Tomorrow: MA Senate to Vote on Climate Omnibus Bill, House to Vote on Maternal Health Bill

Happy Juneteenth! Today is a reminder of both our country’s original sin of slavery and the importance of continual work to undo systems of oppression, correct historic inequities, and deliver on the promise of liberty and justice for all.

Tomorrow at the State House, the MA Senate and MA House both have an opportunity to further this work. Read on for what you can do.

Email Your State Senator about Climate Justice

Tomorrow, the MA Senate will be voting on a climate omnibus bill (S.2829) that takes steps to reform energy permitting, decarbonize buildings, electrify transportation infrastructure, expand the state’s electric vehicle charging network, and among other steps.

We know that if we are to have a just transition to renewable energy, then we need to center the communities that have been most harmed by the climate crisis and pollution.

Join the Mass Power Forward coalition in calling on State Senators to co-sponsor key amendments that accelerate our transition away from fossil fuels and address the historic and present harms faced by BIPOC communities.

  • #116 Accurately Assessing Community Impacts (DiDomenico), which would strike a clause from the definition of cumulative impact analyses that would limit the analysis to only assessing the risks and exposures attributable to the proposed new pollution source (thus making it NOT a cumulative assessment).
  • #100 Improving Outdoor Air Quality (Jehlen), which would create a technical advisory committee for air quality, direct the Department of Environmental Protection to identify at least 8 pollution hot spots, install air monitors, and reduce the air pollution by 50% by 2030.
  • #14 Protecting the Commonwealth from Gas Expansion (Gomez), which would halt large gas infrastructure expansion projects from being approved by the Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB).
  • #15 Halting the Expansion of Large Gas Pipes (Gomez), which would stop the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) from approving gas companies to expand into new towns & cities not already served by gas.
  • #16 Protecting the Climate and Ratepayers from Gas Expansion (Gomez), which would halt both large gas infrastructure expansions approvals by the EFSB (Amendment 14) and gas territory expansions by the DPU (Amendment 15).

Check out the Mass Power Forward action guide for more information.

Email Your State Representative about Birthing Justice

Tomorrow, the House will be taking up a bill to address our urgent maternal health crisis and racial inequities (H.4773). The bill incorporates evidence-based solutions, including those that integrate midwives and birth centers into our healthcare system.

Join the Bay State Birth Coalition in advocating for key amendments to to ensure health equity and strengthen midwifery and birth center provisions in the bill:

  • #8 Equitable Reimbursement for Certified Nurse Midwives (Fluker Oakley)
  • #9 Low-risk Pregnancy Definition filed (Fluker Oakley)
  • #15 Promoting Equitable Birth Center Leadership (Cruz)

Moreover, urge your state representative to oppose amendment #20, which would introduce severe restrictions on individual birthing choice and impose blanket fixed prohibitions instead of allowing regulations to follow current, evidence-based best practices for maternal care.

Check out the Bay State Birth Coalition action page for more information.

Take Action: Our State Budget Is Being Finalized Right Now.

In April and May, the MA House and Senate voted on their respective budgets for the next fiscal year. As they reconcile the differences in a Conference Committee, it’s vital that chambers put aside the inter-chamber jockeying and procrastination that so often characterizes these negotiations and instead commit to embracing the best of both budget proposals.

What would that mean? It would mean doing things like the following:

  • Early Education and Child Care: Advancing the Common Start vision of a more robust early education and child care infrastructure with greater stability for providers, better pay for educators, and more affordability for families, as reflected by various parts of both the House and Senate budget
  • Universal School Meals: Fully funding universal school meals by dedicating $190 million to School Meals For All (Line Item 1596-2422)
  • Access to Counsel: Providing $2.5 million for implementation of a statewide Access to Counsel pilot program to increase access to legal representation for low-income tenants and low-income owner occupants in eviction proceedings (item 0321-1800 in the House FY 2025 budget proposal)
  • No Cost Calls Funding: Dedicating $35M in the Communications Access Trust Fund for no–cost calls in prisons and jails (item 1595-6153 in the House FY 2025 budget proposal)
  • No Cost Calls Reporting: Making technical fixes to the No Cost Calls reporting requirements, so that policymakers have the information they need to effectively monitor free communication (Section 29 A&B of the Senate FY 2025 budget proposal)
  • Voting Access: Eliminating barriers to voting access by ending MA’s outlier status as the only state where if a voter doesn’t return the annual municipal census, they’re placed on the Inactive Voter list (an amendment included in the Senate budget that also earned the support of a majority of representatives)

Can you write to your legislators to urge them to express their support for these provisions to the budget negotiators?

Take Action: The MA House Should Listen to the Public on Housing

Yesterday, UMass Amherst and WCVB released a poll on what voters think about different solutions to our housing crisis, and voters were clear that we need to use every tool in the toolbox.

Here’s just one example: by 3 to 1, voters supported allowing cities and towns to levy small fees on high-end real estate transactions to raise dedicated funds for affordable housing.

