House Budget Amendment #1216 has been filed by Representative Finn. This amendment proposes benchmarking all positions at the 63rd percentile of the Massachusetts Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which would result in a $100 million increase to the Chapter 257 line item (1599-6903).

Please contact your state representative by Wednesday, April 23, to ask them to co-sponsor this important amendment. Click here to find your state representative.

Health Alert

We are sharing an important Health Alert issued by DDS regarding an increase in measles cases:

• In 2024, there were more cases than in prior years, with 285 measles cases as of December 31, 2024, including cases in Massachusetts.
• Per the CDC, as of April 3, 2025, a total of 607 confirmed measles cases were reported by Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Washington. (https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html)

 On the mass.gov website there is a fact sheet describing measles, published by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. You can find that page linked here: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/measles

Important considerations:

• Review all individuals for documented proof of two doses of the MMR vaccine.
• If there is no documentation of the MMR vaccine, consider reaching out to the primary care doctor. It may be recommended to obtain one dose of vaccine, obtain a serum antibody test to identify if immunity exists, or your doctor may recommend that, based on the year of birth, no further labs or vaccines are necessary.
• If you or someone you support has been exposed to the measles, please reach out to your healthcare provider to identify if post-exposure prophylaxis is appropriate (protective treatment).
• Measles looks and feels like a cold or the flu at first. A few days later, a red, blotchy rash starts on the face and then spreads to the rest of the body.
• Symptoms individuals may exhibit, which should lead to reaching out to an individual’s doctor:
• Rash lasting 3 or more days AND
• Temperature 101 degrees or more AND
• Cough, runny nose, and/or red, watery eyes
• If you are concerned someone may have measles, that person should be isolated immediately (airborne isolation which means doors closed and N95 masking, if possible) and kept in isolation until staff have communicated with the healthcare provider for next steps.

(Information obtained from: https://www.mass.gov/doc/measles-advisory-march-11-2025/download)