Dear Friends, For more than seven years, I have had the high honor of representing the people of the First Middlesex District on Beacon Hill. During my tenure in the Massachusetts State Senate, I greatly enjoyed and took distinct pride … Continued
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State Seeks New Mental-Health Provider for Lowell Facility
By Rick Sobey LOWELL — It was yet another major setback for mental-health treatment in the region. After the Lowell Treatment Center on Varnum Avenue permanently shut down last month, local legislators reached out to the state about restoring Lowell-based … Continued
Bill will help those who make it in Massachusetts
Editorial Whatever’s produced in Massachusetts stays in Massachusetts? It’s not quite as catchy as the phrase Las Vegas has successfully used to market its unique assets, but it could deliver a mass message that the state’s smaller manufacturing companies can’t … Continued
Senate Passes Two Donoghue Bills to Establish the MassMade Program for Manufacturers and to Allow UMass to Insure Its Own Buildings
Press Release
BOSTON – Today the Massachusetts Senate passed two bills filed by Sen. Eileen Donoghue (D-Lowell), one that could grow the economy and one that would help the University of Massachusetts. S.178, an act establishing the MassMade program, supports Massachusetts businesses … Continued
Should Massachusetts Permanently Legalize and Impose a Tax on Sports Fantasy Betting?
By Eileen M. Donoghue Daily fantasy sports has become a growing part of people’s pastimes and an exciting new part of our innovation economy. It flourishes worldwide, with 59 million people playing last year in just the United States and … Continued
VIDEO: I-Team: Drivers Cheat The System, Misuse Handicap Placards To Park For Free In Boston (Video)
BOSTON (CBS) – Anyone who lives or works in downtown Boston knows that parking isn’t cheap. However, the WBZ I-Team repeatedly observed how some drivers are cheating the system to avoid the cost: Using someone else’s handicap placard to park … Continued
Senate Passes Donoghue Bill Expanding Community College Training Incentive Program
Press Release
BOSTON – By a unanimous vote, the Senate today passed Senate Bill 2297, An Act expanding the community college training incentive program. Senate Bill 2297 broadens course eligibility requirements for the Community College Training Incentive Program, which supports course offerings … Continued
Lawmakers Debate Sen. Donoghue Bill to Legalize Fantasy Sports Gambling
By Samantha J. Gross BOSTON– The sun is setting on the temporary legalization of daily fantasy sports gaming, and Sen. Eileen Donoghue is hoping to permanently regulate what she calls a “home-grown industry.” The Legislature’s Committee on Economic Development and … Continued
The Donoghue Digest: Winter Edition
In the District Lowell’s New Mayor and City Council Begin Terms With Representative David Nangle and other colleagues from Beacon Hill, I attended the swearing-in ceremony for Mayor Samaras and Lowell City Council members. I look forward to working … Continued
Important to Regulate Fantasy Sports Contests
Editorial Last year, a special commission on Beacon Hill studied the burgeoning digital fantasy sports industry — think DraftKings and FanDuel. In July, the commission concluded the industry could only get bigger, the state should regulate it, the state should … Continued
Daily Fantasy Sports Companies Could See 15 Percent Tax on Revenues
By Andy Rosen The legislative action comes as DraftKings solidifies its position as the industry leader, surpassing longtime rival FanDuel during the crucial NFL season following a failed merger of the two companies. DraftKings said this month that it plans … Continued
Fantasy Sports Tax, Pro Sports Betting Panel Featured in Donoghue Bill
By Colin A. Young BOSTON — With the legal status of daily fantasy sports set to expire in about five months, Sen. Eileen Donoghue has proposed making the popular fantasy contests permanently legal, putting the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in charge … Continued
Senate Unanimously Passes Donoghue Bill Requiring ‘Shopping Sheets’ for Higher-Ed Students
Press Release
BOSTON – By a 39-0 vote, the Senate today passed Senate Bill 2247, An Act requiring institutions of higher education to provide uniform financial aid information to accepted applicants. S.2247 expanded on a bill that Senator Eileen Donoghue filed in … Continued
WBUR: Financial aid shopping sheet for prospective college students (Radio Interview)
Editorial: Welcome law targets abuse of handicapped parking
There are plenty of ways to “game the system” as the saying goes, but abusing handicapped parking spots with bogus credentials is one of the more shameful. Handicapped placards, both temporary or permanent, are intended to allow a shorter traveling … Continued
The Donoghue Digest: November Edition
Dear friends, I hope that you had a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. The victory by a U.S. woman in the New York Marathon notwithstanding, October and November felt like a sprint. The Senate passed major and complex bills to help … Continued
Handicap placard fraud now a crime thanks to Lowell senator’s legislation
BOSTON — “It’s not a problem for you if it’s not a problem for you. But if it’s a problem for you, it’s a big problem.” That’s how Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday described what the state’s inspector general … Continued
Employers can help with student debt
Source: Commonwealth Magazine By Eileen M. Donoghue, Julie Lammers, and Paul Mark As the student debt crisis worsens, elected officials are turning to college affordability as their primary policy solution. New York is implementing tuition-free public higher education through its … Continued
VIDEO: Daylight saving time ends, but will Massachusetts end the clock-changing ritual?
Source: The Today Show
Special Commission Approves Time Zone Report
As Senate Chair of the Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee, I helped to pass major economic development legislation last year that established, among other things, a special commission on the Commonwealth’s Time Zone. Initially spurred by a citizen’s petition, … Continued
Massachusetts is considering ditching daylight saving time, but should it?
Source: CBS News The sun will rise a little earlier for most of us next week, after the end of daylight saving time, but Massachusetts is exploring whether to stay one hour ahead. A state commission plans to vote Wednesday … Continued
Massachusetts Mulls Switching to Atlantic Time—and Staying There
Source: The Wall Street Journal By Jon Kamp As Americans get ready to turn the clocks back next month, a Massachusetts commission is exploring whether the state should spring ahead one hour for good. Winter darkness comes early in New … Continued
Senate Passes Donoghue Bill Reforming Handicapped Parking Placards
Press Release BOSTON – By a 37-0 vote, the Senate today passed Senate Bill 2168, An Act Relative to Handicapped Parking. S.2168 expanded on a bill that Senator Eileen Donoghue filed in January to combat handicapped parking fraud and to … Continued
State Seeks to Protect Students from Unscrupulous For-Profit Schools (10/4/17)
Letter to the Editor Boston Globe: State seeks to protect students from unscrupulous for-profit schools The article “Student borrowers caught in limbo” (Page A1, Oct. 2) shows that students at for-profit schools need protections. Schools deceive or defraud students, recruiting … Continued
The Donoghue Digest: Fall 2017 Edition
The fall edition of my newsletter is jam-packed with stories on what I’ve been up to in recent months on Beacon Hill. From the two special commissions that I established and chaired, to my work in crafting our state’s budget, … Continued
Massachusetts Leaders Unite to Condemn Hatred
In the wake of the violence and tragic deaths of three people in Charlottesville, all of us, now more than ever, must together explicitly denounce hatred, racism, and bigotry in the United States. I proudly cosponsored a joint resolution, which … Continued
Special Commission Approves Daily Fantasy Sports, Online Gaming, and eSports Report
After almost a year of studying the impacts of daily fantasy sports, online gaming, and the eSports industry in Massachusetts, the legislatively-created Special Commission that I co-chaired formally concluded its duties and approved a legislative report of its findings and … Continued
Export development committee welcomes Ban Ki-moon to State House
Press Release
BOSTON – The eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon visited the State House yesterday to discuss international trade and engagement with the new Joint Committee on Export Development, which aims to develop partnerships between the commonwealth and other nations … Continued
Senate budget includes Community Benefit Districts
Press Release
BOSTON – Senators voted to include language establishing Community Benefit Districts (CBDs) in the Senate budget yesterday, potentially creating a new tool for cities and towns in Massachusetts to establish local partnerships to manage and support vibrant, walkable places like … Continued
In budget, Donoghue promotes safer, healthier Greater Lowell communities
Press Release
BOSTON – State Senator Eileen Donoghue secured nearly $3 million in the Senate budget for addiction treatment, youth outreach, food access, and economic development programs that serve Greater Lowell and communities around the commonwealth. “I’m proud to support programs that … Continued
Donoghue secures $2.25 million to reduce violence, create opportunity for youth
Press Release
BOSTON – State Senator Eileen Donoghue secured $2.25 million in the Senate budget for youth outreach programs that reduce gang involvement and create opportunity in Lowell and other cities around the commonwealth. “When young people lose hope that there’s a … Continued
Donoghue delivers $200K for addiction treatment at Lowell Community Health Center
Press Release
BOSTON – Yesterday the Massachusetts Senate passed a budget amendment sponsored by state Senator Eileen Donoghue that awards $200,000 to expand addiction treatment programs at the Lowell Community Health Center. The funding will allow the health center to increase its … Continued
Donoghue wins Food Trust funding to create jobs, increase access to healthy food
Press Release
BOSTON – Today state Senator Eileen Donoghue secured funding in the Senate budget for the Massachusetts Food Trust, a program that aims to increase access to nutritious food and create jobs in low-income areas. The legislature created the Massachusetts Food … Continued