2022 MA House Scorecard: The Rest of the Session in Review

PM Scorecard graphic

A scorecard, as we like to say, should tell a story. And telling that story requires careful attention. 

As we analyzed recorded votes since our mid-term scorecard update, we focused on votes that advance our Legislative Agenda / Progressive Platform and, importantly, highlight a contrast between legislators. 

Because of that, we shy away from including many unanimous votes: before any unanimous vote, there are often many legislators putting up roadblocks along the way, as well as concessions made to achieve broader support. Moreover, in a case of unanimity, a recorded vote is motivated more by legislators’ desires for a good press release than anything else (if there’s a time to voice vote, it would be then). No scorecard can ever fully capture such behind-the-scenes jockeying, but setting a high bar before including a unanimous vote helps. 

See our full scorecard here or on https://scorecard.progressivemass.com.

False Solutions for Rising Inflation  

In the wake of rising inflation, conservatives in the state and nationally started pushing for suspending or even eliminating the gas tax. Such a move does not get at the root of the commodity speculation pushing the price increase and drains revenue that could be used to address the true cost drivers. More forward-thinking policymakers embraced free public transit as a way to address rising costs (see, for example, Connecticut). Republicans roll-called an amendment to suspend the gas tax during the budget debate in April, and fortunately, it failed 32 to 124 (26h). Only Colleen Garry (D-Dracut), Dave Roberson (D-Tewksbury), Alan Silvia (D-Fall River), and Jeff Turco (D-Winthrop) joined Republicans in voting for it. 

Reproductive Justice 

Although the Legislature often claims that it cannot act quickly, at times it can, and the Legislature responded quickly to the Dobbs ruling by passing a follow-up bill to last session’s ROE Act. The new bill established critical protections for Bay Staters who provide or help someone access reproductive health care and gender-affirming care, requiring insurance to cover abortion and abortion-related care, and other important measures supporting reproductive justice and bodily autonomy. It passed overwhelmingly 136 to 17, with only 6 Democrats and 11 Republicans voting against it (27h). Notably, this was a much larger margin than the ROE Act last session, which just cleared the two-thirds threshold for an override of Governor Baker’s veto. The Democrats who opposed the bill were Colleen Garry (D-Dracut), Russell Holmes (D-Mattapan), John Rogers (D-Norwood), Alan Silvia (D-Fall River), Jeff Turco (D-Winthrop), and Bud Williams (D-Springfield).

Tackling the Climate Crisis 

Back in March, the House passed a bill to accelerate the development of the offshore wind industry. The bill contained many important provisions, but was narrow in scope given the scale of the climate crisis. We chose to score the final conferenced climate bill that the House and Senate passed in July. Entitled An Act driving clean energy and offshore wind, that bill took steps to accelerate the transition to renewable energy, modernize the grid, make green jobs accessible to the communities most in need, require large buildings to report energy usage, improve electric car infrastructure and affordability, and require electrification of public fleets. It passed 143 to 9, with opposition coming from Democrat Colleen Garry (D-Dracut) and 8 Republicans (28h). 

Public Safety Done Right 

Just as the Legislature acted quickly to respond to the Supreme Court’s ruling on abortion rights, the Legislature also acted quicky to respond to the Supreme Court’s assault on gun violence prevention by passing a bill to harmonize MA’s gun safety laws with the ruling as well as requiring law enforcement officials to conduct personal interviews with anyone seeking to apply for a firearm license and banning anyone facing a restraining order from getting a license. It passed on a largely party line vote of 120 to 33 (29h). Colleen Garry (D-Dracut), Rady Mom (D-Lowell), Dave Robertson (D-Tewksbury), Paul Schmid (D-Westport), and Jeff Turco (D-Winthrop) joined Republicans in opposition. 

After the House and Senate passed a measure to end the predatory practice of charging incarcerated individuals exorbitant costs to connect with their loved ones (No Cost Calls), Governor Baker threatened to veto it unless the Legislature also passed his “dangerousness bill,” an expansion of pre-trial detention (i.e., when individuals are incarcerated without yet being convicted of a crime) with few if any safeguards. Despite being touted as a victims’ rights bill, the proposal was opposed by Jane Doe, Inc., who argued that the bill would be harmful for the survivors they serve. Thankfully, the House rejected Baker’s measure, voting it down 31 to 122 (31h). If only the Senate had as well (but that’s another story). Four Democrats joined Republicans in siding with Baker: Colleen Garry (D-Dracut), Dave Robertson (D-Tewksbury), Paul Tucker (D-Salem), and Jeff Turco (D-Winthrop). 

Labor Solidarity 

In April, members of the MA State Senate staff announced that after years of staff organizing, they achieved the number of authorization cards necessary to form a MA Senate staff union. On Thursday, March 31, representatives of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2222 (IBEW) notified Senate President Karen Spilka of the successful majority and requested voluntary recognition of the Massachusetts State House Employee Union, which would become the second state legislative staff union in United States history. To show solidarity with the union organizers, we chose to score any statements made by legislators in support of the Staff Union (32h). 

2022 MA Senate Scorecard: The Rest of the Session in Review

PM Scorecard graphic

A scorecard, as we like to say, should tell a story. And telling that story requires careful attention. 

As we analyzed recorded votes since our mid-term scorecard update, we focused on votes that advance our Legislative Agenda / Progressive Platform and, importantly, highlight a contrast between legislators. 

Because of that, we shy away from including many unanimous votes: before any unanimous vote, there are often many legislators putting up roadblocks along the way, as well as concessions made to achieve broader support. Moreover, in a case of unanimity, a recorded vote is motivated more by legislators’ desires for a good press release than anything else (if there’s a time to voice vote, it would be then). No scorecard can ever fully capture such behind-the-scenes jockeying, but setting a high bar before including a unanimous vote helps. 

