Join MEJA’s We <3 Our Public Schools Day!

In honor of Valentine’s Day, MEJA (Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance) is having a We <3 Our Public Schools Day tomorrow.

Here are actions you can take to show your support for public schools on Valentine’s Day!

Share on social media what you love about public schools!

  • Share a photo of you holding a sign saying what you love about your school
  • Post photos with students, friends, teachers, staff, or anyone else in the school who has made a positive impact on you, students and school community!
  • Use the hashtag #welovepublicschools and tag @massedjustice!

Upload your photos and videos to the MEJA Soapboxx!

Check out MEJA’s folder and toolkit for some more ideas and social media prompts!

News Roundup — February 5, 2024

Bhaamati Borkhetaria, “Legislators push to restore felon voting rights,” CommonWealth, January 30, 2024.

“Inmates with voting rights also become another constituent group that gets attention from elected officials, said Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven, a Somerville Democrat and cosponsor of House versions of the measures to restore felon voting rights. “When incarcerated individuals had the right to vote, there were [many] more legislators going in and out of prisons and jails because there are voters there,” she said.”

Sarah Betancourt, “In key election year, prisoners with felonies seek right to vote in Massachusetts,” WGBH, January 29, 2024.

“State Sen. Liz Miranda, a Democrat from Roxbury, says she filed legislation as “a matter of racial justice.”…“The disenfranchisement of these citizens, our people, perpetuates the racial injustices already present in the entire system,” Miranda said. “It’s effectively diluting the political voice of entire communities.”

Joanna Gonsalves, “Letter: State can make a debt-free education possible,” Boston Globe, January 28, 2024.

“Economists have shown that investment in high-quality, debt-free public higher education is one of the best ways to advance individual and community prosperity. With passage of the Fair Share Amendment, Massachusetts has dedicated annual education funding that could be put toward this goal.”

Yvonne Abraham, “Tenants facing eviction need legal representation. Let’s give it to them.,” Boston Globe, January 20, 2024.

“So many parts of this state’s crippling housing crisis seem impossible to solve, meaningfulfixes many years and billions of dollars down the road. Here is something we can do, and right now. It’s right, we know it works, and it will keep thousands of families in their homes.”

Molly Dickens and Lucy Hutner, “What the Child Care Crisis Does to Parents,” New York Times, January 16, 2024.

“We know inadequate child care is an economic issue, costing states, families and businesses billions of dollars every year. We know it’s a gender issue that contributes to a widening pay gap. We know it’s a policy issue, made worse by the absences of a federal pre-K program and a federal paid-leave policy. But here is another critical consideration worth pushing for: Our country’s inadequate child care system is also a health care issue.”

Rebekah Gerwitz, “Letter: Our state’s most vulnerable children will feel the effects,” Boston Globe, January 9, 2024.

“The Lift Our Kids Coalition, of which our organization is a member, has worked for years with families, teachers, lawyers, social workers, service providers, and others on the front lines to pass an increase in subsistence benefits to lift families out of poverty. The Legislature agreed in this year’s state budget to a much-needed and very modest increase, set to go into effect in April. With a stroke of the governor’s pen, the increase is now erased.”

Gabrielle Gurley, “The Fight for $15 Can Take a Bow,” The American Prospect, January 11, 2024.

“Massachusetts has a persistent unaffordability dynamic in play. Child care is more expensive than a state-college education. The state has some of the highest annual child care costs for toddlers at $19,961, representing more than 50 percent of the median single mother’s income, and close to 15 percent for a married couple with children. In-state tuition at University of Massachusetts Amherst is $17,364 for the current academic year.”

What Happened on Joint Rule 10 Day Last Week

Last Wednesday was Joint Rule 10 Day, a deadline in the State House for joint (House-Senate) committees to take action on all the timely-filed bills in their purview. 

For many bills, that’s simply an extension, i.e., a new deadline. But some bills did get out of committee. Here are a few that we were especially happy to see:

  • Common Start Bill (Lightly Redrafted as S.2619), which would establish a framework for delivering increased access to affordable, high-quality early education and child care with greater investment in providers, better pay for workers, and a cap on costs for families
  • Full Spectrum Pregnancy Care Bill (S.646 / H.1137), which would ensure health coverage for prenatal care, childbirth, and postpartum care, without any cost-sharing
  • Overdose Prevention Centers (S.1242 / H.1981), which create a ten-year pilot programs for overdose prevention centers that use harm reduction strategies to address the opioid crisis 
  • Access to Counsel (S.864 / H.1731), which would guarantee legal representation for low-income tenants and owner-occupants in eviction proceedings
  • Healthy Youth Act (S.268 / H.544), which would require school districts that provide sex education to ensure that it is comprehensive, age-appropriate, and LGBTQ-inclusive, with an emphasis on consent
  • Language Access Bill (S.1990 / H.3084), which would build the capacity of key public-facing state agencies to meet the language access needs of an increasingly diverse population by standardizing and enforcing language access protocols and practices
  • Facial Surveillance Regulations (Lightly Redrafted as H.4359), which would implement the recommendations of the commission created by the 2020 police reform bill to create a tight regulatory framework for facial surveillance
  • Gas Moratorium (S.2135), which would pause the approval for any new or expanded gas infrastructure through 2026
  • Sunlight Bill (S.1963), which would promote transparency in state government by removing the Governor’s exemption from public records law and requiring committee votes and legislative testimony (with appropriate redactions) to be public

Most bills received extensions to a later date: in other words, the committee will have a new deadline for action. See a list of new deadlines here.

Some bills we care about, unfortunately, were “sent to study,” a polite way of voting down a bill. Bills that are sent to study do not advance in a given session outside of extremely rare circumstances, but the campaigns can still continue and build for the next legislative session. Among those sent to study were

  • Make Polluters Pay, which require fossil-fuel producers to fund the state’s climate adaptation programs based on past emissions, a proposal that would extend the long-standing “polluter pays” principle for toxic waste cleanups to addressing climate change
  • Prison Moratorium (House bill only), which would enact a five-year pause on new prison and jail construction in order to provide time to develop more effective, community-based approaches to public safety (The Senate bill received an extension.)
  • Same Day Registration
  • Ranked choice voting local option bill
  • All-resident voting local option bill
  • Vote16 local option bill

Tomorrow is an important deadline at the State House

Tomorrow is an important deadline at the State House: Joint Rule 10 Day.

According to this State House rule, every joint committee (i.e., committee of both the House and Senate) must take action on the bills before them by the first Wednesday in February.

That action can be to give the bill a favorable report (It advances!), to give the bill an adverse report (It’s done for the session), to send the bill to study (It’s effectively done for the session), or to give the bill an extension (It has more time).

The State House relies on deadlines to spur action, so expect to see a flurry of action on bills later this week.

That also means it’s a great time to contact the committees in support of critical bills.

Can you commit to sending at least one email by tomorrow? See below for some action tools.


 
Keep Up the Momentum for Criminal Justice Reform

If we want to continue to move past the failed model of mass incarceration – a model that costs outrageous sums, breaks apart communities, and does not increase public safety – then we need more policy action this year.

Urge the Judiciary Committee to advance key bills before a critical February 7 deadline.

  • Raise the Age (H.1710 and S.942: An Act to promote public safety and better outcomes for young adults): When young adults (18, 19, 20) are kept in the juvenile system, they are able to have better access to school and rehabilitative programming.
  • Prison Moratorium (H.1795: An Act establishing a jail and prison construction moratorium): Massachusetts does not need to build new prisons and jails. We need to be investing in programming, re-entry services, and community supports.
  • Clean Slate Bills (H.1598/S.979: An Act providing easier and greater access to sealing & H.1493/S.998: An Act to remove collateral consequences and protect the presumption of innocence): Too many people are trapped in poverty and deprived of jobs, housing and other chances for success because of their criminal and juvenile records. We need to allow for automatic record sealing in certain cases, rather than relying only on burdensome case-by-case petitions.

Can you write to the Judiciary Committee today in support of these key bills?

Let’s Set up all Students and Families for Success

Every student deserves the support and resources to thrive. That’s why we’ve been such strong supporters of the Common Start bills and the Thrive Act.

Common Start (H.489 and S.301): While Massachusetts is a nationwide leader on early education and child care and we’ve made important progress in recent years, the current system remains broken and access to quality early education and care remains out of reach for too many families. The Common Start framework would provide the specific structure that is needed to deliver affordable care options for families; significantly better pay and benefits for early educators; a new, stable source of funding for providers; high-quality programs and services for children; and substantial relief for businesses and our economy.

Thrive Act (H.495 / S.246): Massachusetts’ state takeover law and the state’s misuse of the MCAS as a graduation requirement are failing our students and disrupting their education. The Thrive Act would end the failed system of state takeovers of school districts, and replace it with a comprehensive support and improvement system that focuses on giving students and educators the tools and resources they need to succeed. The legislation would also support students by establishing a modified high school graduation requirement in which coursework would replace the MCAS test as the basis for showing student mastery of state standards. And, the legislation would create a commission to give our communities a voice in building a better assessment and accountability system.

Can you email the Joint Committee on Education in support of these bills?


It’s Time to Make Polluters Pay

Massachusetts communities are already experiencing the devastating and costly effects of climate change even without considering the HUGE cost of building the climate resilient infrastructure recommended by Climate Chief Hoffer in her 2023 report.

Unless action is taken, our communities will continue to bear the financial and emotional costs of climate change while the fossil fuel companies responsible for climate-related damages make record profits. These companies must bear the cost.

The Make Polluters Pay Bill (S.481/H.872) is a pathway to making that happen.

It would require top polluters to contribute to a superfund used to pay for climate-related damages in Massachusetts. It would create the Climate Change Adaptation Cost Recovery Program, generating $75 billion over the next 25 years for climate adaptation and resilience projects. These funds will then be dispensed through the Climate Change Adaptation Fund, with at least 40% of the funds going to projects directly benefiting environmental justice communities.

Can you write to the Joint Environment and Natural Resources Committee in support of these bills?

MA Needs to Lead on Democracy

In the late 1990s, after incarcerated individuals in MCI-Norfolk started political organizing, Republican Governor Paul Cellucci and the Massachusetts Legislature responded with retaliation and a multi-step process of disenfranchisement. Our commonwealth did something rare in recent history: it took away the right to vote from a category of people who were formerly enfranchised.

According to a new fact sheet from The Sentencing Project, over 7,700 otherwise eligible citizens in Massachusetts are disenfranchised due to a felony conviction. The report further underscores the racial disparities in the Massachusetts criminal legal system that leads to Black and Latinx residents being disproportionately denied their right to vote.

On April 26, 2023, the Joint Committee on Election Laws gave a favorable report to S.8/H.26, constitutional amendments filed by Sen. Liz Miranda and Adam Gomez and Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven that would ensure that incarceration never leads to a loss of voting rights.

Now, the Election Laws Committee must advance S.428/H.724 before the Feb. 7 deadline. This legislation would make relevant changes in state law, and is needed to accompany the constitutional amendments. Passing the constitutional amendments this year would be historic — we need to make sure these bills that change the law for local elections are moving at the same pace.

Can you write to the Joint Election Laws Committee in support of these bills?

Op-Ed: MA Takes Steps to Put Gas in the Past

Jonathan Cohn, “MA Takes Steps to Put Gas in the Past,” Fenway News, February 1, 2024.

“Although the docket raised the bar for when the DPU would approve new gas pipelines, it did not call for a ban on expanding gas infrastructure, a vital step to avoid the lock-in effect of unsustainable fossil fuels. Before the Legislature are a set of bills (S.2135 / H.3237) to put a two-year moratorium on gas infrastructure expansion to give the state time to develop a clear and equitable plan for transitioning to renewable energy. We still need that (and for more than just two years), and the Governor can also do that herself by executive action. You should let her know that you think she should.”

News Roundup – January 5, 2024

Walter Wuthmann, “$1.5 billion in estimated revenue: A look at the Mass. ‘millionaire’s tax’ first year,” WBUR, December 28, 2023.

“The money is going where it was promised,” said Raise Up MA Coalition spokesperson Andrew Farnitano in an interview. He said such investments are “only possible because the voters passed this constitutional amendment and we created this new tax.”

