Behind Closed Doors: What’s Wrong with the MA State House

By Eileen Ryan, Progressive Watertown

On Sunday, October 27th, Progressive Watertown hosted a forum, “Behind Closed Doors: What’s Wrong with the MA State House.” The impetus for the forum was the failure of key legislation supported by Progressive Massachusetts to pass in the legislative session that ended on July 31st, 2024, despite wide-spread support and 1,000s of hours of activism by constituents across the commonwealth. Close to 50 people attended, including several Watertown past and present City Councilors. I, as a Progressive Watertown Steering Committee member, had the honor of moderating.

Jonathan Hecht, who served as state representative for Watertown and Cambridge for twelve years and Watertown town councilor for four, was our first speaker. He is a member of the leadership team of Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts and on the steering committee of the Coalition to Reform Our Legislature. Jon gave a brief history of voting rights in Massachusetts, which included some surprising facts: until the 1960s, MA had a rigorous and unfair literacy test required of voters, as well as a “pauper exclusion,” i.e., no one who received public assistance could vote. Jon noted that great progress has been made over the past 60 years to make it easier to vote and more citizens are voting and yet, less is being accomplished at the State House. Public hearings are held by committees, but follow-up committee meetings to discuss the fate of the proposed legislation never happen. There are currently about 750 bills sitting in the Ways and Means Committee that have been heard, vetted, and recommended but have not moved forward, with many of these bills multiple sessions or even decades old. Jon also discussed the stipend system of favoritism at the State House and how it disproportionately affects members of the House of Representatives. People who run for office with the best of intentions become frustrated that they are not able to do the job they were elected to do.

Danielle Allen, professor of political philosophy, public policy, and ethics at Harvard University and the Founder and President of Partners in Democracy, spoke next. Danielle addressed the need for constant democracy renovation at the state level and how it interacts with the looming signs of fascism on a national level. She was applauded when she shared that she had just resigned as a Washington Post columnist due to that paper’s refusal to endorse a presidential candidate. Danielle also highlighted that we are in a moment of intense change technologically and economically and that we are all feeling the effects of great migrations and globalization. She deplored the decline of local news and how it affects voters’ awareness and pointed out that MA is 50th in the number of choices we have in each Massachusetts election cycle due to a high bar to get your name on the ballot.

Both speakers support a Yes on Question 1, the ballot question to enable the State Auditor to audit our state legislature, and are working out other possible ways to change the legislature, including a future ballot question to address the State House’s stipend system.

The audience asked great questions and was motivated to take action. The forum was recorded and will be ready for viewing soon.

Let’s Support Open Government with Transparency and Hybrid Meeting Access.

Hybrid-Meeting-Access

Wednesday, July 26, 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 a favorable report to H.3040 / S.2024: An Act to Modernize Participation in Public Meetings (Rep. Garlick & Sen. Lewis) and S.2064: An Act extending the public records law to the Governor and the Legislature (Sen. Rausch).

Modern Open Meeting Access for All

Since early 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Legislature has suspended provisions of the Open Meeting Law to enable public bodies to carry out their responsibilities remotely, with virtual access and participation by the public. As in-person gatherings were able to safely restart, many public bodies have shifted toward hybrid meetings, enabling both in-person and remote attendance by both officials and the public.

Such hybrid meetings have been a boon to public participation. Remote access has removed obstacles facing working people, parents of young children, other caregivers, people with disabilities, people with limited transportation, among many other populations who may not be able to travel to a city or town hall or spend hours waiting for their time to speak. Yet retaining a robust in-person component recognizes the value of in-person discussion and deliberation to democracy and ensures that unreliable Internet access, common in rural and low-income urban areas, is not a barrier to participating in our democracy.

Although the Legislature recently extended the option for hybrid meetings until 2025, we should not be relying on piecemeal extensions but instead reform Open Meeting Law for twenty-first-century democracy and technology. H.3040/S.2024 provides a path for doing so, recognizing both the importance of open government and the needs cities and towns face in making that a reality.

Expanding Public Records Law

In the 2016 public record reform law, the Legislature created a commission to explore whether to expand the public records law to the Legislature and the Governor’s office, but that commission ended up yielding no formal report. Massachusetts remains the only state in the US where both the executive and legislative branch of state government claim full exemption from public records law. The same governing bodies that require cities and towns to adhere to strict Open Meeting Law rules exempt themselves from even a basic level of transparency. 

As other state governments understand, making executive records like calendars, emails and texts, visitor logs, and call logs accessible is key to accountability: when such documents are fully kept secret, the public is left in the dark about whom the Governor is meeting and why, and what they are prioritizing. 

The difficulty in obtaining information from the Massachusetts Legislature not only makes our state an outlier but also stifles the democratic process. The majority of states make committee votes electronically available, including states like California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, and Oregon. And states like Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, and Oregon make committee testimony fully available to the public.

