Dignity Should Not Be a District-by-District Decision (Redux)

Not Your Mascot

The following testimony was submitted to the Joint Committee on Education on May 20, 2021, adapted from earlier testimony submitted the prior session on June 25, 2019.

Chairman Lewis, Chairwoman Peisch, and members of the Joint Education Committee: 

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the chair of the Issues Committee of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots advocacy organization fighting for progressive policy. 

One of the planks in our organization’s platform is an “All means all” agenda of racial and social justice. That means ensuring that underrepresented communities are treated with dignity and respect. 

The reduction of Native American identity to “mascot” status is the opposite of that. We would like to go on record in support of Bill S.294/H.581 (An Act Prohibiting the Use of Native American Mascots by Public Schools in the Commonwealth). 

Such mascots have serious social and emotional consequences for Native American youth, including lower self-esteem and more hostile school climates. For non-Native people, they promote a false understanding of Native Americans and culturally insensitive behaviors and stereotypes. 

Whether or not someone’s dignity and rights are respected should not be a factor of which school they attend or in which city or town they live. This is a state matter. 

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has been fighting to eliminate Native American mascots since the 1960s. Here in Massachusetts, the Chappaquiddick Tribe of the Wampanoag Nation, Herring Pond Wampanoag Tribe, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, and Nipmuc Nation have all called for the elimination of such mascots, and they are joined nationally by such organizations as the National Education Association, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, the American Psychological Association, the American Anthropological Association, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

It’s time we listen. 

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Chair, Issues Committee

Progressive Massachusetts

We Need to Strengthen Democracy Here at Home in MA.

VOTE buttons

The following testimony was submitted to the Joint Committee of Election Laws in support of the VOTES Act.

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Chairman Finegold, Chairman Ryan, and Members of the Joint Committee on Election Laws:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the chair of the Issues Committee of Progressive Massachusetts. Progressive Massachusetts is a statewide grassroots advocacy organization that fights for shared prosperity, racial and social justice, good government and strong democracy, and sustainable infrastructure and environmental protection.

Last year, the Legislature provided voters with greater options for how to cast their ballot. We had more days available to vote early and an expanded possibility to vote by mail. It worked, it was popular, and it shouldn’t become a one-off due to COVID-19. 

We need to make the electoral reforms from last year permanent as well as to build on them in order to make Massachusetts a leader in voting rights. I urge you to give a favorable report to the VOTES Act (S.459 / H.805), filed by Sen. Cindy Creem and Rep. John Lawn, which would make that happen. 

The VOTES Act is a critical and comprehensive package of election reforms that will make our democracy more equitable, accessible, and secure. It includes the popular and successful reforms from last year, such as expanded early voting and vote-by-mail, as well as time-tested reforms like Same Day Registration, which would allow citizens to update their registration or register anew when they go to vote—something 20 states already allow. The VOTES Act, importantly, has reforms geared towards equity, like those aimed at ensuring eligible incarcerated citizens can actually vote, as well as election security, such as risk-limiting audits.

We would like to underscore the importance of Same Day Registration as a part of this package. In Massachusetts elections, an unnecessary and arbitrary 20-day registration cutoff disenfranchises more than 100,000 voters from participating in our elections. Given that the average American moves more than 11 times over the course of their lives, moving near Election Day could lead to disenfranchisement under the current system. Likewise, given the stress of work, family, and myriad other commitments, many voters may first start to learn about an election after the registration window has already passed. Indeed, this is the period when media coverage of elections—and thus voter information—is the strongest. But when voters seek to update their registration or register anew, they are shut out of the process.

When there are errors in voters’ registration, they are typically asked to fill out a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots are cumbersome for election workers and leave voters feeling as though their votes didn’t count. And our first experiences at the polls–indeed, all of our experiences at the polls–have an impact on our voting habits throughout our lives.

Our neighboring states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut have already realized the problems with such a cutoff and adopted Election Day Registration (EDR). Maine has had EDR since the 1970s, and New Hampshire since the 1990s. EDR creates more positive experiences at the polls and, indeed, higher turnout, with studies showing an increase in turnout of approximately 5 percent. That is what a strong democracy looks like.

We would also urge the Legislature to go beyond the provisions in the VOTES Act to fully guarantee the right to vote for eligible incarcerated voters. Individuals serving misdemeanor convictions or incarcerated pre-trial maintain the right to vote but suffer from de facto disenfranchisement due to the myriad barriers they face in exercising that right. Although the Jail-Based Voting Bill (S.474 / H. 836) is not on the agenda for today’s hearing, its comprehensive measures to address this issue are essential and should be included in an omnibus voting reform package.

Over the past few months, we have seen a growing number of states unfortunately take unfounded steps to restrict voter access. In a time when democracy is increasingly under threat, we need to show our commitment to a robust democracy—and positive voting experience for all—here in Massachusetts. 

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Chair, Issues Committee

Progressive Massachusetts

“It is far past time for us to stop shortchanging our students.” (Redux)

Graduation cap on a stack of books

The following testimony was originally submitted to the Joint Committee on Higher Education on April 30, 2019. Since neither bill passed the Legislature in the 2019-2020 session, the testimony was updated for new bill numbers and resubmitted on May 18, 2021.

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Chairwoman Gobi, Chairman Rogers, and Members of the Joint Committee on Higher Education,

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the chair of the Issues Committee of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide multi-issue grassroots organization committed to fighting for social justice and progressive policy. Since our founding, treating education as a public good and funding it as such has been central to our mission.

As such, we strongly support S.829 / H.1339, An Act to guarantee debt-free public higher education, and S.824 / H.1325, An Act committing to higher education the resources to Insure a strong and healthy public higher education system (or CHERISH), and urge you to report them out favorably.

Since 2001, Massachusetts has cut funding for public higher education by 14 percent. However, at the same time that our state was retrenching from investing in our future, enrollment was going up. As a result, per student funding has fallen by 32 percent, almost a third.

When the state pulls back, the cost burden falls onto students. Massachusetts saw some of the highest tuition and fee increases in the country from 2001 to 2016, particularly during the recession. The share of costs borne by students and their families doubled, putting a degree out of reach for more and more students, especially those of disadvantaged backgrounds.

Today, the average graduate from our state universities and the UMass system leaves with over $30,000 in student debt—the tenth highest in the country. The average debt for graduates of public, four-year postsecondary schools grew faster in Massachusetts than in all but one other state from 2004 to 2016.

A postsecondary degree provides a proven premium in lifetime wages for graduates and countless other opportunities. Cost should not be a barrier. By preventing young people from living independently, buying a home, or pursuing their career of choice, college debt is a drag on our economy. Even when students drop out due to cost, they can be saddled with debt for years after.

It is far past time for us to stop shortchanging our students. Investing more in public higher education, as the CHERISH Act would require, and making public higher education debt-free would benefit not only students. When financial concerns are no longer a hindrance for people seeking to realize their full potential, we all benefit.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Chair, Issues Committee

Progressive Massachusetts

“The time is right for Massachusetts to end felony disenfranchisement.”

Prison

Testimony in Support of S.18 and H.74

Legislative Amendment to the Constitution Relative to Voting Rights

Joint Committee on Election Laws

April 26, 2020

Dear Chairman Finegold, Chairman Ryan, and members of the Election Laws Committee, 

We, the Democracy Behind Bars Coalition, are writing in support of S. 18 sponsored by Senator Adam Hinds and H. 74 sponsored by Representative Mindy Domb. We believe it is time to take the first step to restore voting rights to people incarcerated for felony convictions. Therefore we urge you to send S. 18 and H. 74 out of committee with a favorable review to create a path for voting rights to be restored through legislative amendment or ballot initiative.

In Massachusetts, we strip incarcerated citizens of the ability to exercise their political voice even though they are our most governed population. This happens through de jure disenfranchisement for those serving felony convictions, and de facto disenfranchisement for those held pre-trial or on misdemeanor convictions, as even eligible voters behind bars have virtually no access to a ballot. These systems systematically revoke political power from hyper-policed Black communities and communities of color. We, the Democracy Behind Bars Coalition, are working to end both de facto and de jure disenfranchisement, but we write today specifically in support of S. 18 and H. 74 to end the de jure disenfranchisement of those serving felony convictions. 

As you will read in testimony submitted today by currently and formerly incarcerated leaders of our coalition, maintaining the right to vote is critical to protect the dignity, wellbeing, and fundamental humanity of incarcerated people. Stripping people serving felony convictions of their right to vote serves no restorative or rehabilitative function, and it has no deterrent effect on crime. It distorts democratic outcomes and maintains mass incarceration. Felony disenfranchisement and jail-based disenfranchisement are certainly not the only culprits – redressing these issues alone will not solve mass incarceration or political inequality – but they are direct holdovers from slavery, Jim Crow, and voter suppression practices that target Black voters and voters of color, skew representation and public policy outcomes, and have no place in a racially equitable democracy. 

The time is right for Massachusetts to end felony disenfranchisement. 

In Massachusetts, individuals serving sentences on felony convictions lost the right to vote twenty years ago as a result of a ballot initiative and constitutional amendment put forth by the acting Governor Cellucci. It was a punitive measure in response to civic engagement initiatives by incarcerated individuals in the Norfolk Prison. This is a dark stain on Massachusetts’ history that took place at a moment when some states were beginning to move in the opposite direction and liberalize voting rights for the formerly incarcerated and ‘tough on crime’ was beginning to pivot to ‘smart on crime.’ 

Twenty years later, it is time to restore the right to vote to all incarcerated Bay Staters. Especially in a moment when voting rights and democracy itself are under attack, it is critical that we in Massachusetts actively and unapologetically work to protect our democracy – especially the political voice of our Black communities and communities of color who have systematically been the target of hyper-policing, mass incarceration, voter suppression attempts, and gerrymandering. 

As a coalition advocating to end the disenfranchisement of eligible incarcerated voters (those serving misdemeanors and imprisoned pre-trial) and to bolster the political power of returning citizens, we know all too well that felony disenfranchisement has effects that extend far beyond whether those serving felony convictions can vote. Eligible voters behind the wall and returned citizens in community frequently do not vote specifically because of confusion about the extent and duration of disenfranchisement within the criminal legal system. 

Now is the time to end the disenfranchisement of those behind the wall in Massachusetts. We must undo the punitive and harmful measure passed 20 years ago, and rejoin Vermont, Maine, and Washington DC in recognizing that the right to vote should never be taken away. 

We would like to thank Senator Adam Hinds and Representative Mindy Domb for their leadership on this critical legislation. 

Thank you for your consideration, and we hope to continue working with you to protect access to the ballot for all people in the Commonwealth. 

The Democracy Behind Bars Coalition, which includes:

The African American Coalition Committee (AACC)

The ACLU of Massachusetts

Common Cause Massachusetts

Decarcerate Western Massachusetts

Emancipation Initiative

Families for Justice as Healing

Healing Our Land, Inc. 

The National Council for Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated Women & Girls

The Massachusetts Voter Table

MassPOWER
Mass Political Cooperative

MOCHA

Progressive Massachusetts

Prisoners Legal Services

Will Any True Reform Have Taken Place?

Dear Conference Committee Members,


I am writing today as the chair of the Issues Committee and Secretary of the Board of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots progressive advocacy

We urge you to the inclusion of the following provisions in a final bill, We would specifically note that without strengthening the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act and limiting qualified immunity, most other reforms in the bill will fail to deliver on their promise. If our legal system continues to allow police officers to violate the basic constitutional rights of Massachusetts residents, especially those who are Black or Brown, with impunity, then little if any “reform” will have taken place.

From the SENATE Bill:

(1) Section 10, which enables victims of police abuse to seek redress in the courts

(2) Sections 34-40, which require transparency and public decision-making about local police acquisition of military equipment such as tanks, grenade launchers, and armored vehicles

(3) Section 37, which establishes a Justice Workforce Reinvestment Fund

(4) Section 49, which prohibits schools from transmitting to law enforcement personal information about students or their family members

(5) Section 50, which permits school superintendents to determine whether or not police should be assigned to local schools.

(6) Section 52, which bans racial and other profiling, requires data collection for all stops, frisks, and searches with, analysis, reporting, and accountability if the data demonstrates profiling

(7) Sections 59-61, which clarify that individuals petitioning for expungement may do so for more than one record and creates a limited, rather than indefinite, lookback period for expungement eligibility.

(8) Language in Section 55 – 2(f) that requires police to plan for de-escalation in advance of protests or gatherings

From the HOUSE bill:

(1) Section 2, which clarifies that law enforcement misconduct records are public records

(2) Section 25, which restricts government use of facial surveillance

(3) Section 78, which establishes reasonable safeguards around the use of no-knock warrants

(4) The definition of “choke hold” in Section 29

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Chair, Issues Committee

Secretary, Board

Progressive Massachusetts

Housing Stability Is an Essential Part of the Cure for COVID

The following testimony was submitted to the Joint Committee on Housing.

Thank you chairs and members of the committee for reading our testimony.

As municipal leaders scramble desperately to find solutions to the onslaught of evictions they know are headed their way, the people must turn to the state legislature to quell the oncoming tsunami of homelessness that will destroy families and traumatize children if the state legislature does not act.

We urge you to pass S2831/H.4878 in order to end the threat of evictions posed by the sudden end of the current eviction moratorium in October. If families are required to pay back rent for almost half a year, there is no way those living paycheck to paycheck will be able to stay in their homes. If we don’t provide a solution to this problem, we will have a catastrophe unlike any we have confronted before, as families are turned out of their homes en masse.

Please vote yes to allow a year long moratorium on evictions to give families the time they need to get back on their feet and forgive them their back rent since living paycheck to paycheck will not allow them the ability to accumulate the savings they will need to pay their back rent. There is no perfect solution to the housing emergency that confronts us, but this bill is the best solution to a difficult problem. It ensures housing stability for renters while also providing funds for smaller landlords who are also victims of the pandemic economy.

If you pass this into law, it would say a lot about who we are as a state and as human beings. Please show the compassion and responsibility to our citizens that we want to see in other states. You have an opportunity to show leadership to the entire country. Please pass S2831/H.4878.

Thank you,

Caroline Bays

Board President, Progressive Massachusetts

No Worker Should Have to Choose Between Their Job and Their Health

Wednesday, May 26, 2020

Chairwoman Jehlen, Chairman Hay, and Members of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development: 

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the chair of the Issues Committee of Progressive Massachusetts. Our organization and our 16 chapters around the state advocate for shared prosperity, racial and social justice, robust democracy, and environmental sustainability. 

We are writing today to urge you to give a favorable report to SD.2918/HD.5039: An Act relative to emergency paid sick time. 

Our top priority over the past two months has been to ensure that the Commonwealth’s response to COVID-19 is equitable and leaves no one behind. A guiding principle of an equitable response is that no worker should be forced to choose between their health and their livelihood. 

There are clear income and class divides in who has access to robust benefits at work and who has the ability to work from home. Healthcare and long-term care workers, janitorial workers, food service workers, child care workers, and many gig workers do not have the luxury to work from home as many in the finance, tech, and media sectors (among other industries) do. And they are also the essential workers that have kept society running over the past few months and have always done so. By having to show up in work in person, they have had to put themselves at risk, or face the risk of greater economic insecurity — an untenable dilemma. 

As our state embarks on a premature, phased-in “reopening,” it is important that we have in place the health and safety measures to prevent a second surge. That requires filling the gaps in paid sick leave legislation so that no worker who is sick (or has a sick loved one) feels compelled to go into work in order to make ends meet. 

Massachusetts’s landmark 2014 earned sick time law does not provide enough hours to meet the scale of the crisis, and the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) has big coverage gaps that leave millions of front-line workers without paid sick time.

Emergency paid sick time legislation would provide ten additional work-days (80 hours) of job-protected paid sick time for immediate use during the COVID-19 outbreak for all workers not covered by recently passed federal legislation. It would be available, with no waiting period, for a worker to care for themselves or a family member, domestic partner, or household member if they or said love one is diagnosed with COVID-19, experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and awaiting a diagnosis, quarantined or self-quarantined, or reasonably believes their health is at risk.

This crisis has shown clearly that the health of each one of us is connected (the mantra of public health professionals for decades). And to have a sound public health response, we need people to stay home if they are sick — and to be able to afford to do so. 

Sincerely, 

Jonathan Cohn

Chair, Issues Committee

Progressive Massachusetts

Send People Checks. Make It Simple. Do It Now.

Dear Chairman Hinds, Chairman Cusack, and Members of the Joint Committee on Revenue:

Progressive Massachusetts is a statewide, grassroots advocacy group with 16 chapters across the state committed to working toward the goals of equity, justice, democracy, and sustainability.

We are writing today to urge you to give a favorable report to the following bills:

  • 4634 (Miranda): An Act providing emergency access to equity and justice for all in response to COVID-19
  • 4726 (Barber / Farley-Bouvier) / S.2659 (Eldridge): An Act to provide equal stimulus checks to immigrant taxpayers
  • 4727 (Gouveia): An Act providing for emergency cash assistance in response to COVID-19

It has been more than two months since Governor Baker issued a state of emergency due to the outbreak of COVID-19, and in the ensuing time, we have seen record levels of unemployment in Massachusetts. Such statistics, moreover, understate the economic insecurity that exists, as they ignore those who have been out of the workforce for too long, those whose unemployment claims have not yet been processed, those who have had difficulty navigating an overburdened system, and those who are underemployed. The essential workers who remain employed are forced to pay extra money for public health precautions and have to constantly debate the tradeoffs between their economic security and their health.

People are having difficulty paying rents and bills, and although the recently passed eviction and foreclosure moratorium is a much-needed stopgap, it foretells the wave of housing insecurity to come after the moratorium is lifted.

Beyond all this is the question of economic recovery. If people have accumulated debts that they cannot pay, they will be unable to spend money on needed goods and services, which will lead to a prolonged recession and sluggish recovery.

There is no silver bullet to any of these problems, and the Legislature needs to be taking far bolder and more comprehensive action. However, there is a simple step that the Legislature could take that would go far: direct cash assistance.

The federal CARES Act provided critical support in the form of a $1,2000 rebate to many taxpayers. However, this one-time rebate will not be enough to stem the wave of economic insecurity, and the CARES Act also had major omissions. In particular, the cash assistance it contained only applied to individuals with Social Security Numbers, thus excluding families in which any family member lacks a Social Security Number. This exclusion harms mixed-status families, including families with U.S. citizen children, many of whom have filed tax returns using an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) rather than a Social Security Number, as well as families composed of two ITIN filers. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center has estimated that there are approximately 57,000 persons in ITIN taxpayer households in Massachusetts.

Many of these excluded families are also ineligible for Unemployment Insurance even though they have paid into the UI system, having filed tax returns using an ITIN and paid the same share of income taxes as those with Social Security Numbers. These families, many of whom contain members who are essential workers on the front lines, deserve the same assistance as other taxpayers.

These bills would address both of these problems. H.4634 and H.4727 would provide additional rounds of economic assistance, and H.4726 and S.2659 would authorize the Commonwealth to provide an equivalent rebate to that found in the CARES Act to those who had been excluded. 

We ask you to please act swiftly to give a favorable report to H.4634, H.726, H.727, and S.2659 to guarantee economic security in a time of unprecedented instability.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Chair, Issues Committee

Progressive Massachusetts

Mass Incarceration is a Threat to Public Health

Testimony in support of Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa’s, bill HD.4963/H.4652
An Act Regarding Decarceration and COVID-19

Thank you for taking testimony in support of this critical bill during this terrible crisis.

My name is Caroline Bays, and I am testifying on behalf of Progressive Massachusetts as well as on behalf of those who are behind bars and do not have the ability to testify for themselves.

This has been a hard time for our state. We all have found this time difficult and sometimes even scary. Imagine if you had to live through this without any control of your surroundings. Imagine if you had to live with your ability to stay safe completely in the hands of others — and imagine if those others are people who have previously shown no indication that they care about your welfare or well-being. This is a truly scary time for men and women in the prisons in Massachusetts.

In addition many in prison are more vulnerable to this disease. Those who are not fed appropriately or allowed appropriate exercise, are more likely than most to have comorbidities, a fact which increases the likelihood that they will die from this disease. Whatever reason they might be in prison for, nobody was sentenced to illness or death. When the state incarcerates someone, the state becomes responsible for ensuring their well-being.  Well, that is what the state needs to do. And that means releasing as many people as possible in order to ensure that these tragic deaths do not continue and spiral out of control.

Other states have released people from prison.  Iowa has released over 800 people and is still expediting releases. Hawaii has granted early release to almost 700 people. Even Louisiana is releasing people from prison early! (To see what other states are doing in both jails and prisons you can go here: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/virus/virusresponse.html)

Why haven’t we joined these states? Instead, the governor has remained silent while this insidious virus works its way through the prison system. We witnessed how fast this virus made its way through our community. We know that it silently plowed through our state, making us one of the worst affected in the country. There is a strong likelihood this will happen in our prisons. That is why we need to get people who will be vulnerable to this disease out, now. We don’t want to join Ohio in the catastrophe that is happening inside prisons there.

We pride ourselves on being a humane state. We pride ourselves on not having the death penalty. Well, now it’s time to act on our values and release these men and women from prison and allow them to endure this pandemic in a safe place. Because allowing them to stay in unsafe conditions when we can easily release them is the very definition of inhumanity.

As of this writing there have been 7 deaths in Massachusetts prisons, and last week alone we had 130 new cases, up from 37 the week before https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/05/01/a-state-by-state-look-at-coronavirus-in-prisons. Please — before it is too late — release all those who we possibly can before tragedy strikes our prisons.

Sincerely,
Caroline Bays
Board President, Progressive Massachusetts