Take Action: How to Support a Progressive Budget

In the FY 2024 budget, both the House and the Senate embraced the opportunity to include forward-thinking proposals that strengthen our commitment to equity, but, with differences between them, the work is not done.

In the coming weeks, a Conference Committee of three senators and three representatives will be finalizing the details for next year’s budget, and they need to hear from you in support of key provisions:

  • Tuition equity language, which would ensure that all MA high school graduates have access to in-state tuition at our Commonwealth’s public colleges and universities, regardless of immigration status, as 23 other states and DC provide
  • Permanent School Meals for All, which would ensure healthy nutrition for all students, increase educational performance, and support working families
  • No Cost Calls language, as outlined in the Keeping Families Connected/No Cost Calls Coalition’s letter, namely, making all communication services free in 2023, including a strong guarantee of access to calls, and laying out clear language to ensure successful implementation

Can you write to your senator and representative to ask them to fight for the inclusion of all three in the final FY2024 budget?

Mark Your Calendars🗓

State House Hearings This Week

If you are interested in testifying (written, in-person, or virtual) and have questions, just reach out!

Thursday, 6/22: Gun Violence Awareness Month Action at the Massachusetts State House @ 10am in front of the State House

The Mass Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence will be gathering on the steps of the State house with local and national partners including Stop Handgun Violence, Moms Demand Action, Giffords, and Brady, to honor June as Gun Violence Awareness month and to mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision. Join for a press conference featuring survivors, violence prevention workers, and others impacted by gun violence to address the impact of gun violence in the Commonwealth and call for continued action.

Sunday, 6/25: Progressive Mass Activist Afternoons Continues @ 3:30 PM

Join Progressive Mass for an Activist Afternoons series! We’ll be reaching out to members across the state to reach out to their legislators about key issues at the State House. On 6/25, we’ll be focusing on the Transfer Fee bill. RSVP here!

Tuesday, 6/27: Hearing at the State House for the Prison Moratorium Bill @ 11 am, Rally @ 10 am

Massachusetts does not need new prisons and jails: we need to be investing in communities, not in expanding the carceral system. So make sure that the Legislature hears loud and clear by showing up to support the Prison Moratorium in Gardner Auditorium on the State House and a rally before, RSVP here.

Thursday, 7/13: Common Start Rally at the State House

Please join the Common Start Coalition for a family-friendly rally at the State House on July 13 at 11:00 AM! As we head into the summer months, this is an incredible opportunity to keep up the momentum for high-quality, affordable, and accessible early education and care in Massachusetts.

Following a brief speaking program, children and their families will lead a march through the State House to demonstrate the power of our coalition and to highlight solutions to the child care crisis. Art and other activities for children will be a part of the event.

Common Start Family-Friendly Rally for Child Care

Time: Thursday, July 13 at 11:00 AM
Location: Grand Staircase, Massachusetts State House, Boston
Travel: There will be buses from across the state. More info to come.
Interpretation: There will be Spanish interpretation for the event.
Make sure to RSVP here: https://bit.ly/csrally7-13

The Solution to Homelessness Is Homes, Not Criminalization.

Home

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Chair Kennedy, Chair Livingstone, and Members of the Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I’m the policy director of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide, member-based grassroots advocacy organization fighting for a more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic Commonwealth. 

We urge you to give a favorable report to H.211/S.1112: An Act establishing a bill of rights for individuals experiencing homelessness, filed by Representatives Smitty Pignatelli and Frank Moran and Sen. Becca Rausch.

The solution to homelessness is clear: giving people homes. But too often, municipalities see the solution as criminalization and punishment instead, worsening the underlying problems and forcing individuals into vicious cycles of incarceration and housing instability.

As rents and housing prices skyrocket in Massachusetts, an increasing number of families face housing instability, experiencing short-term or long-term homelessness. According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 18,471 people in Massachusetts were counted as homeless in January 2019, more than two-thirds of that population consisting of families with children.

We desperately need comprehensive action to address our housing crisis and to secure housing for those currently without it. However, we also need to ensure that misguided and archaic laws do not make it more difficult for individuals to obtain housing.

These bills would rectify this status quo by extending anti-discrimination protections to persons experiencing homelessness, including protections when seeking employment, housing, voter registration, and access to public spaces and places of public accommodation. They would also ensure that individuals experiencing homelessness are not being criminalized for existing in public space, protecting their right to rest, seek shelter from the elements, occupy a legally parked car, pray, eat, and avoid needless harassment in public spaces.

