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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3821 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3016 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Mindy Domb and Natalie M. Blais |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying |
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| 12 | 12 | | resolution: |
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| 13 | 13 | | Resolutions establishing the annual observance of COVID-19 Remembrance Day. |
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| 14 | 14 | | _______________ |
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| 15 | 15 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 16 | 16 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Mindy Domb3rd Hampshire1/20/2023Natalie M. Blais1st Franklin1/20/2023Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/23/2023Hannah Kane11th Worcester1/25/2023Joanne M. ComerfordHampshire, Franklin and Worcester1/26/2023Christopher Hendricks11th Bristol1/26/2023Carmine Lawrence Gentile13th Middlesex1/27/2023Carol A. Doherty3rd Bristol1/30/2023Paul W. MarkBerkshire, Hampden, Franklin and |
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| 17 | 17 | | Hampshire |
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| 18 | 18 | | 1/30/2023Tram T. Nguyen18th Essex1/30/2023John J. CroninWorcester and Middlesex1/30/2023Meghan Kilcoyne12th Worcester2/1/2023Patricia A. Duffy5th Hampden2/1/2023Jacob R. OliveiraHampden, Hampshire and Worcester2/3/2023Barry R. FinegoldSecond Essex and Middlesex2/3/2023Jay D. Livingstone8th Suffolk2/6/2023 2 of 2 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Bud L. Williams11th Hampden2/6/2023Steven Owens29th Middlesex2/6/2023John Barrett, III1st Berkshire2/6/2023Bradley H. Jones, Jr.20th Middlesex2/6/2023Michelle M. DuBois10th Plymouth2/7/2023Jason M. LewisFifth Middlesex2/13/2023Colleen M. Garry36th Middlesex2/13/2023Liz MirandaSecond Suffolk2/13/2023Patrick M. O'ConnorFirst Plymouth and Norfolk2/13/2023James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/15/2023David T. Vieira3rd Barnstable2/16/2023Carlos González10th Hampden2/16/2023Sal N. DiDomenicoMiddlesex and Suffolk2/21/2023Kate Lipper-Garabedian32nd Middlesex2/22/2023Daniel R. Carey2nd Hampshire2/23/2023Danillo A. Sena37th Middlesex2/23/2023Patrick Joseph Kearney4th Plymouth2/24/2023William C. Galvin6th Norfolk3/1/2023David Allen Robertson19th Middlesex3/1/2023Michael O. MooreSecond Worcester3/2/2023Michael D. BradySecond Plymouth and Norfolk3/3/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex3/5/2023Jack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex3/7/2023Lydia EdwardsThird Suffolk3/9/2023Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk3/9/2023Sean Garballey23rd Middlesex3/10/2023James C. Arena-DeRosa8th Middlesex3/13/2023Ryan M. Hamilton15th Essex3/13/2023 1 of 3 |
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| 20 | 20 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3821 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 |
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| 21 | 21 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3016 |
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| 22 | 22 | | By Representatives Domb of Amherst and Blais of Deerfield, a petition (accompanied by |
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| 23 | 23 | | resolutions, House, No. 3016) of Mindy Domb, Natalie M. Blais and others for the annual |
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| 24 | 24 | | issuance of a proclamation by the Governor designating the first Monday in March as COVID-19 |
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| 25 | 25 | | remembrance day. State Administration and Regulatory Oversight. |
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| 26 | 26 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 27 | 27 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 4224 OF 2021-2022.] |
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| 28 | 28 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 29 | 29 | | _______________ |
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| 30 | 30 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 31 | 31 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 32 | 32 | | _______________ |
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| 33 | 33 | | Resolutions establishing the annual observance of COVID-19 Remembrance Day. |
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| 34 | 34 | | 1 SECTION 1. The General Court hereby finds and declares that: |
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| 35 | 35 | | 2 (i) the 2019 novel coronavirus, SARS –CoV–2, also known as COVID-19, is a deadly |
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| 36 | 36 | | 3illness caused by a virus that can transmit from person to person; |
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| 37 | 37 | | 4 (ii) in 2020, COVID-19 began to spread throughout the world, creating a global |
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| 38 | 38 | | 5pandemic that has had a catastrophic impact on human life, communities in the commonwealth, |
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| 39 | 39 | | 6communities in the United States and the United States economy; |
