Testimony: Tackling Affordability Requires Investment

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Chair Moran, Chair Cusack, and Members of the Joint Committee on Revenue:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts. We are a statewide, multi-issue, grassroots membership organization focused on fighting for policy that would make our Commonwealth more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic. 

We have heard a lot from the Legislature recently about wanting to take action on affordability, as the cost of living in Massachusetts has become increasingly unsustainable for many. However, contrary to recent steps, we cannot tax-cut our way into affordability. We need to invest. And that, of course, requires money.

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

  • S.1771 / H.2747: An Act granting a local option for a real estate transfer fee to fund affordable housing, filed by Sen. Jo Comerford and Rep. Mike Connolly.
  • S.1799 / H.2894: An Act providing for climate change adaptation infrastructure and affordable housing investments in the Commonwealth, filed by Sen. Jamie Eldridge and Rep. Sam Montaño
  • S.1834 / H.2824: An Act to support educational opportunity for all, filed by Sen. Adam Gomez, Rep. Natalie Higgins, and Rep. Christine Barber

Transfer Fee (S.1771/H.2747)

Our cities and towns need every tool in the toolbox to address our state’s housing crisis, and this bill would provide a crucial one. By imposing a small fee on high-end real estate transactions, communities will be able to provide much-needed funding to affordable housing trusts so that we can preserve and expand affordable housing stock. These bills recognize that each community’s housing situation is different and thus enable cities and towns to craft the proposal that best fits their community’s needs.

Cities and towns from across the Commonwealth have already filed home rule petitions to do this. When our cities and towns want to become places where people can afford to live at every stage of life, the State Legislature should support them, not be a roadblock. 

HERO bill (S.1799/H.2894)

This bill offers another tool for responding to our affordable housing crisis and, moreover, recognizes the need for not just affordable housing but green and healthy communities as well.

Initiated by the Housing and Environment Revenue Opportunities (HERO) Coalition, it would raise the deeds excise fee to a value still lower than comparable fees in Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont to raise dedicated revenue for climate resilience and affordable housing.

The estimated $300 million from this bill could go toward steps like creating or preserving additional housing for 18,000 working-class homeowners and renters over 10 years; financing hundreds of millions of dollars in competitive, flexible grants to localities for climate resilience and mitigation; or assisting between 3,500 and 6,500 additional extremely low-income families per year with housing vouchers or project-based rental assistance.

Educational Opportunity for All (S.1834/H.2824)

Massachusetts is lucky to be home to many world-class universities. But these large institutions, despite often operating indistinguishably from for-profit institutions, do not have to pay taxes. Given their large footprint, that is a fiscal drain for many communities across the Commonwealth, especially given the fact that such private universities will only ever educate a small percentage of the Commonwealth’s residents.

The endowment of Harvard University stood at over $50 billion last year; MIT, over $20 billion.

These bills recognize that such affluent institutions have the ability to contribute more. They would put a small excise fee on the part of a university’s endowment over $1 billion to create dedicated revenue for a fund subsidizing the cost of higher education, early education, and child care for lower-income and middle-class residents of the commonwealth.

Governor Healey and House and Senate leaders have all spoken about wanting to take action on the exorbitant cost of child care, early education, and higher education, and this bill offers a sensible and dependable way of raising the funds to do so.

Thank you for all your work on today’s hearing, and again, we urge you to swiftly advance these bills.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

Drivers are Workers, and It’s as Easy as A-B-C

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

Chair Jehlen, Chair Cutler, and Members of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development: 

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts. We are a statewide, multi-issue, grassroots membership organization focused on fighting for policy that would make our Commonwealth more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic. 

I am writing today in opposition to H.1848, An Act establishing rights and obligations of transportation network drivers and transportation network companies. 

Massachusetts has very clear standards for determining independent contractor standards (the “ABC test”), and Big Tech companies like Uber and Lyft have been in flagrant violation of them.

