BOSTON, MA – Today, public health leaders from across the Commonwealth praised the Massachusetts legislature for passing the Statewide Accelerated Public Health for Every Community (SAPHE 2.0) Act. If signed into law by Governor Charlie Baker, this landmark bill will overhaul the state’s broken public health system, providing better and more consistent public health protections to residents of all municipalities. The bi-partisan bill was passed unanimously in both chambers.

“This is a momentous day for health equity in Massachusetts,” said Carlene Pavlos, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association. “The SAPHE 2.0 bill will ensure that strong public health protections are available to all residents of our Commonwealth – regardless of race, income, or zip code. We are deeply grateful to the leadership of the House and Senate and to our legislative champions, Senator Jo Comerford, Rep. Denise Garlick, and Rep. Hannah Kane. We call on Governor Charlie Baker to protect our communities by signing the bill into law without delay.”   

SAPHE 2.0 creates minimum public health standards for every Massachusetts community, ensures a qualified workforce by credentialing public health workers, incentivizes municipalities to share services, creates a uniform data collection and reporting system, and dedicates state funding to support local boards of health and health departments.    

Read the full release.