H.211 and S.1112 are essential to ensuring Massachusetts is a state that treats all residents with dignity and respect, and we urge you to give it your support.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

Everyone Needs ID. Here’s Why, and Here’s What the Legislature Can Do.

Photo ID card

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Chair Crighton, Chair Straus, and Members of the Joint Committee on Transportation:

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I’m the policy director of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide, member-based grassroots advocacy organization fighting for a more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic Commonwealth. 

We urge you to give a favorable report to H.3388, H.3360, and S.2251: An Act to provide identification to youth and adults experiencing homelessness (the Everyone Needs ID bill), filed respectively by Rep. Jim O’Day, Rep. Kay Khan, and Sen. Robyn Kennedy.

Individuals experiencing homelessness face significant obstacles to obtaining an ID, but IDs can often be essential to securing employment and even accomplishing everyday life tasks. Without an ID, it can be difficult, if not outright impossible, to apply for jobs, enroll in education programs, get a library card, pick up a package from the post office, receive a prescription from a pharmacy, and more. So many of us take such tasks for granted, but for individuals experiencing homelessness, they become complicated endeavors and roadblocks on the path toward stability.

The aforementioned bills offer a solution by requiring the Registry of Motor Vehicles to waive the $25 fee for an ID for people experiencing homelessness and by allowing applicants to support alternative documentation to prove Massachusetts residency, such as allowing individuals to provide evidence of receiving services from a state agency under the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

Massachusetts must take comprehensive addition to ensure housing for all; however, in the interim, we must ensure that our policies are not exacerbating the obstacles faced by individuals experiencing homelessness. We urge you to make a difference this session by advancing these bills.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

Next Week at the State House

See you at the State House? Next week, a number of our coalitions are hosting advocacy days at the State House, a great opportunity to connect with other activists across the state and add momentum to key bills.

Mark Your Calendars! 📅

Tuesday, June 6 @ 11 am at the State House: Transfer Fee Coalition Lobby Day —RSVP here

Join the Local Option for Housing Affordability (LOHA) Coalition on Tuesday, June 6, 11-12 PM for a briefing and day of action in support of Rep. Connolly and Sen. Comerford’s bills H.2747/S.1771 establishing a local option transfer fee to fund affordable housing. Speakers will include advocates, municipal officials, impacted people and housing experts from across the Commonwealth.

LOHA Day of Action

Tuesday, June 6 @ 1 pm at the State House (House Members Lounge) — Polluters Pay & Put Gas in the Past Legislative Briefing

This event will be a presentation for legislators on bills at the center of two Mass Power Forward priority campaigns:

  • For the Make Polluters Pay campaign, (H.872 /S.481), An Act Establishing a Climate Change Superfund Promoting Polluter Responsibility – which we call, for short, the “Polluter Responsibility Superfund Bill”.
  • For the Put Gas in the Past campaign, (S.2135/H.3237), An Act Establishing a Moratorium on New Gas System Expansion. – which we call, for short, the “Gas Expansion Moratorium Bill”

Invite your legislators to the briefing with this toolkit.

Legislative Briefing - Tuesday, June 6

Wednesday, June 7 @ 2 pm at the State House — Youth Justice Lobby Day —RSVP here

Join activists across the state to advocate for bills that would end the school-to-prison pipeline and ensure better outcomes for our youth. The lobby day will focus on bills to keep 18-to 20-year-olds out of the adult criminal justice system, expand opportunities to expunge criminal records, create opportunities for diversion, and more.

Youth Justice Lobby Day 2023

In solidarity,
Jonathan Cohn
Policy Director
Progressive Massachusetts

“More and more residents are unable to afford to live in our commonwealth anymore”

Green affordable housing

Tuesday, May 9, 2023 

Chair Eldridge, Chair Day, 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 the following bills: 

S.864/H.1731: An Act promoting access to counsel and housing stability in Massachusetts

S.956/H.1690: An Act promoting housing opportunity and mobility through eviction sealing (HOMES)

Right to Counsel (S.864/H.1731): 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. 

HOMES Act (S.956/H.1690): Having an eviction record is creating a devastating barrier for tenants looking for housing. Records are created as soon as a case is filed and are publicly available forever––regardless of the outcome. These records impact people’s ability to obtain housing, credit, and employment, harming many, especially women and people of color. 

Regardless of whether one does anything wrong or is actually evicted, being party to an eviction or housing case is being unfairly held against tenants when they try to rent a new place. Even winning in court hurts tenants. However, there is no current process by which a tenant can seal an eviction record, as there already is in states such as California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Utah, and Texas. 

