Government Representative
This event will be held on Zoom, in accordance with governmental regulations.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Joseph F. Wagner
Massachusetts House of Representatives, Second Assistant Majority Leader
8th Hampden District (D-Chicopee)
State Representative Joseph F. Wagner was first elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1991 and has been a member of the House leadership since 2001. He has served as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Election Laws, the Joint Committee on Transportation and the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies. He was most recently appointed as the Second Assistant Majority Leader this year by the Speaker of the House. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, he is the highest-ranking member of the Western Massachusetts state legislative delegation.
Amongst his many legislative accomplishments, Leader Wagner authored legislation to establish MassDOT, which created efficiencies by streamlining and unifying transportation agencies, as well as the 2010 Massachusetts Safe Driving Law. He also served a critical role in the passage of the 2019 Hands-Free Driving Law, which prohibits the use of handheld mobile or electronic devices in the Commonwealth while behind the wheel.
As Chair of the Joint Committee of Economic Development and Emerging Technologies, Wagner oversaw the advancement of the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act and authored four omnibus job creation bills. His efforts resulted in the establishment of a dedicated funding mechanism for the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund. Leader Wagner also led the effort to reauthorize funding for the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to stimulate job creation, private investment and workforce pipeline training in the life sciences and related industries.
