Jonathan Cohn

News Roundup — April 25, 2022

“Opinion: Help cut the high cost of college by voting ‘yes’ on Fair Share Amendment,” The New Bedford Light

“With this ballot question, we can reverse decades of underfunding and start making our public colleges affordable again. In the face of declining enrollment at our public colleges, we need to act urgently to remove the barriers that are preventing working and middle-class students from pursuing a degree at our public colleges.”

“Letter: Fair Share Amendment would make Massachusetts’ opportunities more equal,” Berkshire Eagle

“When we work hard and enjoy financial success, we like to tell ourselves that we’ve excelled in a fair race. Can we say this when our tax system is inequitable and public university is unaffordable? The Fair Share Amendment will get us back toward an equal opportunity Massachusetts.”

“Abolishing MBTA bus fares is about more than improving transit access,” Boston Globe

“On the surface, abolishing bus fares is about improving transit access and easing the financial burden of transportation on poor residents. But more than that, the fare-free bus program is about government taking a small step toward providing people with the dignity they deserve. No one should be denied a ride because they can’t afford it. No one should be made to feel ashamed for having to ask a bus driver to let them on. And no one should have to choose between paying for a bus fare or getting a couple of extra items at the grocery store.”

“State power limits Boston’s vision,” Boston Globe

“Thanks to a striking concentration of power in the seat of Massachusetts government on Beacon Hill, the capital city and other Massachusetts municipalities must seek state sign-off for both substantive policy changes, such as restricting how much rents may increase each year, and more routine proposals, such as changing speed limits on some roads.”

“Senate plan puts too much emphasis on electric vehicles,” CommonWealth

“do not oppose the transition to electric vehicles, indeed I embrace it. But we need to be honest with ourselves about what an all-electric vehicle future means. Primarily, it means continued traffic congestion, continued poor land use, continued particulate matter emissions – in other words, every negative externality of today’s auto mobility system other than carbon emissions will remain present in an all-electric vehicle future. We can do better than use public funding to enable that future, without any effort to balance the scales in favor of more sustainable, healthier, sensible mobility solutions. Right now, neither the current Baker administration plan nor this Senate bill gets this balance right.”

“College becoming increasingly inaccessible to low-income students, report says,” State House News Service

“After two decades of disinvestment, we’re too far down the road to expect a few reforms will re-chart a new course for our public institutions and students. Years of inaction will force the state to finally decide the role the Commonwealth, which prides itself on being the birthplace of public education, should play in post-secondary public education,” wrote Bahar Akman Imboden, managing director of the Hildreth Institute and the author of the report.

“Boston Common Rally Calls To Make Early Education More Affordable In Massachusetts,” CBS Boston

“The child care system in Massachusetts is struggling to meet the needs of families and parents, but it’s also not working for providers who are struggling to keep their doors open. And it’s not working for workers who are not making a livable wage.”

“Taxing Massachusetts millionaires to boost racial justice,” Boston Globe

“A graduated income tax is a fact of life for federal filers. Those who make more, pay more. Graduated state tax systems across the income spectrum are also common (as are, yes, zero state tax states). In Massachusetts, where there is so much wealth and yet so much poverty, starting with an extra tax tier for those who are fortunate enough to make over $1 million in a year seems only just.”

“Two months in, Maura Healey’s pitch for Mass. governor is light on the details,” Boston Globe

“Chang-Díaz’s platform web pages link to news articles, studies, and votes the senator has taken while serving on Beacon Hill, going into great detail with bulleted lists of actions she would take as governor. She’s been endorsed by groups like Progressive Massachusetts, which require lengthy, detailed questionnaires. Chang-Díaz’s was 48 pages long.”

“Dear Governor Baker: You’re wrong on driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants,” Boston Globe

“Fearmongering Republicans make it a sport to assume the worst possible behaviors of undocumented residents. The truth is that the vast majority of people without valid immigration status are like the radio caller from Pembroke — maybe they overstayed their visa (not a criminal violation), maybe their green card has expired, maybe they have a pending immigration case. But they have jobs and pay taxes, and they have kids to drive to school. It’s in everyone’s best interest to license them to drive.”

It’s Earth Week! From trees to transit, you can take action!

Happy Earth Week!

Last week, the MA State Senate passed a new climate bill that accelerates our clean energy transition (read about it here), but there’s much more that we need to do, from investing in our public transportation systems to investing in equitable tree canopy and much, much more.

Fair Share Amendment Canvass Kickoffs!

Join the Fair Share Amendment Campaign to kick off the effort’s first regional canvasses of 2022!

We’ll be joining allies from across the Commonwealth in Raise Up Mass to hit the doors and talk to voters about how the Fair Share Amendment could transform our communities—from well-resourced and affordable public education to safe roads and bridges and reliable public transportation. A successful response to climate change depends on robust, ongoing investments in public transit, and the Fair Share Amendment will provide the sustainable revenue to make that a reality.

Join an event near you to get connected, get trained, and help us spread the word about YES on Fair Share this November!

Canvass Kickoffs are being held in:

Pittsfield – Saturday, April 23
Springfield – Saturday, April 23
Lynn – Saturday, April 30
Boston – Saturday, April 30
New Bedford – Saturday, April 30

The Fair Share Amendment is a proposal to add a small tax on annual individual incomes exceeding $1 million. While the amendment is expected to impact fewer than 1% of taxpayers, it is projected to raise nearly $2 billion each year for investments in public education and infrastructure improvements. The Fair Share Amendment is on the ballot statewide on November 8, 2022.

