Talking with Tarsky: 2025 Year In Review
- Administrator
- Jan 7
- 6 min read
Wishing everyone a prosperous 2026, and welcome back to Talking with Tarsky. I hope you had a restful and fulfilling holiday season. As we prepare for the second year of the term, it's an opportune moment to reflect on the significant moments that made 2025 memorable. I am grateful for your continued support over the past year, and I am committed to diligently serving the 13th Norfolk District in the year ahead.
2025 RECAP
We hit the ground running in January, as my colleagues and I were sworn in for our term on January 1. By January 17, we had seasonably filed nine bills focused on education and student well-being, including H.715, An Act relative to phone-free schools.
H.715 seeks to implement a bell-to-bell cellphone ban in public middle and high schools, allowing students to better engage with their coursework and with one another, while giving educators more focused and manageable classrooms. In my final months as principal at Holbrook Middle-High School, we implemented the “pouch system” on which this legislation is modeled. I witnessed increased student interaction and received overwhelmingly positive feedback from teachers and administrators alike.
I am pleased to share that this bill was reported favorably out of the Joint Committee on Education and has since been incorporated into a larger legislative vehicle that will be debated soon. I look forward to continuing to advocate for its passage in the months ahead.
I was assigned to four committees: the House Committee on Climate Action and Sustainability, and the Joint Committees on Public Service, Veterans and Federal Affairs, and Municipalities and Regional Governments. Each of these committees provides meaningful opportunities to advance impactful policy at both the local and state levels.
After a few months in the “bullpen,” also known as Hearing Room A2, we moved into our permanent office in Room 448. I am grateful to share the space with Representative Jack Patrick Lewis, who chairs the Municipalities Committee on which I serve, as well as Representatives Richard Wells and Hadley Luddy. I could not ask for better colleagues to work alongside.
I am particularly proud of how we handled constituent services this year. In 2025, our office managed eighty-seven cases involving state and federal agencies. While not every case can result in a perfect outcome, we successfully resolved 97 percent of them. For the remaining cases, we prioritized clear and timely communication to ensure constituents understood the challenges contributing to delays or unresolved issues.
July and August were especially busy as our summer intern program was in full swing. Our interns were an essential part of the team—preparing policy briefs on legislation, assisting with drafting speeches and testimony, and attending hearings to ensure our office stayed fully informed. We were sad to see this summer cohort go, and their contributions will be greatly missed.
We also launched “Take the T with Tarsky,” an initiative where I ride the Needham Commuter Rail into Boston and host impromptu office hours, connecting with constituents and community members along the way.
We launched our new social media series, Local Legends! This series seeks to highlight impactful individuals and organizations that make the 13th Norfolk District the unique and special place that we all know and love. Our first highlight was on Sandy Robinson and the amazing work of the Needham Community Council.
The fall had a number of wonderful community events, from Dover Days, Medfield Day, the Needham Harvest Fair, to Needham’s Spooky Walk, Medfield TV's Scarecrow Spooktacular, and the Bellforge Arts Center's Fun at the Forge - looking forward to 2026’s!
I was honored to speak at multiple Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies this year. As an Army veteran and National Guardsman, it gives me immense pride to continue our country’s tradition to remember and highlight the service and sacrifice of the military community.
In December, we launched our inaugural Youth Council, bringing together 18 enthusiastic high school students. This group will help inform our work by sharing the concerns, perspectives, and ideas of their peers. At the first meeting, members contributed thoughtful insights and demonstrated strong engagement. We are excited to see the impact of their continued involvement.
I would also like to recognize Bella Kong, a student at Noble and Greenough School, who has been creating reels for my social media platforms. Bella began as a summer intern and has continued working with us throughout the school year, and her contributions have been invaluable.
Legislative Highlights
2025 was an active legislative year, with progress across a broad range of issue areas, a timely filed budget, and the adoption of the first joint rules since 2019. I am proud of my votes this year, and below are some notable pieces of legislation.
