This past week, Charlie Baker did something shameful.
The Legislature, much to their credit, had passed language in the budget to guarantee free phone calls for incarcerated individuals, ending the predatory practice of prisons and jails charging incarcerated individuals and their families exorbitant costs to stay connected.
All Charlie Baker had to do was sign it. Instead, he is trying to hold the No Cost Calls language hostage as a way to pass one of his own legislative priorities: a bill to weaken due process protections and expand pre-trial detention. Black and Latino electeds in the MA House rightly condemned this move as abhorrent.
Yesterday, the House voted overwhelmingly to reject Baker’s ploy. (If your state rep is among the 122 NAY votes here, you should thank them. NAY = against Baker’s amendment)
But the Legislative session is about to end, and the State Senate has not yet voted to reject Baker’s amendment and to protect No Cost Calls and due process.
If you have time TONIGHT, email your State Senator to tell them to reject Charlie Baker’s amendment and to extend the Legislative session if they have to in order to preserve their own legislative victories.
2 am update: Unfortunately, the MA Senate chose not to listen to advocates like Jane Doe Inc. and Families for Justice as Healing and still passed a version of Baker’s dangerousness bill, which will expand incarceration and put No Cost Calls at risk. Thank you to the 8 senators who voted no.
