The Appeal: Felony Disenfranchisement across States

“Debate on Felony Disenfranchisement Is Already Here in State Legislatures Around the Country” — Daniel Nichanian, The Appeal, 5/2/2019

The committee vote was not public. Only four of its 17 members answered my multiple requests for comment about how they voted.

All those who replied told me that they voted to advance the reform. They are state Representatives Russell Holmes and Lindsay Sabadosa, and state Senators Sonia Chang-Díaz and James Eldridge. All four are Democrats, but so are 14 of the committee’s 17 members. “It’s very easy for prisoners to lose hope and their connection to society, and restoring the right to vote would provide an enhanced capacity to stay connected,” Elridge told me. State organizers have taken issue with the secrecy of this process. “When legislators vote behind closed doors to continue to a racist history of disenfranchisement, with no public record of how they voted for their constituents, that’s a fundamental failure of democracy,” Jonathan Cohn, an organizer with Progressive Mass, an advocacy group that supported the proposal, told me in a written message. He added that the lack of public votes is “a systemic problem for activists in Massachusetts because bills can be killed with everyone having ‘clean hands.’

CommonWealth: How Progressive of a Budget?

 “House Progressives get some action on budget priorities” — Andy Metzger, CommonWealth (4/26/2019)

Jonathan Cohn, who chairs the Issues Committee for Progressive Massachusetts, an outside advocacy group, said he wants the House Progressives to reach higher, and keep pushing for progressive increases in state revenue – which could come in the form of higher taxes.

“We always want the House Progressive Caucus to be bolder than they often are in their asks,” Cohn said. “I think that they’re all good causes to fight for, however a lot of budget asks end up feeling like tinkering since without adding to the size of the budget in a meaningful way it will just be very important but small programmatic increases.” ….

Legislative leaders have said they will begin deliberating about proposals to hike revenues later this session, and Cohn wants the Progressive Caucus to keep up the pressure on that front.

Whose Side Is Your State Rep On?

Massachusetts House votes on its budget, the House will have an opportunity to decide what type of state Massachusetts is.

Are we a state that invests in our future and stands up to the bigotry of the Trump administration, or are we fine with crumbling infrastructure, underfunded schools, and complicity in a racist mass deportation agenda?

Investing in Our Future

While we will continue to fight for the passage of the Fair Share Amendment, or “millionaire’s tax,” our schools, regional transit authorities, and crumbling infrastructure can’t wait until 2023. The legislature can act RIGHT NOW to begin building the fairer tax structure that Massachusetts voters want.

Raising the tax on unearned income, for example, would put us in line with states like Vermont and New Jersey and raise more than $1 billion to invest in our Commonwealth. Approximately 80% of income from stocks, bonds, and similar financial assets goes to the highest-earning 1% of households in Massachusetts, while the bottom 80% of households receive only 3%.

Rep. Mike Connolly’s Budget Amendment #1357 (Long-Term Capital Gains) would provide provide much-needed funding.

Although 97% of capital gains go to the top quintile of earners, the Connolly amendment has an exemption for low income households to ensure they aren’t hurt by the change.

Standing up to the Trump Administration’s Bigotry

Massachusetts has been complicit in Trump’s racist mass deportation agenda. The Department of Correction and four sheriffs’ offices in the state have contracts with ICE to house persons who are in deportation proceedings and to deputize their employees as federal immigration agents. These contracts provide for the state offices to be reimbursed by ICE for the housing, transportation, and other costs they incur, but it has proven very difficult to determine how much reimbursement money ICE has been paying and whether those amounts cover actual expenses.

Rep. Tony Cabral’s Budget Amendment #1250 (Transparency in Spending) would be a check on this shameful collaboration with ICE.


This amendment would require the Department of Correction and the sheriffs’ offices with ICE contracts to provide the
cost, revenue, and reimbursement figures associated with those contracts for the past three fiscal years and for FY 2020.
This past fiscal year, the state has provided nearly $900 million in funding for the Department of Correction and for the sheriffs’ offices with ICE contracts. We deserve to know whether their contracts with ICE are covering the expenses they incur.

Whose Side Is Your State Rep On?

Is your state rep siding with the overwhelming percentage of voters who want to invest more in our schools and our infrastructure, or siding with the top 1%?

Is your state rep standing up for immigrants’ rights, or standing with the likes of Sheriff Hodgkins and Donald Trump?

Give them a call today to find out.

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Happy Tax Day! Your Legislators Have an Opportunity to Make a Fairer Tax Code.

TL;DR: Do you believe in funding our schools, our infrastructure, and all of the services that make our commonwealth strong at the levels we deserve? Of course you do. So please call your state rep in support of Amendment #1357 (Long-Term Capital Gains) to the budget, which would raise the capital gains tax to provide much-needed additional revenue.

Year after year, as legislators craft the latest budget, tough decisions have to be made. A big part of the reason for these tough decisions is that Massachusetts lacks the revenue to fund things, like good schools and reliable transportation, that are most important to our communities. But not having sufficient revenue isn’t inevitable; it’s a choice.

The Fair Share Amendment, which routinely polled at around 80%, was kicked off the 2018 ballot after a lawsuit from well-funded business groups. The Legislature has the opportunity to advance it to the 2022 ballot via a Constitutional Convention next month. But we can’t afford to wait another four years to invest in our Commonwealth.

The legislature can act RIGHT NOW to begin building the fairer tax structure that Massachusetts voters want.

Raising the tax on long-term capital gains from 5.05% to 8.95%, for example, would put us in line with states like Vermont and New Jersey and raise more than $1 billion to invest in our commonwealth.

The highest-income 1 percent of households receive approximately 80 percent of capital gains income in Massachusetts, while the bottom 80 percent of households receive only 3 percent.

Can you call your state representative and ask them to CO-SPONSOR Rep. Mike Connolly’s Budget Amendment #1357 (Long-Term Capital Gains) and STAND for a vote?

Although 97% of capital gains go to the top quintile of earners, the Connolly amendment has an exemption for low income households to ensure they aren’t hurt by the change.

This is a step that you can take right now. But there are other steps to raise progressive revenue to fund our priorities now that deserve your consideration and your vote throughout the session—from placing a surtax on multi-million homes to increasing the corporate minimum tax so that all corporations pay their fair share. And we plan to keep beating that drum throughout the session.

PS: Curious to read more about the graph above? You can here.

2019 Lobby Day News Coverage

“Progressives Push Legislative Agenda” — Trea Lavery, Bay State Banner (4/10/19)

“Especially since out of the White House we’re not going to see a lot of great policy for the next few years, it’s up to the states to show a lot of policy leadership,” said Jonathan Cohn, the chair of the organization’s issues committee, before attendees broke out to attend meetings with individual legislators.

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“Progressives See Potential For House To Shift Left” — Mike Deehan, WGBH (4/5/2019)

“We want the the State House in general to understand that there is a progressive population out there that is really strongly in favor of all these progressive issues,” Watertown Selectwoman Caroline Bays said Wednesday while at the State House for the annual lobby day organized by liberal advocates Progressive Massachusetts. Over a hundred dedicated lefties met with lawmakers to try to push moderate Democrats to dive in on social and economic issues Beacon Hill is reluctant to take up.

But those issues, be it more funding for district schools, enhanced health care for the poor, or expanded service and repairs for the MBTA, need to be paid for in order to balance the state’s budget.

For progressives like Bays, that answer is easy. Tax more, preferably the well-off.

“Today when I was lobbying my state my state rep, I said you’re taxing me too little,” Bays said.

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“Progressives try to push Mass. Legislature to left” — Victoria McGrane and Matt Stout, Boston Globe (4/5/2019)

“Even though the state might not be as liberal as many people think it is, we should make it as liberal as people . . . like to think it is,” Jonathan Cohn, chairman of the group’s issues committee, told members from many of its 16 chapters across the state…..

“It takes people like us to push things to the top of the pile,” Rachel Poliner, of West Roxbury, told them. “Times are different than they were a few years ago. . . . You could say that all of us — as voters and as legislators — have been a little too complacent. Why is the MBTA in the shape it’s in? Right, so we’re upping the ante.”

