MMA holds 6 Legislative Breakfast Meetings

On three Fridays in October, legislators and local officials from across Massachusetts gathered for a series of six MMA Legislative Breakfast Meetings, held in-person for the first time since early 2020.

The meetings, held each spring and fall, provide an opportunity for local officials to engage in informal discussions with legislators, fellow local officials, and MMA staff.

Discussions centered on an $11 billion infrastructure law known as MassTRAC, the Chapter 90 program for local roads and bridge maintenance, the recently signed climate and clean energy law, a pending economic development bill, and the state’s unspent American Rescue Plan Act funds. Additional topics included new zoning guidelines for MBTA communities, remote town meetings, cost-of-living allowances for municipal retirees, PFAS, and the cannabis law signed this past summer.

The program kicked off with a legislative update from MMA Legislative staff on the fiscal 2023 budget, a $5 billion general government bond law, and other activity from the 2021-2022 legislative session. This was followed by an open-ended opportunity for legislators and local officials to discuss the many issues that their communities are facing, as well as the fact that a new administration will be taking office in January.

Six communities hosted the fall meetings: Amherst and Lynn on Oct. 14, Lenox and Lexington on Oct. 21, and Easton and Gardner on Oct. 28. More than 280 municipal officials and legislators registered for the meetings, including 23 state representatives, 12 state senators, and a number of legislative staff members.

The MMA has hosted 220 breakfast meetings in 191 communities since 2007, with a goal of hosting a meeting in each of the state’s 351 cities and towns. If your community has not hosted a Legislative Breakfast but would be interested in doing so, contact Daniel Yi at dyi@mma.org or 617-426-7272, ext. 125.