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Sen. Karen Spilka and fellow senators took their oaths of office in 2019 prior to Spilka's election to her first full term as Senate president. State House News Service Photo | Sam Doran
State Senate President Karen Spilka sketched out an ambitious agenda for the next two years as she was sworn in on Wednesday, calling for a new “economic development and tax framework,” and promising to pour funding into public education and tackle the high cost of prescription drugs as she took the reins of the Senate and set the stage for what could be a fractious relationship with the state House and governor.
Spilka, who returns as president after holding the gavel for just five months during a light legislating period on Beacon Hill, declared that “the time for small ideas and incremental change is over.”
It remains to be seen, however, how that message will be received by a more moderate state House and a Republican governor who have in recent years balked at the kinds of sweeping reforms and revenue raising proposals that the Senate could pursue in the coming months.
Spilka will be part of a leadership triumvirate that includes House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Gov. Charlie Baker, who will also be returning.
Spilka called for the development of a “economic development and tax framework for the 21st century” that allows business to thrive, while also capturing enough revenue to “fund our vision for our future.”
The new Senate president also specifically mentioned climate change and rising sea levels, “unreliable” public transit, income inequality and health care costs as challenges the legislature must address.
“I have faith, however, that not only will Massachusetts rise to the challenges we face, we will be an example to others on how to navigate our way to a better future by calling on the fundamentals that have guided us in the past , namely education, innovation, and caring for the common good,” Spilka said.
While she promised to “listen” to DeLeo and Baker, the new president, in a speech to members, alluded to tax reform and debates over funding for education and transportation that could set up early pressure points in their budding relationships.
Signs of the trepidation were evident on the House side as well, with Rep. Denise Garlick, in her speech nominating DeLeo for speaker, referring to “a new Senate president who has not yet declared her leadership style or her collaborative style.”