A Livable Commonwealth: Trees as a Public Good

Thursday April 21, 2022, 7:00 pm EDT

https://bit.ly/Trees-As-A-Public-Good

Mature trees sequester substantial amounts of carbon, something that saplings cannot accomplish for decades. The loss of even a single tree impacts air quality, heat levels, and storm water drainage. So every loss of a mature tree contributes to the climate crisis and impacts public health. Neighborhoods and towns with less wealth and more people of color have fewer trees and are at greater risk for health and climate emergencies, making the loss of mature trees also an environmental justice issue. This online forum on Thursday, April 21 at 7 pm EDT will make the case that trees are a public good and discuss steps that local organizations and communities can take to protect our tree canopies.

And Mark Your Calendars…..

Lobby & Learn: The End-of-Session Clock is Ticking!

The current Legislative Session in Massachusetts will be coming to a close at the end of July, and that date will be here before you know it.

Rather than a typical virtual lobby day, this event — hosted on Wednesday, May 4th, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm — will be focused on learning more about some of our top legislative priorities and how to take action to support them.

The first hour will consist of deep dives on legislation. The second hour will consist of breakout groups for taking action in this critical part of the session: whether phone banking or text-banking to constituents of key legislators, relational organizing, or letter-writing. May the force of advocacy be with you in May and always!

climate Fair Share

How Far Does the MA Senate’s “Driving Climate Policy Forward” Bill Drive Us Forward?

On Thursday, April 14, the MA Senate passed a new climate bill, S.2819: An Act Driving Climate Policy Forward, which focused on accelerating the clean energy transition and the shift to electric vehicles. Notably, the bill also creates a pilot program for municipalities to ban oil/gas hookups in new construction, solving the legal problem that municipalities like Brookline have faced in trying to do so.

Transportation advocates were very critical of the bill’s focus on electric vehicles as opposed to a “mode shift” focus, i.e., how we can shift people from cars (electric or not) to more sustainable forms of transportation (walking, biking, public transit). Indeed, although the bill had new targets for public transit electrification, there were no new investments made in it for our state’s public transit infrastructure (let alone biking or pedestrian infrastructure).

The bill passed 37 to 3, with the NO votes coming from the chamber’s 3 Republicans (Ryan Fattman of Sutton, Patrick O’Connor of Weymouth, Bruce Tarr of Gloucester).

The following overview of the bill combines information from the Senate summary provided to press and the write-up from the Massachusetts Sierra Club.

Clean Energy

Enables nuclear fusion, networked geothermal, and deep geothermal energy to be eligible for support from the Mass Clean Energy Center
Creates a $100 million Clean Energy Investment Fund
Updates the offshore wind procurement process by maintaining a price cap while allowing certain direct economic development costs to be excluded from the calculation, removing utilities from the role as selector of the winning procurement, and reducing the remuneration rate for utilities
Removes impediments to medium-sized solar developments and tees up a successor to the state’s SMART solar program (Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target) solar program that favors development in the built environment
Expands the ability for “dual use” solar and agriculture projects to receive incentives, and incentivizes pollinator-friendly measures in solar developments
Authorizes all public pensions, with the exception of the state employees retirement system, the state teachers retirement system, and the State Boston retirement system, to divest from any investment in fossil fuel companies

Electric Vehicles

Establishes a $100 million fund for the MOR-EV rebate program (Massachusetts Offers Rebates for Electric Vehicles) and provides a $3,500 point-of-sale rebate for the purchase of an electric car or light-duty trucks (with an additional $1000 for trading in a gas-powered vehicle), with $4,500 for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles; also allows used vehicles to qualify for the first time and establishes a $1,500 rebate at point of sale for low-income buyers
Creates a new outreach program for underserved and low-income communities, as well as communities with high proportions of high-emission vehicles
Codifies Governor Baker’s pledge for all vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035;
Requires the entire MBTA bus fleet to be electric by 2040, with no gas-powered purchases after 2028 (Note that environmental groups had advocated for a 2030 deadline for full electrification)
Requires emissions reduction targets for ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft
Creates a new interagency coordinating council to develop and implement a plan for deploying EV charging infrastructure in an equitable and accessible way, backed by a $50 million fund
Requires new developments to allocate 10 percent of parking spaces to electric vehicle charging
Requires utilities to offer reduced electricity rates for off-peak EV charging

Buildings

Creates a 10-municipality demonstration project allowing municipalities to restrict the use of fossil fuels in new construction projects
Limits ratepayer-funded efficiency programs from incentivizing fossil fuel equipment starting in 2025
Mandates that the utility-controlled investigation into the “future of gas” receive additional scrutiny
Expands equity in the Mass Save program by requiring DPU to include equity data in its evaluation of efficiency investment plans and to invest to strategically to reduce racial disparities in outcomes

Other Measures

Prevents biomass facilities from receiving state clean energy incentives
Directs creation of a study into future energy storage needs
Bans competitive electricity suppliers, who often prey on the most vulnerable, from operating in Massachusetts

The Amendment Process: What Was Adopted, Rejected, or Withdrawn without a Vote

Most floor debate happens without discussion or a vote. Occasionally, a lead sponsor will make some remarks before an amendment is adopted by voice vote or before withdrawing the amendment to avoid seeing it rejected. Thursday was no different.

Moreover, many amendments that were adopted were redrafted before adoption. Curious to know how an amendment changed during redrafting? Well, so am I. The Senate does not show the original text, a striking lack of transparency.

