Take Action: Fight for Critical Investments and Policy in the State Budget

Right now, the Massachusetts House and Senate are negotiating a final budget for the next fiscal year. We know that a budget is a statement of values, and we need to be sure that the FY 2026 budget is reflecting our values of a more just and equitable Commonwealth.

Here’s what to ask from your legislators:

  • Immigrant Legal Defense Fund: Please advocate for House language dedicating $5 million for a new legal defense program to provide immigration legal services to eligible low-income immigrants and refugees without access to legal representation (House line item 4003-0124).
  • Banning Broker’s Fees: Please advocate for Senate language to require that residential rental broker’s fees be paid by the contracting agent (typically, the landlord), ensuring that renters are not burdened with unexpected and extraordinary costs.
  • Access to Counsel: Please advocate for House language allocating $3 million to ensure that tenants facing eviction have access to counsel (House line item 0321-1800).
  • Emergency Assistance for Families: Please advocate for the Senate’s larger appropriation of $225 million for Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT), which prevents displacement by providing short-term emergency assistance to keep families stably housed.
  • Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program: Please advocate for the House’s larger appropriation of $258,111,840 for the MRVP, which provides long-term rental subsidies to approximately 10,000 low-income households for use in the private housing market.
  • No Cost Calls: Please advocate for House language allocating $10 million for the Communications Access Trust Fund for no cost communication in prisons and jails (House line item 1595-6153).
  • Universal School Meals: Please advocate for the House’s larger appropriation of $190M allocation for School Meals for All.
  • Fully Funding Our K-12 Public Schools: Please advocate for the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance priorities of closing the Chapter 70 inflation gap of $465 million, fixing the charter school reimbursements with the House funding level of $199 million, increasing funding for school building program, and preserving the House inclusion of a grant program for community schools.

Can you write to your state representative and state senator to ask them to advocate for key funding and policy in the FY 2026 budget?

“DC Attacks, MA Fights Back: The White House vs. Housing for All” Links & Follow-ups

Thank you so much for joining this evening for our forum “DC Attacks, MA Fights Back: The White House vs. Housing for All”! And thank you again to our amazing speakers! 

If you missed it or wanted to rewatch any of it, the video is available here: https://youtu.be/zGz5C9IUUyY.

Our speakers referenced a few bills at the MA State House: 

Real Estate Transfer Fee (H.3056 / S.1937): An Act granting a local option for a real estate transfer fee to fund affordable housing
Rent Stabilization (H.2328 / S.1447): An Act enabling cities and towns to stabilize rents and protect tenants 
Tenant Opportunity to Purchase (H.1544 / S.998):  An Act to guarantee a tenant’s first right of refusal

Find out if your legislators are already co-sponsoring these bills by looking at our Scorecard website. If they already are, thank them, and if not, urge them to do so. You can find sample email text (as well as more info) for each bill in the links above. 

We also spoke about housing issues in the FY 2026 budget being negotiated right now. Write to your state legislators in support of key budget priorities here.

PM in the News: “These Mass. congressmen signed a resolution thanking ICE for ‘protecting the homeland.’ Here’s why.”

Ross Cristantiello, “These Mass. congressmen signed a resolution thanking ICE for ‘protecting the homeland.’ Here’s why.,” Boston.com, June 11, 2025.

Cohn told Boston.com that ICE is “terrorizing” communities across Massachusetts and “acting in service of a hateful vision from Donald Trump and his desire for a more repressive, more divided country.”

He characterized the vote on this resolution as a “dishonest trap” set by congressional Republicans and another example of them wanting to “weaponize” concerns about antisemitism. He pointed to another resolution that condemned the Boulder attack without any language referencing ICE. It was overwhelmingly passed 7 minutes later, Cohn said.

“You do not need to praise ICE in order to condemn the recent attack and tragedy in Boulder,” he said. “The Democrats who voted with Republicans on HRES488 should start actually listening to their constituents about what safety means and focus on fighting the cruelty, chaos, corruption, and constitutional crisis of the Trump administration, not whitewashing what ICE is doing.”

PM in the News: “Mayor Wu’s week in the crosshairs of the feds”

Eve Zuckoff and Walter Wuthmann, “Mayor Wu’s week in the crosshairs of the feds,” WBUR, June 7, 2025.

“Mayor Michelle Wu understands that hiding under the bed and thinking that they won’t come after you isn’t a viable strategy,” said Jonathan Cohn, policy director of Progressive Massachusetts. “Anything that you can do to slow them down and make those attacks more difficult is what the city should be doing, not trying to avoid attention.”

In his view, it’s good policy and good politics; “show fight,” as he said.

Let’s Strengthen Our Vaccine Policies

Friday, June 6, 2025

Dear Chair Decker, Chair Driscoll, and Members of the Joint Committee on Public Health: 

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.1618: An Act promoting community immunity.

We have submitted testimony in support of this bill for multiple sessions now, and with a Health and Human Services secretary in DC hostile to basic science around vaccines and anti-vaxxers in high-ranking public health positions across the federal administration, the bill’s importance has grown. Just see the return of measles and the poor federal handling of it. We need to strengthen our public health infrastructure here in MA.

If we want to be ready for the next pandemic, or even just ready for the next outbreak of a disease we thought we were decades past, we need to be strengthening and standardizing our infrastructure for immunization.

A look at our current immunization infrastructure leaves much to be desired. We currently lack full and accurate reporting on vaccination rates among young people, relying instead on voluntary surveys of schools, summer camps, colleges, and daycares. The limited data available show alarming rates of under- and unimmunized children in communities across the Commonwealth. To put that into perspective, just a few years ago, more than 200 high schools, more than 200 middle schools, more than 200 elementary schools, and more than 1,600 child care centers and preschools failed to report any immunization data to state public health officials. Of the kindergarten programs that submitted data, 152 lacked herd immunity to protect against the spread of measles, and 15 lacked herd immunity to protect against the spread of polio.  

