LETTER: State Legislature Should Go Back Into Session and Pass Multiple Bills

Charlo Maurer, “LETTER: State Legislature Should Go Back Into Session and Pass Multiple Bills,” Watertown News, August 19, 2024.

I was excited this year for our state to finally have a Democratic governing trifecta, with a Democrat leading in all three offices of Governor, Senate, and the House. However, this trifecta has been much less productive in passing legislature than I expected.

As has become the norm on Beacon Hill, the House and Senate ran out the clock on many important priorities, adjourning on the morning of August 1st with a long list of unfinished business. After the hottest summer on record, they didn’t manage to pass a climate bill. Several other bills, among them economic development bills and bills to address the Steward crisis, are stuck in potentially dead-end negotiations, and that’s not to mention all the common-sense bills that never even made it that far.

As of August 11, more than 90% of the bills signed into law this session were home rule petitions, bills about specific individuals, or budgets, which are required. We’ve seen a striking decline in basic deliberation and accountability in the Legislature, with both chambers taking fewer than half the recorded votes they did just a few sessions ago.

The economic development bill, which needs a recorded vote to pass, has important policy components, such as keeping high school seniors out of adult prisons and strengthening our public health infrastructure, and we shouldn’t have to wait until next year to start all over again.

Given Republican opposition, passing climate legislation will also require legislators to come back. Mother Nature doesn’t wait, and neither should the Legislature. Every month and every year, we break new heat records, and it is irresponsible for the Legislature to go a full session without passing meaningful climate legislation. We need a clear plan for transitioning away from fossil fuels and putting gas in the past, and we need a just transition that centers environmental justice and ensures that the communities who have borne the brunt of fossil fuel pollution don’t continue to suffer from pollution and lack of opportunity. Massachusetts has impressive climate goals, but goals won’t mean much if we don’t pass legislation to help us meet them.

Another important bill is the prison building moratorium which passed the House and Senate with wide support, but was vetoed by our previous Governor, a Republican. That roadblock no longer exists, and given the broad support, it should be easy to bring forward.

The formal legislative session ended at the end of July, and the Legislature will not be back in session until next January. We deserve more of a time commitment from our elected officials. Going back into session will mean the Legislature will do what it is supposed to: deliberate, legislative, and vote.

Sincerely,
Charlo Maurer
Watertown Resident

Legislative inertia at the State House

Published in The Dedham Times (August 15, 2024)

Author: John Kyriakis, Dedham

The Massachusetts Legislature ended its formal session on July 31. It was a remarkably unproductive session. Since 2005, there has been a near 50% drop in the number of laws passed in the second year of each session, culminating in a dismal 253 bills enacted in this session. A substantial percentage of these (192) were home rule petitions—legislation filed by cities and towns to address local, not statewide issues (Examples include changing the name “Board of Selectmen” to “Select Board.”) Massachusetts’ Legislature is now fourth from the bottom in productivity. Coincident with this plummeting productivity, since 2005, the number of recorded votes (as opposed to voice votes) has dropped by close to 80%. Inasmuch as conference committee proceedings and votes are kept secret, the Legislature continues to be depressingly non-transparent.

It wasn’t all bad. The Legislature did pass the Parentage Act, which expands parentage statutes to be inclusive to LGBTQ+ families and families formed through assisted reproduction. A gun safety bill was also finally passed. This new law tightens red flag and ghost gun provisions along with other important safety matters. Moreover, the Fair Share Amendment (passed in 2022 by the voters) continues to deliver, providing important support for child care, early childhood education, K-12 education and community college education.

It was heartening also to see passage of the Affordable Homes Act, a critically needed housing bond bill that includes provisions permitting accessory dwelling units, eviction record sealing provisions, and foreclosure mediation. However, the legislature caved to the real estate lobby and failed to include a voluntary real estate transfer fee. This fee would help local communities fund the construction of affordable housing. The Affordable Homes Act did approve $5.1 billion in bond authorizations. However, a bond bill is analogous to a to-do list or a restaurant menu. It merely allocates a lump sum and lists possible spending ideas, or priorities. It does not mandate timely spending on those priorities. Nor does it indicate where or when the money will be spent.

Most disappointing, however, was the lack of action on a climate bill. This year was the hottest on record, and will be the coldest year of the rest of our lives. Climate change is an existential threat. The still very real possibility of a second Trump administration raises the grim specter of a renewed push to abolish national climate legislation. Even if Vice President Harris wins in November, the Supreme Court’s nullification of the Chevron doctrine threatens the ability of federal agencies to competently monitor and regulate the industries that produce greenhouse gases. Moreover, as indicated in their 2024 platform, a Republican majority in either house of the US Congress would be expected to stall both existing and future federal climate-friendly legislation. Accordingly, bold, and immediate local action on climate change is critically needed. Given that environmental justice communities bear the brunt of the adverse effects of climate change, it is particularly distressing that the suffering of the state’s poorest communities will continue to be ignored.

The lack of productivity of the Massachusetts Legislature is particularly galling insofar as the Democratic Party has a legislative trifecta—veto-proof majorities in both houses, and a Democratic governor. The Legislature’s highly centralized power structure in which leadership rewards members with higher pay and committee chairmanships in exchange for loyalty, combined with the fact that many legislators run unopposed, has created a situation in which complacency and the status quo rule the day, and the Statehouse is beholden to well-funded interests rather than to the voters.

In the end, however, the voters and local advocates have the power to shake up this sclerotic system. Perhaps we should consider making state elections into real contests by nominating multiple candidates at both the primary and general election level. A ranked choice voting system would also be a welcome addition. There’s nothing like a rival chomping at your heels to motivate real action.

Letter: Beacon Hill’s legislative process is broken

Al Blake, “Letter: Beacon Hill’s Legislative Process Is Broken,” Berkshire Eagle, August 6, 2014.

To the editor: Thank you for your Aug. 3 editorial “This is (still) no way to legislate.”

This session was a missed opportunity to make the commonwealth a climate leader. The Legislature’s inaction is a grave disappointment to anyone who cares about saving our planet.

This session was a chance to make serious progress slowing the expansion of our dirty and expensive methane gas system, but instead legislative leadership got tied up in political spats and chose not to extend the session and finish the job.

This comes after a year and a half of advocacy that included hundreds of meetings and thousands of calls and signatures to legislators. Many of the most popular policy proposals received vast majorities of legislative co-sponsors, yet House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka did not allow them to come for a vote.

Many policies “died in committee,” where politicians take secret votes that their constituents are not able to see. Many more died in the backroom process where amendments to bills were withdrawn before they had a chance to receive a vote.

The legislative process is broken, and undue influence from corporations routinely blocks popular and effective legislation in favor of utility and developer profits.

We can do better, and we must.

Al Blake, Becket

Missed Our Legislative Update? You Can Still Watch (And Take Action)

On Monday, we hosted an update to go over what happened this legislative session and what still could happen if we make our voices heard.

Watch the video here.

One point we underscored is that even though the Legislature adjourned on July 31 (well, technically, the morning of August 1), the full legislative session doesn’t end until next January. That means that they could come back into session at any point to finish important business, especially passing a robust and equitable climate bill that centers environmental justice and includes a transition away from gas.

But they are not likely to do that unless they hear from you, their constituents. So take a minute today to email your legislators.

Protect the Right to Shelter

Massachusetts prides itself on being a welcoming state, but Governor Healey’s cruel and unnecessary restrictions on emergency shelter run afoul of that.

Join the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless and the Mass Law Reform Institute tonight at 7 pm in front of the State House for a candlelight vigil in support of children and families experiencing homelessness.

For more information, head to https://mahomeless.org/protect-access-to-shelter/.

Letter: “Beacon Hill’s two-bosses problem”

Jonathan Cohn, “Beacon Hill’s two-bosses problem (Letter),” Boston Globe, August 10, 2024.

