State Rep. Jay Livingstone was recently assigned to serve on four of the Commonwealth’s bipartisan Joint Committees.
Livingstone will return to the Joint Committee on Housing, which he said underwent an extensive overhaul last term to address public-housing needs, provide better oversight and give more incentives to build in the state. This term, he has already co-sponsored several bills filed by Kevin G. Honan, the committee’s House chair, that intend to further encourage the construction of affordable and low-income housing in Massachusetts.
Livingstone will also continue to serve on the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, which considers all matters concerning competitive bidding on public contracts, public construction, open meeting laws, state regulations, state agencies and lobbyists’ reporting laws.
“I really like breadth of issues that the committee addresses, which include the Mass. Eye and Ear expansion plan and state land transfers, as well as dealing with government transparency,” he said. “Last term, we worked to revise the state’s ‘sunshine laws’ to find ways to reduce the cost of getting records, to encourage more reliance on obtaining public records electronically and to improve transparency. I’m hopeful that bill will become law this term”
As for his new assignments, Livingstone will serve on the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture, which handles environmental matters, including the Charles River cleanup and adapting to climate change. He said the committee also handles the oversight of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, providing another opportunity to work closely with that state agency.
Livingstone is also a new member of the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business, and in that role, he said he hopes to find ways to help businesses in his district thrive.