Representative John Keenan named to judiciary, tourism
committees
BOSTON – State Representative John Keenan (D-Salem) was named this afternoon to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, the newly formed Joint Committee on Tourism, the Arts, and Cultural Development, and the House Post-Audit and Oversight Committee by House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi. The new Judiciary Committee is a combination of the former Criminal Justice Committee and Judiciary Committee. The new committee addresses issues concerning the operations of the courts and the judicial legal systems, with the goal of delivering a fair, just, and accessible judicial system. The committee will be co-chaired by Representative Eugene O’Flaherty (D-Chelsea) and Senator Robert Creedon (D-Brockton). “For centuries Salem has been the judicial center of the entire North Shore region,” said Keenan, a former prosecutor in the Essex County District Attorney’s office, “As the home to the district and probate courts, juvenile court, the district attorney’s offices, and criminal court the judicial system is not only central to Salem’s cultural fabric it is also central to our economic fabric. And with important issues, like the opiate crisis, and the new courthouse complex at long last becoming a reality, we have a lot of challenges to face in the years to come. Clearly the Speaker recognized the importance of the judicial system to Salem; I look forward to serving on this vital committee.” The newly created Committee on Tourism, the Arts, and Cultural Development was formed to increase the legislature’s investment in the state-wide tourism industry and expand and strengthen the Commonwealth’s cultural institutions. It will address legislative options to simulate tourism and cultural development to promote these areas of economic activity. The committee will be co-chaired by Representative Eric Turkington (D-Falmouth) and Senator Jack Hart (D-Boston). “Tourism and culture are two of our most critical and most lucrative economic engines in Salem,” said Keenan, “There is certainly the importance of the October tourism season, but beyond that there is our cultural heritage, the National Maritime and Historic sites, the Peabody Essex Museum, the emerging vitality of Salem State College as a model institution for the arts, and our rapidly growing creative economy. I was pleased the Joint Committee on the Rules decided this issue was important enough to merit its own committee under the new structure and I am especially pleased that the Speaker recognized its relevance to Salem.” Over the last several weeks the legislature undertook the largest reform of its rules and committee structure in the past forty years. The slight delay in committee assignments arose as a result of the reform process, but the final product was lauded by most legislators as an important and necessary measure. “The improvements to the rules and the committees represent an historic step towards democratizing the legislative process in Massachusetts,” said Keenan, “And the new and altered committees better reflect the diverse and complex issues facing Massachusetts in the 21st century.”
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