Newton Committee Approves Tree Permit Notices, Backs State Primary Care Bills

NEWTON — April 22, 2026 — Newton's Programs and Services Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to tighten tree permit abutter notifications and to recommend a resolution backing three state primary care bills. The committee approved standardized language, drafted by Law Department attorney Jennifer Wilson and signed off on by Acting Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mark Welch, requiring tree permit applicants to notify abutting neighbors in a form that includes at minimum an explanation of why the notice was sent and instructions for accessing the permit in the city's NewGov portal; a separate question about extending the requirement to all permit categories was held for a fuller quorum. On a 5-0 vote, the committee also endorsed the concept behind Senate Bill 867, House Bill 2537, and House Bill 1370, all aimed at doubling Massachusetts primary care spending from roughly five to six percent of total health expenditures toward 15 percent over five to eight years. Dr. Wayne Altman, a family physician and Tufts medical school faculty member who has driven the "Primary Care for You" campaign for eight years, told the committee that only four percent of this year's graduating medical students chose family medicine residencies and that a proposed Primary Care Stabilization Fund — present in the Hagerty bill — would bypass federal ERISA restrictions that caused a similar Delaware initiative to fail. State Representative John Lawn and Representative Greg Schwartz, the latter phoning in from Arizona, confirmed the senate version of the bill is before the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. The full Newton City Council is expected to vote on the resolution no earlier than May 5.