Earlier this week, a coalition of 79 organizations and residents across the Commonwealth sent a letter asking the MA Legislature to come back and pass key policies that were left on the table at the end of the formal legislative session.
- Can you call your legislator today to demand they reconvene for a special session?
- Will you join us and allies for a rally outside the State House on Friday, October 28, from 4-5pm?
.png "Special Session Rally Outside the State House: Friday, October 28, 4 pm to 5 pm")
(graphic credit: Families for Justice as Healing)
Although the formal legislative session ended on July 31, the current Legislative session does not actually end until the beginning of January.
That’s right: the Legislature has more than two months in which they could come back and finish their work, rather than let Baker’s vetoes or intra-chamber bickering doom key policies like
- The Jail and Prison Construction Moratorium, which would enact a five year pause on jail and prison construction and expansion
- No cost calls for incarcerated people without amendments that would increase pretrial detention
- Funding for hybrid meetings so towns can make local government accessible to residents by offering virtual attendance options
- The HOMES Act, which would allow people to seal their eviction records so they can access housing
- Funding for VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) to prevent cuts to services for sexual and domestic violence survivors
All of these policies have broad support in the Legislature, but they didn’t make it across the finish line on July 31st because of Baker’s late-breaking vetoes or the inability of our State Senate and State House to come to an agreement on how to respond.
Let’s be clear: those are not good excuses when the need for all of these policies is so great. So let’s take action.
- Can you call your legislator today to demand they reconvene for a special session?
- Will you join us for a rally outside the State House on Friday October 28 from 4-5pm?