False Solutions for Rising Inflation  

In the wake of rising inflation, conservatives in the state and nationally started pushing for suspending or even eliminating the gas tax. Such a move does not get at the root of the commodity speculation pushing the price increase and drains revenue that could be used to address the true cost drivers. More forward-thinking policymakers embraced free public transit as a way to address rising costs (see, for example, Connecticut). Votes to suspend the gas tax came up during a supplemental budget in March and in the regular budget in May; we scored the former, which failed 11-29 (21s). Paul Feeney (D-Foxborough), Barry Finegold (D-Andover), Anne Gobi (D-Spencer), Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford), Michael Moore (D-Auburn), Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton), Walter Timilty (D-Milton), and John Velis (D-Westfield joined Republicans in the gimmick. 

Tackling the Climate Crisis 

In April, the Senate took up a multi-issue climate bill to accelerate the clean energy transition, with a particular focus on electrification of transportation and also, to a lesser extent, on building emissions. You can read our full write-up here. It was a strong bill and passed on party lines, i.e., 37 to 3 (23s). There were several worthwhile amendments that passed with recorded votes, but we chose not to score the unanimous votes to allow local pension funds to divest from fossil fuels and require MassDOT to assist Regional Transit Authorities in transitioning to the use of electric buses (If there was unanimous support, it could have just been in the base bill that came to the floor or received a voice vote to move along the process faster). However, Senator Pacheco’s amendment based on his Building Justice with Jobs bill received a more contentious vote (22s). The amendment requested $1 billion from federal Covid-19 recovery funds be transferred to the Clean Energy Investment Fund for at least 1 million home retrofits, prioritizing people living in Environmental Justice (EJ) communities. The amendment was a key priority for the Mass Renews Alliance, MA Power Forward, 350 Mass, and the Mass Sierra Club, but it failed 11 to 28, with a coalition of yes votes from both some of the most progressive and the most conservative senators. 

Sports Betting

Despite the many far more important issues the Legislature could have devoted time to addressing this session, the Legislature was consumed a fair amount by the question of legalizing sports betting. We have been on the record opposing the expansion of casinos given the public health impacts of gambling and the predatory business practices at its core; however, we did not engage in this fight. That said, Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz (D-Jamaica Plain) roll-called an amendment to the Senate’s sports betting bill to build an evaluation of sports betting license-seekers’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) commitments and past record into the licensing process. If the industry is to exist, it should not reinforce the inequities of the economy at large. Unfortunately, Senate Leadership opposed the amendment, and it failed 14 to 26 (24s) — a nonetheless remarkably close vote by our Legislature’s standards. 

Work & Family Mobility Act 

Although we are often more critical of the House than of the Senate, the Senate were the laggards on the Work & Family Mobility Act, which the House passed in February but the Senate did not take up until May (intentionally after the filing deadline for candidates…). The bill, 

for which immigrants’ rights advocates had been fighting for decades, would remove immigration status as a barrier to obtaining a driver’s license so that all drivers on the road are tested and so that immigrants without status are able to drive safely to work, to school, to the hospital, etc. It passed 32 to 8 (30s), with only 5 Democrats joining the 3 Republicans in opposition. Republicans tried several times to weaken the bill, with amendments to create a second-class status for such new license-holders, increase entanglement with ICE, or foster voter fraud conspiracies. They all failed, obtaining between 4 and 7 Democratic votes depending on amendment (25s – 29s). 

Nick Collins (D-South Boston), Anne Gobi (D-Spencer), Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton), Walter Timilty (D-Milton), and John Velis (D-Westfield) were the only Democrats to oppose it. John Keenan (D-Quincy), Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford), and Michael Moore (D-Auburn) were the only senators to vote for the bill but support at least one effort to weaken it.

Criminal Legal Reform 

In late June, the Senate took up two bills to make the criminal justice system slightly more “just.” The first bill was to reform the civil asset forfeiture system, raising the legal bar that law enforcement must meet to seize and keep people’s money and property in suspected drug crimes. MA currently allows DAs the lowest legal burden of proof to keep property that’s seized, even when charges are never filed, and is the only state to do so. The Senate passed it 31 to 9, with 6 Democrats joining Republicans in opposition (32s). A Republican amendment to weaken the bill failed 10 to 29 (33s).

Mike Brady (D-Brockton), Nick Collins (D-South Boston), Barry Finegold (D-Andover), Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton), Walter Timilty (D-Milton), and John Velis (D-Westfield) were the only Democrats to oppose it. Anne Gobi (D-Spencer) and Michael Moore (D-Auburn) voted for the effort to weaken the bill but ultimately supported it. Nick Collins (D-South Boston) opposed the effort to weaken the bill, but then also voted against the bill itself. 

The second was to increase opportunities for judicial diversion for youth, thereby ensuring opportunities for rehabilitation and curbing the school-to-prison pipeline. It passed 32 to 8, with 5 Democrats joining Republicans in opposition (36s). The Senate also defeated three Republican efforts to weaken the bill, with amendments receiving between 3 and 9 Democratic supporters (33s – 35s). 

Nick Collins (D-South Boston), Barry Finegold (D-Andover), Anne Gobi (D-Spencer), Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton), and John Velis (D-Westfield) were the only Democrats to oppose it.Paul Feeney (D-Foxborough), Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford), Michael Moore (D-Auburn), and Walter Timilty (D-Milton) all supported at least one of the conservative amendments but still voted for the bill itself. 