Here’s a run-down of the fate of some key amendments advocated for by the Sierra Club or Mass Power Forward:

Adopted by Voice Vote

#5 Offshore Wind, redrated (Cyr): Increases the minimum required offshore wind target to 10,000 MW total by 2035 and ensures that local indigenous tribes are included in both the process and the opportunities that result
#7 Large Building Energy Reporting, redrafted (Rausch): Requires the owners of large buildings (such as offices, apartments, hospitals, and university campuses) to report their energy use to the state each year and allows municipalities to set stronger reporting standards
#13 Commuter Rail Electrification, redrafted (Crighton): Requires all commuter rail procurements to be electric by 2031 and requires the MBTA to establish short-term, medium-term, and long-term plans for each commuter rail line and how they fit into the state’s emissions reductions goals
#36 Monitoring & Reducing Air Pollution, redrafted (Jehlen): Creates a committee to identify air pollution hotspots and establish baseline pollution levels, and requires a 2024 report from the committee on how to reduce air pollution in identified locations by 50 percent by December 31, 2030
#65 Mass Save Equity, redrafted (Chang-Díaz): Adds increased valuation of equity, renter access, and data collection in Mass Save programs
#128 Green and Healthy School Buildings, redrafted (Comerford): Assesses and creates a plan to renovate k-12 schools to improve energy efficiency, air quality, temperature and light control and more, starting with the highest needs schools

Rejected by Voice Vote

#8 Large Building Energy Performance Standards (Rausch): Requires large buildings to meet minimum standards for energy efficiency, reducing their reliance on fossil fuels over time
#31 Prioritizing Project Labor Agreements in Offshore Wind Energy Generation Proposals (Feeney): Requires DOER to give preference to offshore wind proposals that demonstrate benefits from the greatest economic development and employment contributions and adds consideration of the use of project labor agreements for the life cycle of offshore wind projects
#55 Promoting Sustainable Development and Infrastructure (Collins): Integrates climate adaptation planning across various components of the economy, such as capital infrastructure projects, environmental impact reviews, utility infrastructure, and building codes and standards
#63 Expanding Electric New Construction (Eldridge): Increases the number of municipalities that can participate in the demonstration project allowing municipalities to restrict the use of fossil fuels in new construction projects by 30 to a total of 40
#82 Parking Spaces Wired for Charging Stations (Edwards): Requires at least 90% of all parking spaces in new residential and commercial construction be wired to be electric vehicle capable
#88 Fleet Electrification (Edwards): Sets interim targets and requires all public fleets including state, municipal, and school bus fleets to be electric by 2035. Also requires the DOER to design an incentive program to encourage the transition of private fleets to electric vehicles
#122 Methane emissions accounting (Comerford): Updates MA’s greenhouse gas reporting law to meet latest scientific understandings on methane emissions, ensuring more accurate and consistent accounting of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the use of methane
#148 Expanding the MassSave program (Chandler): Expands the range of energy efficiency applications and subsidies covered by the MassSave program to include insulation, upgrading electrical systems, heat pumps, and solar energy systems

Withdrawn

#24 Fare-Free Bus Pilot (Jehlen): Requires the MBTA and the RTA to implement a one-year fare-free bus pilot by March 31, 2023
#33 Hydrogen & Biomethane Gas Contracts (Jehlen): Prevents the department of public utilities from approving a contract for the so-called “decarbonized gases” of hydrogen, renewable natural gas, or any gas derived from hydrogen if it costs more than an average cost of fossil gas
#64 Food Justice with Jobs (Eldridge): Creates Community Land Trusts in food-insecure communities in order to grow more food and create food security jobs, and creates Garden Agriculture Program and Grants
#89 Restrict the use of fossil fuels in new construction projects (Friedman): Expands the number of municipalities that can participate in the demonstration project allowing municipalities to restrict the use of fossil fuels in new construction projects by greenlighting all gateway cities with over 50,000 residents and 20-30 additional towns.
#109 Equitable Siting in East Boston (Edwards): Prevents the building of an electrical substation in East Boston
#118 Electrification of New and Substantially Remodeled or Rehabilitated Buildings (Comerford): Requires all newly constructed, substantially remodeled, or rehabilitated buildings to use electricity or thermal solar instead of fossil fuels, with some exceptions; allows municipalities to impose reasonable penalties for violations

Notable Roll Call Votes

As noted earlier, the final bill was a party-line vote of 37-3. The Senate also rejected 36-3 the Republican caucus’s substitute version of the bill, a truncated version of the bill that allows the “future of gas” work of the Department of Public Utilities to conclude with the current governor and that removes the language ensuring that wood-burning electric power plants not be counted as clean energy.

The Senate voted unanimously for amendments to allow local pension funds to divest from fossil fuels (#57, Pacheco) and to require MassDOT to assist Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) in transitioning to the use of electric buses (#123, Chandler).

The most interesting contested vote was that on Sen. Pacheco (D-Taunton)’s Amendment #4: Building Environmental Justice and Energy Efficiency With Jobs, which integrated critical pieces of the Building Justice with Jobs bill with funding sources. The amendment requested $1 billion from federal Covid-19 recovery funds be transferred to the Clean Energy Investment Fund for at least 1 million home retrofits, prioritizing people living in Environmental Justice (EJ) communities. The amendment was a key priority for the Mass Renews Alliance, MA Power Forward, 350 Mass, and the Mass Sierra Club.

There was a tense floor debate between Sen. Pacheco and Sen. Barrett (D-Lexington), the chairman of the Telecommunications, Utilities, and & Energy Committee. Barrett criticized the amendment for requesting too much of the remaining $2.5 billion in ARPA funds (although, given the urgency of climate action, effective equity and job-focused climate investment can never be too little) and for delegating the creation of a plan to a task force of state officials, policy experts, and community and nonprofit leaders rather than the Legislature itself (strikingly, this seemed to be a rare moment of legislators complaining about something being delegated to a commission…).

The amendment failed on an 11 to 28 vote, with strange coalitions on either side.

climate

Take Action: Spring is the Time for Liberation and New Life

Spring holidays are a time to reflect on the themes of liberation and of new life. Themes that are especially relevant when it comes to our transition away from fossil fuels toward a renewable energy future, and away from a punitive, costly, and ineffective carceral system toward a system rooted in humanity and second chances.

MA Senate Climate Bill: Free Our Energy System from Fossil Fuels

Last week, the most recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made clear that it’s “now or never” to act on climate change. Every country (and every state, and every city) needs to enlarge its ambitions, as we build a world free from fossil fuel dependency. A world with cleaner air, better transit, and healthier lives. A world that with its cleaner air, healthier lives, and better transit will be better for all.

Tomorrow, the MA Senate will be voting on a new climate bill: S.2180, An Act Driving Climate Policy Forward. The bill takes many positive steps forward, but it does not do enough when it comes to accelerating our transition from renewable energy, improving the energy efficiency of our buildings sector, and investing in public transit.

Urge your state senator to support amendments to make the bill as strong as possible and free our commonwealth from fossil fuels.

What the Judiciary Committee Can Do This Week

Prisons are fundamentally unsafe environments, designed for punishment not rehabilitation. Warehousing people in settings rife with human rights abuses, price gouging, and isolation does not make anyone safer; indeed, our system makes us all worse off.

We know what works and what doesn’t from years of study and from the organizing and advocacy of impacted communities. We need to avoid entrenching a flawed system, we need to ensure that individuals who are incarcerated can maintain a connection with loved ones outside, and we need to ensure that young people have second chances, rather than being cut off from opportunities for life.

This Friday is a key deadline for the MA Legislature’s Joint Judiciary Committee in making that better vision a reality.

The members of the Judiciary Committee need to hear from you about these bills in particular:

No Cost Calls: H.1900: An Act relative to inmate telephone calls, which would prevent prisons and jails from charging individuals who are incarcerated for phone calls to loved ones.
Prison Moratorium: H.1905: An Act establishing a jail and prison construction moratorium, which would prevent the state from building new prisons and jails and from thereby locking in a carceral system through increased capacity.
Raising the Age: S.920 / H.1826: An Act to promote public safety and better outcomes for young adults, which would raise the age of criminal majority to 21, allowing offending youth to have better access to treatment and educational services and thereby reducing recidivism.
Juvenile Expungement: S.980 / H.1531: An Act relative to expungement of juvenile and young adult records, which would expand access to expungement to ensure young people who are on the right track can have better access to education and employment opportunities.

Are your legislators on the Committee? If so, send them an email / give them a call asking for a favorable report for these bills.

Not sure about your legislators? Look them up here.

Senate Judiciary Committee

Jamie Eldridge: James.Eldridge@masenate.gov / (617) 722-1120

Eric Lesser: Eric.Lesser@masenate.gov / (617) 722-1291

Sonia Chang-Diaz: Sonia.Chang-Diaz@masenate.gov / (617) 722-1673

Cindy Creem: Cynthia.Creem@masenate.gov / (617) 722-1639

John Velis: John.Velis@masenate.gov / (617) 722-1415

Patrick O’Connor: Patrick.OConnor@masenate.gov / (617) 722-1646

House Judiciary Committee

Michael Day: Michael.Day@mahouse.gov / (617) 722-2396

Chynah Tyler: Chynah.Tyler@mahouse.gov / (617) 722-2396

Chris Hendricks: Chris.Hendricks@mahouse.gov / (617) 722-2305

Susannah Whipps: Susannah.Whipps@mahouse.gov / (617) 722-2090

Colleen Garry: Colleen.Garry@mahouse.gov / (617) 722-2380

Jon Santiago: Jon.Santiago@mahouse.gov / (617) 722-2450

Brandy Fluker Oakley: Brand.FlukerOakley@mahouse.gov / (617) 722-2400

Adam Scanlon: Adam.Scanlon@mahouse.gov / (617) 722-2080

Jay Livingstone: Jay.Livingstone@mahouse.gov / (617) 722-2575

Alyson Sullivan: Alyson.Sullivan@mahouse.gov / (617) 722-2305

climate decarceration

Common Start Rally on Saturday + State House Staff Union

This Saturday, parents, families, child care providers and workers, and activists across the state will be joining the Common Start Coalition for a rally on the Boston Common to highlight the need for robust child care and early education infrastructure.
Date: Saturday, April 9
Time: 11:00am – 1:00pm

Place: Boston Common at the Parkman Bandstand

RSVP at https://bit.ly/csrallyrsvp

The rally is family-friendly and free to attend. Bus transportation with snacks and beverages will be provided from key locations across Massachusetts.

Can’t make the rally? Send your state legislators an email in support of the bill!

Show Your Support for MA Senate Staff

Earlier this week, members of the MA State Senate staff announced that after years of staff organizing, they achieved the number of authorization cards necessary to form a MA Senate staff union. On Thursday, March 31, representatives of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2222 (IBEW) notified Senate President Karen Spilka of the successful majority and requested voluntary recognition of the Massachusetts State House Employee Union, which will become the 2nd state legislative staff union in United States history.

Show your support for the MA State House Employee Union here.

beacon hill education

News Roundup — April 7, 2022

“Legalization 2.0: Massachusetts Senate approves overhaul of marijuana laws,” Boston Globe

“With this bill, Massachusetts will reclaim our leadership role, carving a path to make equity a reality in the cannabis industry,” said Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, a Democrat, who championed the legislation as co-chair of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy. “Lowering entry costs and opening up new avenues to capital will put this multibillion-dollar industry within reach for many talented equity entrepreneurs.”

“Opinion: Transfer fees on high-end real estate sales could fund affordable housing,” Cape Cod Times

“Do we really want to spend another year watching neighbors move away to somewhere they can actually afford to live? The pandemic allowed us all to see that everyone who makes up our communities are essential personnel, and the sense of community that once marked every single one of our towns is dying.”

Tanisha Sullivan, “How Secretaries of State Can Lead the Fight to Strengthen Democracy,” Democracy Docket

“Massachusetts deserves a secretary who takes up the mantle of leadership and embraces a shared vision for a stronger, more vibrant and more expansive democracy for all of us. Voting rights and access is about more than just the laws on the books; it’s about giving people a pathway into our democracy and a reason to engage.”

“Election day voter registration in Mass. shouldn’t be this hard to achieve,” Boston Globe

“Some lawmakers think they need to be the gatekeeper, to choose their voters,” said Beth Huang, head of Massachusetts Voter Table, a civic advocacy group. “Everything about this reflects how power is weighted against people who are more transient, younger, low-income, and often Black and brown.”

“As Beacon Hill moves toward undocumented drivers’ licenses, big-city mayors voice support,” WGBH News

“The experiences of undocumented communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit them especially hard, may have boosted the proposed reform’s prospects on Beacon Hill. Many undocumented individuals worked in-person providing essential services throughout the pandemic, and there’s some evidence that carpooling linked to the drivers’ license status quo helped spread the virus.”

“Massachusetts election reform conference to hold first meeting this week,” State House News Service

“Lawmakers tasked with reaching compromise on legislation to make mail-in voting a permanent part of the Massachusetts electoral landscape are set to hold their first meeting Thursday, more than two months after they were appointed to hash out differences between the House and Senate bills.” (They need to include Election Day Registration!)

“A Millionaire Tax is Necessary to Advance Critical Education Investments in Massachusetts,” MassBudget

“Federal pandemic relief has helped avert education cuts and added significant funds to expand services during the pandemic, particularly in K-12 schools. But it is insufficient and too short-term to meet the Commonwealth’s existing promises to improve education, much less to make bold new investments in early education, K-12 schools, or on higher education campuses.”

“From #MeToo to #WhoMe? on Beacon Hill,” Boston Globe

“Most successful organizations in this state thrive because they recognize talent, protect and nurture employees, and ensure a respectful work environment where merit, not privilege, drives promotions and allocation of resources. We deserve better from our elected officials.”

“The Three E’s: Greater Transportation Funding Can Improve the Economy, Equity, and Environment,” Mass Budget

“Massachusetts has long underinvested in our transportation systems. Our roads, bridges, trains, buses, ferries, and bike paths are not in the condition they should be. Opportunities to expand and improve these systems are stalled due to lack of dedicated funds. These funding shortfalls create serious harm for Massachusetts’ “three E’s:” the economy, equity, and environment. New sustaining revenue is needed, and no source of new funding is better scaled to meet the size of these unfunded needs than the Fair Share Amendment, which voters will decide on at the November 2022 ballot.”

“Waiting for the governor’s race to get going,” CommonWealth

“Those stances and comments reveal a lot about Healey, but voters need more from a candidate for governor. A governor deals with a multitude of issues, from education funding to public transportation, from prisons to the State Police, from public health to climate change. Sorting out where candidates stand is what campaigns are all about.”

“Charts: How much did housing costs go up in your town?,” Boston Globe

“The survey also found rapidly rising home values in Greater Boston, with some cities, including Boston and Cambridge, reporting home values about 50 percent higher than they were in 2010, the last time a similar survey was released. In Boston, the median owner-occupied home value was $581,000 in 2020, up from $395,000 in 2010. In Cambridge, the median owner-occupied home value was $843,000, compared to $560,000 in 2010. In Somerville, prices rose even higher, from $454,000 in 2010 to $710,000 in 2020 — a 56 percent hike.”

“Four takeaways from the latest report on the Future of Work in Mass.,” Boston Globe

“Most office jobs at big employers will be hybrid or largely remote, for the foreseeable future. For that reason, the MBTA should offer more flexible fare options that aren’t tied to five days a week of commuting. State officials should extend passenger rail service to the South Coast or Western Massachusetts where housing is cheaper. The thinking: People might be more willing to settle down further from their office, if they don’t need to commute every day, and instead take “longer distance, lower frequency trips tied to specific purposes.””

“What if College Were Free? This State Is Trying to Find Out.,” New York Times

“As universities across the United States face steep enrollment declines, New Mexico’s government is embarking on a pioneering experiment to fight that trend: tuition-free higher education for all state residents….After President Biden’s plan for universal free community college failed to gain traction in Congress, New Mexico, one of the nation’s poorest states, has emerged with perhaps the most ambitious plans as states scramble to come up with their own initiatives.”

“Massachusetts Senate passes CROWN Act,” Boston25News

“The CROWN Act ensures that discrimination based on one’s hair style, which largely impacts Black residents, has no place in professional or school settings in the Commonwealth,” said Senate President Karen Spilka. “We must never forget how long and hard the struggle for true racial justice has been for Black and brown residents of Massachusetts.””

Gig Companies’ Lies…As Easy as A, B, C

Dear Chair Feeney, Chair Murphy, and Members of the Joint Committee on Financial Services,

Thank you for holding today’s hearing. My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the Policy Director of Progressive Massachusetts, a statewide grassroots advocacy group fighting for a Massachusetts that is more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic.

Progressive Massachusetts is opposed to Big Tech’s anti-worker, anti-consumer Ballot Initiative (H.4375/H.4376), An Act defining and regulating the contract-based relationship between network companies and app-based drivers.

Massachusetts has very clear standards for determining independent contractor standards (the “ABC test”), and gig economy companies like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart have been in flagrant violation of them.

As a reminder, those three parts are (1) that the work is done without the direction and control of the employer, (2) that the work is performed outside the usual course of the employer’s business, and (3) that the work is done by someone who has their own, independent business or trade doing that kind of work. None of these apply to gig economy work. For example, there would be no Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, or Instacart without their drivers; the claim that their companies are merely an app is a clear fallacy intended to evade the law.

Knowing that they are in violation of the law, these companies want to change it, rather than adhere to it. They are planning to spend possibly hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure that the law does not apply to them and that they, themselves, can rewrite it in order to bolster their own profits and power over workers.

These ballot questions would deny app-based gig workers a living wage, benefits, legal rights, and anti-discrimination protections. They also effectively take away consumers’ and the public’s right to take legal action against the companies in the event of an accident, and will disincentivize the companies from doing everything they can to ensure that riders are safe when they avail these services.

These companies spent over $200 million to pass a similar ballot question in California called Proposition 22 with devastating impacts for workers and communities.

The impact of these laws extends beyond just the gig economy sector itself. The ability to define away terms like “employee” and “independent contractor” sets a dangerous precedent, enabling companies across sectors to gut labor rights. Will we see restaurants claiming that the “restaurant” is only the physical building and physical infrastructure, relegating all employees to independent contractor status? Or hospitals claiming that the “hospital” is just the brick-and-mortar building, rather than the doctors, nurses, aides, and other health care workers that make it run? The list goes on.

That is not the future we want to live in, and we hope it is not one you want to live in either.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Cohn

Policy Director

Progressive Massachusetts

workers rights

News Roundup — March 27, 2022

“Beacon Hill Lags on Sexual Harassment,” Boston Globe

“The bottom line is that State House staffers — now that most are making their post-pandemic return to the building — need someone they can turn to and trust if they are experiencing harassment or discrimination. That person needs to be a visible and accessible presence on Beacon Hill.”

“One Tool to Help Create Affordable Housing — Real Estate Transfer Fees,” Boston Globe

“We have the opportunity to arrest the statewide housing crisis, bolster our economic sustainability, and protect public health. The Legislature must pass the transfer fee and hand municipalities across the state the right tool so we can get to it.”

“Letter: Millionaires’ tax no ‘blank check’,” The Salem News

“Massachusetts is one of the few states without a higher tax on its uber-wealthy. Without that tool, Massachusetts voters know any other option will hit them directly in higher sales or property taxes, even more tuition and fee hikes, cuts to our children’s already understaffed and overstretched schools, or further deterioration of our crumbling infrastructure.”

“Rich Countries Must Stop Producing Oil and Gas By 2034, Says Study,” The Guardian

“The report, led by Prof Kevin Anderson from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at Manchester University, found that wealthy countries such as the UK, US and Australia had until 2034 to stop all oil and gas production to give the world a 50% chance of preventing devastating climate breakdown, while the poorest nations that are also heavily reliant on fossil fuels should be given until 2050.”

“Blue States Must Do More to Protect Democracy,” Democracy Docket

“Too often we have ignored the problems facing voters in blue states, focusing exclusively on the voter suppression laws passed by Republican legislatures. This is a missed opportunity. By improving voting rights, Democrats can improve voting rights for their citizens and raise the bar for what is considered normal and acceptable elsewhere. Finally, showing that expanding voting opportunities works undercuts the Republicans’ false narrative of voter fraud.”

“Wu, Janey, Pressley tout benefits of new fare-free bus service in Boston,” Boston Globe

“I’m very excited that now making those multiple trips to school, to home, to pick up the kids without having to worry about how that will add up or take away from your ability to pay for food, or medicine or rent, that is the ultimate goal here,” Wu said.

“Letter: Access to legal representation changes lives for domestic violence survivors,” Patriot Ledger

“Too often domestic violence survivors face eviction due to violence, and most are unaware of how to protect themselves in court. For too many, eviction means homelessness. All people deserve the right to live without fear of abuse or that they would be unfairly removed from their homes without representation.”

“Healey’s positions on criminal justice give some Democratic activists pause,” Boston Globe

“When you are an attorney general, there tends to be a built-in relationship [with police] and she has definitely been too deferential to state and local police,” said Progressive Massachusetts policy director Jonathan Cohn. “There are many good things she has done as attorney general, but she has not been a leader on criminal justice issues.”

“PILOT payments should be standardized statewide,” CommonWealth

“Given our communities’ needs—in such critical areas as housing, transportation, public schools, and public health—the legislation’s value is obvious. For institutions too, there is a value to having universal standards evenly applied across the board—offering a chance for them to restore public trust through deeds, and not just words.”

“Reform laws only as good as those who enforce them,” Boston Globe

“These fixes shouldn’t wait. When new and trailblazing laws are passed, politicians and advocates too often pat each other on the back and move on. But reforms are only as good as those willing to enforce them and those committed to make them work — not just on paper but on the ground.”

“No, COVID Isn’t Over,” Boston Globe

“Perhaps there will come a time for post-pandemic victory laps. But this moment needs more vigilance, not fewer protocols or threats to federal funding for virus treatments. COVID is still here, but what seems to be all but gone is the leadership on every level to do everything possible to eradicate it.”

“Letter: Fair Share Amendment could boost quality of life for all in Massachusetts,” Berkshire Eagle

“The current state income tax burdens lower-income taxpayers more heavily than it does the wealthy. Here is an opportunity to reduce the inequities of our system when thousands of working families in our state have lost jobs and housing and otherwise have had their lives upended as a result of the pandemic, while the wealthy have seen their incomes soar. As President Joe Biden remarked in his recent State of the Union, it’s time that “wealthy American start paying their fair share.””

“Mass. House leaders heralded the creation of an Equal Employment Opportunity officer. They’ve left the position empty for 15 months.,” Boston Globe

“Ten current and former House staff, most of whom spoke anonymously out of fear of retaliation, told the Globe that they believe the unfilled role signals a lack of commitment to workplace safety by House leadership, and alleged that a self-evaluation McLafferty had conducted regarding staff pay and job descriptions was never finished or discussed after he left the House.”

“Inflation blunts impact of school aid increases in Baker’s budget,” WBUR

“More than 40% of the state’s school districts would receive the smallest possible bump in funding under the governor’s budget plan, and administration officials and lawmakers alike agreed Tuesday that the minimum aid increase is not really much of an increase thanks to the high rate of inflation.”

“Cheap fares, trains to more suburbs: This is what the MBTA was supposed to look like,” Boston Globe

“I think we’d have a city and a region far less dependent on cars,” Johnson said. “Far fewer folks would be impacted by high gas prices or terrible traffic. We’d likely be having fewer fights over parking in new developments.”

“Suspending the gas tax doesn’t make sense,” CommonWealth

“Let’s face facts folks. The problem is not high state gas taxes. They have not gone up since 2013. They don’t even keep pace with inflation. The problem is unbridled corporate greed coupled with US energy insecurity that makes us all economic victims of Russian aggression and self-interested oil cartels. Why, then, would we deprive ourselves of much-needed public revenue, why would we deplete the amount of funding available for investments that will improve our lives, as a response to these unstable, unpredictable, and unmanageable global forces? And why would we do so in a way that helps the wealthiest and not the neediest?”

“Wind down of housing assistance raises concerns,” CommonWealth

“Homes for All Massachusetts and researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology released a report which found that evictions are disproportionately occurring in Black and Latino neighborhoods, neighborhoods with more single mother heads of households, areas with absentee and corporate landlords, and in central and southeast Massachusetts. Of all evictions filed between October 2020 and October 2021, 43 percent were in neighborhoods where a majority of residents are non-white, even though only 32 percent of rental housing is in these areas.”

“Massachusetts House OKs Bill Banning Bias Based on Hairstyle,” NBC News

“Eighty percent of Black women are more likely to change their hair from its natural state to fit a workplace setting and changing to fit your workplace simply suppresses your creativity,” Tyler said.

beacon hill decarceration democracy Fair Share housing public transit

MA Senate 2021-2022 Midterm Review

This is a companion to the 192nd Session midterm Senate scorecard. Note that it does not include every vote taken by the Legislature but those deemed worthy of inclusion in the scorecard.

Although debates about rules and transparency have proven contentious in the MA House, they have not in the MA Senate. When a vote came up at the start of the to extend the public notice period for legislative hearings from 72 hours to one week so that members of the public can better engage in the legislative process, it passed unanimously (1s).

Some of the early work this session was a continuation of efforts from last session. This includes a vote on the Next Generation Roadmap climate bill (2s), which the Legislature passed at the very end of last session. Governor Baker was able to defeat it with a pocket veto, and with the session having already ended, the Legislature couldn’t override him and had to re-file the bill in the new session. The Senate yet again passed the Healthy Youth Act, which would ensure that schools that teach sex education use a comprehensive and medically accurate curriculum, and the Gender X bill, which would provide a non-binary option to the gender question on state-issued IDs, both of which the House did not pass last session (10s, 11s). There were also attempts to push back against work from last session, with a conservative messaging amendment demanding a cost analysis of the police reform bill, a move intended to imply that police accountability will be a burden for cities and towns (8s).

The Senate also voted to advance the Fair Share Amendment to the 2022 ballot, holding the second constitutional convention required by law (7s). Massachusetts currently has a flat tax, meaning that secretaries and billionaires have the same income tax rate. The Fair Share Amendment would create an additional 4% tax on annual personal income in excess of $1 million, dedicating the revenue to public education and infrastructure needs.

Several other recorded votes also concerned tax policy. The Senate overrode the Governor’s veto of a one-year delay in the charitable deduction, which, if had been implemented, would have cost the state $300 million a year, mainly benefiting the wealthiest taxpayers; as well as his veto of the repeal of a set of corporate tax giveaways (i.e., harbor maintenance credit, medical device user fee credit) that have been proven to benefit only a small number of companies without broader economic impact. They also rejected a tax change from Governor Baker that would have cost the state $90 million each year and given all of the money to the wealthiest residents of the state (9s, 12s-13s).

The Senate defeated other wasteful tax proposals, such as creating a $5 million grant program that would divert public funds to corporate lobby groups (3s) and giving farmers a tax deduction if they donate food to nonprofit, draining money from the state budget that could be used for providing food directly (among other valuable uses) (6s).

The Senate also overrode Baker’s vetoes of the repeal of overly restrictive laws for accessing welfare programs. The asset limits of $250 for Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children (EAEDC) and $5,000 for Transitional Assistance to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC) created unnecessary paperwork that jeopardized the eligibility of struggling individuals for these modest but critically important benefits (14s-15s). And they defeated a Republican messaging amendment to increase the penalty for unemployment fraud that would have done nothing to address the rise of high-tech, high-dollar fraud from foreign businesses and instead done more to harm people for clerical errors (4s).

The Senate also took action in the bill addressing the crisis and tragedy at the Holyoke Soldiers Home to ensure strong labor and procurement standards, requiring the new Holyoke Soldiers Home to be built with collective bargaining and creating a committee to set goals on hiring minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses for the project (5s).

Last year, the MA Senate also passed a robust version of the VOTES Act, an election reform bill to make COVID-era vote-by-mail and early voting reforms permanent and to go further by enacting Same Day Registration and strengthening protections for jail-based voting. Unfortunately, the Senate defeated several attempts to make this good bill better, including amendments to require at least one secure, accessible drop box location per 25,000 registered voters in a municipality; to enable voters to enroll in vote-by-mail on a permanent basis, rather than just election by election; and to require that all workers be able to take 2 hours of paid time off to vote, ensuring that a work schedule is not a barrier to participating in our democracy (16s-19s).

A significant share of the Legislature’s time last year was spent on redistricting, the decennial redrawing of lines of legislative and Congressional districts to reflect the results of the census. Most maps passed with overwhelming majority, but an interesting exception was the Senate vote on the Congressional maps. Advocates had criticized the proposed map for failing to unite the immigrant, working-class cities of New Bedford and Fall River in one district, namely the coastal 9th Congressional District. Progressives and South Coast senators organized against the proposal, yield a closer vote than expected (20s).

Happy Sunshine Week! ☀☀ Announcing Our Mid-Session Scorecard

Happy Sunshine Week! ☀☀ Sunshine Week is an initiative from the News Leaders Association to educate the public about the importance of open government and the dangers of excessive and unnecessary secrecy. We know a thing about excessive and unnecessary secrecy in government here in MA.

But one piece of information we do have is recorded votes.

Each session, we create a scorecard based on a subset of key roll call votes related to our progressive platform. Scorecards provide a vital accountability tool, enabling constituents to see what the Legislature is doing, how their legislators are voting, and where there is room for pressure.

Announcing Our Mid-Session 2021-2022 Scorecard

Our 192nd Scorecard through February 2022 is now live on https://scorecard.progressivemass.com/. You can also find it on our website here and here.

How did your legislators do? Click to find out.

Perfect Scores & Other Data Points

Congratulations to the five legislators who had perfect scores!

Rep. Mike Connolly (D-Cambridge)
Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven (D-Somerville)
Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz (D-Jamaica Plain)
Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton)
Sen. Becca Rausch (D-Needham)

Other legislators who scored above 90% include Rep. Tami Gouveia (D-Acton), Rep. Nika Elugardo (D-Jamaica Plain), Rep. Russell Holmes (D-Mattapan), Rep. Dan Sena (D-Acton), Sen. Adam Gomez (D-Springfield), Sen. Adam Hinds (D-Pittsfield), Sen. Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville), and Sen. Ed Kennedy (D-Lowell).

Compared to last session, fewer Democrats received Ds and Fs. Why? Because the Legislature last session took a number of votes on policing reform, which highlighted major ideological splits in the Democratic caucus in both the House and Senate. There are still plenty of important pending bills that might raise similar ideological splits in the current session if the Legislature chooses bold action instead of inertia and avoidance.

That said, Democrats scoring a “D” or below include Rep. Patrick Kearney (D-Scituate), Rep. Christopher Markey (D-Dartmouth), Rep. Angelo Puppolo (D-Springfield), Rep. Jeff Turco (D-Winthrop), Rep. Dave Robertson (D-Tewksbury), Rep. Colleen Garry (D-Dracut), Sen. Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton), and Sen. Walter Timilty (D-Milton).

No Republican in the House scored above 30%; in the Senate, the highest was Sen. Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth) at 45%.

Why a Scorecard?

We believe that Democracy functions best when there’s transparency. And, our Massachusetts Legislature functions best when citizens know what votes our elected officials are taking and when we can compare their actions to their rhetoric. But on Beacon Hill, that’s not such a straightforward proposition.

Finding your legislator’s voting record, and understanding it, can be very difficult and time-consuming. With our “progressive scorecards,” finalized at the end of every 2-year legislative session (but with mid-session updates), we aim to make it easier.

What a Score Means…and What It Doesn’t

As they do with letter grades, an A means excellent, a B means good, a C means average, a D means poor, and an F, well, you get the point.

It’s important to understand these scores from two perspectives: (1) how a legislator is doing compared to how we want them to be doing and (2) how a legislator is doing compared to his/her colleagues. A good scorecard is one that tells a story.

That being said, EVERY legislator can be doing better. And part of doing better is providing more recorded votes that truly capture the story of each chamber. We are only scoring the votes that are taken, and there are many bills and amendments that never receive the votes they deserve. A scorecard can’t account for what goes on behind the scenes and how legislators championed or fought bills or amendments before they came to that vote.

But recorded votes matter. They are how legislators provide receipts of their professed principles, and scorecards provide engaged citizens with an understanding of what’s happening at the Legislature—and how they (YOU) can change it.

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