When talking about the dysfunction and over-centralization of the Massachusetts State House, I often describe the building as having a “two-bosses problem.” In most jobs, the person who decides whether to hire and fire you and the person who controls your pay are the same person: what we call a boss. However, in the Legislature, there’s a split: The people who hire and fire you are your constituents, who can exert that power every election, and the people who decide your pay are the legislative leadership, who can dole out the perks with chairs, vice chairs, and other positions (something that’s been sharply detailed in Globe reporting).

Massachusetts is notorious for having among the least competitive elections in the country (in recent years, we’ve ranked dead last), and most legislators will skate by uncontested year after year, never having to meaningfully defend a record to their constituents. Next month’s primary is but the latest example. Whether through more competitive elections or more vocal advocacy, the collective boss of “we the people” needs to do more to remind legislators whom they ultimately serve.

Jonathan Cohn

Policy director

Progressive Mass

Boston

PM in the News: “Beacon Hill faces calls for culture change after chaotic end of session”

Chris Van Buskirk, “Beacon Hill faces calls for culture change after chaotic end of session,” Boston Herald, August 4, 2024.

“Jonathan Cohn, the policy director at Progressive Massachusetts, said there is a “real downside” to having a permanent supermajority in both branches “that never feels the urgency of any issues.”

“For them to change, I think ultimately, some people will have to lose their seats because of it. I think that too often, the House and Senate operate like incumbent protection rackets,” he told the Herald.”

Eagle Tribune: “Mass. legislative process is out of whack”

The Editorial Board, “Mass. legislative process is out of whack,” The Eagle Tribune, August 3, 2024.

“The Legislature ran out the clock on passing meaningful legislation on climate change, despite our living through a summer that continues to break heat records,” said Progressive Massachusetts policy director Jonathan Cohn.

“The Legislature whittled away at the policy components of Gov. Healey’s housing bond bill, caving to real estate interests and ignoring public opinion. We have a housing crisis and a climate crisis, and our Legislature is in clear denial about both,” he said.

WGBH: “Why does the Massachusetts Legislature wait so long to do so much?”

Adam Reilly, “Why does the Massachusetts Legislature wait so long to do so much?,” WGBH, August 2, 2024.

“Jonathan Cohn, the political directorof the group Progressive Massachusetts, argues that this dynamic creates a structural problem that naturally leads to a slowed-down pace.

“In any system … if you have too few people in charge of too many decisions, you get a bottleneck effect,” Cohn said. “And you have that with the Legislature, where you know that the decision making is ultimately Ron Mariano’s decision about what’s in the bill, Karen Spilka’s decision about what’s in the bill … If it’s all just coming through one person, that just slows everything down even more.”

But Cohn also believes there’s a tactical consideration at play. By finalizing key legislation at the last minute, he says — and packing individual bills with a sprawling array of provisions on a particular topic — the House and Senate pave the way for marathon negotiating sessions just prior to the session’s end, in which each side defers to its counterpart in some areas and has the favor returned in others.

“Almost to a person, they’ll just all be back in January,” Cohn, of Progressive Mass, said of state lawmakers. “A handful of retirements. Maybe somebody might lose a seat in a primary or general. But they’ll all be back. And there’s often a way in which they just see it as, ‘Well, we didn’t finish now. We’ll come back in a few months and maybe we’ll pass it then.’ … It flattens the sense of time, because if it happens now, if it happens next year, it’s all the same.”

The Eagle Tribune: “Lawmakers recess, leaving many loose ends”

Christian Wade, “Lawmakers recess, leaving many loose ends,” The Eagle Tribune, August 2, 2024.

“Rather than advancing a robust, shared legislative agenda throughout the past year and a half, our Legislature pushed so many important priorities off to the very end of the session, creating bottlenecks and setting themselves up for failure,” said Jonathan Cohn, policy director at the group Progressive Massachusetts. “It does not have to be this way.”