Public Safety
As a former Assistant District Attorney and Assistant Attorney General, Joe Driscoll understands the public safety needs of a community as well as anyone. The relationships Joe has built in his law enforcement career, with police and fire departments, top law officials and statewide organizations and coalitions, are a valuable asset as Joe continues to prioritize the public safety of his constituents.

This focus on public safety has not only resulted in increased state funding for local police and fire departments but has also led to Joe’s support for Melanie’s Law to toughen drunk driver penalties, Jessica’s Law to keep our children safe from sexual predators, the Shannon Grant funding and the Byrne Grant that was awarded to the Town of Randolph to help staff additional police officers.
  

  
Support for public education
 When Joe first ran for State Representative in 2003, he highlighted the fact that Braintree, Holbrook and Randolph were being unfairly penalized under the Commonwealth’s formula for distributing Chapter 70 Education Funding, and promised to make it a priority to fix this inequity. Upon arriving at the State House, Joe fought for and supported the formula adjustments made by the legislature in FY06 to benefit communities previously under funded. The result:

• Braintree has seen an historical increase of 94% in Ch. 70 funding from Fiscal Year 2006 – Fiscal Year 2009 ($4.9 million - $9.5 million). This change represents one of the largest increases of all communities in Massachusetts.

• Holbrook has realized an increase from $4.1 million - $4.9 million under the adjusted formula.

• In addition to other state assistance during their municipal budget crisis, the town of Randolph has also seen a significant increase in Ch. 70 funding, from $10.4 million to $12.1 million under the adjusted formula.

Committee membership
Constituent service and financial stability will always represent the top priorities for Rep. Joe Driscoll. In addition, Joe has also utilized his positions on several key legislative committees, to play an important role in many issues affecting his constituents and his community.

As a member of the powerful Financial Services Committee (a committee combining the previous jurisdictions of the Insurance Committee and the Committee on Banks and Banking), Joe plays an important role in overseeing many issues affecting the daily lives of Massachusetts residents. Among the most significant issues addressed by Joe and other members of the Financial Services Committee have been recent Auto Insurance Reform and the landmark Health Care Reform of 2006.

As a member of the House Committee on Revenue, Joe plays an important role in overseeing our state tax structure and federal financial assistance. In addition to these and other components weighing on the fiscal structure of state government, the Committee on Revenue also reviewed large portions of the Governor’s Municipal Partnership Act. Additionally, in his role on the Committee on Revenue, Joe has been involved in debate leading to the passage of a local option for municipalities to decide whether or not to join the state Group Insurance Commission Health Care Plan, an option that would realize desperately needed savings for municipal governments. This committee is also responsible for passage of the Sales tax Holiday and is where Joe pushed through a Braintree Home Rule Petition granting property tax abatements to our military personnel serving overseas.

Joe also serves on the legislature’s Election Laws Committee, overseeing all matters concerning elections throughout Massachusetts as well as campaign finance laws. It is on this committee where Joe continues to advocate further campaign spending reforms and regulations and increased voter participation efforts.

Increased local funding 
Joe believes that one of the most important roles state government can play is to provide cities and towns with the necessary local aid to address the growing strains on municipal government. Whether it is addressing aging infrastructure needs, securing adequate public safety resources, allowing tax relief and developing programs for our seniors, meeting the needs of our veterans or meeting municipal health and pension costs, Joe acknowledges that the state has a role to play in the quality of life within all communities.

That is why Joe has supported the uncapping of State Lottery funds, opening up more direct aid for cities and towns. Joe has fought for and supported the Legislature’s commitment to supplement the shortfall in Lottery funds for two years, so that communities are not adversely affected by the temporary downturns in Lottery revenues, revenues that are utilized for so many of these critical local needs.

In addition to protecting the structure of local aid, Joe has always believed it is important to fight for special funding of specific district needs and priorities, understanding that proportioned local aid is not always enough. Joe believes that no town or neighborhood in the Commonwealth should have a monopoly on state funding, but that necessary specific projects in a community are an important use of state resources. That is why Joe has always sought to work closely with leaders in the State House to ensure that where possible, holes in local funding for important projects might be filled. This recognition and effort have resulted in state funding for such critical local projects such as a traffic signal on Rt. 37 in Braintree, financial assistance for the Holbrook Public Library and funding for increased police officers in Braintree and Randolph, to name just a few.

Our Children
In addition to focusing on their public safety, Joe knows his children and ours will someday be competing in a vastly different world marketplace. In addition to ensuring our communities receive a fair level of state funding for education, Joe has fought hard to increase tools and resources available to our children. Joe supports efforts in 
the legislature to fund early childhood education programs and has consistently fought for support 
of local libraries, resulting in much needed state grants for the Holbrook Public Library and the Thayer Library in Braintree. He also secured $100,000 from the state budget to install internet access to all schools in the Town of Braintree.

Seniors
Support for our seniors has been another priority for Joe at the State House. In addition to fighting for and securing numerous grants for our Councils on Aging, Joe has consistently voted for COLA increases, fought for a Prescription Advantage program to lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors and supported the legislature’s efforts on Senior Circuit Breaker credits to relieve the burden of property taxes.