Dean of the Senate Marc R. Pacheco Democrat - Third Bristol and Plymouth

Senator Marc R. Pacheco (D-Taunton) is the Dean of the Massachusetts Senate having proudly represented the 3rd Bristol & Plymouth as State Senator since 1993. Senator Pacheco currently serves as the Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Post Audit & Oversight, the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness & Management, Founding Chair & Current Member of the Standing Senate Committee on Global Warming & Climate Change, Founding Co-Chair of the Legislative Caucus on International Trade & Global Competitiveness, and Founding Chair of the Council of State Governments (CSG) U.S. State Legislative Climate Alliance. He also serves as a member of the Joint Committee on State Administration & Regulatory Oversight.

Senator Pacheco also leads a wide variety of policy initiatives at the national and international level, having been appointed to serve as Co-Chair of the CSG Subcommittee on Smart Government for the National “Future of Work” Task Force, the CSG/Eastern Regional Conference (ERC) Territorial Relations Committee, the National Conference of State Legislature (NCSL) Task Force on International Relations, and Co-Chair of the CSG/ERC Energy & Environment Committee which serves officials in 11 Northeast states, as well as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Eastern Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Québec.

For his various international achievements, Senator Pacheco has received official commendations including “Commander of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator” - the Republic of Portugal’s highest civilian award; “Grand Decoration of Honor in Gold with Star” - the Republic of Austria’s 4th highest decoration of merit; and the “Medalha Da Ordem De Timor-Leste”, honoring his lasting contributions to East Timorese independence. He has also received numerous honors from the labor, healthcare, and environmental advocacy communities including the Audubon Society and the United Nations Youth & Student Association of Austria.

Senator Pacheco was appointed by President William Jefferson Clinton and confirmed by the United States Senate in 1995 to serve a six-year term on the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation’s Board of Trustees. Senator Pacheco chaired the Massachusetts District Export Council (DEC) from 1996 through 2005 and remains an active member of the DEC. In 2016, Senator Pacheco was appointed the Senate representative for the Massachusetts-Québec Research Council, a body established through a cooperation agreement between the Massachusetts Legislature and the National Assembly of Québec.

Senator Pacheco is the founder and co-chair of the Southeastern Massachusetts Legislative Caucus, a bi-partisan group of legislators and community leaders that share the common goal of fostering economic development throughout the region. He also founded the Senator’s Business and Economic Advisory Council, in which leaders in the economic development, business and academic sectors participate in meetings set by the Senator to advise him on key policy issues impacting the Southeast region.

During his tenure in the Massachusetts legislature, Senator Pacheco has prioritized and developed strategies to enhance the state economy and the Southeast region. For his work, in 1998, Senator Pacheco received a gubernatorial appointment to the government affairs committee of the Task Force on Growth and Change in Southeastern Massachusetts. He was then appointed co-chair of the task force which was later named Vision 2020, a regional growth management project being undertaken by three regional planning agencies. Senator Pacheco is the founder and co-chair of the Southeastern Massachusetts Legislative Caucus, a bi-partisan group of legislators and community leaders that share the common goal of fostering economic development throughout the region. He also founded the Senator’s Business and Economic Advisory Council, in which leaders in the economic development, business and academic sectors participate in meetings set by the Senator to advise him on key policy issues impacting the Southeast region.

As a leading state policymaker on the issue of climate change, Senator Pacheco authored and sponsored the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008, which established the first mandatory carbon emissions reductions requirements in Massachusetts history. He has also sponsored legislation successfully adopted to establish mandatory procurements for offshore wind and update statewide emission reduction mandates to achieving 50% below 1990 levels by 2030, 75% by 2040, and Net Zero by 2050. Senator Pacheco is an Al Gore Climate Messenger, a long-time advocate of the urgency of climate change, and a dedicated proponent of the transition to clean and renewable energy.

The Senator earned his Master's Degree in Public Administration from Suffolk University. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Human Services from New Hampshire College, now Southern New Hampshire University, and an Associate's Degree from the University of Massachusetts-Stockbridge School. He has served as a guest lecturer at higher education institutions including Suffolk University, Harvard University and various schools within the University of Massachusetts system.

Senator Pacheco still resides in the city of Taunton with his wife, Barbara (Sylvia) Pacheco, just a few blocks from where he grew up.