Governor Healey agrees, and in her housing bond bill (the Affordable Homes Act), she included a local option real estate transfer fee, allowing communities to choose to impose a small fee on high-end real estate purchases to build and preserve affordable homes if this tool is important to them in preserving their community.

Cities and towns across MA have shown that they want to do this. And it’s not hard to see why. In Nantucket, for example, you need to be earning 7x the area median income to afford the median value home. That’s why voters, including local realtors, support this proposal.

But, unfortunately, the the House left this key tool out of the housing bill that it’s voting on TOMORROW, capitulating to the heavy lobbying from the real estate industry. But the fight isn’t over.

Can you write to your state representative in support of Amendment #165 to add the local option transfer fee back into the bill and ensure that it’s flexible enough for all communities across the Commonwealth?

Data Brokers Don’t Need to Know Your Weekend Plans.

I hope you were able to enjoy the long weekend.

But do you know who doesn’t need to know what you did over the weekend? Data brokers.

Currently, there is no law in Massachusetts or federally to prevent the sale and purchase of cell phone location data. Every day, companies collect and sell sensitive location information from cell phones, revealing information about where we live, work, and socialize.

Here’s just one example: Politico recently reported that a data broker company tracked people’s visits to nearly 600 Planned Parenthood clinics in 48 states, including Massachusetts. The company sold that data to inform one of the largest anti-abortion ad campaigns targeting specific individuals. If anti-abortion extremists can use cellphone location data to target abortion seekers with ads, they can also use that data to target, harass, or threaten patients and providers in our state.

The Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cyber Security recently reported out the MA Data Privacy Act, a comprehensive data privacy bill that includes provisions to limit data collection and sharing, treat sensitive health and biometric data with extra care, and prohibit the sale of our cellphone location data. But getting out of committee is just step one. The Legislature needs to pass this before the end of July.

Can you email your state legislators in support of the MA Data Privacy Act?

Take Action: Your Legislator Needs to Hear from You about the Housing Crisis

Massachusetts has a housing crisis. It’s true all across the commonwealth, and it registers as a top priority in every poll.

We know that in order to address our housing crisis, we need every tool in the toolbox. Unfortunately, because of heavy lobbying from the real estate industry, one of those vital tools is under attack: the real estate transfer fee local option.

Under Gov. Healey’s housing bill, a community could choose to impose a small fee on high-end real estate purchases to build and preserve affordable homes if this tool is important to them in preserving their community.

Has your state rep heard from you yet in support of this?

Cities and towns across MA have shown that they want to do this. And it’s not hard to see why. In Nantucket, for example, you need to be earning 7x the area median income to afford the median value home. That’s why voters, including local realtors, support the transfer fee for housing.

House Speaker Ron Mariano recently dismissed this urgency, but what that means is that state legislators are not hearing enough from the majority of voters who want to see real action on the housing crisis.

Tell your state representative to vote “yes” on the transfer fee for real estate to give municipalities an option to fund local housing solutions. It is time to give communities a choice, and a chance to preserve their hometowns for all residents – not just the wealthy.

Will MA Do the Right Thing on Housing?

In poll after poll in Massachusetts, the #1 issue on voters’ minds is housing. And it’s no surprise why. Escalating rents and soaring housing prices have forced people out of their communities or out of the state entirely. That’s not sustainable, and we need robust policy action to address this growing housing crisis.

Over the past few months, the MA Legislature has been working on its main piece of housing policy this session: Governor Maura Healey’s H.4138, the Affordable Homes Act (known as the “housing bond bill”), with the House expected to vote soon. 

Among the key provisions of the bill are a real estate transfer fee local option, which would provide cities and towns a critical tool for addressing their local housing crises, and allowing for accessory dwelling units (ADU) as of right, a way to boost the supply of affordably priced housing.

Your legislators have been hearing from a well-funded real estate lobby trying to block the transfer fee proposal.

And your legislators have been hearing from those who want to preserve the exclusionary nature of their local zoning laws.

But the question is: have they been hearing from you?

Can you write to your state legislators in support of comprehensive action to address our housing crisis?

Happy Earth Day! Here’s How to Take Action Today and Beyond

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day serves as a reminder of the fragility and interconnectedness of our planet and how much more we need to do to protect our common home.

A few years ago, Massachusetts set a commitment to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. For us to meet that goal (or a more ambitious one), then we need bold and comprehensive action on climate from our state legislature. 

That means putting a pause on new gas infrastructure so that we aren’t building new pipelines and compressor stations that create a lock-in effect for fossil fuels and divert time, attention, and resources away from a plan for a just transition.

And that means reforming our energy siting process to expedite the siting of renewable energy and to ensure that we are centering equity and not reproducing historic environmental justices.

Can you write to your state legislators today about the importance of taking action on climate this session?

House FY 2025 Budget Action Alert

Last year, Massachusetts passed critical legislation to guarantee free communication in prisons and jails, the most comprehensive such legislation passed in the country so far. With No Cost Calls in effect, the number of calls made from MA’s prisons rose by more than 60% in January relative to just a few months prior, and the number of electronic messages sent nearly tripled, meaning that people who are incarcerated are better able to stay connected with their loved ones back home.

But the larger work of keeping families connected is not done. We need to make sure that there is robust reporting to ensure full and effective implementation by the Department of Correction and county jails, and we need to build on the win of No Cost Calls by improving access to in-person visitation as well.

Please contact your state representative by next Tuesday (4/23) to urge them to co-sponsor the following amendments to the FY 2025 budget:

  • #975 and #986, amendments to No Cost Calls (These amendments make technical fixes and improvements to reporting requirements with the aim of maximizing effective implementation of free communication in prison and jail)
  • #1263, “Strengthening Community Connections”  (This amendment mirrors legislation to improve access to in-person visits)

Email your state rep

Other amendments worth highlighting for your state rep:

#788, “Lift Kids out of Deep Poverty” (This amendment would provide 10% grant increases for very low-income families with children, elders, and people with disabilities.)

#1479, “Access to Counsel” (This amendment would clarify that the Access to Counsel pilot would be statewide, that it would be for full legal representation, and that the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, the fiscal administrator, would in consultation with an advisory committee, determine how to implement the program)

788, “Lift Kids out of Deep Poverty” (This amendment would provide 10% grant increases for very low-income families with children, elders, and people with disabilities.)

1479, “Access to Counsel” (This amendment would clarify that the Access to Counsel pilot would be statewide, that it would be for full legal representation, and that the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, the fiscal administrator, would in consultation with an advisory committee, determine how to implement the program)

Tell the Public Safety Committee: Families Belong Together

We know that policies that tear apart families — whether through deportation or through incarceration — are bad for communities.

Even though the impacts of deportation have fallen out of the news cycle in the past few years, the work of disentangling state and local law enforcement remains no less important, and given the routine demonization of immigrant communities by too many politicians, we must continue to assert, in words and in policies, that all are welcome here.

But deportation isn’t the only driver of family separations. Our carceral system also does that, and restrictive rules around visitation exacerbate the indignities and inequities of the system.

Fortunately, there are proposed bills to address both of these issues. They both face a deadline of next Monday, April 8, and you still have time to act.

Send an email to the Public Safety Committee about the Safe Communities Act
Send an email to the Public Safety Committee about the Prison Visitation bill

Support the Safe Communities Act

Longstanding state and local involvement in deportations discourages immigrants from seeking police and court protection from domestic violence, endemic wage theft, and unsafe working conditions. Many immigrants—and their children—fear that seeking help from local authorities will result in deportation and family separation.

It has become increasingly clear that the ability of the federal government to protect our rights is limited, and we don’t know what the future will bring. The Massachusetts Safe Communities Act (S.1510 and H.2288) would end voluntary police and court involvement in deportations, and ensure that in Massachusetts, everyone can seek help, protection and medical care without fear of deportation.

The Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security has until April 8th to take action on the bill this session. Use our form to quickly send an email to committee members. They need to hear from you!

Email the Committee

Support the Visitation Bill

In December, the Keeping Families Connected coalition celebrated the historic No Cost Calls bill that eliminates the cost of phone calls for people who are incarcerated. This has already had a huge positive impact on individuals and families across the state. Let’s keep up the momentum to Keep Families Connected through supporting in-person visits. The Prison Visitation bill would lift many restrictions on visiting loved ones who are incarcerated, and make staying connected through in-person visits more accessible. You can learn more about the Visitation bill here.

The Public Safety Committee extended the deadline until April 8 to report this bill favorably out of committee. You can help by calling or emailing the members of the committee to tell them you support improved access to visits and want them to give the bills a favorable report.

Email the Committee

A Budget is a Moral Document

Yesterday, the Ways & Means Committee, aka the budget writers, in the MA Legislature held a hearing about priorities for the next fiscal year.

A budget is more than just numbers: it’s a moral document. It shows what we, as a commonwealth, value and what society we wish to build together.

If you want a budget that reflects core progressive values, then write to your legislators in support of key investments in education and economic security.

Here’s what a budget that reflects our values would do:

  • Incorporate key provisions of the Cherish Act, such as increasing investment in public colleges and universities, ensuring that students are able to graduate without debt, strengthening student supports, and guaranteeing good pay and benefits for all faculty and staff
  • Fully fund the Student Opportunity Act to keep the promise made to our students in 2019 of a high-quality public education for all and increased funding to high-need school districts, and ensure that we are not underfunding needs due to an outdated calculation of inflation
  • Fully fund School Meals for All because universal school meals have proven a policy success and hungry children can’t learn
  • Continue the state’s operational grants to child care providers to offset their operating costs, including higher educator pay, and implement other recommendations from a recent early education & child care commission
  • Provide funding for an Access to Counsel program because no tenant facing eviction should go without legal representation
  • Increase cash assistance grant levels for low-income families because we must ensure that everyone’s basic needs are met

Email your legislators