Jo has lived and worked in western Massachusetts since the late 1990s, arriving fresh out of New York City’s Hunter College School of Social Work where she focused on homelessness policy, prison reform, and earned an MSW.
Advance Equity in Agriculture
S.502, An Act promoting equity in agriculture
While we know people of color are significantly underrepresented among our farmers, we do not have good data to see who is receiving state grants for agriculture. The state has an obligation to act to address inequities. My bill (S.1036, An Act promoting equity in agriculture) establishes a Commission on Agricultural Equity to develop recommendations for supporting racially equitable investments, policies, and practices to promote equity in agriculture in the Commonwealth.
Support Our Farmers
S.1822, An Act Supporting the Commonwealth’s Farmers
Farms and farmers underpin our economy, our region is the breadbasket of the Commonwealth, and yet many farmers are not turning a profit but instead are struggling just to stay in business. My bill (S.1822, An Act Supporting the Commonwealth’s Farmers) makes a number of reforms to state law to support farmers, including setting up a program to train new farmers, allowing small parcels of non-contiguous farmland that are part of the same farming operation to be taxed as a single farm, including farm stands as part of agricultural land for tax purposes, and other provisions to help farmers stay profitable.