Action Alerts

A #FlashbackFriday about Disenfranchisement in MA and What You Can Do Today

Although we often think of the history of voting rights in the US as one of ever-forward motion, Massachusetts stands as an outlier. In the late 1990s, after incarcerated individuals in MCI-Norfolk started organizing for better conditions, Republican Governor Bill Cellucci and the MA Legislature responded with retaliation: a multi-step process of disenfranchisement. In 2000, Massachusetts voters approved a constitutional amendment to prohibit people incarcerated for felonies in state prison from voting in state elections; the subsequent year, Cellucci signed a law to extend this prohibition to federal and municipal elections. Our commonwealth did something rare in recent history: it took away the right to vote from a category of people who were formerly enfranchised.

But the tide is turning. On Wednesday, the Joint Committee on Election Laws took the significant step of giving 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.

Urge your legislators to support the bill and advocate for its advancement in an upcoming constitutional convention.

And in upcoming events….

Wednesday, May 3: Higher Ed for All Speakout

Celebrate graduates and ensure that debt-free public higher ed is an option for future generations!

The Massachusetts State House will soon be considering the Cherish Act (S.816 / H.1260) and Debt-Free Bill (S.823 / H.1265). Collectively, these bills call for debt-free public higher education, increased student supports, better wages and working conditions, and green/healthy buildings.

Join the Higher Ed for All coalition on the State House steps and share your testimony alongside graduates, students, faculty, librarians, staff, and community from across the commonwealth!

12:00-12:55 PM: Speak Out
12:55 PM: Group Photo

Thursday, May 4: Medicare for All Lobby Day

The Medicare for All Lobby Day will take place on Thursday, May 4, from 10AM to 3PM at the State House. RSVP here to let Mass-Care know you can join!

Three Quick Actions to Take This Weekend

Here are three quick actions that you can take this weekend.

Ask of Gov. Healey: Pause New Gas Infrastructure

Happy Earth Day! The science has long been clear: we need to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy. If we know that there can be no long-term future for fossil fuel infrastructure, then we need to stop expanding it and creating a lock-in effect for decades to come, with negative health and environmental impacts on surrounding communities.

Governor Healey has spoken of climate as a top priority, so she should show that commitment by pledging to halt new gas system expansions until the state has a concrete plan for a just transition to a clean — and green — energy future.

Can you join Mass Power Forward in calling on her to do so?

Ask of Your State Senator: Protect Fair Share

The tax plans proposed by the Governor and the House include hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary giveaways to the ultra-rich and large corporations.

But the Senate can take a different path.

Call your State Senator and ask them to:

REJECT the proposed cut to the short-term capital gains tax that would overwhelmingly benefit wealthy investors;
REJECT expanding the ‘single sales factor apportionment’ that would give a massive tax break to large, profitable multi-state corporations;
TARGET any estate tax reform exclusively to moderate estates, with no tax breaks to large multi-million-dollar estates; AND
USE THOSE SAVINGS to invest in affordable housing, childcare, and reliable transportation.

Don’t know your State Senator’s phone number? Find it here, and then save it in your phone for next time.

And then after you make that call, can you follow up with an email?

And if you’re free this upcoming week, sign up for a phone bank with Raise Up Mass so that we can drive more calls to legislators.

Tuesday, April 25, 4 pm to 7 pm
Wednesday, April 26, 4 pm to 7 pm
Thursday, April 27, 4 pm to 7 pm

Ask of Your State Rep: Support No Cost Calls

The good news is that the MA House included No Cost Calls language — that is, ending the predatory practice of prisons and jails charging incarcerated individuals for phone calls to loved ones — in its FY2024 budget proposal.

However, there are additional steps necessary to strengthen the guarantee of access to such free phone calls. Rep. Chynah Tyler filed an amendment to the budget (Amendment #1559) to do just that, ensuring a stronger baseline of access (i.e., including access to tablets and setting a minimum guarantee for call time).

Can you call your state rep to ask them to support Amendment #1559 to the House budget?

Keeping Families Together: No Cost Calls. Rep Chynah Tyler, Amdt #1559

In solidarity,

climate decarceration revenue

Action Alert: Protect Fair Share, NO to Tax Cuts for the Rich 📣

Last November, voters sent a message by voting for the Fair Share Amendment: the rich should pay their fair share so that we can invest in public education and infrastructure. For years, the Legislature has used the line “We don’t have the money” to justify inaction and underinvestment. We got them the money.

But on Thursday, the MA House made clear that they plan to give money right back to the rich and large corporations by passing a tax cut package filled with giveaways to the richest residents of the Commonwealth. And that’s not okay.

The House vote was 150 to 3, with only Rep. Mike Connolly (D-Cambridge), Rep. Dan Sena (D-Acton), and Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven (D-Somerville) voting no. If they are your representatives, you should reach out and thank them. With the exception of a few absent representatives, all others voted yes, and if your representative voted to undermine Fair Share like that, they need to hear about your disappointment. Read more about the vote here.

But the fight isn’t it over.

