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Meet Josh

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Chair Cutler.jpg
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Josh S. Cutler served as State Representative for the Sixth Plymouth District in the Massachusetts Legislature from 2013 to 2024.

Cutler was twice appointed as House Chairman of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development. He also co-chaired the Coastal Caucus, the Future of Work Commission, the WorkAbility Task Force and the UI Trust Fund Reform Commission. He was a member of the STEM Advisory Council and previously served on the Ways & Means Committee, the Telecommunications, Utilities & Energy Committee, and the Community Development & Small Business Committee.

​During his tenure Cutler was recognized as a leader in the areas of workforce development, disability employment, and environmental policy. He is a past recipient of Legislator of the Year awards by the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers, the Plymouth/Bristol Central Labor Council, the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association, and The ARC of Greater Plymouth County.

Cutler was the author or lead sponsor of a number of major pieces of legislation, including:

  • the Energy SAVE Act, which set new state energy and water efficiency standards for common appliances
     

  • the Disability Employment Tax Credit (DETC), a new tax incentive hiring program for individuals with disabilities
     

  • the Wage Transparency Act, which requires employers to disclose pay ranges in job postings and adds new pay equity data reporting
     

  • the PANDAS/PANS law, which requires insurance carriers to include coverage for a neurological disorder impacting children and adolescents
     

Cutler also led the creation of the Commission on Persons with Disabilities, the restoration of South Shore weekend commuter rail service, and the establishment of Right Whale Day in Massachusetts. A more comprehensive list of Cutler's work is posted here.

Prior to his time in the legislature, Cutler served in municipal government for over a decade, including stints as an elected member of the Hull Board of Selectmen and the Duxbury Planning Board. He was a member of the Duxbury Alternative Energy Committee for a 12 years and co-led efforts to install a solar array project at the municipal landfill and qualify the town for Green Community designation.Since 2010 Cutler has served on the Board of Directors of the Duxbury Free Library, Inc., a non-profit that manages the library endowment fund.

Cutler enjoys local history and is the author of two books: The Boston Gentlemen’s Mob: Maria Chapman and the Abolition Riot of 1835, published in 2021; and Mobtown Massacre: Alexander Hanson and the Baltimore Newspaper War of 1812, published in 2019. He has also been published in the New England Journal of History and is a member of the National Writers Union, UAW Local 1981.

Cutler is a graduate of Skidmore College (B.A. in political science), Suffolk University Law School (Juris Doctor) and UMass-Dartmouth (M.A. in Environmental Policy).

Rep. Cutler Committees & Caucuses

  • House Chair, Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, 2021-2024.

  • House Chair, Coastal Caucus, 2019-2024

  • House Chair, Future of Work Commission, 2021-2022

  • House Chair, Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund Study Commission, 2021-2022

  • Founder and co-chair, House Blockchain Technology Caucus, 2021-present

  • Vice-Chair, Joint Committee on Children, Families & Persons With Disabilities, 2019-2020

  • Vice-Chair, Joint Committee on Community Development & Small Businesses, 2017-2018

Rep. Cutler Honors & Distinctions

  • Legislative Award, Mass. Commission on the Status of Persons With Disabilities, 2023

  • NSRWA's Barbara Pearson Memorial River Champion Award, 2022

  • Thomas M. Menino Award for Public Service, Disability Policy Consortium, 2021

  • Legislator of the Year, Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, 2021

  • Legislator of the Year, Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers, 2020

  • Legislator of the Year, Plymouth/Bristol Central Labor Council. 2019

  • Legislator of the Year, Mass. Mental Health Counselors Association, 2019

  • Legislator of the Year, The ARC of Greater Plymouth County, 2018

  • Member, Mass. NGO Delegation for United Nations Climate Conference (COP 23)

  • Legislative Advocacy Award, Mass. Nurses Association, 2015

  • Fellow, Council of State Governments, Thompson Eastern Leadership Academy, 2013

  • President, Mass. House of Representatives, Legislative Class of 2013-14.

  • Top 40 Under 40 Young Business Leaders, Plymouth & Cape Business Magazine, 2009

  • Golden Dozen Award, International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors, 2009.

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