This Week in State Government: Sen. Spilka

Sen. Karen Spilka's office released the following information about the legislator's involvement in the past week:

• On Wednesday, Sen. Spilka helped the Girl Scouts of Massachusetts recognize their 100th anniversary with a celebration at the State House. Troop Beacon Hill received special recognition.
• On Tuesday, members of the senate voted in favor of three amendments that Spilka proposed to help protect local communities. According to the first amendment she proposed, the Gaming Commission must make a decision on each applicant before approving a license. In the second, communities must chose one member from the Local Community Mitigation Advisory Committee to be on a Subcommittee on Community Mitigation. The third states that applicants must inform their community and surrounding communities of their proposal and that there be opportunity for comment.
• Spilka and co-chair of the Jobs Creation Commission, Rep. Joseph Wagner, will start out on a Regional Hearings Tour to seek testimony from local businesses, hiring agencies and more to learn how more jobs can be created in the state. The tour kicked off Thursday in Holyoke.
• The senator's office announced that Spilka will hold this year's Health and Wellness Fair from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 22 at Keefe Tech in Framingham.