We cannot fix a problem without a full and accurate read of it, and the Community Immunity Act’s data reporting requirements are a key first step. But the bill, as necessary, goes further, with targeted education and outreach about vaccine safety and efficacy and standardization and centralization of vaccination protocols. Standardized state-level policies determined by public health officials are crucial when determining exemptions if we are to make sure that medical and religious exemptions are not abused and that local superintendents are not overburdened.

We ask that you swiftly advance the Community Immunity Act out of the Public Health Committee with a favorable report. Please help to keep all of us safe and healthy, particularly people who are immunocompromised and rely on community immunity.

Thank you for your consideration and your service to the people of the Commonwealth.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

Take Action: Here’s What Government Efficiency Actually Looks Like

We’ve heard a lot about “government efficiency” over the past few months.

Whenever Donald Trump, Elon Musk, or any of their lackeys in Congress use it, they are using code words for cutting valuable programs that serve the public, as opposed to corporate profit.

But there is an actual meaning to the word. Here’s an example.

Our criminal record sealing system is stuck in the last century.

Individuals seeking to seal records need to mail or deliver petitions to the Commissioner of Probation who processes them manually, one-by-one. This creates backlogs, with several months passing before people hear back when they have already waited years for the opportunity.

Moreover, many people do not know when their records are eligible for sealing, and only learn they might be eligible for record sealing after they lose the prospect for a job, housing, or other opportunity due to their record.

Record sealing has well-documented benefits, but these benefits in economic opportunity are only possible if people can get their records sealed.

That’s why we’re a strong supporter of Clean Slate legislation that would create an automated record sealing process. Automating record sealing means fewer bureaucratic obstacles and more opportunity. It’s a win-win.

We testified at the State House on Tuesday in support of the Clean Slate bill. Can you write to your legislator today too?

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

What “Government Efficiency” Really Means

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Chair Edwards, Chair Day, and Members of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary:

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.1114: An Act requiring clean slate automated record sealing and S.1124: An Act to Remove Collateral Consequences and Protect the Presumption of Innocence.

We commend the past efforts from this body to create a fairer criminal record sealing system. However, the system has not been able to reach its full potential. As it exists, the system is burdensome and often prohibitive for applicants, with unnecessary barriers for all and even worse barriers for those with English as a second language or reading difficulties.

When people finally mail or deliver an application to have their records sealed, they have waited the period of time the Commonwealth established. However, due to the backlogs in the system, they are denied opportunities even longer. Backlogs can be regularly 3 to 4 months. No one benefits from such unwieldy administrative burdens. Moreover, the complex nature of the system can lead people to not even know they were eligible for record sealing until after they lose the prospect for a job, housing, or other opportunities.

This administrative burden similarly applies to cases where an offense is dismissed, as an individual needs an additional hearing before the record can be sealed.

All of this exacerbates the already wide racial and economic inequality in this Commonwealth, and it hurts the vital work of reentry and re-integration into community.

Fortunately, the solution is right before us: we can automate this process. People may not know when they are eligible for record sealing, but the Commonwealth does. If the Commonwealth has established that a record is now eligible to be sealed, that record should be sealed—taking the onus away from the individual.

We have heard a lot about “government efficiency” over the past few months. So often, those words are simply code for efforts to destroy valuable programs. But this bill is exactly what government efficiency *should* mean: it should mean making our systems work for people. Interfacing with government should be seamless, and interactions should boost faith in government action.

Other states have already realized this. Our neighbors in Connecticut and New York; fellow Democratic trifecta states like California, Colorado, Delaware, and Minnesota; and even more “moderate” or “conservative” states like Michigan, Oklahoma, Utah, and Virginia have successfully adopted automatic record clearing, to great success. Let’s join them.

In addition, we also urge support for H.2052/S.1178: An Act to reduce mass incarceration, which would end the practice of life without parole. Like the Clean Slate bill, this is about creating second chances. Eliminating the opportunity for parole bloats our prison populations, and it keeps people behind bars who, decades out from a criminal offense, pose no risk to the community anymore. Massachusetts talks about how our correctional facilities serve the goal of “rehabilitation,” and eliminating the opportunity to go before a parole board to make the case for release undermines that stated goal.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

Let’s Show Our Commitment to Higher Ed with Green and Healthy Campuses

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Chair Comerford, Chair Rogers, and Members of the Joint Committee on Higher Education:

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 H.1426/S.949: An Act to Provide Green and Healthy Public Colleges and Universities and Address Their Deferred Maintenance Needs.

Our state has created strong climate goals, and we must continue to work to meet and strengthen these goals. As we do so, making our publicly owned buildings a model for sustainability is key.

Establishing strong standards and requirements for energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and energy systems on our public campuses benefits the students, faculty, and staff who have healthier learning environments. It benefits our climate and environment. And just as importantly, it has major spillover effects to the industry itself: when the state sets standards, it spurs innovation and generates demand. By taking such action, the Commonwealth becomes both exemplar and spark.

To ensure that our students, faculty, and staff have the buildings they deserve, the Commonwealth needs to provide greater resources. Such capital expenditures can be difficult from the perspective of campus finances and debt management, but not nearly so from the perspective of the Commonwealth. Our Commonwealth needs to provide funding for such renovations and investments so that green, healthy, world-class facilities on all campuses do not mean higher tuition and fees for students, and thus more student loan debt and lost opportunities.

The Legislature has shown an impressive commitment to public higher education in recent sessions, especially through targeted Fair Share investments. Passing these bills will build upon that progress and strengthen our commitment to public higher education and the essential role it plays.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts