Hearing DetailsJoint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities

Event Details

Status:: Completed
Event Date:: Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Start Time:: 1:00 PM
Location:: A-2 and Virtual
Event Description: The Department of Transitional Assistance

This hearing will be chaired by House Chair Jay Livingstone. CART services and ASL interpretation will be available. All matters filed in the House that are listed above are required to be reported on by November 15, 2025, subject to extensions consistent with House Rule 27.

The public is invited to participate in this hearing. To sign up to provide oral testimony, please fill out this form. Sign-ups for oral testimony will close on Friday, September 12, 2025 at 3PM, but same-day, in-person testimony will be accepted, time permitting. Please note, you will not be able to sign up for virtual testimony on the day of the hearing.

The Chairs will limit testimony to 3 minutes per speaker and 6 minutes for a panel. There is no limit to the number of people permitted to be on a panel, although the Chairs do not recommend panels that are larger than 3 people. Please note, to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to testify, each person is only permitted to testify once throughout the entirety of the hearing.

Written testimony may be submitted to the Joint Committee via email and will be accepted until the bill is acted upon. Written testimony on House bills should be sent to Audrey Herrmann (Audrey.Herrmann@mahouse.gov) and written testimony on Senate bills should sent to Olivia Mathot (Olivia.mathot@masenate.gov).

Note: All written testimony received by the Committee will be made publicly available, provided however, the Chairs may limit and redact testimony that includes sensitive personal information or information that may jeopardize the health, wellness, or safety of the testifier or others.

If you have any questions regarding the hearing, legislation, format of the hearing, or reasonable accommodations required to ensure people with disabilities can participate fully in the committee process, please email: Olivia Mathot in Chair Kennedy’s Office, at (Olivia.mathot@masenate.gov) or Audrey Herrmann in Chair Livingstone’s Office, at (Audrey.Herrmann@mahouse.gov).

The bills will be heard in the order displayed on the hearing notice with House and Senate companion bills heard together. Please be advised that the schedule and agenda are subject to change at the discretion of the Chairs.
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Item Name	Start Time	Duration	Webcast
Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities - 9-16-2025	9/16/2025 1:00 PM	02:34:54

Department of Transitional Assistance 1:00pm - 5:00pm

Bill	Bill Title	Sponsor
H.195	An Act relative to state assistance for funeral expenses	James Arciero
H.196	An Act maximizing participation in federal nutrition programs and improving customer service	James C. Arena-DeRosa
H.201	An Act to bring child support home	Christine P. Barber
H.207	An Act establishing basic needs assistance for residents	Antonio F. D. Cabral
H.209	An Act relative to funeral assistance	Tackey Chan
H.214	An Act to lift kids out of deep poverty	Marjorie C. Decker
H.220	An Act establishing a diaper benefits pilot program	Mindy Domb
H.221	Resolve providing for an investigation by a special commission relative to the feasibility of a diaper allowance	Mindy Domb
H.222	An Act relative to an agricultural healthy incentives program	Mindy Domb
H.239	An Act establishing a welfare to work task force	Paul K. Frost
H.241	An Act relative to education or training activities for purposes of meeting the Department of Transitional Assistance work requirement	William C. Galvin
H.251	An Act requiring an audit to review the utilization of welfare benefits out-of-state	Bradley H. Jones, Jr.
H.252	An Act to protect safety net access for Massachusetts residents	Mary S. Keefe
H.254	An Act to replace stolen benefits	Sally P. Kerans
H.263	An Act relative to the utilization of the systematic alien verification for entitlements program by the Commonwealth	Marc T. Lombardo
H.281	An Act relative to SNAP benefits for seniors and disabled individuals	Estela A. Reyes
H.295	An Act relative to Department of Transitional Assistance benefits for diapers	Steven George Xiarhos
S.104	An Act relative to an agricultural healthy incentives program	Joanne M. Comerford
S.110	An Act to bring child support home	Cynthia Stone Creem
S.117	An Act establishing basic needs assistance for Massachusetts immigrant residents	Sal N. DiDomenico
S.118	An Act lifting kids out of deep poverty	Sal N. DiDomenico
S.120	Resolve providing for an investigation by a special commission relative to the feasibility of a diaper allowance	Sal N. DiDomenico
S.121	An Act strengthening social security number verification for cash assistance eligibility	Kelly A. Dooner
S.122	An Act relative to the security of electronic benefit transfer cards	Kelly A. Dooner
S.123	An Act establishing a special commission to study the integrity of public assistance programs	Kelly A. Dooner
S.140	An Act concerning food insecurity and supporting the restaurant industry	Edward J. Kennedy
S.147	An Act to replace stolen benefits	Robyn K. Kennedy
S.151	An Act establishing a diaper benefits pilot program	Joan B. Lovely
S.163	An Act protecting safety net access for Massachusetts residents	Michael O. Moore
S.167	An Act to maximize participation in federal nutrition programs and improve customer service	Michael O. Moore

Present (9)

Jay D. Livingstone (HOU)

Kate Donaghue (HOU)

Michelle M. DuBois (HOU)

Lisa Field (HOU)

Judith A. Garcia (HOU)

David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf (HOU)

John J. Marsi (HOU)

Thomas W. Moakley (HOU)

Danillo A. Sena (HOU)
*Changed from Absent on 03/20/2026

No Reason Given (2)

Aaron L. Saunders (HOU)
*Changed from Present on 03/20/2026

Alyson M. Sullivan-Almeida (HOU)

Hearing DetailsJoint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities

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