In June, the House and Senate passed the General Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2026 - a $61.01 billion budget that funds the Commonwealth for the next fiscal year, responsibly balancing major investments into education, transportation, and affordability with economic discipline. Notably, the budget contains no new tax increases on residents and businesses while contributing further to the Commonwealth’s Stabilization Fund, which has risen to $8.1 billion. Governor Healey signed the bill with small changes on July 4th, leaving the final total at $60.9 billion.
The 13th Norfolk District received $25 million in Chapter 70 funding, with $14.7 million for Needham, $7.2 million for Medfield, and $1.1 million for Dover, as well as an additional $2.9 million for the Dover-Sherborn Regional School District. The towns of the district as well as their non-profits also received $610,000 in funding, from safety improvements to Needham’s Rosemary Recreational Pool and upgrades to Medfield Town Hall, to operational support for Needham-based Hope and Comfort, Inc., and for the creation of a makerspace lab at Dover-Sherborn High School. Also included is funding for the Charles River Center’s Nutrition Project and a summer concert series at Bellforge Arts Center.
I was proud to vote in favor of this budget and to play a role in securing critical funding for our district.
Also in June, the House and Senate agreed on a joint rules package that will govern the 194th General Court and its procedures. Passed in a bipartisan fashion, the rules will boost transparency, efficiency, and efficacy, ensuring our work on Beacon Hill is accessible to all members of the Commonwealth. The rules are below, and I believe that the publishing of bill summaries, the recording of committee votes, and the extension of the hearing notification window are a few highlights.
In August, the Governor signed The Shield Act 2.0, which protects Massachusetts residents’ health care data, ensuring that information regarding gender-affirming care and reproductive health is safe from the prying eyes of the federal government. I’m proud of our work this month.
In September, the House passed H.4530, a supplemental budget to address the widening funding gap in the Health Safety Net program, which pays acute care hospitals and community health centers for necessary medical care for low-income, uninsured, and underinsured Massachusetts residents. By strategically targeting support to fiscally-strained hospitals and community health centers, the Commonwealth is better able to protect our state’s most vulnerable populations and guard itself from the federal uncertainty that this Administration has manufactured. The bill was bipartisan and near-unanimous in the House (148 YEA, 1 NAY), and Governor Healey signed the bill into law on September 22nd.
In October, the House passed three pieces of legislation: H.4670, An Act relative to personal financial literacy education; H.4671, An Act expanding student access to the state seal of biliteracy; and H.4672, An Act relative to teacher preparation and student literacy. All three of these bills make crucial investments in our teachers and students, strengthening our education system for years to come.
In November, the House passed H.4750, An Act to Build Resilient Infrastructure to Generate Higher-Ed Transformation (The BRIGHT Act)
The BRIGHT Act authorizes approximately $3.65 billion in capital investment to modernize Massachusetts’ public colleges and universities and support the state’s academic, research, workforce, and climate goals. Originally filed by Governor Healey, the bill is financed by 10-year special obligation bonds that are backed by Fair Share surtax revenue. These funds will be used to address deferred maintenance, modernization projects, and decarbonization across higher education institutions.
Highlights Include:
Invests $3.65 Billion in Core Campus Infrastructure
Updates to DCAMM Oversight
Improves Education and Transportation Fund Capital Financing
Modernizes the Massachusetts State College Building Authority (MSCBA)
Increases Access to Higher Education Opportunities
It was an exciting first year representing the 13th Norfolk District! Many of my colleagues have shared that the first year (and even first term) is a learning experience, filled with new experiences and challenges—now that we’ve capped off 2025, I’m proud of how my office has approached its duties and feel well-prepared for the year ahead. See you soon!
Yours in Community,
Josh
As always, if you need anything from my office, please reach out to Kyle or me via our emails: joshua.tarsky@mahouse.gov
or call our office at (617) 722-2582