As a reminder, those three parts are (1) that the work is done without the direction and control of the employer, (2) that the work is performed outside the usual course of the employer’s business, and (3) that the work is done by someone who has their own, independent business or trade doing that kind of work. None of these apply to gig economy work. For example, there would be no Uber and Lyft without their drivers; the claim that their companies are merely an app is a clear fallacy intended to evade the law.

Knowing that they are in violation of the law, these companies want to change it, rather than adhere to it. They are planning to spend possibly hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure that the law does not apply to them and that they, themselves, can rewrite it in order to bolster their own profits and power over workers.

This bill would deny app-based gig workers a living wage, benefits, legal rights, and anti-discrimination protections. The impact of these laws extends beyond just the gig economy sector itself. The ability to define away terms like “employee” and “independent contractor” sets a dangerous precedent, enabling companies across sectors to gut labor rights. Will we see restaurants claiming that the “restaurant” is only the physical building and physical infrastructure, relegating all employees to independent contractor status? Or hospitals claiming that the “hospital” is just the brick-and-mortar building, rather than the doctors, nurses, aides, and other health care workers that make it run? The list goes on.

That is not the future we want to live in, and we hope it is not one you want to live in either.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

Students Are More Than Just a Test Score

ThriveAct graphic

Testimony from Solidarity Lowell member Dee Halzack

Chair Lewis, Chair Garlick, and Members of the Joint Committee on Education:

I am writing today to urge you to give a favorable report to H.495 and S.246: An act empowering students and schools to thrive (“the Thrive Act”). 

Local students, parents, educators, and communities are the ones best able to determine what our local schools need, and how to measure student success.

State takeover of public schools and the graduation requirement based on the MCAS standardized test are both failing students and disrupting their education. These top-down, harmful educational policies are increasing racial inequities in our schools, rather than fixing them. We have seen, both through data and through student experiences, that state takeovers and high-stakes testing do not produce the long-term gains in student performance promised, and instead, they limit voice and narrow curricula.  In many cases poor performance had more to do with lack of resources than with poor administration or teaching. Educators complain about being forced to teach to the tests without regard for individual student needs or the characteristics of the community. Standardized testing does a disservice to students with special needs, including both the disabled and English language learners. 

While I myself am a native speaker of English, with decent writing skills, I have seen the damage done in testing situations to English language learners.  The stress of taking a test that determines whether or not you graduate, regardless of what your grades have been and how well you know what you studied, can make even a fluent English language learner freeze up or go so slow that they can’t finish the test in time. It happened to a friend of mine in COLLEGE. How much worse for younger students with less years of experience with the testing AND the language. 

I used to work for an educational publisher. I am familiar with the writings on inequity in educational testing and how hard it is to completely avoid.  Some students can be smart and yet so test-phobic that it affects their performance on a test negatively. While tests are a tool for assessing students, they are not the only tool and should not be used to make or break a student’s graduation. 

The Thrive Act creates a better system that focuses on supporting the whole child by focusing on the tools and resources schools need to thrive and by re-examining our approach to student assessment so that it can be more equitable, more accurate, and more holistic.  

Thank you for all your work on the hearing. Again, I urge you to swiftly advance H.495 and S.246: An act empowering students and schools to thrive.  

“Getting access to different languages should not be one of the problems to face.”

MassSpeaks

Testimony in support of the Mass Speaks Bill from Solidarity Lowell member Tara Hong

Dear Chairman Collins, Chairman Cabral, and Members of the Committee,   

My name is Tara Hong and I respectfully submits the following letter in support of S.1990/H.3084, An Act Relative to Language Access and Inclusion, and strongly urges the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight to report the bill favorably.   

Nearly one in ten Massachusetts residents is limited English proficient. But as the COVID-19 pandemic made especially clear, many of our state agencies provide essential services and information only in English – effectively denying hundreds of thousands of families access to urgently-needed resources that can help them weather economic emergencies, care for their children, address health problems, stay housed, and much more. The Language Access and Inclusion Act would standardize and enforce language access protocols and practices at public-facing state agencies, ensuring non-English speaking residents can meet their basic needs and fully participate in their communities.