Zeninjor Enwemeka, “Mass.’ minimum wage will stay at $15 this year. There’s a new push to raise it to $20,” WBUR, December 27, 2023.

“After they take out my health insurance, after they take out my taxes, I’m making $5 an hour,” Stevens, 41, said. He lives in Peabody with his wife and two kids.””After they take out my health insurance, after they take out my taxes, I’m making $5 an hour,” Stevens, 41, said. He lives in Peabody with his wife and two kids.”

Macie Parker, “Communities at climate risk need help, but state dollars are hard to come by,” Boston Globe, December 25, 2023.

“There are proven solutions to climate impacts….We just need the funding and technical assistance to implement those solutions.”

Rebecca Ostriker and Mark Arsenault, “A Boston Building, Scattered Souls, and Rent Control Revisited,” Boston Globe, December 17, 2023.

“The story of the Hotel Hemenway is the story of acity transformed, and also of the state’s on-again, off-again history with rent control. And that story continues, with intensity, today. Twenty-nine years after Massachusetts voters ended rent control in a ballot initiative, there’s an escalating political battle over resurrecting government controls, a response to the region’s unprecedented housing crisis that has pushed costs out of reach for many working people.”

John Micke, “Healey: Mass. cities, towns in line for $100M in infrastructure aid through millionaires’ tax,” MassLive, December 15, 2023.

“Days before Christmas, Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns are in line for $100 million in state aid to help them cover local infrastructure costs, according to Gov. Maura Healey’s office.”

Editorial Board, “Give supervised consumption sites a chance to reduce drug-related deaths,” Boston Globe, December 15, 2023.

“On Wednesday, Governor Maura Healey’s Department of Public Health released two reports that provide a rationale for opening supervised consumption sites and a practical blueprint for doing so. The state Legislature should take the next step and create a legal framework that would let public health professionals oversee these efforts without fear of state-level professional or legal liability.”

Phyllis Keenan, “My Turn: Restoring the promise of Massachusetts’ community colleges,” The Greenfield Recorder, December 12, 2023.

“By addressing the needs of adjunct faculty, relieving students of crippling debt, and improving campus infrastructure, lawmakers can make good on the promise of our public higher education system. It’s time for Massachusetts to prioritize the education of its citizens. Passing the CHERISH Act is a crucial step in the right direction.”

Annette Duke and Trevor Samios, “Tenants facing eviction need lawyers,” CommonWealth, December 7, 2023.

“Landlords and tenants, organizations fighting homelessness, healthcare leaders, faith-based organizations, and mayors all agree it is time Massachusetts stepped in with legal help for those facing the trauma of eviction.”

MA Senate Passes Gun Safety Bill 37 to 3. Here’s What’s in It.

thoughts and prayers sign

In October, the MA House passed a comprehensive gun bill 120 to 38 (read about it here). 

The Senate debated and passed its own gun safety bill, named the SAFER Act, yesterday. 

Among the key provisions of the bill were: 

  • Cracking down on ghost guns by bringing MA’s laws in line with national standards of  what counts as a firearm, prohibiting the 3D-printing of weapons unless the person owns a license to manufacture firearms, and requiring any kit-assembled guns by a licensed gun owner to be registered  
  • Codifying the state’s assault weapons ban as it is currently being interpreted by the Attorney General, thereby modernizing outdated language referring to the since-expired federal ban
    • NOT in the SENATE BILL: expanding the AWB to cover more firearms 
  • Prohibits machine gun conversion devices or devices that increase the rate of fire of firearms
  • Creates manufacturer accountability by banning the marketing of unlawful firearm sales to minors and allowing industry actors to be held civilly liable if such marketing practices lead to an individual being harmed. [SENATE ONLY]
  • Ensures that gun dealers are inspected annually and allows the Massachusetts State Police to conduct those inspections if a local licensing agency does not or cannot do so. 
  • Prohibits the carry of firearms in government administrative buildings, with exceptions for law enforcement officers and municipalities that choose to opt out.
    • NOT in SENATE Bill: Extension to polling places, educational institutions (including higher education); ban on carry on private property without express permission or signage
  • Expands the list of individuals eligible to file an extreme risk protection order (ERPO) to include licensed healthcare professionals
    • NOT in SENATE bill: Extension to include school administrators and employers
    • SENATE ONLY: Ability to file a pre-emptive ERPO, prohibiting someone who does not yet have a license for applying for one for a certain period of time
  • Protects survivors of harassment by requiring courts to compel the surrender of firearms by individuals who are subject to harassment protection orders who pose an immediate threat. 
  • Ensures that firearm licensing authorities have access to certain information about an applicant’s history of involuntary mental health hospitalizations due to posing a serious harm—with appropriate safeguards to guarantee privacy and due process [SENATE ONLY]
  • Establishes commissions to study the funding structure for community-based violence prevention services and to study emerging firearm technology 
  • Strengthens data collection on firearms and firearm crimes 

The final vote was 37 to 3. The only NO votes were Republicans Peter Durant (R-Spencer), Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton), and Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth).

During the debate on the bill, Senator Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth) tried to replace the bill with a narrower substitute bill. It received only 6 votes, the 3 NO votes plus Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton), Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), and Walter Timilty (R-Milton).

State House News Service: “City Council backs idea of debt-free college bill”

Chris Lisinski, “City Council backs idea of debt-free college bill,” State House News Service, January 31, 2024.

“Councillors posed for a photo with Higher Ed for All advocates and turned over the microphone to Jonathan Cohn, policy director of the Progressive Massachusetts group that’s part of the coalition pushing for higher education reforms.

“The bill that we’re fighting for this session, in particular the CHERISH Act, is something that builds on that vision with debt-free higher education so that students aren’t graduating with thousands and thousands of dollars in debt that makes it hard for them when they start out and is damaging for the economy of Massachusetts as a whole,” Cohn said in the council chambers.”

Let’s Build on Recent Progress for Criminal Legal Reform

Earlier this month, MassInc published a study on MA’s 2018 criminal legal reform omnibus bill.

Takeaway #1: The bill led to significant reductions in incarceration without undermining public safety.

Takeaway #2: The work isn’t over.

If we want to continue to move past the failed model of mass incarceration – a model that costs outrageous sums, breaks apart communities, and does not increase public safety – then we need more policy action this year.

Urge the Judiciary Committee to advance key bills before a critical February 7 deadline.

  • Raise the Age (H.1710 and S.942: An Act to promote public safety and better outcomes for young adults): When young adults (18, 19, 20) are kept in the juvenile system, they are able to have better access to school and rehabilitative programming.
  • Prison Moratorium (H.1795: An Act establishing a jail and prison construction moratorium): Massachusetts does not need to build new prisons and jails. We need to be investing in programming, re-entry services, and community supports.
  • Clean Slate Bills (H.1598/S.979: An Act providing easier and greater access to sealing & H.1493/S.998: An Act to remove collateral consequences and protect the presumption of innocence): Too many people are trapped in poverty and deprived of jobs, housing and other chances for success because of their criminal and juvenile records. We need to allow for automatic record sealing in certain cases, rather than relying only on burdensome case-by-case petitions.

Can you write to the Judiciary Committee today in support of these key bills?

Tell Gov. Healey to Stop the Cuts

Earlier this month, Governor Healey responded to a revenue shortfall by making $375 million in unilateral 9C cuts to the budget, including cuts to cash assistance to the lowest-income families in the Commonwealth.Please help keep up the pressure on the Governor to rescind the cash assistance cuts that eliminated the 10% grant increases slated to take effect in April. We should not be balancing the budget on the backs of our lowest-income children and families, elders, and people with disabilities.

Call and/or e-mail Governor Healey to urge her to reverse the cuts to cash assistance:

Call (888) 870-7770

Suggested script:  “This is [name] from [city/town].  I’m calling to urge the Governor to rescind the 9C cuts to the TAFDC and EAEDC cash assistance programs.  The grant amounts are still far below even half of the federal poverty level.  It is unconscionable for Massachusetts to fill gaps in the budget by cutting cash assistance for our lowest income families with children, elders, and people with disabilities.”

Click here to send an e-mail.