The way that legislation typically works is that bills introduced by “lead sponsors” on the House or Senate, garner as many co-sponsors as they can. Cosponsorship allows legislators to express their support for a bill before it comes up for a vote. Cosponsorship is the best way for you to hold your Senator or Representative accountable - and for them to support the movement for single-payer health care.

LEGISLATIVE COSPONSORS AS OF FEBRUARY 2009:

Lead Senate Sponsor: Patricia Jehlen (Somerville).

Lead House Sponsor: Matthew Patrick (Falmouth).

Senate: Cynthia Stone Creem ( Newton), Kenneth Donnelly (Arlington), Ben Downing (Pittsfield), Jamie Eldridge (Acton), Susan Fargo (Lincoln), Anthony Galluccio (Cambridge), Patricia Jehlen (Somerville), Thomas Kennedy (Brockton), Thomas McGee (Lynn), Stanley Rosenberg (Amherst), and Steven Tolman (Brighton).

House: Willie Mae Allen (Boston), Ruth B. Balser (Newton), William Brownsberger (Belmont), Jennifer Callahan (Sutton), Jim Cantwell (Marshfield), Steve D’Amico (Seekonk), Christopher Donelan (Orange), Christopher Fallon (Malden), Mark Falzone (Saugus), John P. Fresolo (Worcester), Anne Gobi (Spencer), Mary E. Grant (Beverly), Denis Guyer (Dalton), Jay Kaufman (Lexington), Kay Khan (Newton), Peter V. Kocot (Northampton), William Lantigua (Lawrence), Barbara A. L’Italien (Andover), Jason Lewis (Winchester), David Linsky (Natick), Timothy Madden (Falmouth), James Miceli (Wilmington), Jim O’Day (Worcester), Matthew Patrick (Falmouth), William Pignatelli (Lee), Denise Provost (Somerville), Pam Richardson (Framingham), Michael Rush (Boston), Tom Sannicandro (Ashland), John W. Scibak (South Hadley), Carl Sciortino (Somerville), Frank I. Smizik (Brookline), Chris Speranzo (Pittsfield), Ellen Story (Amherst), David Sullivan (Fall River), Timothy Toomey (Cambridge), Marty Walz (Cambridge), and Alice Wolf (Cambridge).

LEGISLATIVE CO-SPONSORS OF CAPE CARE, SINGLE PAYER FOR CAPE COD:

Lead Senate Sponsor: Robert O’Leary (Cummaquid).

Lead House Sponsor: Matthew Patrick (Falmouth).

Senate: Robert O’Leary (Cummaquid).

House: William Lantigua (Lawrence), Timothy Madden (Falmouth), Matthew Patrick (Falmouth), Sarah Peake (Provincetown), John W. Scibak (South Hadley), and Cleon Turner (Dennis).

LEGISLATORS WHO HAVE INDICATED THEIR SUPPORT FOR SINGLE-PAYER REFORM, BUT ARE NOT CO-SPONSORS OF THE STATE BILL:

Senate: Sonia Chang-Diaz (Boston) and Jennifer Flanagan (Leominster).

House: Jen Benson (Lunenberg), Bill Bowles (Attleboro), Paul Donato (Medford), Carolyn Dykema (Holliston), Ann-Margaret Ferrante (Gloucester), Jonathan Hecht (Watertown), and Kate Hogan (Dalton).

NOT SURE WHO YOUR LEGISLATORS ARE?

• Go to http://www.wheredoivotema.com:
• Enter your address and click “Find My Election Information.”
• Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and find your “Senate in General Court” and “Rep in General Court.”
• By clicking on your Senator’s or Rep’s name, you will be taken to their web-site with phone numbers and email addresses.

DOWNLOAD SPREADSHEET OF COSPONSORS

• Spreadsheet of Single-Payer Cosponsors in Massachusetts Since 1995, Ordered by Last Name.

RESOURCES FOR MASSACHUSETTS HEALTH CARE TRUST

• Two Page Fact Sheet on the Massachusetts Health Care Trust.
• Full Text of the Trust and further legislative information.