Last week was quite the week–to put it mildly.
Lost amidst the euphoria around exciting election wins in Georgia and the terrifying display of white supremacist violence in the attempted coup in the US Capitol was the news of the end of the legislative session here in Massachusetts — and the start of the new one.
Back in July, the Legislature voted to extend the legislative session. That didn’t mean votes that were more spread out over time–just another end-of-session crunch, but later.
That said, many important bills were passed in the final two days of the session last week:
- The Next-Generation roadmap climate bill, with stronger emissions targets, an accelerated transition to renewable energy, and a commitment to environmental justice
- The creation of a task force on sexual misconduct climate surveys on college campuses to design and implement a biennial statewide survey
- The creation of a commission to recommend a replacement for our state’s racist flag and seal
- A transportation bond bill that directs the MBTA to implement a low-income fare program and decriminalizes fare avoidance
- An economic development bill with important provisions to encourage housing production, empower tenants, and allow for the sealing of eviction records
Governor Baker has ten days after the Legislature passes a bill to sign it. That means the clock runs out at the end of the week.
He can choose to sign them, veto them, or do nothing at all (what’s called a “pocket veto” because it’s a veto by inaction).
Tell Governor Baker that he should sign these bills as soon as possible.
We have a lot of work to do with the new session. Let’s lock in the gains from the last one.
