Take Action: Tell Your State Senator You Want a *democratic* State Senate

Eight years ago, then House Speaker Bob DeLeo was able to get the MA House to repeal term limits for the Speakership, further concentrating power in the Speaker’s Office.

Now, MA Senate leaders are looking to follow, eliminating the term limits that still exist for the Senate President.

When one tries to diagnose the reasons for inertia in the Massachusetts State Legislature, where a commanding supermajority of Democrats end up passing too few bills and taking too long to pass them, one of the key underlying problems is the over-concentration of power. When too few people are in control of too many things, you get bottlenecks: things don’t get done. When those too few people also have the ability to retaliate against anyone who speaks out (demotion from committee leadership, lower salary, fewer staff, smaller and more remote office), then the quality of debate declines. And our democracy weakens.

Tell your state senator to oppose eliminating term limits for Senate President.

Massachusetts wants a small “d” democratic Senate. Amendment #23 to the Senate Rules package (S17) would take us in the opposite direction.

Our 2023-2024 Legislative Agenda

We’re proud to announce our legislative agenda for the 2023-2024 legislative session. You can contact your legislators about these bills here. And check out additional bills that we have endorsed at progressivemass.com/agenda.

Our Shared Prosperity Agenda

Protecting the Fair Share Victory

We had a big win last November with the Fair Share Amendment, and for the Fair Share Amendment to deliver on its full potential, we need to prevent tax evasion and ensure any proposed tax reform package is progressive.

  • Statutory Protections for FSA Revenue: SD.1166 (Lewis) / HD.2236 (O’Day): An Act to protect the intent of the Fair Share Amendment, which would prevent Fair Share revenue from being diverted to tax giveaways or reserves, so it is available for spending on transportation and education as voters intended
  • Preventing FSA Tax Evasion: SD.1167 (Lewis) / HD.2310 (O’Day): An Act preventing high-income tax avoidance, which would prevent tax avoidance of the Fair Share Amendment by requiring, as many other states do, couples who file jointly at the federal level to file jointly at the state level as well
  • Fiscally Responsible Estate Tax Reform: SD.1114 (Cyr) & SD.888 (Jehlen) / HD.1465 (Uyterhoeven): An Act relative to estate tax reform, which would preserve most of the revenue-generation, inequality-reduction, and fairness benefits of the estate tax, while eliminating the current cliff effect
  • A Targeted Charitable Deduction: SD.1596 (Eldridge) / HD.3073 (Uyterhoeven): An Act to reform the charitable deduction, which would make the charitable deduction more targeted by limiting it to individuals who are not already getting such a deduction on their federal taxes
  • Corporate Tax Disclosure: SD.1038 (Miranda) / HD.751 (Capano): An Act to require public disclosures by publicly-traded corporate taxpayers, which would make publicly accessible reports that are already filed annually by publicly-traded corporations, detailing their sales, profits, taxable income, and taxes paid
  • Taxing offshored “GILTI” income: SD.1541 (Rausch) / HD.388 (Barber / Uyterhoeven): An Act to close corporate tax loopholes and create progressive revenue, which would tax, as other states and the federal government do, a portion of the profits that multinational corporations who do business in MA shift to offshore tax havens
  • Increasing the Corporate Tax Rate: SD.508 (DiDomenico) / HD.2758 (Keefe): An Act relative to restoring corporate tax rates, which would restore the tax on corporate profits to 9.5%, where it was before 2009, from the existing 8.0% rate
  • Tiered Corporate Minimum Tax: SD.677 (Gomez) / HD.418 (Connolly): An Act establishing a tiered corporate minimum tax, which would ensure that larger corporations pay a minimum corporate tax bill in proportion to the size of their business in MA, while small businesses continue paying the current corporate minimum tax of just $456 per year

Ensuring Livable Wages for All

We won a $15 minimum wage, but that has already been eroded due to inflation, and too many people are forced to work multiple jobs to make ends meet.

  • Living Wage: SD.2032 (Lewis): An Act relative to raise the minimum wage closer to a living wage in the Commonwealth / HD.3965 (Nguyen / Donahue): An Act relative to the minimum wage, which would raise the minimum wage to $20 per hour over four years and indexes it to inflation to better align the minimum age with a living wage

A High-Quality Education for All

Everyone deserves access to a high-quality education, from pre-K to higher ed, and our state has the resources to make that happen.

  • Common Start: SD.667 (Lewis/Moran) / HD.2794 (Gordon/Madaro): An Act providing affordable and accessible high-quality early education and care to promote child development and well-being and support the economy in the Commonwealth, which would establish a framework for delivering increased access to affordable, high-quality early education and child care with greater investment in providers, better pay for workers, and a cap on costs for families
  • Thrive Act: SD.2067 (Comerford/Miranda/Gomez) / HD. 3162 (Hawkins/Montaño): An act empowering students and schools to thrive, which would create a better system of assessment, support, accountability, and improvement that considers the whole child, and focuses on giving students and educators the tools and resources they need to succeed and thrive, replacing the harmful and failed state takeover policy
  • CHERISH Act: SD.2092 (Comerford) / HD.2755 (Garballey/Duffy): An Act committing to higher education the resources to insure a strong and healthy public higher education system, which would create a framework for adequate funding levels for public higher education, including increased student support and better pay and benefits for faculty and staff; implement a debt-free college plan; and create a plan for green and healthy buildings on campus

Housing for All

Massachusetts offers a great quality of life, but only if you can afford to live here. We need to embrace a diverse set of tools to address our state’s housing crisis.

  • Real Estate Transfer Fee: SD.1982 (Comerford) / HD.2857 (Connolly): An Act granting a local option for a real estate transfer fee to fund affordable housing, which would enable cities and towns to assess a fee of 0.5-2% on residential and commercial real estate transactions, with the funds allocated to affordable housing trust funds
  • HERO Bill: SD.1226 (Eldridge) / HD.2510 (Montaño): An Act providing for climate change adaptation infrastructure and affordable housing investments in the commonwealth, which would increase the deeds excise tax on home sales to provide a funding stream for the Global Warming Solutions Fund, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and the Housing Preservation and Stabilization Fund
  • Zoning Reform: SD.2006 (Crighton) / HD.3252 (Vargas/Honan): An Act to promote yes in my back yard, which would set a statewide housing production goal, allow multi-family housing to be built near public transportation, make it easier for municipalities to pass inclusionary zoning ordinances, allow accessory dwelling units to be built as-of-right, and promote the use of vacant commercial properties and empty state-owned properties for housing

Our Racial and Social Justice Agenda

We need to move past a punitive model of mass incarceration and toward rehabilitation and community stability; recognize the full diversity and potential of our immigrant populations; and ground education in inclusion and respect.

  • No Cost Calls: SD.1441 (Creem): An Act to keep families connected / HD.822 (Tyler): An Act relative to telephone service for inmates in all correctional and other penal institutions in the Commonwealth, which would prevent prisons and jails from charging individuals who are incarcerated for phone calls to loved ones
  • Prison Moratorium: SD.661 (Comerford) / HD.799 (Tyler): An Act establishing a jail and prison construction moratorium, which would enact a five-year pause on new prison and jail construction in order to provide time to develop more effective, community-based approaches to public safety
  • Raising the Age: SD.428 (Crighton) / HD.3510 (O’Day / Cruz): An Act to promote public safety and better outcomes for young adults, which would raise the age of criminal majority to 21, allowing youth to have better access to treatment and educational services and thereby reducing recidivism
  • Language Access & Inclusion: SD.1066 (DiDomenico) / HD.3616 (Madaro/González): An Act relative to language access and inclusion, which would build the capacity of key public-facing state agencies to meet the language access needs of an increasingly diverse population by standardizing and enforcing language access protocols and practices
  • Healthy Youth Act: SD.2199 (DiDomenico) / HD.3874 (O’Day / Howard): An Act relative to healthy youth, which would require school districts that provide sex education to ensure that it is comprehensive, age-appropriate, and LGBTQ-inclusive, with an emphasis on consent

Our Sustainable Infrastructure and Environmental Protection Agenda

Massachusetts has ambitious climate goals, but we won’t meet them without aggressive steps to transition to renewable energy and invest in a green and just economy.  

  • Polluter Pays: SD.2366 (Eldridge) / HD.3460 (Owens): An Act establishing a climate change superfund and promoting polluter responsibility, which would require fossil-fuel producers to fund the state’s climate adaptation programs based on past emissions, a proposal that would extend the long-standing “polluter pays” principle for toxic waste cleanups to addressing climate change
  • Zero-Carbon Renovation Fund: SD.500 (Gomez) / HD.776 (Vargas): An Act establishing a zero carbon renovation fund, which would create a fund for green and healthy home retrofits, with a prioritization of affordable housing, low-to-moderate-income homes, gateway cities, and environmental justice communities
  • Gas Moratorium: SD.1925 (Gomez) / HD.3794 (Williams / A. Ramos): An Act to establishing a moratorium on new gas system expansion, which would pause the approval for any new or expanded gas infrastructure through 2026

Our Good Government and Strong Democracy Agenda

Our democracy is strongest when all are able to participate, and we need to remove the barriers that remain.

  • Voting Rights Restoration: SD.1037 & SD.1464 (Miranda) / HD.3153 & HD.3188 (Uyterhoeven): An Act relative to voting rights restoration & Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution relative to voting rights, which would ensure that incarceration no longer leads to a loss of voting rights at any stage
  • Modern Open Meeting Access for All: SD.2017 (Lewis) /HD.3261 (Garlick): An Act to modernize participation in public meetings, which would require that all public bodies have options for hybrid participation and create a trust fund and competitive grants to help municipalities with the technology needed to do so
  • Public Records & Transparency: SD.131 (Eldridge): An Act to provide sunlight to state government, which would promote transparency in state government by removing the Governor’s exemption from public records law and requiring committee votes and legislative testimony (with appropriate redactions) to be public

Take Action to Protect Democracy in MA

An outrageous undermining of democracy right here on Beacon Hill

Yesterday, on Wednesday, January 4, state legislators were sworn in for the beginning of the new legislative session in Massachusetts: the 193rd session of the General Court.

But rather than swear in 160 representatives, the MA House only swore in 158.

That’s because Speaker Ron Mariano has refused to seat two Democratic women who narrowly flipped Republican districts.

Margaret Scarsdale won the open race for the 1st Middlesex district by 7 votes. The election was certified after a thorough recount.

Kristin Kassner defeated incumbent Republican Lenny Mirra in the 2nd Essex district by 1 vote. The election was certified after a thorough recount.

Rather than seat Scarsdale and Kassner, Mariano chose to delay and appoint a three-member legislative commission to review pending Republican lawsuits. This committee is operating without a formal timeline, and the House has chosen to allow Republican Rep. Lenny Mirra to occupy the seat that he lost in the interim — undermining the will of the voters. Indeed, Mirra’s lawsuit has already been thrown out in court.

This is a dangerous precedent for our Legislature to set. Write to Speaker Mariano and his appointees that such a delay is not acceptable and that they should seat Kassner and Scarsdale promptly.

We Protected the Work & Family Mobility Act on the Ballot. Make Sure It Gets Implemented Right

Earlier this month, because of the work of supporters like you, we were able to protect the Work & Family Mobility Act on the ballot and ensure that all qualified drivers, regardless of immigration status, will be able to obtain a driver’s license.

But the work isn’t done. The bill has to be implemented properly.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles is currently accepting public comment on a set of draft regulations for implementing the bill. These regulations, which impose unnecessary restrictions to getting a license, are extremely concerning to those of us who advocated for this law.

Please email the RMV with the Driving Families Forward Coalition’s recommended changes.

So many years of organizing went into making this victory possible: we need to make sure it gets implemented properly.

A real Halloween fright…not knowing your voting plan.

Wouldn’t it be terrifying if you didn’t having a voting plan?! Don’t worry we have all the resources you need to get your vote out, and help get your community to the polls as well!

Upcoming Election Deadlines

  • Vote by mail:
    • We strongly encourage you to submit your mail in ballot by November 1st so it reaches your town clerk or local elections office by November 8th. Your ballot will be counted as long as it’s postmarked by November 8th and arrives by November 12, but please don’t wait until then!
    • If you haven’t sent in a vote-by-mail application yet and wish to do so, you can download a form here. The deadline to receive your application is November 1st at 5 pm.
    • If you’ve already received your ballot, you can send it back via mail or via a dropbox near you. And if you want to confirm receipt, you can track your ballot.
    • If you’re unsure if you applied for a mail-in ballot, use track your ballot to check
  • Vote early in person:
    • Early voting is available across the state, and each community has their own dates/deadlines. You can find locations in your community here.
  • Vote on Election Day:
    • The deadline for registering to vote has passed.
    • You can confirm your polling place at wheredoivotema.com.

Beyond voting, you can help ensure Progressive wins on Election day by helping advocate for Yes on 1 and Yes on 4.

  • Join the Progressive Mass Yes on 1 and 4 joint phonebank next week:
    • https://tinyurl.com/Yeson1and4Nov1
  • Find a canvass near you for Yes on 1:
    • https://www.mobilize.us/fairshareamendment2022/
  • Sign up for a YES on 1 phone bank:
    • https://www.mobilize.us/fairshareamendment2022/event/476323/
  • Volunteer for YES on 4:
    • https://saferroadsma.com/events/
  • Tell 10 friends or neighbors to be sure to vote for Yes on 1 and Yes on 4, and share the accurate information on Question 1.

The Legislature’s Grade for this Session? INCOMPLETE

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?
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?

Wanted: Reliable Funding for Transportation in Mass

Today marked the first day of the month-long shutdown of the Orange Line, which will cause disruption across the entire Boston metro area (lots of lateness, lots of traffic, lots more pollution, and the list goes on). But this was a long time coming.

The shutdown of the Orange Line shows what happens when we fail to properly maintain our transportation infrastructure: hundreds of thousands of people’s lives are affected, with more difficult commutes to work and to school whether by bus, by train, by car, by bike, or by foot. When a bridge, road, or transit line anywhere in Massachusetts is forced to close abruptly due to safety issues, our entire economy suffers.

That’s why we’re fighting for the Fair Share Amendment: Yes on Question 1. Question 1 will provide significant new resources to maintain our transportation infrastructure across the state before another crisis occurs, and only those who earn more than $1 million a year will pay more.

With Question 1, we’ll have more money to invest in the MBTA, as well as in roads, bridges, highways, and rail and bus service across the state.

But that victory won’t come without your help.

Can you sign up to phone bank or canvass for the Fair Share campaign?

TOMORROW—Saturday, August 20

Roxbury

Worcester

South End

Leominster

SUNDAY, August 21

Acton/Boxborough Farmers Market

Brookline

Cambridge

Dorchester

Lynn

MONDAY, August 22

Virtual Statewide Phonebank

Belmont

TUESDAY, August 23

Needham

Somerville

WEDNESDAY, August 24

Chicopee

Clinton

Quincy

Newton

THURSDAY, August 25

Andover

Quincy

Salem

Woburn

Worcester

Take Action: The Work from the Legislative Session Remains Unfinished

Last Sunday, the last day of the formal Legislative Session, the MA Legislature sent a lightly amended climate bill back to Governor Charlie Baker, accepting a few of his amendments but rejecting others. (See the changes here.)

The next step is simple: Charlie Baker needs to sign it.

If he signs it or even if he takes no action, it becomes law. If he vetoes it, it is dead until next year unless the Legislature comes back into session.

Call Baker’s office at 617-725-4005 and urge him to sign the climate bill.

Here’s a sample script you can use:

“I urge you to quickly sign H5050: An Act driving clean energy and offshore wind into law. This bill will support much needed progress to reduce our state emissions 50% by 2030 as required by law. It will expand clean energy, transportation electrification, and building decarbonization measures while creating jobs and helping reach statewide emissions reduction targets.”

Sign the Climate Bill, Charlie

Tell the Legislature: Finish Your Job!
A few weeks ago, the Legislature was on track to end the Legislative Session with important victories of passing a five-year prison moratorium and No Cost Calls legislation.
The five-year prison moratorium, passed in a bond bill, would have put a pause on new prison construction in order to allow time for communities to focus on building alternatives. Prisons and jails cannot guarantee public safety; only investing in community well-being and stability can. Even more, no one builds new prison capacity without a desire to use it: every new prison built is a commitment to lock up individuals for decades into the future.
Moreover, right now, families are charged exorbitant fees to maintain vital connections with incarcerated loved ones (sometimes $5 or $6 for a 15-minute call). This is a regressive tax on the most vulnerable populations of the Commonwealth that also harms public safety by limiting communication and weakening community bonds. The No Cost Calls legislation, passed via the budget, would have ended this predatory practice and provided such calls for free.
But both victories are now at risk due to Charlie Baker’s malice and the Legislature’s delays.

Yesterday, Charlie Baker shamefully vetoed the prison moratorium language. With the Legislature not in session, they are unable to override him.

Last week, Baker also tried to hold the No Cost Calls language hostage to his effort to expand pre-trial detention and take away due process rights. While the House rightly rejected Baker’s push, the Senate insisted on passing a still harmful, narrower version of Baker’s bill, dooming No Cost Calls for the session. (Read our write-up of what went down — and how your legislators voted — here.)

We are joining our allies at Families for Justice as Healing and the #KeepFamiliesConnected coalition to demand a special session in September to 1) override Baker’s veto of the Prison Moratorium and 2) pass No Cost Calls with no amendments.

Call and email you State Rep and Senator (a helpful guide from Families for Justice as Healing)
Find your legislator: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator

Script: “Hello my name is _________________ and I’m your constituent. The legislature left too much business unfinished this session. I am asking you to call for a special session in September and stay in session until you 1) override Governor Baker’s veto of the Jail and Prison Construction Moratorium and 2) pass no cost calls with no amendments that will expand criminalization or pretrial incarceration. We already know incarceration has failed to create safety and well-being. There is an active contract to study and design the new women’s prison- so we can’t wait for next session. Please do everything in your power to ensure the Prison Moratorium and No Cost Calls are passed into law.”

**You can also check how your Senator voted on no cost calls/pretrial detentionand either…


*Express disappointment and frustration that they would ignore the demands of organizations led by survivors and formerly incarcerated women who opposed the amendment and vote for expanding criminalization and pre-trial detention which will disproportionately impact people of color. The Senators who voted “yea” knew their vote would derail No Cost Calls.

*Thank your Senator for supporting No Cost Calls and opposing the regressive, reactionary amendment that will only increase racial disparities.

Urgent: Email Your State Senator to Protect No Cost Calls

This past week, Charlie Baker did something shameful.

The Legislature, much to their credit, had passed language in the budget to guarantee free phone calls for incarcerated individuals, ending the predatory practice of prisons and jails charging incarcerated individuals and their families exorbitant costs to stay connected.

All Charlie Baker had to do was sign it. Instead, he is trying to hold the No Cost Calls language hostage as a way to pass one of his own legislative priorities: a bill to weaken due process protections and expand pre-trial detention. Black and Latino electeds in the MA House rightly condemned this move as abhorrent.