“All It Took Was a Look at the Playground”

The following testimony was delivered to the Joint Committee on Education on Friday, March 22, 2019.

We are writing in support of the Promise Act. As retired special educators who also consulted with districts and families, we strongly support an end to the tiered educational system that exists in Massachusetts.

During five years of consulting to and in approximately 60 school districts, we found that all it took was a look at the playground to know what the educational quality would exist inside the school. Districts with fewer funds consistently needed to serve a wider range of student needs: for instance, higher rates of poverty and larger numbers of immigrants, which results in a greater number of traumatized students and a greater number of languages spoken. These districts are footing the bill for higher-income cities and towns that are unaffordable to immigrants and low income families. A culture of “not in my backyard“ has resulted in increasingly large educational gaps between the haves and have not‘s in Massachusetts.

The affluent cities and towns in our state, such as Needham, are able to raise additional funds through the educational foundation’s that have developed. This private funding is able to enrich the curriculum, provide playgrounds, and add back non-mandated services that may be lost by any reductions in state funds.

It is critical that more affluent communities acknowledge the burden taken on by other cities and towns that allow them more privilege and educational quality. It is time to level the playing field.

Thank you for consideration of our views.

Robert Vecchi, M.Ed.
Andrea Wizer, M.Ed.

Needham, MA

Bay State Banner: A Push for the Safe Communities Act

“Activists renew push for immigrant protection law” — Yawu Miller, Bay State Banner (2/17/2019)

Jonathan Cohn, issues committee chair at Progressive Massachusetts, said new legislators are ready to push the Safe Communities Act forward.

“They understand that the standard operating procedure of the State House isn’t sufficient and that they need to be taking bolder steps,” he said. “Hopefully, they’ll bring some incumbents along.”

Boston Globe: A Lack of Transparency at the State House

“Mass. House criticized for lacking transparency amid debate on rules” — Matt Stout, Boston Globe (1/29/2019)

The process, however, stands in stark contrast to how the House’s counterparts in the Senate have approached their own debate. The upper chamber released its initial rules package on Thursday, a week ahead of its scheduled debate, and set its amendment deadline for Monday, giving senators three days to consider them.

That difference is “really striking,” said Jonathan Cohn, chair of the issues committee for Progressive Massachusetts, an advocacy group that criticized the Legislature for a lack of transparency.

“I would love to see the House embrace reform. But I would be lying if I said I had any confidence that they would,” Cohn said.

Boston Globe: A New Senate President

“Advocating for a ‘bold’ Legislature, Karen Spilka readies term as Senate president,” Victoria McGrane and Matt Stout, Boston Globe (12/25/18)

“Inertia dominates the body,” said Jonathan Cohn, chair of the issues committee for Progressive Massachusetts, an advocacy group. The group was disappointed that a major climate bill passed by the Senate was “watered down” so much in a compromise with the House that the final measure “does quite little in comparison.” (Senators have defended it as a “strong bill.”)

“We don’t have that much time to get our act together as a planet, let alone as a state. Massachusetts needs to be doing a lot more,” Cohn said.

SHNS: Few Legislators with Top Grades

“Progressive group finds few Mass. legislators worthy of top grades” — Katie Lannan, State House News Service (12/10/2018)

Advocacy group Progressive Massachusetts on Monday released its latest legislative scorecard, giving “A” grades to just three state representatives and four senators, and using the grades to call for more transparency on Beacon Hill.

“People deserve to know whether or not their elected officials are standing for their values,” Jonathan Cohn, who chairs the group’s Issues Committee, said in a statement. “Our state legislators actively avoid taking recorded votes – or any votes at all – on major issues, and when they must, they make it unnecessarily complicated for engaged citizens to find that information.”

The scorecard arrives a month after this year’s biennial elections and as Beacon Hill progressives eye their leadership strategy in the Legislature.

Progressive Massachusetts gave its top scores to seven Democrats: Reps. Mike Connolly of Cambridge, Denise Provost of Somerville and Jonathan Hecht of Watertown, and to Sens. Jamie Eldridge of Acton, Sonia Chang-Diaz of Jamaica Plain, Patricia Jehlen of Somerville and Cynthia Creem of Newton.

Read the rest of the article here.