Sen. Adam G. Hinds (D-Pittsfield)
BOSTON – State Senator Adam G. Hinds (D- Pittsfield) announces that he was appointed to serve as a member of the powerful Senate Committee on Ways & Means by Acting Senate President Harriette L. Chandler (D- Worcester) today.
“I am honored to join this important Committee,” said Hinds. “It provides an opportunity to give western Massachusetts a louder voice when the Senate is making key policy and spending decisions.”
President Chandler announced her decision during this afternoon’s Democratic Caucus at the Massachusetts State House.
“I am honored to appoint Senator Adam Hinds to the Committee on Ways and Means. He will make a great addition to the Ways and Means team,” said Senate President Chandler. “He has impressed me with his dedication and hard work, and I think that it is especially important that he brings even more western Massachusetts representation to the Committee.”
Ways & Means membership is considered a prominent assignment for legislators. This important panel is charged with reviewing all matters relating to the finances of the Commonwealth. Each year Senate Ways & Means is tasked with drafting the Senate budget, and it is often the last stop for all bills and proposals to be reviewed before they are debated on the Senate floor.
Hinds joins fellow western Massachusetts Senators James T. Welch (D- West Springfield) and Donald F. Humason, Jr. (R- Westfield) on the Committee. His membership on Ways & Means ensures that the interests of the small, rural communities of western Massachusetts will have direct representation during Ways & Means deliberations.
The Committee on Senate Ways & Means is led by Chairwoman Karen Spilka (D- Ashland).
“Senator Hinds is a smart, passionate, effective advocate who has already had a significant impact on the Senate in his first term,” stated Chairwoman Spilka. “Whether he is fighting for issues important to his region or engaging young people in local and state government, Adam brings creativity, energy, and openness to his work in the Senate. I look forward to having his voice – another strong voice from western Massachusetts – at the table as we undergo the very vital process of crafting a budget for the Commonwealth.”
Hinds’ appointment to Senate Ways & Means this afternoon is timely, as Governor Baker released his H2 Fiscal Year 2019 state budget recommendations today. The House and Senate Ways & Means Committees will now convene jointly for a series of budget hearings across the state as the two Chambers prepare for their own budget deliberations. The House of Representatives typically holds its annual budget debate in April; the Senate budget follows in late May. Fiscal Year 2019 begins on July 1, 2018.
In addition to Senate Ways & Means, Hinds serves as the chairman of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts & Cultural Development and the vice-chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development & Emerging Technologies. He is a member of the Joint Committee on Higher Education, the Joint Committee on Housing, the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery, the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government, the Special Senate Committee on Citizen Engagement and the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs.
He is also the Senate co-chair of the Rural Caucus and a member of the Regional Schools, Regional Transit Authority, Gateway Cities and Trails Caucuses.