The most moneyed interests are those who benefit from closed, hierarchical systems because they will always be able to work their way behind closed doors—whereas the public and researchers are rarely so lucky.  Openness helps foster social trust: open government should be viewed as part and parcel of the work of civics education that has bipartisan support in the State House.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

Hybrid Meeting Access Has Been Great for Democracy. Let’s Make It Permanent.

I’ve been happy to see the return of in-person hearings at the State House. There’s a liveliness to a hearing room that can’t be replicated on virtual platforms.

But what I’m even happier about is that the Massachusetts State House has kept the option of virtual testimony for hearings. Not everyone has the ability to trek to downtown Boston and wait for hours for their time to testify. Perhaps because of a job with rigid hours. Or small children at home. Or difficulties with transportation or mobility in general.

Keeping this remote access is critical, and it’s to the State House’s credit that they have done so. But we need to see it expanded across city and state government.

An Act to Modernize Participation in Public Meetings (H.3040 / S.2024) would make the hybrid meeting accessibility we’ve seen over the past few years permanent, prioritizing state agencies and elected municipal bodies and providing resources to cities and towns to make the change.

If you are able to testify in person or virtually, you can sign up here by 3 pm today. (Wouldn’t it be nice if the Legislature gave at least a week of notice? A fight for another day….)

But even if you can’t testify in person or virtually, your written testimony still matters. Can you email the Legislature in support of hybrid meeting access for all?

PM in the News: MassLive on the Senate’s Vote Repealing Term Limits

Alison Kuznitz, “Eight-year term limit eliminated for Mass. Senate President Karen Spilka,” MassLive, February 9, 2023.

Jonathan Cohn, policy director at the grassroots activist organization Progressive Mass, said the lack of floor debate Thursday likely stems from senators’ fear of retaliation from Spilka, particularly as committee assignments have yet to be released.

Yet should senators eventually elect a “very conservative” president, Cohn warned “you’re stuck with them for a long because there’s no fail-safe.”

“When you give one person that level of power- and agenda-setting for the body, it also just slows things down because you’re the one person and you’re in charge indefinitely for the future,” Cohn told MassLive. “It makes it clear that everything needs to run through you, and there are only 24 hours in the day. That centralization that exists in both House and Senate is something that causes a lot of the inertia that exists in the building.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

News Roundup — March 27, 2022

“Beacon Hill Lags on Sexual Harassment,” Boston Globe

“The bottom line is that State House staffers — now that most are making their post-pandemic return to the building — need someone they can turn to and trust if they are experiencing harassment or discrimination. That person needs to be a visible and accessible presence on Beacon Hill.”

“One Tool to Help Create Affordable Housing — Real Estate Transfer Fees,” Boston Globe

“We have the opportunity to arrest the statewide housing crisis, bolster our economic sustainability, and protect public health. The Legislature must pass the transfer fee and hand municipalities across the state the right tool so we can get to it.”

“Letter: Millionaires’ tax no ‘blank check’,” The Salem News

“Massachusetts is one of the few states without a higher tax on its uber-wealthy. Without that tool, Massachusetts voters know any other option will hit them directly in higher sales or property taxes, even more tuition and fee hikes, cuts to our children’s already understaffed and overstretched schools, or further deterioration of our crumbling infrastructure.”

“Rich Countries Must Stop Producing Oil and Gas By 2034, Says Study,” The Guardian

“The report, led by Prof Kevin Anderson from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at Manchester University, found that wealthy countries such as the UK, US and Australia had until 2034 to stop all oil and gas production to give the world a 50% chance of preventing devastating climate breakdown, while the poorest nations that are also heavily reliant on fossil fuels should be given until 2050.”

“Blue States Must Do More to Protect Democracy,” Democracy Docket

“Too often we have ignored the problems facing voters in blue states, focusing exclusively on the voter suppression laws passed by Republican legislatures. This is a missed opportunity. By improving voting rights, Democrats can improve voting rights for their citizens and raise the bar for what is considered normal and acceptable elsewhere. Finally, showing that expanding voting opportunities works undercuts the Republicans’ false narrative of voter fraud.”

“Wu, Janey, Pressley tout benefits of new fare-free bus service in Boston,” Boston Globe

“I’m very excited that now making those multiple trips to school, to home, to pick up the kids without having to worry about how that will add up or take away from your ability to pay for food, or medicine or rent, that is the ultimate goal here,” Wu said.

“Letter: Access to legal representation changes lives for domestic violence survivors,” Patriot Ledger

“Too often domestic violence survivors face eviction due to violence, and most are unaware of how to protect themselves in court. For too many, eviction means homelessness. All people deserve the right to live without fear of abuse or that they would be unfairly removed from their homes without representation.”

“Healey’s positions on criminal justice give some Democratic activists pause,” Boston Globe

“When you are an attorney general, there tends to be a built-in relationship [with police] and she has definitely been too deferential to state and local police,” said Progressive Massachusetts policy director Jonathan Cohn. “There are many good things she has done as attorney general, but she has not been a leader on criminal justice issues.”

“PILOT payments should be standardized statewide,” CommonWealth

“Given our communities’ needs—in such critical areas as housing, transportation, public schools, and public health—the legislation’s value is obvious. For institutions too, there is a value to having universal standards evenly applied across the board—offering a chance for them to restore public trust through deeds, and not just words.”

“Reform laws only as good as those who enforce them,” Boston Globe

“These fixes shouldn’t wait. When new and trailblazing laws are passed, politicians and advocates too often pat each other on the back and move on. But reforms are only as good as those willing to enforce them and those committed to make them work — not just on paper but on the ground.”

“No, COVID Isn’t Over,” Boston Globe

“Perhaps there will come a time for post-pandemic victory laps. But this moment needs more vigilance, not fewer protocols or threats to federal funding for virus treatments. COVID is still here, but what seems to be all but gone is the leadership on every level to do everything possible to eradicate it.”

“Letter: Fair Share Amendment could boost quality of life for all in Massachusetts,” Berkshire Eagle

“The current state income tax burdens lower-income taxpayers more heavily than it does the wealthy. Here is an opportunity to reduce the inequities of our system when thousands of working families in our state have lost jobs and housing and otherwise have had their lives upended as a result of the pandemic, while the wealthy have seen their incomes soar. As President Joe Biden remarked in his recent State of the Union, it’s time that “wealthy American start paying their fair share.””

“Mass. House leaders heralded the creation of an Equal Employment Opportunity officer. They’ve left the position empty for 15 months.,” Boston Globe

“Ten current and former House staff, most of whom spoke anonymously out of fear of retaliation, told the Globe that they believe the unfilled role signals a lack of commitment to workplace safety by House leadership, and alleged that a self-evaluation McLafferty had conducted regarding staff pay and job descriptions was never finished or discussed after he left the House.”

“Inflation blunts impact of school aid increases in Baker’s budget,” WBUR

“More than 40% of the state’s school districts would receive the smallest possible bump in funding under the governor’s budget plan, and administration officials and lawmakers alike agreed Tuesday that the minimum aid increase is not really much of an increase thanks to the high rate of inflation.”

“Cheap fares, trains to more suburbs: This is what the MBTA was supposed to look like,” Boston Globe

“I think we’d have a city and a region far less dependent on cars,” Johnson said. “Far fewer folks would be impacted by high gas prices or terrible traffic. We’d likely be having fewer fights over parking in new developments.”

“Suspending the gas tax doesn’t make sense,” CommonWealth

“Let’s face facts folks. The problem is not high state gas taxes. They have not gone up since 2013. They don’t even keep pace with inflation. The problem is unbridled corporate greed coupled with US energy insecurity that makes us all economic victims of Russian aggression and self-interested oil cartels. Why, then, would we deprive ourselves of much-needed public revenue, why would we deplete the amount of funding available for investments that will improve our lives, as a response to these unstable, unpredictable, and unmanageable global forces? And why would we do so in a way that helps the wealthiest and not the neediest?”

“Wind down of housing assistance raises concerns,” CommonWealth

“Homes for All Massachusetts and researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology released a report which found that evictions are disproportionately occurring in Black and Latino neighborhoods, neighborhoods with more single mother heads of households, areas with absentee and corporate landlords, and in central and southeast Massachusetts. Of all evictions filed between October 2020 and October 2021, 43 percent were in neighborhoods where a majority of residents are non-white, even though only 32 percent of rental housing is in these areas.”

“Massachusetts House OKs Bill Banning Bias Based on Hairstyle,” NBC News

“Eighty percent of Black women are more likely to change their hair from its natural state to fit a workplace setting and changing to fit your workplace simply suppresses your creativity,” Tyler said.

Sunday, 11/7: Our Democracy Under Siege: How do we rebuild a better and more just Democracy?

Our Democracy Under Siege: How do we rebuild a better and more just Democracy?

As we recover from the carnage that Trump has inflicted on our democracy, it is time for reflection in order to understand what damage has been done, what threats are still facing us, and how we can effectively address the fallout from Trump’s Presidency. We will explore issues such as what work still needs to be done to address low voter turnout, how to create enthusiasm for our government, and how to effectively fight the cynicism that many Americans feel towards our democracy. As we look to the future, how do we create a sense of “We the People” as racism, xenophobia, and numerous inequities and injustices result in pessimism in the American populace.

Join Progressive Watertown on Sunday, November 7, at 2 pm for a discussion. RSVP here!