Here’s how you can act.📣

The tax plans proposed by the Governor and the House include hundreds of millions of dollars in unecessary giveaways to the ultra-rich and large corporations. But the Senate can take a different path.

Call your State Senator TODAY and ask them to:

✅ REJECT the proposed cut to the short-term capital gains tax that would overwhelmingly benefit wealthy investors;
✅REJECT expanding the ‘single sales factor apportionment’ that would give a massive tax break to large, profitable multi-state corporations;
✅TARGET any estate tax reform exclusively to moderate estates, with no tax breaks to large multi-million-dollar estates; AND
✅USE THOSE SAVINGS to invest in affordable housing, childcare, and reliable transportation.

Don’t know your State Senator’s phone number? Find it here, and then save it in your phone for next time.

And then after you make that call, can you follow up with an email?

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MA House Pushes Regressive Tax Cuts

But, yesterday, the House, in unveiling their tax package, said that they plan to give money right back to the rich and large corporations.

Almost half of the cost of their tax proposal comes from the three regressive tax cuts:

A $231 million cut to the estate tax designed to disproportionately benefit the wealthiest estates
A $130 million cut for day traders and speculators by cutting the short-term capital gains tax
A $79 million tax cut for the state’s largest corporations through what is called “single sales factor apportionment”

Think of all that we could do with $440 million if instead we invested it in our public transit systems, in education, in child care, in climate resilience, in affordable housing, or in health care. Indeed, tackling our housing crisis should be the #1 priority if legislators actually cared about the goals of “affordability” and “competitiveness.” Indeed, even the less regressive parts of the tax package could go further if invested in a robust social programs. By proposing such regressive tax cuts, the House is disrespecting the will of the voters, and they are setting Massachusetts up for brutal cuts when the next recession hits.

Disappointed too? Let your state representative know.

You can also let your state representative know (on phone or in person tomorrow) that you want them to support two amendments filed by Rep. Mike Connolly:

#5 (Establishing a Tiered Corporate Minimum Tax), which ensures that large corporations pay their fair share [When corporations, through accounting wizardry, secure a $0 tax liability, the minimum tax they have to pay is $456. That tax should be based on the size of the corporation.]
#11 (Maintaining Some Degree of Short-Term Capital Gains Equity) to blunt the cut to the short-term capital gains tax

Fair Share revenue

It’s Sunshine Week! Take Action to Support Open Government.

Happy Sunshine Week!

Sunshine Week is an ongoing initiative from the News Leaders Association to raise awareness about the importance of open government.

We could certainly use some sunshine in Massachusetts, as our state regularly ranks at the bottom of lists about government transparency.

Let your legislators know that you value open government and urge them to do the following:

Co-sponsor An Act to Modernize Participation in Public Meetings (HD.3261 / SD.2017), which would improve equitable access to open meetings by guaranteeing that members of the public can participate in person or remotely and establish a trust fund to help municipalities finance this goal.
Co-sponsor An Act to provide sunlight to state government (SD.131) and An Act extending the public records law to the Governor and the Legislature (SD.390), which would end the Governor and Legislature’s full exemption from public records law

Can you write to your legislators today?

Share Your Stories

Hybrid access for local meetings has helped increase participation and has removed obstacles facing working people, parents of young children, other caregivers, people with disabilities, people with limited transportation, among many other populations.

There are countless stories out there about the positive impact of such increased access. And the stories might include YOU.

Personal stories are a powerful tool to move legislators to take action. Has remote or hybrid access to public meetings enabled you to more fully participate in local government? If so, please use this form to share your story with the ACLU for this important campaign.

beacon hill transparency

ACT NOW: Voters Want Investment, Not Tax Cuts for the Rich

In November, voters passed the Fair Share Amendment, decisively choosing to raise significant new revenue for investments in transportation and public education by increasing taxes on the richest taxpayers.

Any additional changes to state tax policy should similarly prioritize fairness while preserving state revenues that are necessary to sustain long-term improvements in both education and transportation, as well as other critical areas such as housing, health care, and human services.

Unfortunately, last week, Governor Maura Healey put forth a proposal to cut state taxes by a billion dollars each year, including nearly $400 million in cuts to estate and short-term capital gains taxes that amount to a windfall to the richest 1%, would directly undermine the goals of the Fair Share Amendment while placing the state at risk for catastrophic budget cuts in future years.

How much would different groups receive from proposed state tax cuts?

Low-income seniors: $1,200

Renters: $50

Children: $6500

Estates worth over $3 million: $182,000

Tackling the real challenges to the Commonwealth’s economic competitiveness – from working families’ struggles to afford housing and child care, to our economy’s need for an educated workforce and safe and reliable transportation infrastructure – will require making significant investments over the coming years. To make those investments possible, we need to protect both the new revenue from the Fair Share Amendment, and overall state revenue in general.

The ball is now in the Legislature’s court, as the House and the Senate will be working on their respective budgets in the coming weeks.

Contact your legislators today to prioritize and protect both the new revenue from the Fair Share Amendment, and overall state revenue in general, this year in the FY24 Budget.

