🚨Actions You Can Take from Home During the COVID-19 Crisis

With the outbreak of COVID-19, Massachusetts is facing a crisis.

We have a public health crisis, as the number of those infected grows every day. We have an economic crisis, as the threat of a recession looms larger every day and workers risk weeks (or months) without a paycheck. And we have a democratic crisis, as the virus outbreak challenges our ability to hold traditional in-person elections.

And this is on top of the crises we already face, such as the inequality that affects all aspects of our society.

And our Legislature needs to respond with the requisite urgency and comprehensiveness. 

Can you email your state legislators to demand quick and comprehensive action? 

Here’s what a comprehensive response must include: 

âś…Passing HD.4935 (Connolly-Honan): An Act Providing for a Moratorium on Evictions and Foreclosures During the COVID19 Emergency because, in a state of emergency in which people are being asked to stay at home, people need to have homes. Evictions and foreclosures exacerbate our public health crisis and strain our already weak safety net. 

âś…Passing legislation to provide immediate financial assistance ​to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic​, such as HD.4945 (Gouveia): An Act providing for emergency cash assistance in response to COVID-19, HD.4951 (Decker): An Act to provide short-term relief for families in deep poverty, and HD.4950 (Miranda): An Act providing emergency access to equity and justice for all in response to COVID-19 

âś…Passing HD.4958 (Mark/Sabadosa): An Act relative to COVID-19 emergency unemployment expansion, which would ensure that independent contractors, sole proprietors, partners in a partnership, freelance, and tipped employees are eligible for unemployment benefits and that COVID-19 emergency assistance does not make any worker ineligible for receiving any existing state benefits

âś…Passing Emergency Paid Sick Time legislation that guarantees all workers at least fifteen additional work-days (120 hours) of job-protected paid sick time for immediate use during the COVID-19 outbreak or any future public health emergency because no worker should be forced to choose between their health and their economic security 

✅ Passing ​HD.4963 (Sabadosa): An Act regarding Decarceration and COVID-19, which would require the release of individuals who are currently in pre-trial detainment or under incarceration if they are a member of a population deemed especially vulnerable by the CDC, are eligible for medical parole, are almost finished with their sentence, or are only being detained due to inability to pay bail or due to minor violations of parole

âś…Passing legislation to expand options to Vote by Mail (such as HD.4957 — Mark/Sabadosa), so that no voter is forced to choose between their health and their right to participate in our democracy 

âś…Providing the necessary funding to ensure that our response does not leave vulnerable communities behind, such as our immigrant population or our homeless population.

Our legislators need to start responding with the urgency required–and fast.

Can you email your state legislators today?

Did you already email? Then you can follow up with a call. Find your legislators here.

Take Action: The MA Senate Votes on Climate Action This Week

This decade — the 2020s — will be the decade in which our collective actions determine whether or not we’ll continue to have an inhabitable planet. And that means we need to start taking action–fast.

Tomorrow, the Massachusetts State Senate will be voting on omnibus climate legislation (for a good overview, read this).

The bill is strong in many ways, but it can be bolder and more equitable.

And that’s where you come in.

Can you call your state senator today in support of the amendments below?

100% Renewable Energy

  • #53 2035 Renewable Portfolio Standard (Eldridge) – Increases the RPS to 100% by 2035 and prevents wood and trash burning from being eligible in the RPS

Environmental Justice

  • #11 Regulations to Protect Low Income Households (Friedman) – Adds in language about low and moderate income protections 
  • #89 Giving Energy Sector Workers a Voice (Feeney) – Adds language to protect workers displaced by advancements in the renewable sector
  • #105 DPU mandate (Chang-Diaz) – Adds “equity” to the DPU’s mission statement
  • #113 Energy efficiency advisory council (Eldridge) – Adds environmental justice and youth representation to the energy efficiency commission 

Equitable Investment in Green Infrastructure

  • #80 Re-investing in greenhouse gas emission reduction, and our communities (Chang-Diaz) – Requires that at least 30% of revenue generated from a market-based mechanism be spent on green infrastructure and at least 40% of that revenue benefit low and moderate income people

Other Amendments that Support the Mass Power Forward Coalition’s Vision

  • #33 Net Zero Stretch Code Improvements (Comerford) – Pushes up the implementation date for the net zero stretch code
  • #54 Inclusion of combustion of fuel in emissions count (Eldridge) – Requires that burning any combustible fuel be counted towards state’s emissions

Take Action:

(1) Find your State Senator’s email address here, and then email them to urge them to support the amendments listed above.

(2) Follow up by calling your State Senator and ask that they support the amendments that you emailed them

Here’s a sample script:

My name is [ first name], and I live in [town/city].   I am with a broad coalition of environmental groups called Mass Power Forward and we’re calling about Senate climate legislation, specifically, S.2477 and amendments that have been filed to that bill. I sent an email to your office with the amendment numbers that achieve our goals of Environmental Justice, 100% clean and renewable energy for all, and creating equitable investments through carbon pricing.  

The Student Opportunity Act is a Win. Let’s Make it Better.

Four years ago this very month, the Foundation Budget Review Commission highlighted how the state has been shortchanging public schools due to an outdated funding formula.

Because of the advocacy of teachers, students, parents, community members, and YOU, that formula will finally get fixed.

The Student Opportunity Act will provide $1.5 billion per year in new school funding to help the students who need it the most.

Tomorrow, when the MA Senate votes on the bill, we have an opportunity to strengthen it so that this once-in-a-generation bill is as strong as possible.

For that to happen, your senator needs to hear from you–to hear that you support the bill’s passage and support the following amendments:

  • #17 (Targeted Improvement Plans), which increases community and educator involvement in school districts’ plans to reduce disparities — and requires charter schools to create such plans as well
  • #19 (Charter Cap Reimbursement), which caps the number of charter schools and charter school seats for any year in which the state fails to fully fund the charter school mitigation account.
  • #27 (Analyze Impact of Proposition 2 1/2), which requires a study of the impact on this regressive tax law on municipalities’ ability to provide a high-quality education to all students
  • #53 (Ensuring Proportional Phase-In), which makes sure that all of the updates get phased in at the same pace so that low-income students don’t get left behind
  • #61 (Charter School Reimbursement Accountability), which requires the Commonwealth to draw funding from charter schools to ensure full reimbursement to public schools
  • #63 (Following Through On Our Commitments), which makes sure that the Legislature fully funds charter reimbursements.

Find your senator’s email and phone number here. And then tell them to support the Student Opportunity Act as well as amendments #17, #19, #27, #53, #61, and #63 so that we can deliver on our promise to all students.

Can we count on you to make that call or send that email?

Let’s Bring Election Day Day Registration to Massachusetts.

VOTE

Today is National Voter Registration Day. It’s also Election Day for cities like Boston, Chelsea, Lawrence, Lowell, and Taunton. 

With our 20-day voter registration cutoff, the last day to register, or update your registration, was all the way back in the beginning of September. By the time that a graduate in a new apartment, a young family seeking more affordable rent or more space, or a retiree looking to downsize may have found out that an election was even happening, they risked being shut out of participation.

That’s neither just nor necessary. 

Other states, including many of our neighbors, have realized this problem and eliminated a registration cutoff altogether. Maine has allowed eligible voters to register on Election Day since 1973. New Hampshire has since 1996. And Connecticut and Vermont eliminated their registration cutoff dates more recently.

Election Day Registration helps leads to more accurate voting rolls, better experiences at the polls, and even increased turnout. It’s a win-win all around. 

Can you call your state legislators today to urge them to support Election Day Registration (S.396 / H.685)?

Look up your state representative and state senator here to find their contact information and find out whether they’re already on board. 

And then make a quick call or send a quick email. Here’s a sample: 

Dear Legislator, 

As voting rights are under attack in other states, we need to strengthen the right to vote here at home. That means making sure that all eligible voters who want to cast a ballot on Election Day are able to participate. 

Massachusetts’s 20-day registration deadline, however, denies thousands of eligible voters the right to vote. It is arbitrary, unjust, and unnecessary, and our neighbors in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Vermont have already done away with their voter registration deadlines. 

I urge you to support legislation bringing Election Day Registration to Massachusetts (S.396/H.685). 

Thank you, 

[Your name]

Our democracy is strongest when everyone is able and empowered to participate. Let’s make that happen.

“Sexual Harassment Occurs in the State House every single day.”

The #MeToo movement brought national attention to how pervasive sexual assault and sexual harassment are across institutions and industries, but anyone who ever worked or advocated in the Massachusetts State House already knew.

As State Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa (D-Northampton) said in a recent article, “Sexual harassment occurs in the State House every single day.” 

And that needs to change. 

Massachusetts residents deserve a truly representational government, with legislative members and staff representing the full diversity of the Commonwealth. For that to happen, everyone must feel safe and respected at work.

Just as the government should be a model employer, the State House should be a model workplace, setting an example in terms of both rules and norms. 

A first step? Passing An Act promoting equality and respect in the legislature (S.1898 / H.3572), a bill from Rep. Sabadosa and Sen. Becca Rausch which would create an independent commission to investigate and report on complaints of workplace and sexual harassment in the Massachusetts Legislature.

Find your legislator’s email here, and let them know that it’s time to start taking workplace harassment seriously. 

Sabadosa and Rausch also filed a resolution in support of their bill at the Massachusetts Democratic Party convention. If you’re headed to Springfield, make sure to vote yes. 

A toxic culture won’t change on its own, but you can help change it. 

What Do Raytheon, Staples, and GE Have in Common? They Don’t Pay Enough in Taxes.

The bad news: Train derailments. The certified worst traffic in the country. Underfunded public schools. Tuition hikes at public colleges and universities. A growing statewide affordable housing crisis. Every day, we see new examples of how Massachusetts is in dire need of new revenue.

The good news: This is a problem that we can fix.

The MA legislature has made numerous public commitments to raise new revenue this coming fall. It’s a promise we need to hold them to.

But business groups and corporate lobbyists have been meeting with legislators to push for regressive taxes that take the burden off them and put it on working people.

That’s not right. Because we know that these large corporations are not paying their fair share.

So it’s time to make our values heard by the Legislature.

With our partners around the state in the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition, we’ve launched a quality call campaign, asking activists to call their legislators and make perfectly clear what our expectations for any revenue package are:

  1. Any near-term revenue proposals must include a commitment to move the Fair Share Amendment through the legislative process.
  2. Fair: Economically progressive, to bring the share of income paid by higher-income people more in line with that paid by lower-income people. 
  3. Sustainable: Supported by the public and capable of surviving attempted repeal, so that we can count on the revenue to make necessary investments. 
  4. Adequate: Raises enough revenue to meet the Commonwealth’s needs.

Having technical difficulties and unable to use the tool above? Please email info@raiseupma.org or text 857-242-0412 with the outcomes of your call, including:

  • Which legislator did you call?
  • Did you talk to your legislator or an aide?
  • Did your legislator commit to supporting progressive revenue? 
  • How would your legislator suggest we raise revenue?

Are Your Legislators Keeping It đź’Ż for Our Students?

In the 1980s, steep cuts in property taxes strained school budgets across the state, creating gaping inequalities between the richest and poorest communities.

In response to that, parents from Brockton sued the state, claiming that it was failing to meet its constitutional obligation to “cherish” education for all students. This language written goes all the way back to John Adams.

In June of 1993, the Legislature responded to this lawsuit — and the underlying funding crisis — by passing the Education Reform Act, which has shaped the course of public education in Massachusetts since.

One core part of ensuring that every student got a quality public education was the Chapter 70 formula.

Here’s how it worked:

(1) Calculate a “foundation budget“: A district ‘s foundation budget is determined by multiplying the number of students at each grade level and demographic group (e.g., low-income students and English Language Learners) by a set of education spending categories (e.g., teacher compensation, building maintenance) and totaling those numbers up.

(2) Calculate a required local contribution: This is done by looking at incomes and property values. In other words, how much can a city or town contribute based on the resources that it has?

(3) Fill the gap with state aid. And if districts can and want to, they can choose to spend more than their required contribution.

And this worked! Well, at first.

Some things from 1993 last forever.

I Will Always Love You gif

But most haven’t. And the assumptions built into this formula are now out of date.

The Legislature knows this, too.

In 2015, a commission created by the Legislature (the Foundation Budget Review Commission) found that we are underfunding state aid to public school districts by up to $2 billion a year due to outdated assumptions about the cost of health care, special education, English Language Learner education, and closing income-based achievement gaps.

That’s a lot of money!

And as a result, we have one of the most unequal public education systems in the country. All students lose out due to our outdated funding formula, especially the students who need extra help the most.

Wow, we really need to see action on this. What can I do?

The Legislature has been debating various proposals this year. Some, like the PROMISE Act (part of our Legislative Agenda), provide a comprehensive solution. Others are less far-reaching or have some provisions that could make inequities even worse.

It’s important that when legislators take action this fall, they get it right. 

That means providing 100% additional funding for the poorest students so that all students, regardless of income, have the opportunity to succeed.

For that to happen, your legislators need to hear from YOU, their constituents. They have to vote well for you to continue to vote for them to represent you. It’s that simple.

Are we a state that believes in high-quality public education for all students, or are we not?

Keep it 100

So here’s what you can do:

(1) Look up your legislators’ phone numbers and email addresses here. (Put the numbers in speed dial!)

(2) Explain that you need them to commit to 100% additional funding for the poorest students. They need to be communicating this to House Leadership. (If they send a letter, ask them to send you a copy).

Here’s a sample script:

Hello, my name is [YOUR NAME], and I am a constituent from [YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD/CITY/TOWN].

It’s been almost four years since a commission created by the legislature showed that we are underfunding our public schools by up to $2 billion a year due to an outdated funding formula from 1993. It’s far past time for the Legislature to update this formula, and we have to do it right.

A good bill will do right by all our students, especially the most vulnerable. And that means providing 100% additional funding for the poorest students.

I urge you to only support a bill that delivers on this promise of quality public education for all and to communicate this to Speaker Bob DeLeo and Education Chairwoman Alice Peisch.

Can I count on you to send a letter to them outlining your demands for an education funding bill?

[If time, personalize the issue by referencing the needs of your own school district or speak about your own experience as a student/teacher/parent/community member.]

(3) Let us know how the call went.

(4) Set yourself a calendar reminder for one week to call again.

(5) Ask five of your friends to do the same.

Take Action: Here’s How to Keep it đź’Ż, Massachusetts

In Massachusetts, people shouldn’t have to sue to make progressive change happen, but too often, that’s been the case. Two and a half decades ago, parents sued the state for failing to guarantee a high-quality education for all children, and they’re doing so again today. Similarly, lawsuits have been necessary to force the state to take the bold action on climate change that’s required for a resilient and sustainable future. 

It shouldn’t have to be this way. If our elected officials were bold enough, they would be proactively passing the bills to move us forward, not waiting until they’re forced to.

That’s where you come in.

Keeping It đź’Ż on Education

Four years ago, the Massachusetts Legislature created a commission to figure out how to update the state’s funding formula for local aid to schools, which hasn’t been updated since 1993.

The commission made clear that the state is short-changing schools due to outdated assumptions about the costs of health care, special education, English Language Learner education, and closing income-based achievement gaps.

The Legislature knows exactly what they need to do. They just need to do it.

The PROMISE Act (S.238/H.586) is the only bill before the Legislature that follows through with those recommendations.

But House Leadership has been intransigent. In particular, House Leadership isn’t interested in funding education fully for low-income students, those who need that extra funding the most. And that’s not acceptable.

Any good education funding bill — like the PROMISE Act — would raise the low-income rate up to 100% for the 10th decile. In lay terms, this means spending twice as much as the average per pupil amount per low-income student in a high-poverty district. If we want to close achievement gaps, we need to be spending extra money on the students that need it most in the communities that can’t make up the difference in funding themselves.

Can you call your legislators to urge them to support the PROMISE Act and demand that any education funding bill provides the full resources that low-income students need to succeed?

Keeping It đź’Ż on Climate

As a coastal state, Massachusetts will be hit especially hard by climate change. According to the latest report from the IPCC, we have to start acting fast if we want to avoid climate chaos, slashing global greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent below 2010 levels by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050.

Although we have been a leader in energy efficiency, we still get most of our fuel from dirty energy, particularly natural gas. That needs to change.

The 100% Renewable Energy Act (S.1958/H.2836) will help make that happen.

This bill would accelerate the growth of clean energy and set out clear, enforceable requirements to ensure that Massachusetts stays on track to achieve 100% renewable energy, while ensuring that the displaced workers, low-income communities, and communities of color that have been most impacted by fossil fuel pollution have a seat at the table.

How can you make that bill into a law?

  • Testify — or simply show up: The hearing for the bill is just around the corner: next Tuesday (July 23) at 1 pm at the State House (Room B2). If you can go, please do to show your support.
  • Make your voice heard: But whether you can or cannot go in person, you can still make your support known to your legislators.

Can you call your legislators to urge them to support the 100% Renewable Energy Act?

Click the links above — and again here — to find out if your legislators are already supportive (and to find their contact info if you don’t already have it). Whether or not they are already supporters, they need to hear from you. Your calls, emails, and visits matter.