State Senator Becca Rausch, who co-chairs the Legislature’s Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, said it was important to craft a ban that would be feasible for all retailers. “We’ve built in an exception for small businesses,” she said. “We’re making sure to take care of everybody.”

“We have a significant plastics problem. Massachusetts uses an estimated 2 billion–that’s billion with a “B”– two billion plastic bags every year,” said Senator Becca Rausch, a Democrat from Needham.

“As a Brandeis alumna who is deeply dedicated to both public service and civics education, it’s a great privilege and pleasure to welcome ENACT students to the State House every year for hands-on legislative advocacy and experiential civics education."

Rausch recently filed a suite of five anti-ICE bills, including one to ban the arrest of parents of minor children without an approved care plan for the child and another that would allow any Massachusetts resident to sue ICE agents.

"Here in Massachusetts, we operate differently. We actually talk to each other, we trust science and understand evidence, and we don't dwell in rhetoric - we focus on action and meaningful results that are going to generate positive outcomes for people in their daily lives."

"Because of search engines and algorithms and money, a lot of times, the first places that pop up are these anti-abortion centers. But if they can't provide any ultrasound services because it's illegal in Massachusetts for them to do so because they lack a license and the appropriate training to do so safely and accurately, then that doesn't happen at the get-go," said Rausch.

“Notably, this is not a partisan issue, as figures from all walks of the political spectrum have faced terrible violence, and tragically that violence has spread to several other professionals just doing their jobs,” Rausch said. “I am proud to direct my deep expertise in elections and public records law to the widely shared goal of safety and security for all by crafting and filing this comprehensive legislation."

"I greatly appreciated the attention and sensitivity Senator Edwards gave to the brave survivors who testified at the hearing on this bill, and to the bill content generally. The legislation provides a significant and critical change to our existing law to better protect and empower women," said Rausch.

“At the end of my testimony, Senator Becca Rausch said, ‘It’s always great to see young people engaged,’ and that resonated with me,” Van Horn reflected. “Civic engagement is about immersing yourself in the issues within your community and acting to positively change it."

Sen. Becca Rausch's bill would bolster police training around potential domestic violence-related deaths and allow close friends and family the ability to request records and a second opinion.