MA Should Celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

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 committed to fighting for an equitable, just, democratic, and sustainable Commonwealth.

We urge you to give a favorable report to S.2113/H.3292: An Act establishing Indigenous Peoples Day.

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

Our neighbors in Maine and Vermont already celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day, as do an increasing number of cities and towns in Massachusetts. The Commonwealth should join them.

Thank you again for all your work on today’s hearing, and again, please give a favorable report to S.2113/H.3292 (An Act establishing an Indigenous Peoples Day).

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

How to Address Energy Affordability the Right Way

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Chair Barrett, Chair Cusack, and Members of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy:

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

We urge you to give a favorable report to S.2239: An Act prohibiting the use of ratepayer funds for utility lobbying, promotions, or perks and H.3534/S.2255: An Act relative to electric ratepayer protections. Both are critical bills to address energy affordability and sustainability.

Our public utilities are supposed to serve and be regulated in service of the public interest; however, gas and electric utilities are regularly using money they collect from customers’ bills to fund their lobbying, advertising, and trade association dues. Customers have no say in such decisions, and such spending can often be directly in contradiction of the public interest. Voters across the Commonwealth want strong environmental laws and robust and equitable climate legislation, and we should not be coerced into funding opposition campaigns simply because of the need to have light, heat, and electricity in our homes.

Similarly, utilities are using customer ratepayer money to subsidize the lavish expenses of their Boards of Directors—at the same time as they are raising prices.

It’s quite simple: If utilities have so much money to spend on lobbying, ads, and perks, they are charging customers too much money and investing too little in the transition to clean, green energy.

Similarly, to advance the twin goals of affordability and sustainability, we should also ban the predatory third-party electric supply industry.

These companies routinely deploy unethical practices, including pretending to be from a local utility or municipality to enroll customers before rapidly increasing costs.

They target low-income residents and residents in communities of color, they are more difficult to hold accountable, and they frequently misrepresent how much green energy they are actually sourcing.

As you contemplate ways to address the rising costs consumers have faced in their energy bills, banning these predatory, price-gouging companies must be a part of it.

We would also like to point that any rhetoric about “choice” or “competition” in this sector is incoherent. No one is engaging in self-expression by choosing a third-party electricity supplier over a utility. These companies are failing to innovate in areas other than customer deception. They have no defensible role.

You will hear a lot from corporate actors with vested interests about how to address energy affordability. The solutions they offer tend to be ways to line their pockets more. These bills actually accomplish that goal.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts