What’s the Purpose of a Platform?

Next month, the Massachusetts Democratic Party will be updating its party platform. Last updated in 2017, the platform is a solidly progressive document (possibly the most progressive in the country), even if it is out of date on some issues.

However, the problem activists always face is that in a state with an overwhelming 80% Democratic Legislature, why do we not see more of the platform planks become law? We typically understand a party platform to be a roadmap for governance: what a party would seek to implement if in power.

But we see a fundamental disconnect. And that’s why it’s so important to see the work of year-round organizing, outside of a party structure, to push all elected officials to be bolder in their ambitions.

However, in the short term, it is also good to bring the party platform up to date with where the state is today, what activists are calling for today, and what we need so that everyone can thrive.

If you want to submit testimony, you can do so here by Saturday at 5 pm. Want some ideas? Feel free to pull from the suggestions below.

Education

  • Change “Fixing the public education funding formula to fully fund high-quality public education for all students” to “Fully and equitably funding K-12 public education for all school districts as outlined in the Student Opportunity Act.”
  • Change “Providing in-state tuition for all residents admitted to Massachusetts public colleges and universities and exploring debt-free models of higher education” to “Guaranteeing that all Massachusetts students are able to graduate from our public colleges and universities without debt.”
  • Add “Requires school districts to provide sex education that is comprehensive, age-appropriate, and LGBTQ-inclusive, with an emphasis on informed consent to prevent sexual violence.”

Environment, Climate Change, and Renewable Energy

  • Change “Achieving the goals of the Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act to reduce emissions by at least 25 percent by 2020, at least 45 percent by 2030, and at least 80 percent by 2050” to at least “Achieving the goals of the Next-Generation Roadmap Act to reduce emissions by 50% from 1990 levels by 2030, 75% by 2040, and at least 85% by 2050”
  • Change “Doubling our commitment to renewable energy by increasing the Massachusetts renewable portfolio standard to at least 50 percent by 2030” to “Increasing the Massachusetts renewable portfolio standard to 100 percent by 2030.”

Ethics and Transparency

  • Add “with both in-person and virtual components” to “Public hearings and other opportunities for citizens to influence the legislative process”
  • Add “including the online posting of committee votes and testimony submitted to committees (with appropriate redactions for sensitive information)” to “Ensuring the public has convenient and financially reasonable access to all public documents and data at the executive, legislative, judicial, and local levels of government.”

Gender and Racial Equality

  • Change “Protection of a women’s right to choose” to “Protection of every person’s right to access the full range of reproductive health options, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion.”

Healthcare and Human Services

  • Add “Improving vaccination rates by standardizing immunization requirements and exemption processes, filling gaps in vaccine rate data, and boosting outreach efforts.”
  • Change “Protection women’s reproductive rights and a woman’s right to choose” to “Protection of every person’s right to access the full range of reproductive health options, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion.”

Housing

  • Add “Lifting the statewide ban on municipalities’ ability to pass their own laws to stabilize rents and protect the rights of tenants.”
  • Add “Enabling municipalities to tax high-end real estate transactions in order to provide dedicated funding for affordable housing”
  • Add “Eliminating zoning laws that discriminate against the construction of multifamily housing and the creation of diverse communities”
  • Add “Sealing eviction records for tenants who were evicted through no fault of their own, and creating a process for the sealing of all other such records, out of a recognition that housing is a human right.”
  • Add “Strengthening and promoting the Community Preservation Act, which provides vital resources for affordable housing, green and open space, and historic preservation”
  • Add “Guaranteeing legal representation for low-income tenants and owner-occupants in eviction proceedings”

Justice, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties

  • Add “Eliminating the use of solitary confinement for more than 15 days.”

Labor and Workforce

  • Add “Eliminating all subminimum wages, which reinforce gender and racial inequities.”
  • Add “Guaranteeing paid vacation time to all workers.”
  • Add “Guaranteeing fair scheduling for all workers, including the right to 14 days advance notice of hours, the right to request specific hours without retaliation from the employer, and the right to rest for 11 hours between shifts.”

Public Safety and Crime Prevention

  • Add “Raising the age of criminal majority to 21 in order to allow to have better access to treatment and educational services and thereby reduce recidivism.”
  • Add “Imposing a moratorium on the construction of new jails and prisons or the expansion of existing ones.”
  • Add “Banning facial surveillance technology, which invades privacy rights and is well-known to be both racist and inaccurate”
  • Add “Banning tear gas, rubber bullets, attack dogs, and other forms of crowd control that escalate a situation and put protesters’ health and lives at risk.”
  • Add “Preventing prisons and jails from charging individuals who are incarcerated for phone calls to loved ones.”
  • Add “Eliminating qualified immunity protections for law enforcement in order to ensure that victims of police brutality have their fair day in court.”
  • Add “Funding local efforts to divert 911 calls away from the police and toward trained mental health workers, social work professions, or community members.”

Revenue and Expenditures

  • Add “and ensure that the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share” to “Fair, equitable corporate and personal taxes and fees, which do not unduly burden low income families.”

Transportation and Infrastructure

  • Add “Phasing out the production of new fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2030.”
  • Add “Making public transportation fare-free because mobility is a human right.”

Voting and Democracy

  • Add “and the ability to vote by mail” to “Ensuring early voting in all elections.”  
  • Add “Enabling cities and towns to increase civic engagement by lowering the voting age for local elections to 16 and allowing all legal residents the ability to vote in local elections.”