby because parents may resort to reusing diapers, washing diapers by hand to try to do it, and so there's rashes and other kinds of things. It also isolates the adult. They're embarrassed that they don't have enough diapers, so they don't go out of their house. They can't put the child in daycare because daycare requires a supply of diapers, so they can't go to work and they can't go to school. So this is an issue that I saw families coming to the center who really needed diapers, who really were grateful and appreciative that the community supplied them with diapers because as a community, we responded. We had a diaper drive, and we provided those diapers. And it's time for the Commonwealth to step into that also and help not only those babies but their families and their parents. So that bill, I'm hoping, and that bill also gives me an opportunity to learn about not only what it means to introduce a bill to set up a program, but then hopefully get it funded in the same year, right? Because it's one thing to set up a pilot, it's another thing to get ways and means to say the same thing. Are diapers taxed? They're not, no. Okay, that's good to know. And in this session, there's a whole range of bills that deal with personal care items, which is just interesting. So we have a children's diaper bill, but there are other bills that have been introduced that I'm a co-sponsor of that also deal with feminine hygiene products in shelters, jails, and schools. And so it's really wonderful to see this awareness on the part of elected officials that personal care items can be very burdensome economically for folks and that we have to sort of step in and help them. So that's one bill I'm very, very happy and proud and looking forward to supporting and ushering in the room. Another bill that came from constituents is the effort to make sure that all state forms of documentation and applications are able to have a non-binary, non-gender marker. So for transgender folks or non-binary folks who feel that male and female do not address how they see themselves, there's an opportunity for them to indicate who they are on a state document. So that means when you register to vote, you see yourself on that form. Or when you go get a driver's license, you have the opportunity to mark X, not male or female. And is that your bill? Yes. And in the house, there's also, there's other bills in the house, there's another bill in the house that deals just with driver's licenses. I wanted to deal with all, not just pick one at a time. And in the Senate side, Senator Cumberford has her own bill also that deals with it. For me- Is hers general or? It's overall. It's overreaching too. Overarching. Overarching. Hopefully not overreaching. We don't want to overreach. We want to overarch. But you know, we just came off of a referendum that reaffirmed people in Massachusetts feeling that we stand by transgender folks and we support them and we want them to be visible. We want them to have access to public accommodations, bathrooms, whatnot. What could be more of a public accommodation than registering to vote? So we need to make sure that they see themselves there too. A third bill? A third bill is also regarding bathrooms actually, but it comes, the reason why I want to cite it is because it comes from constituents. Before I was elected, I was approached by students at UMass because UMass was going in for a variance to be able to make one of their gendered bathrooms a non-gendered bathroom in their dorms. And UMass supports it, but according to the building code in Massachusetts, you're not allowed to do that in a public building. And so they had to go in for a variance. So I supported it and they got their variance, but it also raised the issue of why do we need to do this every year? This needed a legislative fix. So the other legislative fix was to amend the building code so that public buildings could have non-gendered bathrooms and wouldn't necessarily need to get a variance to be able to do that. Very good. But that touches on higher ed, but do you have an omnibus type of policy bill around higher education? I don't, but I'm a cosponsor of one. So I didn't author it, but there's one called, the anachronym is cherished. And it's really about recommitting ourselves to adequate funding for public higher education. Senator Cumberford is actually the author on the Senate side. I believe I could be wrong about this, but I think Representative Paul Mark is one of the authors on the House side and I'm a cosponsor of that bill. And hopefully that will come before the committee on higher ed and we'll be able to not only support it, but flesh it out like with all the background and the documentation about why it's needed, really dive deep into the rationale for it so that it can move forward. So you are a first term legislator. You get to set some patterns for yourself and transparency and civic engagement. Our two priorities in this community, people are very engaged. How do people get to be working with you? What kinds of mechanisms are you going to use to communicate with your constituents to keep them informed, to engage them, to hear them? So give us a little thumbnail about how you're going to approach all of that. So far, and I look, this will be moving forward, I've scheduled office hours in each of the towns that I represent at least monthly. So Palem has monthly two-hour office hours. Amherst has a little bit more because one of them is at the senior center and one of them is at the library and I really want to sort of do them at different times as well, as well as in Granby. So that's one thing, is that office hours and I can talk about how I publicize them in a moment. During the campaign I also did coffee hours and I'm continuing to do those and that's if you're going to get coffee between eight and nine and somewhere in Amherst or Granby, you're probably going to see me if you're in my district at one point over the next couple months. We have a specific schedule though that we make available through social media as well as an electronic newsletter that I send out every month. So those are additional ways. I try to be not prolific on social media but informative on social media. It ends up being sort of a daily practice on my end but I'm on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. They're all at M-I-N-D-Y-F-O-R-M-A so that's the handle for all of them. You don't have to be on them to be able to access my page so you can go facebook.com slash Mindy4MA and pull it up. There's an events page on that that will always list office hours, coffee hours. The other thing that we've just started to do which I'm thrilled with is that the other elected officials representing the Valley get together once a month for what we call legislative listening sessions. And there are Friday afternoons from one to four groups can sign up and it's an opportunity for advocacy organizations that want to kind of advocate all of us at the same time to do that. And it's a great opportunity for all of us to hear the information all at the same time to see each other at least monthly and to debrief some of the issues that have come up. And it's going to move around. It's going to move around from district to district. And is it all Franklin, Hampshire, Hamden? Yeah, it's not Hamden. It's all within Center Cumberford's district. So last time was in Sunderland which was Rep. Blay's district, Rep. Natalie Blay at the Sunderland Library. This coming month in March it will be in Amherst at the Jones Library. In April, I think it will be at South Hadley and May, I think it's in North Hampton or Williamsburg. And you have to sign up in order to have a slot. Right. And there's three slots. So you can't just show up. You can't just show up. But here's the interesting thing that happened in Sunderland. So we just we expected that the people who signed up would be the people that showed up and they did. But so did members of the public. They wanted to see what our people are asking us to do. We had no idea that the public would be interested in listening. So we set out chairs and sure enough, there were like 12 people who came to listen. Just to observe and see what was going on. Right. So moving forward, we didn't tell organizations that. But moving forward, we're going to tell people be prepared. The public is watching and it's OK with us. So if it's not OK with you, you may want to schedule another time. It's a terrific idea. Yeah. So that worked out. I think that was an exciting exercise in real transparency right there. Terrific. Well, I'm hoping that we'll have you on periodically. Of course. And we'd be great if you were here three or four times across the year. I'd love to do that. And believe it or not, we're out of time. And so I just want to thank you very much. Thank you, Stan. For stepping forward to do an important job for us. And we're looking forward to seeing really great things happen. Thank you. Under your leadership. Thank you very much. Thank you all very much for joining us. And you can see the show rebroadcast on Monday evening just before town council meeting. If there is one on that particular Monday, it's broadcast 6 p.m. on Monday. And the show will also have been seen at 8 p.m. on Friday evening. And you can watch us also online through the website, YouTube. So there are many different ways that you can keep in touch with what we're doing here on the show. Thank you again for joining us.