Samantha Gross, “‘The incumbency advantage is real’: In Mass. primary, fraction of challengers succeed,” Boston Globe, September 5, 2024.
“The campaign “was not something that was just focused on getting a specific person elected, but about increasing the attention to the State House in the district,” said Jonathan Cohn, policy director of Progressive Massachusetts, which endorsed MacKay. “That doesn’t go away.””
Norman Daoust, “How our state Legislature has failed us,” Cambridge Day, September 3, 2024.
How has our state Legislature failed us? Let us count the ways.
Failed to include the local option transfer fee, the tenant opportunity-to-buy policy and a rent control local option in the Affordable Homes Act.
Failed to pass an economic development package, clean-energy siting bill and halt on gas infrastructure expansion; a bill to allow supervised drug-consumption sites; and a ban on the sale of cellphone location data.
Failed to include voter access reform to delink a municipal census from voter registration in the state budget (even though it passed in the Senate).
Never made it out of committee: same-day voter registration; Make Polluters Pay legislation; and Medicare for All in Massachusetts.
Failed to pass bills out of conference committee so they could be voted on by the entire body: hospital oversight (given the Steward hospital fiasco, how could they fail to bring this to a vote?); a climate bill; drug pricing bill; a Raise-the-Age juvenile for possession of a firearm; and a Plastics Reduction Act.
Stuck in Ways and Means are a moratorium on construction of prisons and jails and expanding the public-records law called the Sunlight Act to cover the governor and state Legislature.
It’s guaranteed that other bills you care about also were never passed.
By effectively taking the final five months of the legislative session off, the likelihood of additional bills passing is minimized.
If you believe our state Legislature has failed you, contact the speaker of the house and president of the Senate as well as your state representative and senator and let them know the bills you want passed.
Norman Daoust, Raymond Street, Cambridge
“Letters: Mass. lawmakers need something: a shove? a prod? a heave-ho?,” Boston Globe, August 31, 2024.
Massachusetts is one of the few states that has a full-time, year-round legislature. So why does that elected body repeatedly leave everything for the last minute? Perhaps it’s that the hyper-centralized power of the leadership means that everything gets decided by such a small number of people that things move very slowly. Perhaps it’s that the Legislature’s rules make it almost impossible for the public to know what is going on in committees, so inter-chamber negotiations are able to stall in the shadows. Perhaps it’s because the power brokers in each chamber place the securing of leverage over the other above getting needed legislation passed.
It’s good that there will probably be a “special session.” Hopefully lawmakers, in addition to the long-delayed economic development bill to improve our competitive position, will also pass measures to help keep juvenile offenders who are the age of high school seniors out of adult prisons and to strengthen our public health infrastructure. We also need to see the climate bill pass: Mother Nature doesn’t wait, and neither should the Legislature. We need robust legislation that centers environmental justice and includes a clear plan to transition away from gas.
Come on, lawmakers, do your job!
Steven E. Miller
Cambridge
The conclusion of the Legislature’s formal session a month ago left me in some distress. So many good bills were left unfinished. The Legislature failed to complete its actions on climate (clean energy development), economic development, hospital oversight, and drug prices.
Although majorities in both the Senate and House wanted the bills to pass, differences between the versions passed by the Senate and House had to be hammered out in conference committees.
Usually the existence of a deadline, like July 31, would concentrate legislators’ minds and be a spur to action for getting the bills passed. In this case there were multiple bills, all with the same deadline, and with only two main decision-makers, the Senate president and the speaker of the House. It was impossible for the bills to make timely progress through these bottlenecks.
To avoid this, it would be sensible to assign each bill an individual deadline. Bills go through several stages before they become law, including committee hearings and three separate readings in both the House and Senate. The assignment could be made when the bill is first reported out of committee, when the complexity of the issue and possible points of conflict will have been identified.
Each deadline should be reported publicly, and residents, advocates, and lobbying groups could push the legislators to meet that deadline. Deadlines should be spread out so that the Legislature has a good chance of meeting them all.
