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Bill Docket Bill Title
S.28 SD00202 By Ms. Candaras, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 28) of Welch, Swan, Spilka and other members of the General Court for legislation to improve quality in early education and care by family child care providers [Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities].
S.105 SD00192 By Ms. Jehlen, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 105) of Swan, Spiliotis, Smizik and other members of the General Court to reduce unwanted communication from creditors to protect the peace and privacy of residents [Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure].
H.112 HD00805 By Ms. Sarah K. Peake of Provincetown, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 00112) of Cleon H. Turner and others relative to the use of credit cards at gasoline stations. Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure.
S.150 SD00339 By Mr. Brewer, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 150) of Stephen M. Brewer, Barry R. Finegold, Thomas P. Conroy, Patricia D. Jehlen and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to an independent analysis of expanding gaming in the Commonwealth [Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies].
S.175 SD00008 By Mr. Baddour, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 175) of Downing, Baddour, Poirier and other members of the General Court for legislation to require instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of automatic external defribrillators for high school graduation [Joint Committee on Education].
S.180 SD00350 By Mr. Brewer, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 180) of Torrisi, Kafka, Finegold and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to out of state price authorization for chapter 766 students [Joint Committee on Education].
H.341 HD00966 By Mr. William "Smitty" Pignatelli of Lenox, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 00341) of Benjamin Downing and others relative to Medicaid payments to critical access hospitals . Joint Committee on Health Care Financing.
S.350 SD00522 By Mr. Eldridge, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 350) of James B. Eldridge, Frank I. Smizik, Kenneth J. Donnelly and other members of the General Court for legislation to protect the natural and historic resources of the Commonwealth [Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture].
S.352 SD00525 By Mr. Eldridge, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 352) of Wolf, Story, Harrington and other members of the General Court for legislation to require producer responsibility for collection reuse and recycling of discarded electronic products [Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture].
S.409 SD00389 By Ms. Chandler, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 409) of Harriette L. Chandler, Stephen M. Brewer, Bruce E. Tarr, John W. Scibak and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to financial services contracts for dental benefits corporations. Financial Services.
S.461 SD00754 For legislation to further regulate insurance underwriting and motor vehicle liability ratings
S.476 SD01437 By Mr. Tolman, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 476) of Clark, Rush, DiDomenico and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to auto body labor rates [Joint Committee on Financial Services].
S.501 SD01207 By Mr. Eldridge, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 501) of Wolf, Walz, Story and other members of the General Court for legislation to establish Medicare for all in Massachusetts [Joint Committee on Health Care Financing].
H.502 HD00658 By Messrs. Sciortino of Medford and Rushing of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 502) of Carl M. Sciortino, Jr. and others relative to gender based discrimination and hate crimes. The Judiciary.
S.541 SD01840 By Mr. Moore, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 541) of Eldridge, Downing, Alicea and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to strengthening the DoN Program [Joint Committee on Health Care Financing].
S.548 SD01165 By Mr. Rodrigues, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 548) of Schmid, Aguiar, Barrows and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to manufacturer rebates and discount programs [Joint Committee on Health Care Financing].
S.570 SD00121 By Mr. Knapik, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 570) of Candaras, Downing, Kocot and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees [Joint Committee on Higher Education].
S.614 SD00917 By Mr. Pacheco, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 614) of Clark, McGee, Downing and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to manufactured housing communities [Joint Committee on Housing].
S.629 SD00036 By Mr. Baddour, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 629) of Finegold, Atkins, Baddour and other members of the General Court for legislation to combat economic crimes [Joint Committee on the Judiciary].
S.720 SD00909 By Ms. Creem, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 720) of Creem and Downing for legislation relative to the profits from crime [Joint Committee on the Judiciary].
S.772 SD01488 By Mr. Eldridge, a petition (accompanied by resolution, Senate, No. 772) of James B. Eldridge, Daniel A. Wolf, Stanley C. Rosenberg, Katherine M. Clark and other members of the General Court memoralizing the Congress of the United States to restore free speech. The Judiciary.
H.870 HD00521 By Mr. Stephen Kulik of Worthington, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 00870) of Jonathan Hecht and others for legislation to restrict calllers from using certain automatic dialing devices for sending informaion to subscribers of telephone services . Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy.
S.898 SD01160 By Mr. Timilty, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 898) of Schmid, Sullivan, O'Connell and other members of the General Court for legislation to promote public safety through the equitable allocation of funding for prosecutors and public defenders in the Commonwealth [Joint Committee on the Judiciary].
S.914 SD00351 By Mr. Brewer, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 914) of Stephen M. Brewer, Kimberly N. Ferguson, Ellen Story, Denise Andrews and other members of the General Court for legislation to protect call/volunteer firefighters from dismissal. Labor and Workforce Development.