As an immigrant from Cambodia 10 years ago, English is my second language. It was tough for me personally for almost six years of my life learning English just to want to communicate in the community, pass tests, and or ask for support in the community. However, one good thing about my city is its diversity. I was surrounded by many people who spoke my language and were able to help me around. That is why I am writing to you today to ask for your support for this bill. I believe that everyone, no matter where they come from or what they speak, everyone should not be unable to ask for help and support because they don’t speak English. As an immigrant country and an immigrant state with many backgrounds all around, getting access to different languages should not be one of the problems to face. 

Everyone must have equal access to our government, no matter what language they speak. As Massachusetts is one of the most linguistically diverse states in the nation, we strongly urge you to issue a favorable report for An Act Relative to Language Access and Inclusion.  

Respectfully Submitted,   

Tara Hong

Testimony in Support of the Language Access & Inclusion Act and Indigenous Peoples Day

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Dear Chairman Collins, Chairman Cabral, and Members of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts. We are a statewide, multi-issue, grassroots membership organization focused on fighting for policy that would make our Commonwealth more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic. 

We urge you to give a favorable report to S.1990/H.3084 (An Act Relative to Language Access and Inclusion) and S.1976/H.2989 (An Act establishing an Indigenous Peoples Day).

S.1990/H.3084: Language Access and Inclusion Act

Massachusetts is home to a vibrant immigrant community. One in six Massachusetts residents is an immigrant, while one in seven residents is a native-born US citizen with at least one immigrant parent.

Massachusetts, correspondingly, is home to great linguistic diversity: more than 1 out of 4 residents report speaking a language other than English at home, with the most common languages being Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese (including Mandarin and Cantonese), Vietnamese, and Russian. However, as the pandemic demonstrated, our state agencies and departments have a patchwork of different policies around language accessibility, and there is no current statute to ensure that non-English speaking residents have a fair and equitable opportunity to obtain an education, apply for benefits, receive housing assistance, or represent themselves in court.

The Language Access and Inclusion Act would help our Commonwealth better meet the needs of all residents by standardizing and enforcing language access protocols and practices at public-facing state agencies. Everyone should be able to interact with and seek help from their own government, no matter what language they speak.

S.1976/H.2989: Indigenous Peoples Day

For decades, Christopher Columbus has been celebrated as a “hero” who “discovered America.” Indigenous people have made it clear that, to the contrary, these lands were invaded, not “discovered,” and that Columbus and his men were responsible for the enslavement, rape, and murder of countless Indigenous peoples in the Caribbean. Since the 1970s, Indigenous people have asked that Indigenous Peoples Day should instead be celebrated on the second Monday in October as a positive day to learn about and honor Indigenous history and peoples.

Our neighbors in Maine and Vermont already celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day, as do an increasing number of cities and towns in Massachusetts. The Commonwealth should join them, and S.1976/H.2989: An Act establishing an Indigenous Peoples Day will make that happen.

Thank you again for all your work on today’s hearing, and again, please give a favorable report to S.1990/H.3084 (An Act Relative to Language Access and Inclusion) and S.1976/H.2989 (An Act establishing an Indigenous Peoples Day).

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

Massachusetts Needs a Right to Counsel

Green affordable housing

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Chair Edwards, Chair Arciero, and Members of the Joint Committee on Housing: 

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts. We are a statewide, multi-issue, grassroots membership organization focused on fighting for policy that would make our Commonwealth more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic. 

We see it all the time in polls, we hear it on the doors, and we see it in the data: Massachusetts has a housing crisis. More and more residents are unable to afford to live in our commonwealth anymore, priced out from one community to another and then out entirely, or face severe housing instability. 