Notably, the Legislature already passed language around eviction sealing in early 2021, only for it to fail to become law due to a last-minute veto by former governor Charlie Baker. We urge you not to wait longer before bringing this issue back up, and we urge you to strengthen the language of these bills to allow eviction sealing to be automatic in certain cases, as opposed by merely by petition: the families facing eviction are least likely to be able to navigate a maze of paperwork. 

Sincerely, 

Jonathan Cohn 

Policy Director 

Progressive Massachusetts 

PM Joins Organizations in Calling for an Extension to Eviction Protections

March 17, 2023
Trial Court Chief Justice Jeffrey Locke
Housing Court Chief Justice Timothy Sullivan
Senate President Karen Spilka
Speaker of the House Ronald Mariano
Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Michael Rodrigues
House Ways and Means Committee Chair Aaron Michlewitz
Members of the Massachusetts Legislature

Re: Take swift action to extend Chapter 257 eviction protections before they expire on March 31st


Dear Chief Justice Locke, Chief Justice Sullivan, Senate President Spilka, Speaker Mariano, Chairperson Rodrigues, Chairperson Michlewitz, and Members of the Legislature:


“Chapter 257”, a key eviction prevention tool, is set to expire on March 31st. Chapter 257 provides an avenue for a tenant who has applied for rental assistance but is in eviction proceedings to request, and requires the judge to grant, a continuance of the case or postponement of physical eviction until a decision is made on the rental assistance application. Allowing this critical tool to expire now could result in evictions where tenancies could have been resolved with rental assistance, pushing many families and individuals into homelessness. We call upon you to take immediate action to extend these protections until July 31, 2024 to allow more time for a permanent solution to be put into place.


The Legislature first enacted Chapter 257 of the Acts of 2020 to ensure tenants are not physically evicted while rental assistance applications are pending. The Legislature extended the deadline in Chapter 20 of the Acts of 2021, and extended it again through March 31, 2023 in Chapter 42 of the Acts of 2022. The law ensures that tenants are not needlessly displaced and maximizes rental assistance payments to landlords. It also requires landlords to upload notice to quit letters to a state tracking system, enabling agencies administering rental assistance to conduct outreach to landlords and tenants to prevent evictions. While not perfect, Chapter 257 has been an essential protection for tenants waiting for rental assistance applications to be processed.


The number of families and individuals applying for assistance through the Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) homelessness prevention program remains at very high levels, reflecting the experience of tenants and advocates on the ground that Chapter 257 protections are still extremely important. Although the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has made efforts to streamline the program, the RAFT application process is complex and can require a significant amount of time for a tenant to gather their paperwork, the property owner to input their information, and the administering agency to process each application. The unfortunate reality is that many landlords are simply unwilling to wait for RAFT funds — even if the result could be receiving money they are owed and preventing families and individuals from experiencing homelessness.

Before Chapter 257 was enacted, tenants awaiting rental assistance who already were in eviction proceedings had few options. Since going into effect in January 2021, at least 9,000 case continuances have been granted under the law, and untold numbers of tenants have been able to stabilize their housing and prevent eviction simply by having the chance to complete the rental assistance process. There is broad agreement among policymakers that residents across
Massachusetts are experiencing a housing crisis. Chapter 257 is a key homelessness prevention tool that we know is working, at a time when housing instability is on the rise and the state is struggling to provide adequate shelter to families and individuals who are unhoused. Extending Chapter 257 is a simple and commonsense action that will prevent unnecessary evictions, as the state works to address the broader housing crisis.


Judges, court staff, attorneys, and rental assistance providers are familiar with how Chapter 257 operates, and it has undoubtedly saved tenancies and provided money to landlords. Legislation already has been filed that includes language to codify Chapter 257 protections.1 While we await legislative action on that bill, we call upon the Trial Courts or Legislature to act immediately to extend Chapter 257 until at least July 31, 2024, either through a standing
order, attaching language to pending legislation, or with the filing of a new targeted bill, that ensures that protections afforded in Chapter 257 continue without disruption.

We look forward to working with you in the days and weeks ahead to promote greater housing stability.

[1] See An Act relative to summary process and rental assistance, House Docket 3096 (filed by Representative Sam Montaño) and Senate Docket 1883 (filed by Senator Liz Miranda.)


Sincerely,

Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Andrea M. Park
Director of Community Driven Advocacy
apark@mlri.org


Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless
Kelly Turley
Associate Director
kelly@mahomeless.org

Endorsing Organizations (in alphabetical order):
2 Birds No Stones LLC
Amherst Affordable Housing Trust
Amherst Community Connections
Amherst Survival Center

Arise For Social Justice
Bay Cove Human Services
Behavioral Health Network, Inc.
Berkshire Community College
Berkshire County Regional Housing Authority
Berkshire Housing
Berkshire Immigrant Center
Berkshire United Way
Boston Children’s Hospital
Breaktime
Cathedral of the Beloved
Center for Human Development (CHD)/Family Outreach of Amherst
Center for Living & Working, Inc
Center for New Americans
Central Hampshire Veterans’ Services
Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance
Central West Justice Center
Chelsea Black Community
Chelsea Chamber of Commerce
Citizen STEAM
Citizens’ Housing And Planning Association
City of Chelsea Acting City Manager Edward Keefe
City of Chelsea Department of Housing and Community Development
City of Chelsea Police Department
City of Chelsea Public Schools
City of Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne
City of Somerville Office of Housing Stability
Coghlin Electrical Contractors
Commonwealth Care Alliance
Community Action Agency of Somerville, Inc.
Community Action Pioneer Valley
Community Action Programs Inter-City
Community Healthlink
Comunidades Enraizadas Community Land Trust, Inc.
Craig’s Doors
Disability Law Center
Dismas House of Massachusetts
DOVE, Inc.
Economic Mobility Pathways (EMPath)
Eliot CHS Homeless Services
FamilyAid
Fenway Community Development Corporation
First Parish in Brookline
Franklin County DIAL SELF Inc.
Friendly House, Inc.
Friends of Hampshire County Homeless Individuals
Greater Boston Legal Services
GreenRoots
Grow Food Northampton
HarborCOV
Harvard Legal Aid Bureau

Homeless Prevention Council
Homes for All Massachusetts
HomeStart, Inc.
Housing Families Inc.
Housing Greenfield
HousingMatch.org
Humanity First Landlords
Independence House
Institute for Community Health
Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action
Justice Resource Institute, Inc.
La Colaborativa, Inc.
Lawrence CommunityWorks
Lynn United for Change
Manaa
Mass Alliance of HUD Tenants
Mass General Brigham
Mass Senior Action Council
Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless
Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Massachusetts Public Health Association
McCarter Law Office
Metro Housing|Boston
MetroWest Legal Services
MLPB (formerly Medical Legal Partnership | Boston)
Neighbor to Neighbor MA
NeighborWorks Housing Solutions
New England Learning Center for Women in Transition, Inc
New England United 4 Justice
New Lynn Coalition
Northampton Survival Center
Northeast Justice Center
Old Lesbians Organizing for Change, Western Massachusetts Chapter
One Family
OUR Resurge
Pax Christi Beverly
Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts
Progressive Massachusetts
Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts
RCAP Solutions
Reclaim Roxbury
Regional Housing Network of Massachusetts
Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds Inc.
Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston
Southeast Center for Independent Living
Springfield No One Leaves
St. Luke’s-San Lucas Episcopal Church
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts
The Midas Collaborative

The Neighborhood Developers Inc.
United Way of Central Massachusetts
United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley
Vasquez Mary Kay
Way Finders
Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness
Worcester City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj
Worcester Common Ground, Inc.
Worcester Community Action Council
Worcester Interfaith
Worcester Together
YWCA Central Massachusetts


cc: Trial Court Administrator Tom Ambrosino
DHCD Undersecretary Jennifer Maddox

Take Action: What Your State Legislators Need to Do Before Sunday

The formal legislative session for the MA State House ends Sunday, July 31. That means the Legislature has to act fast on a number of key priorities.

An End of Session TO DO LIST for the MA Senate!

Your state senator needs to hear from YOU about the following:

  • Protecting tenants by ensuring that Section 135C (HOMES Act) from the Senate economic development bill, which would create a process for sealing eviction records, remains in the final conference committee report
  • Upholding No Cost Calls language from the budget that would end the predatory practice of charging incarcerated individuals and their loved ones for phone calls, and rejecting Governor Baker’s attempt to block this important victory and force the Legislature to pass his proposal to weaken due process protections
  • Passing the Recommendations of the Special Commission on Facial Recognition Technology, because Massachusetts needs tighter rules around the use of face surveillance technology in order to protect our civil liberties and community safety
  • Safeguarding MA’s gun laws in the wake of recent Supreme Court ruling
  • Speaking up for the State House Employee Union and calling for the necessary steps to ensure that they are duly recognized as a union and able to collectively bargain
  • Not giving the final word on any legislation to Governor Baker and calling for a special session if need be to do right by the Legislature’s accomplishments

Write to them here!

An End of Session TO DO LIST for the MA House!

Your state representative needs to hear from YOU about the following:

  • Strengthening our child care infrastructure by passing H.4795: An Act to Expand Access to High-Quality, Affordable Early Education and Care, which would increase the affordability of child care for families, raises for early educators, and stability for child care providers
  • Protecting tenants by ensuring that Section 135C (HOMES Act) from the Senate economic development bill, which would create a process for sealing eviction records, remains in the final conference committee report
  • Upholding No Cost Calls language from the budget that would end the predatory practice of charging incarcerated individuals and their loved ones for phone calls, and rejecting Governor Baker’s attempt to block this important victory and force the Legislature to pass his proposal to weaken due process protections
  • Speaking up for the State House Employee Union and calling for the necessary steps to ensure that they are duly recognized as a union and able to collectively bargain
  • Not giving the final word on any legislation to Governor Baker and calling for a special session if need be to do right by the Legislature’s accomplishments

Write to them here!

And Lastly, A Quick Call to Governor Baker

The Legislature’s Infrastructure Bond Bill contains language for a 5-year pause on prison construction. Although the final version falls short of what advocates pushed for, it sets a precedent and provides a baseline of protection against brand new jail and prison construction and some limitations on expansion.

Call Charlie Baker at (617) 725-4005 to urge him to sign it, and find additional resources from this toolkit from Families for Justice as Healing (from where the script below comes):

“Hello, my name is _______________ and I’m calling to ask you to sign the Infrastructure Bond Bill including the Jail and Prison Construction Moratorium. Massachusetts needs a 5 year pause on new jail and prison construction so we can focus on implementing alternatives and investing in community-led solutions for real safety and well-being. I am also asking you to use your last months in service of racial and gender justice by granting clemency for women who are older than 50, who are sick, who are survivors of violence, and who have served longer than 10 years. We should empty Framingham prison – not rebuild it. Thank you.”

What to Do Before the Legislative Session Ends on Sunday

The legislative session in the MA State House ends this Sunday. That’s right: whatever doesn’t happen between now and Sunday will have to wait until next year.

But we know that so many things can’t wait.

Email Your State Legislators: MA Needs the HOMES Act

Last week, the Senate passed the HOMES Act as part of its economic development bill.

The moment that an eviction case is filed, a tenant has an eviction record for life. These eviction records are unfairly held against people when they try to rent a new place. Tenants should be able to seal their eviction record when they have done nothing wrong, when they pay what they owe, or when their case is dismissed or resolved.

The HOMES Act language will protect many tenants from being unfairly marked with an eviction record and would establish a fair process for tenants to petition the court on a case-by-case basis.

The Senate and House are right now working on reconciling the differences between the House and Senate bills.

The House did not include this essential tenant protection in their bill, and it’s vital that the HOMES Act remains in the final package.

Can you email your state legislators about the importance of keeping the HOMES Act in the final economic development bill?

Tell Charlie Baker: Sign the Climate Bill!

Last Thursday, the House and Senate passed climate legislation that, among other things, invests in off-shore wind and solar energy, accelerates the transition to electric vehicles, and ends renewable energy credits for wood-burning power plants (read our write-up here).

Please get this important legislation over the finish line! Urge Governor Baker to sign the bill ASAP with no changes.

Call Governor Baker at 617-725-4005 or (toll-free) 888-870-7770

Sample message:

“Hi, my name is ________ and I live in _____________. I urge the Governor to sign the climate bill into law as soon as possible, with no changes. I support ending clean energy subsidies for woody biomass. It’s crazy to burn wood for electricity.”

An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind

Two Emails You Can Send Today in Support of Gender Equity

The end of the legislative session is coming up fast, and today we wanted to highlight one email that you can send to your state senator and one to your state rep to advance a more equitable commonwealth.

One Email to Your Senator

Your senator needs to hear from you about two simple but transformative steps MA can take to advance gender equity.

(1) We Need Wage Equity Now

In 2016, the Massachusetts Legislature passed an equal pay law, aimed at closing the gender wage gap. But without good data and tracking, the law is hard to implement: indeed, some numbers point to a widening of the gap since then.

That’s why passing the Wage Equity Now bill (S.2721) is so important. The bill would require all employers — private, non-profit, and governmental — with 100 or more employees to report the average wages by gender, race, and ethnicity for the entire organization, and to publish wage ranges in job applications and postings. This data would offer a vital tool for creating accountability and measuring progress.

The bill is currently sitting in the Senate Ways & Means Committee, and your senator needs to hear from you about the importance of bringing it to the floor.

(2) Gender Justice & Housing Justice

The Senate is taking up an economic development bill later this week. Last session, the Legislature passed a version of the HOMES Act, which would create a process for sealing eviction records. Governor Baker vetoed it, and the Legislature didn’t have the time to override him.

The housing crisis is a gender equity issue. Studies have shown that women, and especially women of color, face higher rates of eviction than men, and households headed by single mothers have some of the highest eviction rates.

Currently, in Massachusetts, even if a tenant wins in eviction court, their eviction record is public and permanent, creating a lasting impact on their ability to find housing and jobs.

That’s why State Senator Lydia Edwards filed Amendment #18 to the Senate’s economic development bill. Amendment #18 will protect tenants from being unfairly marked with an eviction record and establish a fair process for tenants to petition the court on a case-by-case basis and provide that:

  • Tenants can petition to seal immediately after a case is dismissed or there is a judgment in their favor.
  • Tenants facing a no-fault eviction can seal their records after the conclusion of the case.
  • Tenants facing a non-payment eviction can seal their record within 14 days of satisfying a judgment.
  • Tenants facing a fault eviction can seal their records after 3 years.
  • Tenant screening companies cannot report and landlords cannot use a sealed court record to screen tenants.

Can you email your state senator in support of both of these measures?

One Email to Your State Rep

On July 7th, the Senate voted unanimously to pass bill S.2973, An Act to Expand Access to High-Quality, Affordable Early Education and Care. This bill is 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.

Join the Common Start Coalition in calling on the House to advance their version of the bill, H.4795, and to bring it to the floor for a vote by the end of the legislative session on July 31st.

Can you email your state rep about the need for action on affordable child care?

Take Action: How to Make the MA House’s Economic Development Bill More Equitable

Yesterday, the Massachusetts Legislature released their economic development bill, a mix of investments and tax reforms. While there are many parts of the bill that are welcome and overdue, the Legislature misses the mark on others.

No Excuse for Excluding Those Most in Need from Rebates

The economic development bill includes a provision to send one-time taxpayer rebates of $250 (or $500 for married couples) to individuals who reported between $38,000 and $100,000 in income (or up to $150,000 for joint filers) in 2021 as a way of blunting the impact of inflation on households.

But what about those with less than $38,000? Speaker Mariano argued that such individuals already received support through essential worker bonuses earlier this year, but if anyone could benefit from additional money right now in our increasingly unaffordable state, it is those who have the least.

Rep. Tami Gouveia’s Amendment #813 would eliminate this income floor.

Regressive Tax Cuts

All in all, the bill spends $523.5 million through tax policy changes. $207 million of that (almost 40%) will go to more affluent residents—an estimated 2,500 taxpayers.

That’s because of a change to the estate tax in the bill. Currently, the estate tax kicks in for estates valued $1 million or more (with a graduated rate above that), with a “cliff” effect leading to the whole value of the estate being taxed after that $1 million.

Cliffs can be bad policy designs, but what’s even worse is cuts to vital programs and services that would result from lost revenue. The Legislature could have chosen clear, readily available ways to fix this without costing so much money but chose not to.

Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven’s Amendment #621 would eliminate the estate tax language entirely and send the House back to the drawing board for a better proposal and Amendment #630 would would eliminate the cliff effect while preserving the progressive nature of the estate tax.

A Whiff on Housing Policy

In last year’s economic development bill, the Legislature included important zoning reforms and tenant protections. The economic development bill is one of the last chances for the Legislature to continue that work, and they missed that opportunity — a stunning decision as this state becomes increasingly unaffordable.

Rep. Mike Connolly filed several amendments to address this gap in the bill:

  • Amendment #26: Increase rental deduction to $5,000, which increases the rental deductions from $4,000 to $5,000.
  • Amendment #113: Simple-majority approval standard for inclusionary zoning ordinances, which would enable municipalities to approve inclusionary zoning ordinances by simple majority vote
  • Amendment #176: Local Option Real Estate Transfer Fee for Housing Affordability, which would enable municipalities to pass locally appropriate transfer fees on high-end real estate transactions to create dedicated funds for affordable housing

Can you contact your state rep in support of these amendments?