Charlo Maurer, “LETTER: State Legislature Should Go Back Into Session and Pass Multiple Bills,” Watertown News, August 19, 2024.

I was excited this year for our state to finally have a Democratic governing trifecta, with a Democrat leading in all three offices of Governor, Senate, and the House. However, this trifecta has been much less productive in passing legislature than I expected.

As has become the norm on Beacon Hill, the House and Senate ran out the clock on many important priorities, adjourning on the morning of August 1st with a long list of unfinished business. After the hottest summer on record, they didn’t manage to pass a climate bill. Several other bills, among them economic development bills and bills to address the Steward crisis, are stuck in potentially dead-end negotiations, and that’s not to mention all the common-sense bills that never even made it that far.

As of August 11, more than 90% of the bills signed into law this session were home rule petitions, bills about specific individuals, or budgets, which are required. We’ve seen a striking decline in basic deliberation and accountability in the Legislature, with both chambers taking fewer than half the recorded votes they did just a few sessions ago.

The economic development bill, which needs a recorded vote to pass, has important policy components, such as keeping high school seniors out of adult prisons and strengthening our public health infrastructure, and we shouldn’t have to wait until next year to start all over again.

Given Republican opposition, passing climate legislation will also require legislators to come back. Mother Nature doesn’t wait, and neither should the Legislature. Every month and every year, we break new heat records, and it is irresponsible for the Legislature to go a full session without passing meaningful climate legislation. We need a clear plan for transitioning away from fossil fuels and putting gas in the past, and we need a just transition that centers environmental justice and ensures that the communities who have borne the brunt of fossil fuel pollution don’t continue to suffer from pollution and lack of opportunity. Massachusetts has impressive climate goals, but goals won’t mean much if we don’t pass legislation to help us meet them.

Another important bill is the prison building moratorium which passed the House and Senate with wide support, but was vetoed by our previous Governor, a Republican. That roadblock no longer exists, and given the broad support, it should be easy to bring forward.

The formal legislative session ended at the end of July, and the Legislature will not be back in session until next January. We deserve more of a time commitment from our elected officials. Going back into session will mean the Legislature will do what it is supposed to: deliberate, legislative, and vote.

Sincerely,
Charlo Maurer
Watertown Resident