S.997 SD01428 By Mr. Tolman, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 997) of Downing and Tolman for legislation to provide for the study of access to methadone medicated assistance among Masshealth clients [Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse].
H.1004 HD01264 By Ms. Jennifer E. Benson of Lunenburg, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 01004) of Gailanne Cariddi and others for legislation to regulate solar specialty contractors . Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure.
S.1019 SD00574 By Mr. Eldridge, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1019) of Wolf, Walsh, Story and other members of the General Court for legislation to comprehensive land use reform and partnership [Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government].
S.1069 SD00263 By Mr. Brewer, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1069) of Stephen M. Brewer, Anthony W. Petruccelli, Jeffrey Sánchez, James Arciero and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to surgical technology [Joint Committee on Public Health].
S.1187 SD00296 By Mr. Brewer, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1187) of Story, Downing, Hunt and other members of the General Court for legislation to include call/volunteer firefighters on the fire service commission [Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security].
S.1188 SD00297 By Mr. Brewer, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1188) of Stephen M. Brewer, Michael R. Knapik, Benjamin D. Downing, Ellen Story and other members of the General Court for legislation to include call/volunteer firefighters on the massachusetts fire training council [Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security].
S.1206 SD00742 By Mr. DiDomenico, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1206) of Sal N. DiDomenico, Frederick E. Berry, Sean Garballey, Michael J. Rodrigues and other members of the General Court for legislation to promote the public health through workplace safety for social workers [Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security].
S.1427 SD00831 By Mr. DiDomenico, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1427) of Toomey, Tarr, Swan and other members of the General Court for legislation to create the community development partnership program [Joint Committee on Revenue].
H.1497 HD01189 By Mr. Stephen Kulik of Worthington, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 01497) of Alice K. Wolf and others for legislation to regulate the license, transfer, use, or sale of prescriber-identifiable data only for commercial purposes by pharmacies. Joint Committee on Public Health.
S.1523 SD01283 By Ms. Spilka, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1523) of Downing, Rodrigues and Spilka for legislation to strengthen tax administration and promote taxpayer fairness [Joint Committee on Revenue].
S.1575 SD01182 By Mr. Eldridge, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1575) of Walz, Spilka, Harrington and other members of the General Court for legislation to enhance access to electronic public records [Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight].
S.1576 SD01183 By Mr. Eldridge, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1576) of Walz, Dykema, Downing and other members of the General Court for legislation to improve access to public records [Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight].
S.1725 SD00294 By Mr. Brewer, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1725) of Stephen M. Brewer, Michael J. Rodrigues, Stephen Kulik, Benjamin B. Downing and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to permist for overweight vehicles. Transportation.
S.1841 SD00082 By Ms. Creem, petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1841) of Wolf, Welch, Walz and other members of the General Court for legislation to sustain community preservation [Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses].
H.1923 HD02606 By Ms. Haddad of Somerset, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1923) of Torrisi and others relative to pricing for certain private school programs Joint Committee on Education.
H.1995 HD02523 By Ms. Gobi of Spencer, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1995) of Anne M. Gobi and others relative to the distribution of raw milk. Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture.
S.2124 SD02160 By Mr. Moore, a petition (subject to Joint Rule 12 and Senate Rule 20) (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 2124) of Richard T. Moore, Kenneth J. Donnelly, John Hart, Jr., Michael O. Moore and other members of the General Court for legislation relative to reduction of property tax liability for veterans. Revenue.
H.3359 HD01587 By Mr. deMacedo of Plymouth, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. [BILL NUMBER]) of Viriato Manuel deMacedo and others relative to determining caseloads and funding for prosecutors and public defenders. The Judiciary.
H.3448 HD03752 By Mr. Pignatelli of Lenox, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3448) of William "Smitty" Pignatelli and Benjamin Downing (by vote of the town) relative to group insurance in the town of Great Barrington. Municipalities and Regional Government. [Local Approval Received.]
H.3450 HD03751 By [SPONSOR PREFIX] [SPONSOR NAME] of [SPONSOR CITY], a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3450) of [PETITIONERS LIST] (by vote of the town) that the positions of fire chief and deputy fire chief in the town of Great Barrington be exempt from provisions of the civil service law. Public Service. [Local Approval Received.]
H.3741 HD04074 (with the approval of the mayor and city council) relative to validating the acts and proceedings of the preliminary mayoral election in the city of North Adams
H.3748 HD04049 For legislation to authorize the board of commissioners of the Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority to offer a limited early retirement incentive program for employees of said authority
H.3858 HD04133 By Mr. Straus of Mattapoisett, a petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of William M. Straus and others for legislation to prohibit commercial solicitation to mobile electronic devices. Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure.
H.3890 HD04144 By Mr. Lewis of Winchester, a petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Jason M. Lewis and others for legislation to authorize municipalities to create stabilization funds for special education costs. Municipalities and Regional Government.