Yesterday, the House voted overwhelmingly to reject Baker’s ploy. (If your state rep is among the 122 NAY votes here, you should thank them. NAY = against Baker’s amendment)

House Vote Rejecting Baker Dangerousness Amendment

But the Legislative session is about to end, and the State Senate has not yet voted to reject Baker’s amendment and to protect No Cost Calls and due process.

If you have time TONIGHT, email your State Senator to tell them to reject Charlie Baker’s amendment and to extend the Legislative session if they have to in order to preserve their own legislative victories.

2 am update: Unfortunately, the MA Senate chose not to listen to advocates like Jane Doe Inc. and Families for Justice as Healing and still passed a version of Baker’s dangerousness bill, which will expand incarceration and put No Cost Calls at risk. Thank you to the 8 senators who voted no.

Take Action: What Your State Legislators Need to Do Before Sunday

The formal legislative session for the MA State House ends Sunday, July 31. That means the Legislature has to act fast on a number of key priorities.

An End of Session TO DO LIST for the MA Senate!

Your state senator needs to hear from YOU about the following:

  • Protecting tenants by ensuring that Section 135C (HOMES Act) from the Senate economic development bill, which would create a process for sealing eviction records, remains in the final conference committee report
  • Upholding No Cost Calls language from the budget that would end the predatory practice of charging incarcerated individuals and their loved ones for phone calls, and rejecting Governor Baker’s attempt to block this important victory and force the Legislature to pass his proposal to weaken due process protections
  • Passing the Recommendations of the Special Commission on Facial Recognition Technology, because Massachusetts needs tighter rules around the use of face surveillance technology in order to protect our civil liberties and community safety
  • Safeguarding MA’s gun laws in the wake of recent Supreme Court ruling
  • Speaking up for the State House Employee Union and calling for the necessary steps to ensure that they are duly recognized as a union and able to collectively bargain
  • Not giving the final word on any legislation to Governor Baker and calling for a special session if need be to do right by the Legislature’s accomplishments

Write to them here!

An End of Session TO DO LIST for the MA House!

Your state representative needs to hear from YOU about the following:

  • Strengthening our child care infrastructure by passing H.4795: An Act to Expand Access to High-Quality, Affordable Early Education and Care, which would increase the affordability of child care for families, raises for early educators, and stability for child care providers
  • Protecting tenants by ensuring that Section 135C (HOMES Act) from the Senate economic development bill, which would create a process for sealing eviction records, remains in the final conference committee report
  • Upholding No Cost Calls language from the budget that would end the predatory practice of charging incarcerated individuals and their loved ones for phone calls, and rejecting Governor Baker’s attempt to block this important victory and force the Legislature to pass his proposal to weaken due process protections
  • Speaking up for the State House Employee Union and calling for the necessary steps to ensure that they are duly recognized as a union and able to collectively bargain
  • Not giving the final word on any legislation to Governor Baker and calling for a special session if need be to do right by the Legislature’s accomplishments

Write to them here!

And Lastly, A Quick Call to Governor Baker

The Legislature’s Infrastructure Bond Bill contains language for a 5-year pause on prison construction. Although the final version falls short of what advocates pushed for, it sets a precedent and provides a baseline of protection against brand new jail and prison construction and some limitations on expansion.

Call Charlie Baker at (617) 725-4005 to urge him to sign it, and find additional resources from this toolkit from Families for Justice as Healing (from where the script below comes):

“Hello, my name is _______________ and I’m calling to ask you to sign the Infrastructure Bond Bill including the Jail and Prison Construction Moratorium. Massachusetts needs a 5 year pause on new jail and prison construction so we can focus on implementing alternatives and investing in community-led solutions for real safety and well-being. I am also asking you to use your last months in service of racial and gender justice by granting clemency for women who are older than 50, who are sick, who are survivors of violence, and who have served longer than 10 years. We should empty Framingham prison – not rebuild it. Thank you.”