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| 40 | 40 | | 7 (iii) in March 2020, communities in every state began to experience increased loss of life |
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| 41 | 41 | | 8and families lost loved ones, friends and neighbors to the virus; |
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| 42 | 42 | | 9 (iv) the governor declared a state of emergency in response to the virus on March 10, |
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| 43 | 43 | | 102020, which was subsequently terminated on June 15, 2021; 2 of 3 |
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| 44 | 44 | | 11 (v) beginning in 2020, many across the commonwealth and the United States were, and |
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| 45 | 45 | | 12continue to be, personally impacted by COVID-19, including mourning their loved ones, friends |
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| 46 | 46 | | 13and neighbors or suffering from the long-term health implications of the virus; |
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| 47 | 47 | | 14 (vi) as of January 2023, in the commonwealth, there have been more than 1.9 million |
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| 48 | 48 | | 15known cases of COVID-19 and at least 21,500 people who have lost their lives as a result of |
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| 49 | 49 | | 16COVID-19; |
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| 50 | 50 | | 17 (vii) as of January 2023, in the United States, there have been more than 101.5 million |
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| 51 | 51 | | 18known cases of the virus in the United States and at least 1 million people who have lost their |
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| 52 | 52 | | 19lives as a result of COVID-19; |
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| 53 | 53 | | 20 (vii) WHEREAS, COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on low-income |
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| 54 | 54 | | 21communities and communities of color, people with disabilities, people with weakened immune |
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| 55 | 55 | | 22systems, unhoused individuals, and those living in congregate settings, including long term care |
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| 56 | 56 | | 23facilities, exacerbating preexisting inequities; |
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| 57 | 57 | | 24 (viii) WHEREAS public servants, frontline and essential workers and health care |
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| 58 | 58 | | 25professionals took selfless actions to protect their neighbors and communities and find |
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| 59 | 59 | | 26innovative ways to provide services; |
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| 60 | 60 | | 27 (x) WHEREAS local, state, tribal and federal government entities provided critical |
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| 61 | 61 | | 28support to businesses, communities and the people of the commonwealth and the United States; |
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| 62 | 62 | | 29 (xi) WHEREAS the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an impact on the |
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| 63 | 63 | | 30commonwealth, the United States and countries around the world; and 3 of 3 |
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| 64 | 64 | | 31 (xii) WHEREAS each life lost to COVID-19, each inequity brought to light and each |
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| 65 | 65 | | 32sacrifice made shall never be forgotten. |
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| 66 | 66 | | 33 SECTION 2. Chapter 6 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section |
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| 67 | 67 | | 3415LLLLLL the following section:- |
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| 68 | 68 | | 35 Section 15MMMMMM. The governor shall annually issue a proclamation setting apart |
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| 69 | 69 | | 36the first Monday in March as COVID-19 Remembrance Day, in recognition of those who died |
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| 70 | 70 | | 37from 2019 novel coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, the suffering of those who contracted |
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| 71 | 71 | | 38COVID-19 and survived but carry with them the long-term health implications of the virus, and |
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| 72 | 72 | | 39to acknowledge the frontline and essential workers who provided services to our communities, |
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| 73 | 73 | | 40and the selfless actions of the many residents of the commonwealth who volunteered to support |
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| 74 | 74 | | 41their neighbors and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic including those members of |
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| 75 | 75 | | 42the National Guard, and recommending the day be observed in an appropriate manner by the |
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| 76 | 76 | | 43people of the commonwealth. |
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