About Kay

State Representative Kay Khan has represented Newton in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 1995. She currently serves the 11th Middlesex district, which consists of Ward 1: Precincts 2, 3, Wards 2, 3, 4, and Ward 7: Precinct 2. Representative Khan has championed many projects to completion, including the implementation of the Auburndale and Waban sound barriers, the construction of the Lower Falls Pedestrian Bridge and the renovation of the Lower Falls Community Center. Currently, the Representative is working with a coalition of stakeholders to make all three Newton Commuter Rail Stations accessible and has already secured over $20 million in funding for the project through the Capital Improvement Plan.

 

Representative Khan was appointed by Speaker Robert DeLeo in 2009 to serve as the House Chair of the Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities, and served in this capacity until 2021. The Committee provides legislative oversight of the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Developmental Disabilities, the Department of Youth Services, the Department of Transitional Assistance, the Commission for the Blind, the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission. The Committee also works closely with the Department of Early Education and Care as well as the Department of Mental Health.

 

Representative Khan’s legislative portfolio celebrates and promotes diversity; she is an unshakable advocate for equal rights for all individuals, young and old, in the Commonwealth. Representative Khan’s legislation to ban conversion therapy was one of the first bills signed into law during the current legislative session, thus advancing LGTBQ+ rights one-step further in the Commonwealth. Some of her other legislative priorities this session include ending child marriage in Massachusetts, expanding access to maternal health care, and promoting better outcomes for justice-involved youth and women.

 

Representative Khan is an adamant supporter of environmental issues. The Representative sponsored legislation that increased the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, a program that requires a certain percentage of the state’s electricity to come from renewable energy; this legislation was ultimately included in the Environmental Bond bill signed into law on July 31, 2018. Last session, she filed a budget amendment to allows cities and towns to require electrification in new buildings and major renovations. A modified version which allowed cities and towns to require net zero building standards in new buildings and major renovations was included in the omnibus bill which was signed into law on March 26, 2021. Her leadership on combating climate change earned her the designation of “Champion” by the Environmental League of Massachusetts. Furthermore, Representative Khan is a proud co-sponsor and advocate for legislation relative to reducing carbon emissions, investing in a clean energy economy, and promoting environmental justice.

 

Representative Khan earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University School of Nursing. Her first job as a nurse was at Boston Children’s Hospital. Following this, she became an instructor for Boston University School of Nursing undergraduate students on a pediatric rotation. She went on to earn a master’s degree in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing from Boston University, graduating with honors and worked in a private group practice in Newton for close to 20 years. Representative Khan serves as a Board Member of the New Philharmonia Orchestra and is a founding Board Member of the Newton Cultural Alliance. 

 

Representative Khan has lived in Newton for more than 40 years where she and her husband raised their three children and now enjoys her seven grandchildren.

 

 

Representative Khan Past and Present Positions

• Co-Chair, Special Commission on Mandated Reporting of Known or Suspected Animal Cruelty, and Abuse of Children, the Elderly and Disabled Persons

• Co-Chair, Justice Involved Women Task Force

• Member, Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Commission

• Member, Criminal Justice Reform Caucus

• Member, Clean Energy Caucus

• Member, Zero Waste Caucus

• Member, Child Welfare Data Reporting Task Force

• Member, Sexual Abuse Prevention Task Force

• Founder and current Co-Chair, Task Force on Justice Involved Women and Their Children

• Former Co-Chair, Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators

• Founder and former Co-Chair, Mental Health Caucus, the first of its kind in the country