In a sad final note for the session, however, the Senate embraced a harmful proposal from Governor Baker to reinforce the carceral framework. After the House and Senate passed a measure to end the predatory practice of charging incarcerated individuals exorbitant costs to connect with their loved ones (No Cost Calls), Governor Baker threatened to veto it unless the Legislature also passed his “dangerousness bill,” an expansion of pre-trial detention (i.e., when individuals are incarcerated without yet being convicted of a crime) with few if any safeguards. Despite being touted as a victims’ rights bill, the proposal was opposed by Jane Doe, Inc., who argued that the bill would be harmful for the survivors they serve. 

Nonetheless, in the final hours of the session, the Senate chose to pass a narrowed but still harmful version of Baker’s proposal, thereby closing off a path forward for the No Cost Calls bill and pandering to the worst of “tough on crime” mentality. The amendment passed, shamefully, 30 to 8 (38s). The eight rightful dissenters were Mike Barrett (D-Lexington), Sonia Chang-Díaz (D-Jamaica Plain), Jo Comerford (D-Northampton), Cindy Creem (D-Newton), Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton), Adam Hinds (D-Pittsfield), Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville), and Jason Lewis (D-Winchester).

Reproductive Justice 

Although the Legislature often claims that it cannot quickly, at times, it can, and the Legislature responded quickly to the Dobbs ruling by passing a follow-up bill to last session’s ROE Act. The new bill established critical protections for Bay Staters who provide or help someone access reproductive health care and gender-affirming care, requiring insurance to cover abortion and abortion-related care, and other important measures supporting reproductive justice and bodily autonomy. It passed overwhelmingly 39 to 1, with only Republican Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) opposing it (37s). 

Labor Solidarity 

In April, members of the MA State Senate staff announced that after years of staff organizing, they achieved the number of authorization cards necessary to form a MA Senate staff union. On Thursday, March 31, representatives of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2222 (IBEW) notified Senate President Karen Spilka of the successful majority and requested voluntary recognition of the Massachusetts State House Employee Union, which would become the second state legislative staff union in United States history. Senate Leadership has remained resolutely opposed to recognizing them, and to show solidarity with the union organizers, we chose to score any statements made by senators in support of the Staff Union (39s).

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?

PM in the News: “Maura Healey Looks to Have a Lock on the Massachusetts Governorship, But …”

Gabrielle Gurley, “Maura Healey Looks to Have a Lock on the Massachusetts Governorship, But …,” The American Prospect, September 15, 2022, https://prospect.org/politics/maura-healey-looks-to-have-a-lock-on-the-massachusetts-governorship/.

“The way I describe the Massachusetts legislature’s evolution over the past decade is that they have gone from doing things that are actively harmful to things that are woefully insufficient,” says Jonathan Cohn, policy director for Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide political advocacy group. “There is a certain type of conservatism bred out of inertia, risk avoidance, lack of engagement on policy on an individual level and the fact that the most powerful interests militate in favor of the status quo. Not an outright ‘big C’ conservativism like a Republican legislature, but a status quo bias in operation.”

….

“Under a Republican governor power resides within the legislature, they set the agenda: They can ignore whatever the governor asks them to do because, at the end of the day, they can pull together the votes for what they want to do regardless,” says Cohn. “[A] Democratic governor assumes that the legislature should pass the Democratic governor’s priorities, which takes power away from the Speaker and away from the Senate president.”

The End of the Legislative Session Was Chaotic. Here’s Where Bills Stand.

Sunlight behind the MA State House

Despite the fact that the Massachusetts Legislature is a full-time body, and that legislators have accordingly been in session since January 2021, legislators routinely push a lot of legislating off until the final months, even final days of the formal legislative session.

That formal session ends on July 31 (or, if the Legislature chooses to bend the rules of time as they did this year, early on August 1). However, the actual legislative session does not end until the day before the first Wednesday of the year, so legislators can come back at any time to pass new legislation or unfinished legislation; they just need the will to do so.

Let’s take a look at what important legislation became law in these final months, what passed only one chamber but not the other, what’s stuck in limbo, and what got stuck in various stages of the committee process.

Passed via Veto Override

Work & Family Mobility Act (H.4085, 6/9) 

  • Ensures that any qualified driver, regardless of immigration status, can obtain a driver’s license 

Passed and Signed by the Governor

VOTES Act (S.2922, 6/22)

  • Creates a permanent vote-by-mail option (and requires every voter to be mailed a vote-by-mail application)
  • Expands early voting options
  • Ensures that eligible voters who are incarcerated are able to request a mail ballot and vote
  • Shortens the voter registration cutoff period from 20 days until 10 days (but does not enact Same Day Registration as the Senate bill had)
  • Sets a deadline for that the Commonwealth to join the 30-state Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) to keep voter registration rolls up-to-date
  • See more at https://www.progressivemass.com/votes-act-june-2022/ 

CROWN Act (H.4554, 7/26)

  • Prohibits discrimination against employees, students and other individuals based on their natural or protective hairstyle (e.g., braids or knots)

Protecting Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Care (H.5090, 7/29)

  • Critical protections for Bay Staters who provide or help someone access reproductive health care and gender-affirming care
  • A requirement that insurance cover abortion and abortion-related care. The bill also ensures coverage is affordable—and not subject to cost sharing—for low income individuals
  • A requirement that Massachusetts public colleges and universities provide medication abortion at campus health centers
  • A statewide standing order for both prescription and over-the-counter emergency contraception, making no-cost insurance coverage possible for all forms of emergency contraception without delay
  • A confidential address program for reproductive health care and gender-affirming care providers who too often face threats and violence for providing health care
  • Language to clarify the ROE Act and ensure pregnant people do not have to leave Massachusetts for abortion care later in pregnancy

Gun Safety Regulations (in Judicial IT bill, 8/10)

  • Requires a licensing authority, like a law enforcement official, to conduct a personal interview with anyone seeking an initial application for a license to carry a firearm
  • Bans from getting a gun license anyone subject to “a permanent or temporary harassment prevention order” or who “may create a risk to public safety or a risk of danger to self or others

An Act driving clean energy and offshore wind (H.5060, 8/11)
The Legislature passed a climate bill that takes steps to accelerate the transition to renewable energy (with a special but not exclusive focus on stimulating the offshore wind industry), modernize the grid, make green jobs accessible to the communities most in need, require large buildings to report energy usage, enable 10 municipalities to ban fossil fuels in new construction (provided that they actually allow construction of affordable housing), improve electric car infrastructure and affordability, and require electrification of public fleets. Although the bill was modestly amended since its passage on July 21 in response to amendments from Governor Baker, the Legislature’s final bill mostly adhered to the contours outlined here.