We need a comprehensive approach to the housing crisis, and strong protections for tenants must be a part of it. We urge you to give a favorable report to S.864/H.1731: An Act promoting access to counsel and housing stability in Massachusetts.

These bills would provide legal representation for low-income tenants and low-income owner-occupants in eviction proceedings. The eviction moratorium that the Legislature passed earlier in the pandemic was a vital lifeline for so many, but eviction filings have now been climbing past what they were in 2019, pre-pandemic. Tenants enter such eviction proceedings at a major disadvantage: according to FY2022 Trial Court data, while 86% of landlords are represented, only 11.5% of tenants are represented. Tenants facing eviction are disproportionately poor, female, and BIPOC, and evictions can have lasting negative impacts on physical and mental health.

Connecticut, Maryland, and Washington have already passed Right to Counsel policies, and Massachusetts should join them. 

Sincerely, 

Jonathan Cohn 

Policy Director 

Progressive Massachusetts 

Testimony to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary in support of “An Act supporting consenting young adults” (H.1617/S.1110)

Progressive Mass recently signed on to testimony from the Massachusetts Coalition for Juvenile Justice Reform in support of H.1617/S.1110: An Act supporting consenting young adults.

Read an excerpt below and read the full coalition testimony here.

This legislation is an effort to come into line with a majority of states, to recognize that young people have consensual sexual contact with one another and criminalizing that contact is not the best way to respond to it. It is an issue for families, faith communities, and public health officials, rather than law enforcement….

If the goal is to delay teen sexual activity and ensure young people are in healthy relationships – both physically and emotionally – the law actually has built a barrier between teens and trusted adults who can talk to them and advise them on making healthy decisions and identifying and staying away from unhealthy relationships.

Making Our Criminal *Justice* System More Just

Figure of Justice holding the scales of justice

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Chairman Eldridge, Chair Day, and Members of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts. We are a statewide, multi-issue, grassroots membership organization focused on fighting for policy that would make our Commonwealth more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic. 

Five years ago, the Legislature took significant strides toward curbing mass incarceration by passing a comprehensive criminal legal reform package. But there is more work to be done to make our criminal justice system more deserving of the word “justice.”  

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

  • H.1710/S.942: An Act to Promote Public Safety and Better Outcomes for Young Adults.
  • H.1495/S.940: An Act promoting diversion of juveniles to community supervision and services
  • H.1802/S.931: An Act Improving Juvenile Justice Data Collection
  • H.1650: An Act Protecting Youth During Custodial Interrogations
  • H.1756/S.954: An Act Ensuring Integrity in Juvenile Interrogations
  • H.1494/S.993: An Act Updating Bail Procedures for Justice-Involved Youth
  • S.1049: An Act relative to diversion for primary caretakers

Our testimony will focus on the first and the last.

Raise the Age (H.1710/S.942)

These bills would gradually raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction to include 18, then 19, and then 20-year-olds over a five-year period. The recidivism rate of teens in the juvenile system is less than half of that of young people automatically prosecuted as adults. In the juvenile system, such emerging adults have access to the educational and counseling services that are so vital when they are still developing.

Young adults, especially young adults of color, are overrepresented in our criminal justice system. Reducing the number of young people who experience a system that is not designed for their developmental needs will have a positive impact on such young people, helping them to better be productive, engaged citizens and whole people upon release. And that means stronger, more resilient communities.

Primary Caretakers Diversion (S.1049)

We are grateful for the work the Legislature did to advance racial and gender justice by including Primary Caretakers alternative community-based sentencing as part of the Criminal Justice Reform Act in 2018.

Whenever a parent or other primary caregiver is incarcerated, the children suffer. A criminal record puts up barriers between caretakers and housing, employment, education, and other resources that are essential to allow them to take care of their families.

Passing the Primary Caretakers Diversion bill would build on recent progress and provide more opportunities for healing, recovery, treatment, and resources, rather than punishment.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

Every Worker Deserves a Living Wage.

Time for $20

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Chair Jehlen, Chair Cusack, and Members of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts. We are a statewide, multi-issue, grassroots membership organization focused on fighting for policy that would make our Commonwealth more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic. 

We urge you to give a favorable report to H.1925: An Act relative to the minimum wage, S.1200: An Act relative to raising the minimum wage closer to a living wage in the Commonwealth, and S.1188 / H.1872: An Act requiring one fair wage.

Raising the Minimum Wage (S.1200/H.1925)

In 2018, Massachusetts set an example for other states and the country by passing a $15 minimum wage. As of January 2023, the full increase has now taken effect, but $15 has lost significant purchasing power due to the rising cost of food, utilities, rent, and other basic necessities. Indeed, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, today’s minimum wage would need to be more than $18 to have the same purchasing power as $15 in July 2018. 

The $15 minimum wage, while an improvement, is also not a living wage. According to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, a living wage for a single adult with no children would be $21.35 per hour. When children enter the picture, that threshold for meeting basic needs gets higher and higher. Moreover, if the minimum wage did rise in step with productivity growth since 1968, it would have met this standard for a living wage. 

It’s time to raise the minimum wage again. These bills would raise the minimum wage to $20 per hour and index it to inflation, so that the value does not erode over time. Moreover, these bills correct a glaring omission from the last minimum wage increase: the exclusion of municipal workers. Paraprofessionals and cafeteria workers in some municipalities are still not receiving a minimum wage (let alone a living wage), and we should not be allowing such carveouts. All workers deserve a living wage, and this increase would move us in the right direction.

One Fair Wage (S.1188/H.1872)

The existence of subminimum wages for certain industries, particularly ones where workers are disproportionately women and people of color, is a part of a longstanding history of discrimination and economic exploitation.

Although employers are supposed to guarantee that workers get the full minimum wage with tips, this has never been common practice, and wage theft is rampant in the food service industry. The tiered wage system allows this to happen. We need greater enforcement of wage theft laws, but we need to change the systems that make such wage theft more prevalent.

Moreover, it is well-documented that sexual harassment remains widespread in the restaurant industry. As our country is continuing to grapple with the problem of sexual harassment and sexual assault across industries, we must face up to the fact that unequal wage systems create the breeding ground for such inappropriate and predatory behaviors.

Workers across Massachusetts deserve better and are demanding better, and we urge you to listen and to swiftly report out these bills favorably.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

Legislators Should Support Labor at the State House Too.

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Chair Collins, Chair Cabral, and Members of the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the Policy Director of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots advocacy group with chapters across the state committed to fighting for an equitable, just, democratic, and sustainable Commonwealth.

We urge you to give H.3069/S.2014: An Act relative to collective bargaining rights for legislative employees.

This bill would give State House employees the right to organize a union for the purpose of negotiating their wages, benefits, and working conditions—a right held by almost all other workers in the commonwealth.

State House staffers do so much work to keep the Legislature running. They are the reason that today’s hearing will go smoothly. They will be the ones collating submitted testimony for you to read later and taking notes for your colleagues who could not attend. They are case workers, responding to countless constituent services requests and directing people to the right agencies to address their problems. They are schedulers, policy analysts, strategy partners, networkers, meeting-attenders, and so much more.

Despite all these things that they are, one thing that they are not is adequately compensated.

When State House staff are not provided fair wages, safe and healthy work conditions, or a seat at the table, we lose talent and limit who can even consider entering public service in the first place. When we don’t have all of the diverse voices of the Commonwealth at the table, we miss vital perspectives in crafting policy.

We are very appreciative of all the recent pro-labor reforms that this Legislature has passed over the past few years and your commitment in your own districts to show solidarity with workers fighting for better pay, better benefits, and a better voice at the workplace. We ask you to show that same solidarity here and support the rights of your staff.

Thank you again for your time and for holding this hearing, and we again ask for a swift favorable report for H.3069 and S.2014.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts