48th Annual Legislative Reception

About the Event

Please join the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council (MDDC) and The Arc of Massachusetts for the 48th Annual Legislative Reception on Tuesday, March 10th, 2026!

This year's theme is "Protecting Our Lives: Now More than Ever."

At a pivotal moment for disability policy and services, the 48th Annual Legislative Reception provides a vital space to gather, advocate, and be heard. Join The Arc and MDDC at the State House to connect with legislators and fellow advocates, hear from leaders within the disability community, and uplift the voices of individuals with developmental disabilities.

This annual event will honor legislative champions who have demonstrated leadership and commitment to protecting the lives, rights, and supports of people with disabilities now more than ever. The Legislative Reception is a valuable opportunity for our community and the public to come together to celebrate Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

2026 Disability Legislative Champions

Each year, the MDDC and The Arc honor two legislators, one senator and one representative, for their work in support of Massachusetts residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD.)

Senator of the Year.

The 2026 Senator of the Year is Senator Joan Lovely!

Senator Joan Lovely is in her seventh term as State Senator for the Second Essex District, serving in the Massachusetts Senate since January 2013.  She represents Beverly, Danvers, Peabody, and Salem. She serves in Leadership as Assistant Majority Leader and Chair of the Senate and Joint Committees on Rules.

Senator Lovely’s work on behalf of the disability community is extraordinary. Senator Lovely's leadership has led to the passage of critical inclusive higher education legislation, and more. Senator Lovely continues to support vital budget priorities and is the lead sponsor of several bills including legislation allowing guardians, caregivers, and others with legal standing to be paid for providing AFC and PCA services, supported decision-making, and more.

Representative of the Year

The 2026 Representative of the Year is Representative Jay Livingstone!

Jay Livingstone is the State Representative for the 8th Suffolk District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives – including parts of Beacon Hill, Back Bay, West End, and The Fenway. He has served in this position since 2013. Jay proudly serves as the House Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities since 2023. In 2021, he was appointed as a founding member of the Massachusetts Rare Disease Advisory Council and continues to serve in that capacity.

Since becoming the Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities, Jay’s work led the enactment of two laws. One of his biggest legislative accomplishments was amending the mandatory reporting requirements for parents of substance exposed newborns. This bill included language that he worked closely on, to better support pregnant people who are using medication for addiction treatment or with a substance use disorder. Additionally, Jay oversaw legislation to ensure children in foster care receive their Disability and SSI benefits, rather than returning it to the State’s
General Fund. In addition, during the ongoing 194th legislative session, two of the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities bills have been engrossed by the Massachusetts House of Representatives. In November 2025, the House of Representatives passed a bill removing out-of-date and offensive terms related to persons with disabilities. Terms would be amended with “person first” language and replaced with more current, respectful terminology, such as “person with a disability.” The House also passed a bill that Jay filed enhancing child welfare protections and strengthening oversight, transparency, and accountability within the Commonwealth’s child welfare system. Jay is working hard for these bills to finally become law.

Outside of his work on the Joint Committee, Jay also filed the Roe Act as the Co-Lead House sponsor, which became law in 2020. The bill expanded reproductive health services in Massachusetts. He also filed as Co-Lead House sponsor of the Equal Pay Act, which became law in 2016, and was the lead House Sponsor for the MassHealth Combo Application for SNAP, signed into law in 2022, that streamlines the application process for need-based assistance programs in Massachusetts, closing the SNAP Gap for approximately 700,000 MA residents. 

Raised in North Attleboro, MA, Jay graduated from the University of Connecticut, and then George Washington University Law School. He has served as an assistant Attorney General in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as an assistant District Attorney for the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, and as an adjunct professor at Northeastern Law School. Jay and his wife, Julie, live in the Back Bay with their two sons.