Cannabis Equity Bill (S.3096, 8/11)

The Legislature passed a bill to address equity in the growing legal cannabis industry in the state. The bill would direct 15% of the money in the Marijuana Regulation Fund (which is generated from the marijuana excise tax, application and licensing fees, and industry penalties) into a new Social Equity Fund, which would offer grants and loans to boost participation in the industry by populations disproportionately harmed by the drug war. It would also give the Cannabis Control Commission the authority to review and approve host community agreements as a way to combat both corruption and undue obstacles to Social Equity applicants posed. Baker signed the bill, vetoing only one small part of the bill that would have commissioned a study on how to remove obstacles to the possession and consumption of medical marijuana in K-12 schools.

Transportation Bond Bill (H.5151, 8/15)

The Legislature passed a $11.3 billion transportation bond bill (H.5151). The bond bill contained a number of noteworthy authorizations, including $6.95 million for fare-free bus pilot programs for the MBTA and Regional Transit Authorities, $200+ million for electrification of the commuter rail, $1 billion in MBTA modernization and $64 million in RTA capital investments, $275 million for the East-West Rail project, and enhanced data reporting from companies like Uber and Lyft. However, it is important to remember what a bond bill is and what it isn’t. A bond bill is an authorization of debt; much of the funds end up never spent. Note also that Baker chose to weaken the bill before signing it, sending back amendments (a) to urge the use of battery electric trains for commuter rail despite the fact that there are no battery trains in passenger service in North America yet and (b) to remove the language requiring no diesel locomotives after December 31, 2030.

Passed and Signed: Mental Health ABC Act 2.0 (S.3097, 8/16)

The Legislature passed a broadly supported comprehensive mental health care reform bill (An Act addressing barriers to care for mental health, or Mental Health ABC). The bill would do the following, among many other provisions: 

  • Mandate coverage for an annual mental health wellness exam, comparable to an annual physical
  • Provide the state with better tools to implement and enforce mental health parity laws (meaning that if insurance plans must provide equal treatment of mental health conditions, including substance abuse, as they do for other medical conditions)
  • Implement the nationwide 988 hotline to access 24/7 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis services
  • Initiate a public awareness campaign for red flag laws and extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs) that limit access to guns for people at risk of hurting themselves or others
  • Enable individuals over 26 years old who live with disabilities can remain on their parents’ health insurance

In Limbo because of Baker 

However, Baker did not sign all of the bills the Legislature passed in the final days of the session, and by taking so long to finalize their bills, the Legislature gave Baker undue leverage. He was able to veto things when legislators were already in recess or had little time to act (which, in the case of No Cost Calls, they squandered). The Legislature should come back into the session to finish their work.

  • Prison Moratorium, the five-year pause on new prison & jail construction, which was passed by both House and Senate via the infrastructure bond bill. Baker vetoed it when the Legislature already ended the session, leaving them unable to override a veto.
  • No Cost Calls, which was passed by both chambers in the budget and was sent back with an amendment by Baker to add his “dangerousness hearing” bill (which would expand pretrial detention). The House rejected it, and the Senate passed a narrowed, but still harmful version of it, and then both chambers left
  • SAPHE 2.0 Act (Statewide Accelerated Public Health for Every Community), which would create local and regional public health standards and regular state funding to health boards and was passed unanimously. Baker sent back significant amendments when the Legislature already ended the session, leaving them unable to respond. 
  • $30 million in funding for virtual meeting capacities in municipalities, which Baker vetoed in the general government infrastructure bill the Legislature passed.

In Limbo because of the Economic Development Bill 

The Legislature had been working to finalize an economic development bill, centered on rebates (which concerningly excluded the residents of the greatest needs), some progressive tax reforms, some regressive tax reforms (a massive estate tax giveaway), and funding for important programs across the state. These negotiations got sidelined by the realization that a misguided Reaganite 1986 tax law in the state could be triggered, sending automatic (regressive) tax rebates to residents. Important policies that were included in the Senate or House version of the bill are stuck in limbo, and the Legislature should come back to finish them.

