Progressive Massachusetts proudly announces our 2017-2018 Legislative Agenda for the 190th session of the Mass General Court.

The Moral Urgency of Now: Massachusetts Must Lead.

We are watching the federal government under President Donald Trump, with little braking from the Republican Congress, move us rapidly in a fascist direction that deeply contradicts Massachusetts values and liberties. Resistance is imperative.

What are the ways we can resist? Where can we effect the most dramatic changes, shape a progressive alternative and protect the most people vulnerable under this regime?

Our efforts on the national scene are important–but our impact, as liberals served by Democrats in a majority Republican Congress, is unfortunately, realistically, quite limited.

But, we can make Massachusetts a blue, progressive fortress against Trumpism. There is no excuse for not passing a vigorous progressive agenda in one of the bluest states in the country.

We are no longer in normal times. We cannot abide our super-majority Democratic lawmakers playing by the old rules, the old hesitancies and cautions. This is a moral imperative: through our democratic system, we can must resist, chart an alternative, progressive, path forward, and firmly and proudly establish and protect a system of true justice–in all its dimensions–for all. 

Our recent survey of our members’ (your) issues of top concern served as a guide for the Progressive Mass Issues Committee (PMIC). Over several weeks, committee reached out to legislators, advocates, and allies, to learn about their priorities and the bills to be filed that address them, to explore what bold proposals would galvanize Beacon Hill, and to assess the issue movements with advocacy momentum and energy behind them.

Setting Progressive Goals and a Road Map for Action

Through this intensive process of research, outreach, deliberation, and member input, PMIC has crafted our multi-issue 2017-2018 Progressive Legislative Agenda. Following the four broad planks of our Progressive Platform, the Progressive Legislative Agenda represents a multi-issue road map for the next two years of advocacy for the progressive activist. 

As many in the BMG community already know, there are specific points of inflection in the life cycle of legislation, when grassroots action and advocacy is more important and has greater impact. Simply stated, timing matters.

We aim to reach out to our progressive network and membership at time-sensitive moments and ask for your action. The first action of many over the next two years: pushing legislators for Co-Sponsorship. And it needs to be done by Friday.

ProgressiveMass.com/takeaction:

Before Friday (the House’s deadline), please contact your State Representative and State Senator, and ask them to cosponsor the bills on our progressive agenda (both House and Senate versions, House and Senate members can cross-cosponsor). All the information, including plain text to copy/paste, if you should require that, is at our action kit: ProgressiveMass.com/takeaction

Note–while the deadline to cosponsor House bills is Friday, February 3rd at 5:00 pm, State Representatives and State Senator can cosponsor Senate bills at any point in the two-year session.

As a statewide, multi-issue, grassroots organizations committed to pushing our state Legislature and Governor to be more progressive, and hold them accountable when they’re not, Progressive Mass believes that the first step towards building a progressive agenda on Beacon Hill begins with outreach and conversations with your state legislators, and asking them to cosponsor and support critical legislation. And when you do reach out to your legislators, we want to hear what you learn. Drop us a line:  issues @ progressivemass.com  

This past weekend gave a pretty clear visual of how much power we have when we organize together. And we all know that showing up to march was merely the first step of many.

The next is engaging with the political process — via electoral, issue and legislative work — as well as the work of community organizing– building communities of trust, making outreach and strengthening our progressive infrastructure. We’re committed to both. 

This week, we are releasing our 2017-18 Legislative Agenda, and we will be asking progressives to make some noise about how Massachusetts should become a leader again in bold progressive policy. 

The Opposite of Trump

We all want to DO something to stop the coming wave of Trump’s — and the traditional conservatives’ — cruel and incoherent policies on immigration, health care, women’s bodies, education, and their accelerating privatization and corporate kleptocracy. 

While many emerging activist networks are urging outreach to Congress, we’d like to propose that, in Massachusetts, we’ll get a lot more mileage fighting Trump — and making real change, helping real people who are vulnerable — BY focusing on Massachusetts:

• We could pass a millionaire’s tax, and restore funding to programs destroyed by repeated budget cuts
• We could pass a $15 minimum wage
• We could ensure safety and dignity for immigrants and their family
• We could lead the fight on climate change by investing more in solar and energy efficiency 
• We could insist on the highest standards for the air we breathe and water we drink
• We could fully fund excellent public education for all
• We could pass universal pre-K
• We could pass Paid Family and Medical Leave 
• We could re-invest in a 21st century public transportation system
• We could dismantle the apparatuses of mass incarceration and their racist effects
• We could mend then strengthen the safety nets that have been cut and frayed to threads

These are changes that are needed. In Massachusetts. 

In Trump’s America, these changes are still possible. In Massachusetts. 

The truth is — We have a lot of work to do to make Massachusetts the progressive ideal that we would like to think we are. 

But the great news is that all of this is not only possible — we are much, much, more influential with our state legislators. AND Democrats have have a Super (duper) Democratic majority in both chambers. 

If we aren’t passing progressive legislation in Massachusetts, it’s because Democrats are standing in the way. On Beacon Hill, we aren’t fighting Ted Cruzes or Rand Pauls. 

Reminding our elected representatives of the progressive principles at the heart of the Democratic platform, through organized, well-timed, on-going outreach and pressure…we can do this, if we mobilize together. And, this hill, if we climb it, will produce real changes for real people most vulnerable under Trump.

The Legislative session just opened this month. We are starting our 2-year cycle of outreach and advocacy and citizen lobbying afresh. 

Well-timed, informed outreach to your State Rep and State Senator is a key part of the next 2 years: 

• We will ask our legislators to sign on to our progressive agenda as cosponsors to our highlighted bills (that’s coming right up)
• We will ask our legislators to advocate with their colleagues to push for the strongest progressive legislation possible
• We will ask our legislators to stay strong when the going gets tough
• We will thank them when they stand up for our goals and values–especially when it’s hardest to do
• We will talk with our neighbors and help them advocate — or help provide the context to help educate where there’s disagreement

This contact is key. We’re asking you to be ready–look up, right now, your State Representative and State Senator.