Martin G. Evans
Cambridge
Jason Brown, “Missed Opportunities: Why the Legislature Should Reconvene,” West Roxbury Bulletin, August 22, 2024.
To the Editor:
Like many Commonwealth voters, I was hopeful the new Democratic trifecta would lead to significant legislative progress this year. However, when comparing the General Court’s legislative session to the productive ones in Michigan and Minnesota, it’s hard not to feel disappointed.
The Legislature struggled to pass bills that had broad support in the last session. The SAPHE 2.0 bill, which would strengthen public health infrastructure, passed both chambers unanimously in 2022 before being vetoed by our former Republican governor. Similarly, a moratorium on new prison and jail construction had wide support, but met a similar veto. It would have made sense for the Legislature to prioritize these bills at the start of this session. Instead, the prison moratorium has yet to see a vote, and SAPHE 2.0 remains stuck in conference committee, with clear support only from the Senate.
The Legislature’s complacency and over-centralization of power require deep cultural change. But in the near term, the General Court should do something simple: reconvene and finish their work. The economic development bill and robust climate legislation, especially with environmental justice at their core, can’t wait. The environment won’t wait, and neither should the Legislature.
Charlo Maurer, “LETTER: State Legislature Should Go Back Into Session and Pass Multiple Bills,” Watertown News, August 19, 2024.
I was excited this year for our state to finally have a Democratic governing trifecta, with a Democrat leading in all three offices of Governor, Senate, and the House. However, this trifecta has been much less productive in passing legislature than I expected.
As has become the norm on Beacon Hill, the House and Senate ran out the clock on many important priorities, adjourning on the morning of August 1st with a long list of unfinished business. After the hottest summer on record, they didn’t manage to pass a climate bill. Several other bills, among them economic development bills and bills to address the Steward crisis, are stuck in potentially dead-end negotiations, and that’s not to mention all the common-sense bills that never even made it that far.
As of August 11, more than 90% of the bills signed into law this session were home rule petitions, bills about specific individuals, or budgets, which are required. We’ve seen a striking decline in basic deliberation and accountability in the Legislature, with both chambers taking fewer than half the recorded votes they did just a few sessions ago.
The economic development bill, which needs a recorded vote to pass, has important policy components, such as keeping high school seniors out of adult prisons and strengthening our public health infrastructure, and we shouldn’t have to wait until next year to start all over again.
Given Republican opposition, passing climate legislation will also require legislators to come back. Mother Nature doesn’t wait, and neither should the Legislature. Every month and every year, we break new heat records, and it is irresponsible for the Legislature to go a full session without passing meaningful climate legislation. We need a clear plan for transitioning away from fossil fuels and putting gas in the past, and we need a just transition that centers environmental justice and ensures that the communities who have borne the brunt of fossil fuel pollution don’t continue to suffer from pollution and lack of opportunity. Massachusetts has impressive climate goals, but goals won’t mean much if we don’t pass legislation to help us meet them.
Another important bill is the prison building moratorium which passed the House and Senate with wide support, but was vetoed by our previous Governor, a Republican. That roadblock no longer exists, and given the broad support, it should be easy to bring forward.
The formal legislative session ended at the end of July, and the Legislature will not be back in session until next January. We deserve more of a time commitment from our elected officials. Going back into session will mean the Legislature will do what it is supposed to: deliberate, legislative, and vote.
Sincerely,
Charlo Maurer
Watertown Resident
Published in The Dedham Times (August 15, 2024)
Author: John Kyriakis, Dedham
The Massachusetts Legislature ended its formal session on July 31. It was a remarkably unproductive session. Since 2005, there has been a near 50% drop in the number of laws passed in the second year of each session, culminating in a dismal 253 bills enacted in this session. A substantial percentage of these (192) were home rule petitions—legislation filed by cities and towns to address local, not statewide issues (Examples include changing the name “Board of Selectmen” to “Select Board.”) Massachusetts’ Legislature is now fourth from the bottom in productivity. Coincident with this plummeting productivity, since 2005, the number of recorded votes (as opposed to voice votes) has dropped by close to 80%. Inasmuch as conference committee proceedings and votes are kept secret, the Legislature continues to be depressingly non-transparent.
It wasn’t all bad. The Legislature did pass the Parentage Act, which expands parentage statutes to be inclusive to LGBTQ+ families and families formed through assisted reproduction. A gun safety bill was also finally passed. This new law tightens red flag and ghost gun provisions along with other important safety matters. Moreover, the Fair Share Amendment (passed in 2022 by the voters) continues to deliver, providing important support for child care, early childhood education, K-12 education and community college education.
It was heartening also to see passage of the Affordable Homes Act, a critically needed housing bond bill that includes provisions permitting accessory dwelling units, eviction record sealing provisions, and foreclosure mediation. However, the legislature caved to the real estate lobby and failed to include a voluntary real estate transfer fee. This fee would help local communities fund the construction of affordable housing. The Affordable Homes Act did approve $5.1 billion in bond authorizations. However, a bond bill is analogous to a to-do list or a restaurant menu. It merely allocates a lump sum and lists possible spending ideas, or priorities. It does not mandate timely spending on those priorities. Nor does it indicate where or when the money will be spent.
Most disappointing, however, was the lack of action on a climate bill. This year was the hottest on record, and will be the coldest year of the rest of our lives. Climate change is an existential threat. The still very real possibility of a second Trump administration raises the grim specter of a renewed push to abolish national climate legislation. Even if Vice President Harris wins in November, the Supreme Court’s nullification of the Chevron doctrine threatens the ability of federal agencies to competently monitor and regulate the industries that produce greenhouse gases. Moreover, as indicated in their 2024 platform, a Republican majority in either house of the US Congress would be expected to stall both existing and future federal climate-friendly legislation. Accordingly, bold, and immediate local action on climate change is critically needed. Given that environmental justice communities bear the brunt of the adverse effects of climate change, it is particularly distressing that the suffering of the state’s poorest communities will continue to be ignored.
The lack of productivity of the Massachusetts Legislature is particularly galling insofar as the Democratic Party has a legislative trifecta—veto-proof majorities in both houses, and a Democratic governor. The Legislature’s highly centralized power structure in which leadership rewards members with higher pay and committee chairmanships in exchange for loyalty, combined with the fact that many legislators run unopposed, has created a situation in which complacency and the status quo rule the day, and the Statehouse is beholden to well-funded interests rather than to the voters.
In the end, however, the voters and local advocates have the power to shake up this sclerotic system. Perhaps we should consider making state elections into real contests by nominating multiple candidates at both the primary and general election level. A ranked choice voting system would also be a welcome addition. There’s nothing like a rival chomping at your heels to motivate real action.
Heather Ford, “LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Legislators Should Finish Their Work on Bills that Can’t Wait,” Westwood Minute, August 18, 2024.
To the Editor:
Massachusetts has a Democratic governing trifecta (Governor, Senate, and House) again. However, when seeing the productive legislative sessions in other new Democratic trifectas like Michigan or Minnesota, I am disappointed.
As has become the unfortunate norm on Beacon Hill, the House and Senate ran out the clock on many important priorities, adjourning on July 31st (well, the morning of August 1st) with a long list of unfinished business. We’re experiencing the hottest summer on record, and they passed no climate bill. Several other bills are stuck in dead-end negotiations, and that’s not to mention all the bills that never even made it that far.
Our Legislature’s over-centralization of power, inertia, and complacency will require deep cultural change (or the shocks of election losses). But in the near term, the Legislature should do something simple: come back into session and finish their work. The economic development bill has important policy components, such as keeping high school seniors out of adult prisons and strengthening our public health infrastructure (both in the Senate bill), and we shouldn’t have to wait until next year to start all over again. The same for climate legislation: Mother Nature doesn’t wait, and neither should the Legislature. We need robust legislation that centers environmental justice and includes a clear plan to transition away from gas.