  • PILOT Study (H.3083, Robinson), which would order an estimate how much municipalities are losing each year due to the tax exemption for nonprofits
  • Community Immunity Act (S.1517, Rausch), which would create statewide consistent immunization policy and provide residents throughout the Commonwealth the data necessary to prevent future outbreaks of vaccine-preventable infectious disease
  • HOMES Act (S.921, Edwards), which would create a process for sealing eviction records, which can currently be a permanent obstacle for people in attaining new housing even if they won in eviction court 

What Passed the House, But not the Senate

  • Facial Surveillance Regulations, as recommended by a commission created by the Legislature in the 2020 police reform bill (and incorporated by the House into the Judiciary IT bill: H.5076, 7/21/222) 

What Passed the Senate, But Not the House

  • Stronger child care infrastructure (S.2973, passed 7/7/22), which was lauded by the Common Start Coalition as  a significant step forward in transforming the child care system in MA, including more affordability for families, early educator raises, and stability for child care providers 
  • The Healthy Youth Act (S.2541, passed 9/23/2021), which would ensure that Massachusetts schools that offer sex education use an age-appropriate, medically accurate, and LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum (Passed 9/23/2021)
  • Menstrual Equity Bill (S.2730, passed 3/7/2022), which would make menstrual products available without cost in prisons, homeless shelters, and public schools. 
  • Civil asset forfeiture reform (S.2988, passed 6/30/2022), which would raise the legal bar that law enforcement must meet to seize and keep people’s money and property in suspected drug crimes (For more, see our write-up here.)
  • Juvenile Justice Reform (S.2987, passed 6/30/2022), which would increase opportunities for judicial diversion for youth (For more, see our write-up here.)
  • Gender X Bill (S.2540, passed 9/27/2021), which would allow for a non-binary option on birth certificates and drivers licenses in the state.

Reported out of Committee But Never Taken Up

One Fair Wage (S.1213 / H.1971): An Act requiring one fair wage (Jehlen – Farley-Bouvier / Fluker-Oakley), which would phase out the discriminatory subminimum wage for tipped workers

Wage Theft Enforcement (S.1179 / H.1959): An Act to prevent wage theft, promote employer accountability, and enhance public enforcement (DiDomenico-Donahue), which would provide the AG’s office with additional mechanisms for enforcing the Commonwealth’s wage and hour laws and subjects lead contractors to joint and severable civil liability if their subcontractors commit wage theft

Banning Mandatory Arbitration (S.1164 / H.1984): An Act relative to the defense against abuse waivers (Chandler – Gordon), which would ban mandatory arbitration in the workplace, a practice which affords employers one-sided protections such as selecting the arbitrator and holding arbitration at the employment site

Injured Workers Bill (S.1187 / H.2032): An Act to protect injured workers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic (Eldridge – Nguyen), which would provide for an administrative complaint and investigation mechanism for enforcement and otherwise addresses employer misconduct that prevents workers from receiving timely medical care and benefits

Equity in Public Contracting (S.2018 / H.3166) An Act Relative to Equity in Public Contracting in Honor of Bruce C. Bolling (Chang-Diaz — Holmes), which would commit the Commonwealth’s commitment to lowering unemployment rates in distressed communities and uses both transparency and competition to help ensure projects funded by taxpayer dollars are creating local jobs and promoting workforce diversity

Wage Equity Bill (S.1196 / H.2020):  An Act relative to transparency in the Workplace (Feeney – Malia/Miranda), which would require employers of 100+ workers to publicly post annual wage data reports by race and gender to check compliance with the Pay Equity Law

Lift Kids Out of Deep Poverty (S.96 / H.199): An Act to lift kids out of deep poverty (DiDomenico – Decker) Sets a floor for cash assistance benefits at 50% of the federal poverty level, improving basic financial security for low-income families with children

Homeless Bill of Rights (S.142): An Act providing a bill of rights for people experiencing homelessness (Rausch), which would people experiencing homelessness from discrimination in housing, employment and voter registration; removes archaic and offensive laws about “vagabonds,” “vagrants,” and “tramps” from the General Laws

CHAPA Housing Production Bill (S.871 / H.1448: An Act relative to housing production (Crighton – Vargas/Honan), which would establish a statewide goal of producing 427,000 new units of housing in Massachusetts by 2040, with more than one quarter meeting the definition of affordable housing

Tenant Opportunity to Purchase (S.890 / H.1426): An Act to guarantee a tenant’s first right of refusal (Jehlen – Livingstone/Consalvo)l which would provide tenants of small, medium, and large multifamily properties with right of first refusal when the owner plans to put a building on the market, provided that they can make a bona fide offer to match the asking price in a reasonable period of time

Visitation Rights (S.1550 / H.2440): An Act to strengthen family and community connection with incarcerated people (Chang-Diaz – Decker), which would strengthen and secure the rights of prisoners to receive visits and maintain relationships with their friends and loved ones without unnecessary interference from the state

Safe Communities Act (S.1579 / H.2418): An Act to protect the civil rights and safety of all Massachusetts residents (Eldridge – Balser/Miranda), which would limit local and state police collaboration with federal immigration agents, bars law enforcement and court personnel from inquiring about immigration status, and ensures due process protections

Access to Medication Treatment (S.1296 / H.2067): An Act regarding consistent care for addiction rooted in evidence  (Keenan – Balser), which would require prisons and jails to provide medication for opioid disorders

Media Access in Prisons (S.1638 / H.2513): An Act relative to media access and transparency in correctional facilities (Rausch – Decker/Rogers), which would require correctional facilities to guarantee access of media representatives to incarcerated individuals

We the People Act (S.2402 / H.3658): Resolutions for a United States Constitutional Amendment and a limited amendment proposing convention (Eldridge – Gentile/Vieira), which calls for an Article V convention to propose an amendment to undo Citizens United and authorize campaign finance regulation

Empowering Parents to Run (S.475  / H.769):  An Act supporting parents running for public office (Jehlen – Connolly/Meschino), which would allow parents running for elected office to expense child care to their campaign accounts

Remote Access to Public Meetings (S.2082 / H.3152): An Act to modernize participation in public meetings (Lewis – Garlick), which would guarantee that remote access to public meetings outlives the pandemic by codifying Governor Baker’s March 2020 emergency order in statute (Rather than making this permanent, the Legislature extended the rules only to next March)

Regional Transportation Ballot Initiatives (S.1899 / H.2978): An Act relative to transportation ballot initiatives (Lesser – Lewis), which would allow municipalities to use ballot initiatives to raise revenue (increase a tax of their choice, sales, hotel, gas, etc.) that would be used specifically for identified regional transportation projects, something many other states already allow

Native Mascots Ban (S.294 / H.581):  An Act prohibiting the use of Native American mascots by public schools in the Commonwealth (Comerford – Elugardo/Gouveia), which would prohibit the use of Native American mascots in Massachusetts public schools.

Data Equity Bill (H.3115): An Act ensuring equitable representation in the Commonwealth (Chan), which would require that government agencies that collect demographic information disaggregate by country of origin in order to better identify community needs and inequalities between communities.

Indigenous People’s Day (S.2027 / H.3191): An Act establishing an Indigenous People’s Day (Comerford – Lewis / Fluker Oakley), which would recognize the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day and recommends appropriate incorporation into school curricula

Left in Committee, Sent to Study, or Voted Down 

Medicare for All (S.766 / H.1267): An Act establishing medicare for all in Massachusetts (Eldridge – Sabadosa/Garlick), which would establish a single payer system, in which the state provides health care to all residents as a right

HERO Act (S.1853 / H.2890): An Act providing for climate change adaptation infrastructure and affordable housing investments in the Commonwealth (Eldridge – Elugardo), which would double 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

Real Estate Transfer Fee (S.868 / H.1377): An Act empowering cities and towns to support affordable housing with a fee on certain real estate transactions (Comerford – Connolly), 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

Banning Exclusionary Zoning (S.867 / H.1373): An Act promoting fair housing by preventing discrimination against affordable housing (Chang-Diaz — Barber)

HOMES for All (S.866 / H.1799): An Act Relative to Homes for All (Chang-Diaz – Miranda), which would require that any person having the right to rent, lease, or sell properties can not discriminate against any person for sealed criminal records, misdemeanors that occurred over three years ago or that did not result in convictions

COVID Housing Equity Bill (S.891 / H.1434): An Act to prevent COVID-19 evictions and foreclosures and promote an equitable housing recovery (Jehlen – Moran/Honan), which would require landlords to cooperate with rental assistance programs before pursuing eviction; protects the most vulnerable tenants from forced removal for COVID-19 debts; pauses no-fault evictions during the state of emergency and recovery period; pauses foreclosures and requires forbearance based on federal policies; and requires the state to adopt equitable principles, flexibility, and simplification in the distribution of rental assistance funds

Tenant Protection Act (S.886 / H.1378): An Act enabling local options for tenant protections (Gomez – Connolly/Elugardo), which would enable cities and towns to pass tenant protections such as rent stabilization laws, just cause eviction, limitations on condo conversions, etc.

Right to Counsel (S.874 / H.1436): An Act promoting housing stability and homelessness prevention in Massachusetts (DiDomenico – Day / D. Rogers), which would provide legal representation for low-income tenants and owner-occupants in eviction proceedings

Paid Leave for Municipal Workers (S.1160 / H.2044): An Act to ensure paid family and medical leave benefits for municipal employees (Brady – D. Rogers), which would extend the 2018 paid family and medical leave law to cover municipal employees

Dignity At Work Act (S.1185 / H.3843): An Act addressing dignity at work without regard to protected class status / Dignity At Work Act (DiZoglio/Lewis), which would create a legal claim for bullying targets who can establish they were subjected to malicious, health-harming behavior in the workplace

Debt-free higher ed (S.829 / H.1339): An Act to guarantee debt-free public higher education (Eldridge – Higgins), which would create a higher education system where every Massachusetts resident has a right to attend any public college or university free of tuition and fees

Endowment Tax (S.836  / H.2931): An Act to support educational opportunity for all (Gomez – Higgins/Barber), which would impose an excise tax on university endowments greater than $1 billion to create a fund subsidizing the cost of higher education, early education, and child care for lower-income and middle-class residents of the commonwealth

PILOT Funding (S.1874 / H.3080): An Act relative to payments in lieu of taxation by organizations exempt from the property tax (Gomez – Uyterhoeven), which would enable cities and towns with nonprofits owning total property valued at or above $15 million to require them to make payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) equal to 25% what they would have owed without the exemption

CHERISH Act (S.824 / H.1325): An Act committing to higher education the resources to Insure a strong and healthy public higher education system / CHERISH Act (Comerford – Garballey/Mark), which would commit the Commonwealth to funding public higher education at 2001 levels, adjusted for inflation

CARES Act (S.365 / H.584): An Act relative to anti-racism, equity and justice in education (Lewis / Elugardo – Uyterhoeven), which would create a commission to develop curriculum materials with a social justice perspective of dismantling racism and ensure that ethnic sftudies, racial justice, decolonizing history, and unlearning racism is taught at all grade levels using a critical approach and pedagogy that is age-appropriate (The bill was folded into an Educator Diversity bill, but none of the text was incorporated into the bill it was folded into…)

Safer Schools (S.286 / H.648): An Act relative to safer schools (Chandler – Khan), which would support schools that want to transition their school safety program to one that does not rely on a school police model and require greater transparency on the impact of school policing on students’ discipline and information sharing with law enforcement agencies

Decriminalizing Consensual Sex (S.1126 / H.1726): An Act relative to consensual adolescent sexual activity (Rausch – Lewis), which would decriminalize consensual activity between teenagers close in age

Curbing Solitary Confinement (S.1578 / H.2504): An Act to provide criminal justice reform protections to all prisoners in segregated confinement (Eldridge – Miranda), which would expand the rights of those in solitary confinement, including requiring treatment for those with serious mental illness and monthly reviews for eligibility to return to the general population

Ending Life without Parole (H.1797): An Act to reduce mass incarceration (Livingstone/Miranda), which would repeal mandatory sentences of life without parole, which have strong racial biases and have been deemed human rights violations by international courts

Raising the Age (S.920 / H.1826): An Act to promote public safety and better outcomes for young adults (Boncore-O’Day/Khan), which would raise the age of criminal majority to 21, allowing offending youth to have better access to treatment and educational services and thereby reducing recidivism

Justice Reinvestment Act (S.1815 / H.2008): An Act to reinvest justice and opportunity in communities affected by incarceration (Chang-Diaz — Keefe), which would establish a training and workforce fund that would reinvest the savings from lower incarceration into neighborhoods most affected by the criminal justice system

Eliminating Mandatory Minimums (S.977 / H.1910): An Act to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences related to drug offenses (Creem – Uyterhoeven), which would repeal mandatory minimum sentences for opioid-related offenses, which were left in or newly created by the 2018 criminal justice reform bill

Cannabis Expungement (S.1048 / H.1904): An Act ensuring equitable access to cannabis related expungement (Gomez – Comerford / Tyler – Lewis)w, which would permit a person eligible for expungement of a decriminalized offense for possession of marijuana to expunge the charge without a hearing and permits a person who is incarcerated due to a possession of marijuana that is now decriminalized to seek release from incarceration

COVID Decarceration (H.1868): An Act regarding decarceration and COVID-19 (Sabadosa), which would direct the Department of Corrections and Sheriffs to to release people from incarceration who pose no immediate threat to the community so that the virus does not spread quickly in our jails and prisons, and in turn, to staff, families, and our health care system

Curbing Police Militarization (S.1539 / H.2479):  An Act relative to military grade controlled property (Barrett – Keefe/Lewis), which would require a vote by a local legislative body before a municipality can acquire military equipment

Banning Tear Gas (S.1637 / H.4150): An Act banning the use of tear gas by law enforcement (Rausch – Connolly/Lewis), which would ban the use of tear gas and other chemical weapons by law enforcement

Limiting Qualified Immunity (S.945): An Act to Allow Restitution for Civil Rights Violations (Chang-Diaz), which would prevent  qualified immunity from being used as a shield against lawsuits for violations of a person’s civil rights

Updating the MA Civil Rights Act (S.946): An Act to Secure Civil Rights through the Courts of the Commonwealth (Chang-Diaz), which would remove a narrow limitation in the MA Civil Rights Act in order to allow people to seek recourse through the courts for any violation of their civil rights

Vote16 (S.448):  An Act ensuring municipal participation of the widest eligible range (Chandler), which would enable cities and towns in Massachusetts to lower the voting age for municipal elections to 16 to encourage good voting habits early

All Resident Voting (S.465 / H.770): An Act extending voting rights in municipal elections to noncitizen voters of the commonwealth (Eldridge — Connolly/Elugardo), which would allow  non-citizens to vote in municipal elections

Local Option RCV (S.485 / H.825): An Act providing a local option for ranked choice voting in municipal elections (Rausch – Pignatelli), which would enable cities and towns in Massachusetts to adopt ranked choice voting for municipal elections

Expanding Public Records Law (S.2107, S.2048, & H.3239):  An Act expanding the public records law (Rausch) & An act to apply the public records law to the legislature (Eldridge – Uyterhoeven), which would remove the full exemption that the Governor and Legislature have from public records law

IPCC by 2030 (S.2170 / H.3372): An Act investing in a prosperous, clean commonwealth by 2030 (Eldridge – Uyterhoeven), which would commit MA to transitioning to 100% renewable electricity and net zero carbon emissions across all sectors by 2030

Rooftop Solar (S.2165 / H.3278): An Act Increasing Solar Rooftop Energy / An Act establishing solar neighborhoods (Eldridge – Lewis/Connolly), which would require that all new construction be built to accommodate solar energy installations

Building Justice with Jobs (S.2226 / H.3365): An Act providing for building justice with jobs (Pacheco – Robinson/LeBoeuf), which would put thousands of MA residents to work retrofitting 100,000 homes each year to improve energy efficiency and health outcomes, and reduce utility bills and carbon emissions

Environmental Justice Protections (S.996 / H.1792): An Act to create access to justice (DiDomenico — Meschino/Madaro), which would increase access to legal remedies for communities disproportionately impacted by environmental burdens, e.g., by eliminating the legal burden of proving that programs or activities with a disparate impact are motivated by discriminatory intent

Siting Reform (S.2135 / H.3336): An Act Relative to Energy Facilities Siting Reform to Address Environmental Justice, Climate, and Public Health (Boncore – Madaro), which would add environmental justice, public health, and climate to the factors that the Energy Facilities Siting Board must consider in its deliberations; requires community engagement prior to filing for environmental or Siting Board review of a petition to construct an oil, gas, or substation facility; among other steps

100% Clean Act (S.2136 / H.3288): An Act transitioning Massachusetts to clean electricity, heating and transportation (Boncore – Decker/Garballey), which would transition Massachusetts to 100 percent clean electricity by 2035 and 100 percent clean heating and transportation by 2045

State Infrastructure Bank (S.665 / H.1223): An Act establishing the Massachusetts infrastructure bank (Eldridge – Connolly/Elugardo), which would create a public bank, capitalized by the Commonwealth and offering financing at lower cost to Mass cities and towns, increasing municipal capacity for making infrastructure improvements

Letter: Allow Massachusetts State Senate Staffers to Unionize

The staff of the Massachusetts State Senate announced earlier this year that they had gathered the requisite number of authorization cards needed to form a union with the IBEW.

They are organizing to ensure fair wages, protection from workplace harassment, sufficient healthcare benefits and accountability from their management.
Much of what happens in the State Senate would be impossible without the hard work of staffers. They respond to constituents, draft and redraft legislation, meet with advocates, organize scheduling and so much more.

However over half of House staffers and more than a quarter of Senate staffers earn less than $45,000/year—hardly a livable wage in a state with some of the highest housing and day-to-day living costs in the nation—costs now spiraling upward due to inflation. In addition, Senate staffers face a 60 day waiting period for health care benefits. Many staffers have to resort to second jobs just to make ends meet. On top of this, workplace harassment, and long working hours lead to burnout and high turnover rates.

This means that many individuals without independent financial means choose not to enter public service—depriving the state of a diverse workforce and the perspective that this brings to policymaking. Moreover, inasmuch as many staffers move on to run for office, this lack of diversity means that the statehouse will continue to be unrepresentative of the state’s population as a whole.

The right of workers to organize and bargain collectively is not only a cornerstone of American democracy, it is a core policy position of the Democratic Party, to which a veto-proof majority of the State Senate belongs.

It is high time for our State Senators to live up to the values they profess to admire and permit their staffers to unionize.

John Kyriakis

Op-Ed: For Mass. Democrats, a troubling gap between party platform and practice

Jonathan Cohn, “For Mass. Democrats, a troubling gap between party platform and practice,” CommonWealth

“So the fact that the Mass Dems have a robust platform and one of the most, if not the most, progressive platforms in the country should be a point of pride. But it raises the question: Does it even mean anything?  

A platform is, in theory, an actionable agenda for a party, a promise of what that party will do when in office. But the Massachusetts Democratic Party platform says quite little about what our Legislature’s large Democratic majorities intend to do.  “

June 8th: Author Event with Jerold Duquette & Erin O’Brien

Join Progressive Mass for a discussion with Jerold Duquette and Erin O’Brien, the co-editors of the new book The Politics of Massachusetts Exceptionalism: Reputation Meets Reality.
About the Book:
Are claims of Massachusetts’s special and instructive place in American history and politics justified? Alternately described as a “city upon a hill” and “an organized system of hatreds,” Massachusetts politics has indisputably exerted an outsized pull on the national stage. The Commonwealth’s leaders often argue for the state’s distinct position within the union, citing its proud abolitionist history and its status as a policy leader on health care, gay marriage, and transgender rights, not to mention its fertile soil for budding national politicians. Detractors point to the state’s busing crisis, sky high levels of economic inequality, and mixed support for undocumented immigrants. The Politics of Massachusetts Exceptionalism tackles these tensions, offering a collection of essays from public policy experts that address the state’s noteworthy contributions to the nation’s political history. This is a much-needed volume for Massachusetts policymakers, journalists, and community leaders, as well as those learning about political power at the state level, inside and outside of the classroom. Contributors include the editors as well as Maurice T. Cunningham, Lawrence Friedman, Shannon Jenkins, Luis F. Jiménez, and Peter Ubertaccio. You can order a copy here. Click here to let us know if you are interested in joining a book discussion before or after the author event!

PM in the News: Massachusetts lawmakers should put their name where their vote is

Editorial Board, “Massachusetts lawmakers should put their name where their vote is,” Boston Globe, May 9, 2022.

That one voice vote illustrates the larger cultural problem on Beacon Hill. “There is a fundamental opacity in the legislative process in Massachusetts and a damning lack of transparency here,” Jonathan Cohn, the policy director of the grassroots organization, Progressive Mass, said after the vote. Senate President Karen Spilka’s response to such criticism — along with her refusal to say where she herselfstands on the legislation — does nothing to dispel it. Spilka told the State House News Service that an “exhaustive process” led up to the measure coming to the floor and that roll call votes were taken on some amendments to the bill.

…

The Massachusetts House of Representatives has a reputation for operating with less transparency than the Senate, said Cohn of Progressive Mass. But both legislative bodies, he said, embrace a style of consensus-building that “likes to pretend divisions don’t exist.” When they do, roll call votes are avoided. Lawmakers are counselled to withdraw amendments and a quick voice vote is called. He also said lawmakers who oppose a measure that is generally seen as popular seek the cover of a voice vote, rather than be recorded with a “nay.” Beacon Hill’s lack of transparency, said Cohn, “is striking, compared to other states. Massachusetts likes to view itself as a positive example, but this is one place where we can learn something from other states.”

PM in the News: A “Damning Lack of Transparency”

Erin Tiernan and Alison Kuznitz, “‘Damning lack of transparency’ on Massachusetts sports betting vote in Senate raises skepticism law will get on the books this session,” MassLive, April 30, 2022.

Progressive Mass Policy Director Jonathan Cohn called out a “damning” lack of transparency that permeated the Senate debate on Thursday. Members passed the bill in a voice vote — an unusual move for a major policy change that he suggested was “intentionally opaque” and “choreographed” to tee up contentious closed-door negotiations as the two chambers work to reconcile major policy differences and pass a bill over the next three months.

“There is a fundamental opacity in the legislative process in Massachusetts and a damning lack of transparency here,” Cohn said of the Senate sports betting vote. “This is something you see again and again across issues — a tendency to avoid taking difficult votes as a way of asserting power.”

….

Cohn pointed to a practice in both chambers to whip up unanimous and near-unanimous support out of view before legislation is debated and voted on publicly.

“So much is already decided behind closed doors that they’re not actually even pretending to do the process because the outcome of a vote is more than likely to be predetermined,” Cohn said.

He said both chambers “ironically” almost always conduct roll-call votes when leaders are confident they have overwhelming support and will push for voice votes on more contentious bills that would likely reveal slimmer margins.

“The opposite should be true,” he said.

…

“We need electeds who are more willing to actually bring things to a vote, who aren’t afraid to put themselves and their colleagues on the record,” Cohn said.