Representative Kate Hogan is in her seventh term as State Representative for the Third Middlesex District. Recently named Speaker Pro Tempore, a member of Speaker Mariano’s Leadership team, she works as a bridge between House leadership and members to tackle the state’s biggest issues. In past terms, Representative Hogan served as House Division Leader, House Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health and a co-chair of the Elder Caucus, where she was instrumental in shepherding landmark public health legislation into law.
Addressing PFAS contamination is a top priority for Rep. Hogan. When MassDEP detected per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) levels above state standards in the public water supplies of towns in her district, Rep. Hogan helped town leaders secure funding and assistance for PFAS remediation. She also filed legislation to establish the PFAS Interagency Task Force with the mission of bringing together stakeholders across the state to work towards solutions.
Co-chaired by Rep. Hogan, the Task Force released its final report and recommendations in April 2022. The report offers an expansive review of PFAS in the Commonwealth and recommended legislative and regulatory action to address PFAS use and contamination. The report is a culmination of nine hearings held by the Task Force, which convened researchers, advocacy groups, community members, municipal officials, state agencies, public water systems, legislators, and other stakeholders and experts on the issues surrounding PFAS.
The FY23 budget includes funding for MassDEP and DPH to carry out many of the recommendations made by the Task Force. In May 2022, Rep. Hogan joined Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey to announce that Massachusetts would be filing a lawsuit against 13 manufacturers of PFAS.
An omnibus bill to effectively address PFAS contamination in the Commonwealth is forthcoming.
Rep. Hogan is proud to represent farms in the Third Middlesex District, many of which are family-owned. Her support for farms in the Commonwealth ranges from sponsoring a bill that reformed the process for valuing and preserving family farms so they could remain intact and in the family to filing legislation to establish a 21st Century Farms Commission, which will investigate the present-day and future needs of agriculture in the Commonwealth with the goal of ensuring our farms can adapt to changing economic, climate and energy conditions.
As part of the legislation that established the Commission, Rep. Hogan called for a simplified grant application for farms overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture Resources.
As a State Representative and a local resident, Kate is proud of the growth and development taking place in the Third Middlesex District — from the renovation and revitalization of Hudson’s downtown, to climate resiliency and infrastructure improvements in Bolton, public art programming in Maynard, and the rail trails running through the District, she has filed legislation to deliver state funds and policy that help businesses and communities build necessary transportation and infrastructure, expand operations, and adapt to changing circumstances.
Massachusetts is proud of its role as a leader in health care and health policy. From 2015 to 2018, Rep. Hogan was honored to serve as Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health, where she and committee staff oversaw all public health-related matters that came before the legislature and were instrumental in shepherding landmark public health legislation into law. These laws include expanding access to reproductive health care, increasing the age for the purchase of tobacco products, and supporting local and regional public health.
In April 2018, Rep. Hogan’s bill to protect patient confidentiality was signed into law. Known as the PATCH Act, the law prevents insurance companies from sharing confidential health information of dependent subscribers, such as children and spouses, with the primary subscribers of the insurance plan. The PATCH Act enables dependents to access high-quality, confidential health care.
From the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, our shelter, recreation and more, our environment is our most critical resource. Rep. Hogan is committed to caring for, and preserving natural resources, and ensuring that we effectively adapt to climate change and build resiliency for the future. She proudly supports progressive and practical clean energy policy in Massachusetts, including the Massachusetts Climate Roadmap bill that she co-sponsored and was signed into law in 2021 and a successive bill advancing offshore wind and clean energy that was passed by the legislature in 2022. Rep. Hogan consistently advocates and delivers state support and funding for local water infrastructure and environmental projects and innovative uses for community preservation efforts.
The importance of ensuring climate resiliency and sustainability informs Rep. Hogan’s work on PFAS, Agriculture and other initiatives, as well.
As the highest-ranking LGBTQ member of the state legislature, Rep. Hogan is proud of the Commonwealth’s historic progress and continued efforts to create an equitable and just society for all residents.
In 1989, Massachusetts became the second state in the country to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Then, in 2004, the Commonwealth became the first state in the country to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. And in 2011, Massachusetts passed historic Trans anti-discrimination legislation. In 2018, our state led the nation in supporting transgender protections by a popular vote and the following year banned the harmful practice known as conversion therapy.
Rep. Hogan is a proud co-sponsor of the ROE Act, which was enacted in 2020 to codify and expand access to abortion in Massachusetts. In July 2022, just over one month after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, Massachusetts leaders worked in a bipartisan manner to again protect access to abortion, reproductive health care, and gender-affirming services, and to protect the providers and patients who rely on continued access to those services by passing comprehensive reproductive rights legislation.
In 2019 the House unanimously voted in favor of legislation that would direct transportation and tourism officials to create a women’s rights history trail highlighting the contributions of Massachusetts women throughout history. The legislation was signed into law by the Governor in Spring 2022.
Rep. Hogan also supports legislation to require genocide education in Massachusetts middle and high school history classes, the Indigenous Peoples legislative agenda, and the recently-enacted Work and Family Mobility bill that enables all qualified residents to apply for a state driver’s license, regardless of immigration status.
From her first day in office, Rep. Hogan has made it clear that her number one priority is the constituents in her district. Above all else, she strives to serve the needs of the Third Middlesex District and connect the people, towns, businesses, and organizations there with necessary state resources.
Rep. Hogan’s door has always been open to the needs of individual constituents. She has dedicated significant resources to make contact with constituents and assist those in need. During the pandemic, those needs ranged from sharing up-to-date information and responding to constituent calls and emails to advocating on behalf of constituents with state agencies to secure eligible benefits and resources.
Rep. Hogan is particularly attuned to the needs of seniors, veterans and those deemed most vulnerable. She was named co-chair of the Elder Caucus and, before joining the legislature, served on the Stow Council on Aging. She has also served as Chair of the Library Legislative Caucus. She regularly files bills and amendments to direct funding to local projects.