The Legislature struggled to pass bills that had wide support in the last legislative session. The SAPHE 2.0 bill, which would strengthen our public health infrastructure, passed both chambers unanimously in 2022 before being vetoed by our former Republican governor. A moratorium on new prison and jail construction was passed with wide support before the same fate. It would only be rational to think that the Legislature would prioritize such bills and take care of them at the start of the legislative session. Instead, the prison moratorium has yet to see a vote, and the SAPHE 2.0 bill is stuck in the conference committee for the economic development bill (with clear support only from the Senate).
Going back into session will mean the Legislature will do what it is supposed to: deliberate, legislative, and vote.
Sincerely,
Heather T. Ford
Westwood, MA
Al Blake, “Letter: Beacon Hill’s Legislative Process Is Broken,” Berkshire Eagle, August 6, 2014.
To the editor: Thank you for your Aug. 3 editorial “This is (still) no way to legislate.”
This session was a missed opportunity to make the commonwealth a climate leader. The Legislature’s inaction is a grave disappointment to anyone who cares about saving our planet.
This session was a chance to make serious progress slowing the expansion of our dirty and expensive methane gas system, but instead legislative leadership got tied up in political spats and chose not to extend the session and finish the job.
This comes after a year and a half of advocacy that included hundreds of meetings and thousands of calls and signatures to legislators. Many of the most popular policy proposals received vast majorities of legislative co-sponsors, yet House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka did not allow them to come for a vote.
Many policies “died in committee,” where politicians take secret votes that their constituents are not able to see. Many more died in the backroom process where amendments to bills were withdrawn before they had a chance to receive a vote.
The legislative process is broken, and undue influence from corporations routinely blocks popular and effective legislation in favor of utility and developer profits.
We can do better, and we must.
Al Blake, Becket
Katie Lannan, “Why frustrated activists can’t rely on the ballot box for change in Massachusetts,” WGBH, August 15, 2024.
Other observers and advocates, like Jonathan Cohn of the advocacy group Progressive Massachusetts, say the dynamic can fuel a sense of complacency on Beacon Hill. For one thing, Cohn said, most state legislators don’t need to worry about defending their record on the campaign trail.
“One of the problems is that for legislators, because of the fact that so few of them are ever really contested in elections, it flattens the sense of time so they can think, ‘Oh, well, we’ll just be back at it in January,’” he said. “Issues just lose a basic degree of urgency because it’s just one never-ending legislative session for them.”
…
Democrats have supermajority control of both legislative branches on Beacon Hill, and Cohn said the red-versus-blue partisan framework through which many people view elections doesn’t really apply in deep-blue Massachusetts.
…
“I also think that the Legislature’s history of long, late-night sessions that end with nothing also make it seem like an unattractive job,” said Progressive Mass.’ Cohn. “If you see a place where you look at it and you think, ‘I don’t even know that I could accomplish anything by being here,’ it’s understandable why somebody might not want want to run for that office or think that their that their talents, skills, etc., would be better used elsewhere — even though those people could be the best people for the jobs.”
On Monday, we hosted an update to go over what happened this legislative session and what still could happen if we make our voices heard.
One point we underscored is that even though the Legislature adjourned on July 31 (well, technically, the morning of August 1), the full legislative session doesn’t end until next January. That means that they could come back into session at any point to finish important business, especially passing a robust and equitable climate bill that centers environmental justice and includes a transition away from gas.
But they are not likely to do that unless they hear from you, their constituents. So take a minute today to email your legislators.
Massachusetts prides itself on being a welcoming state, but Governor Healey’s cruel and unnecessary restrictions on emergency shelter run afoul of that.
Join the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless and the Mass Law Reform Institute tonight at 7 pm in front of the State House for a candlelight vigil in support of children and families experiencing homelessness.
For more information, head to https://mahomeless.org/protect-access-to-shelter/.