Benjamin B. Downing (D- Pittsfield) was first elected to the Massachusetts Senate on November 7, 2006 and was re-elected in 2008 and 2010. Senator Downing represents the 48 communities of the Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin District, proudly serving the largest Senate district in the Commonwealth.

Senator Downing serves as the Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, which is tasked with reviewing all matters concerning the exploration, exploitation and development of energy sources. The Committee also has jurisdiction over proposals regarding the siting of energy facilities, public utilities, the bottle bill, etc.

The Senator also serves as vice-chairman of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development. In past legislative sessions he served as chair of the Public Service Committee (2007), Senate Ethics and Rules Committee (2007-2008), and most recently the Revenue (2009-2010) and Higher Education (2010) Committees. He is an active member of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, and serves on several other Senate and Joint Committees. Senator Downing is a member of several legislative caucuses; he serves as co-chairman of the Gateway Cities Caucus, vice chairman of the Regional Transit Authorities (RTA) Caucus, and is an active participant of the Regional Schools Caucus.

A Pittsfield native, Senator Downing received his B.A. in Political Science from Providence College in 2003. In May 2008 he received a M.A. from Tufts University’s Department of Urban and Environment Policy & Planning.

Before returning to Pittsfield, Senator Downing lived in Washington, D.C. working for U.S. Representatives William Delahunt (D- Quincy) and Richard E. Neal (D- Springfield), before joining the staff of U.S. Representative John W. Olver (D- Amherst). For nearly two years he served as senior advisor to Congressman Olver.

Senator Downing’s family has a long history of public service. He is the oldest of four children (Maggie, Nate and Nick) raised by the late Berkshire District Attorney Gerard and Pamela Downing.

Personal Information

Profession: Legislator/Public Service
Religion: Roman Catholic

Career Highlights

  • Elected 2006; Re-elected 2008 and 2010
  • Chair, Joint Committee on Revenue 2009-2010
  • Acting Chair, Joint Committee on Higher Education 2010; Chair, Senate Committee on Ethics and Rules 2007-2008;Chair, Joint Committee on Public Service 2007
  • Chair, Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy (2011-2012)

Education & Public Service

  • Pittsfield Catholic Schools
  • Providence College, BA - Political Science 2003
  • Tufts University, MA - Public Policy 2008
  • “Honorary Chairman, College Democrats of Massachusetts”
  • Co-Chair, Massachusetts Democratic Party's Committee on Youth Services
  • Co-Chair of the Leadership Council to End Chronic Homelessness in Berkshire County
  • Advisory Council of the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
  • Pittsfield Democratic Committee
Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin, Consisting of Adams, Alford, Becket, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Dalton, Egremont, Florida, Great Barrington, Hancock, Hinsdale, Lanesborough, Lee, Lenox, Monterey, Mount Washington, New Ashford, New Marlborough, North Adams, Otis, Peru, Pittsfield, Richmond, Sandisfield, Savoy, Sheffield, Stockbridge, Tyringham, Washington, West Stockbridge, Williamstown and Windsor, in the county of Berkshire; Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Huntington, Middlefield, Plainfield, Westhampton, Williamsburg and Worthington, in the county of Hampshire; and Ashfield, Charlemont, Conway, Hawley, Heath, Monroe and Rowe, in the county of Franklin.