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Show Some Love to These Bills

Today is Valentine’s Day, a great opportunity to give some love to the bills on our 2023-2024 Legislative Agenda.

These bills would…

help us invest in our future
strengthen our child care infrastructure
improve our public education systems
make our state more affordable to live in
shift our criminal legal system toward rehabilitation and community well-being
make our state more welcoming of all residents in their diverse identities and backgrounds
accelerate an equity-centered transition to renewable energy
increase participation in our democracy

What’s not to LOVE?

Please reach out to your state legislators about our new legislative agenda for the session!

Write to your legislators here!

Help Communicate About Common Start in Your Local Community

The Common Start Coalition is looking for volunteers to help communicate about the Common Start agenda (affordable, high-quality early education and child care for all Massachusetts families) in local newspapers, cable access TV programs, and radio stations across the state.

Are you interested in writing a letter to the editor about Common Start in your local newspaper and/or going on a local cable access TV or radio program in your community to talk about Common Start? Please fill out this formto express your interest in communicating about Common Start!

Higher Ed for All Advocacy Day: Tuesday, 2/28

Affordable high-quality public higher education is essential to expand opportunity in all of our communities and create a more equitable and prosperous Commonwealth. Higher Ed For All is advocating for fully funded community colleges, state universities, and UMass campuses to knock down the barriers that too many potential college graduates’ encounter.

The Higher Ed for All coalition will be having an Advocacy Day at the State House on Tuesday, February 28. Never been to a lobby day before? There will be trainings in advance.

Follow-up to Last Week’s Prison Moratorium Lobby Day

Have a few minutes for a quick action? Call Governor Healey and leave a message about why it’s time to put a pause on new prisons and jails: bit.ly/massmoratoriumguide.

beacon hill Common Start decarceration higher ed

Take Action: Tell Your State Senator You Want a democratic State Senate

Eight years ago, then House Speaker Bob DeLeo was able to get the MA House to repeal term limits for the Speakership, further concentrating power in the Speaker’s Office.

Now, MA Senate leaders are looking to follow, eliminating the term limits that still exist for the Senate President.

When one tries to diagnose the reasons for inertia in the Massachusetts State Legislature, where a commanding supermajority of Democrats end up passing too few bills and taking too long to pass them, one of the key underlying problems is the over-concentration of power. When too few people are in control of too many things, you get bottlenecks: things don’t get done. When those too few people also have the ability to retaliate against anyone who speaks out (demotion from committee leadership, lower salary, fewer staff, smaller and more remote office), then the quality of debate declines. And our democracy weakens.

Tell your state senator to oppose eliminating term limits for Senate President.

Massachusetts wants a small “d” democratic Senate. Amendment #23 to the Senate Rules package (S17) would take us in the opposite direction.

beacon hill democracy

Our 2023-2024 Legislative Agenda

We’re proud to announce our legislative agenda for the 2023-2024 legislative session. You can contact your legislators about these bills here. And check out additional bills that we have endorsed at progressivemass.com/agenda.

Our Shared Prosperity Agenda

Protecting the Fair Share Victory

We had a big win last November with the Fair Share Amendment, and for the Fair Share Amendment to deliver on its full potential, we need to prevent tax evasion and ensure any proposed tax reform package is progressive.

Statutory Protections for FSA Revenue: SD.1166 (Lewis) / HD.2236 (O’Day): An Act to protect the intent of the Fair Share Amendment, which would prevent Fair Share revenue from being diverted to tax giveaways or reserves, so it is available for spending on transportation and education as voters intended

Preventing FSA Tax Evasion: SD.1167 (Lewis) / HD.2310 (O’Day): An Act preventing high-income tax avoidance, which would prevent tax avoidance of the Fair Share Amendment by requiring, as many other states do, couples who file jointly at the federal level to file jointly at the state level as well

Fiscally Responsible Estate Tax Reform: SD.1114 (Cyr) & SD.888 (Jehlen) / HD.1465 (Uyterhoeven): An Act relative to estate tax reform, which would preserve most of the revenue-generation, inequality-reduction, and fairness benefits of the estate tax, while eliminating the current cliff effect

A Targeted Charitable Deduction: SD.1596 (Eldridge) / HD.3073 (Uyterhoeven): An Act to reform the charitable deduction, which would make the charitable deduction more targeted by limiting it to individuals who are not already getting such a deduction on their federal taxes

Corporate Tax Disclosure: SD.1038 (Miranda) / HD.751 (Capano): An Act to require public disclosures by publicly-traded corporate taxpayers, which would make publicly accessible reports that are already filed annually by publicly-traded corporations, detailing their sales, profits, taxable income, and taxes paid

Taxing offshored “GILTI” income: SD.1541 (Rausch) / HD.388 (Barber / Uyterhoeven): An Act to close corporate tax loopholes and create progressive revenue, which would tax, as other states and the federal government do, a portion of the profits that multinational corporations who do business in MA shift to offshore tax havens

Increasing the Corporate Tax Rate: SD.508 (DiDomenico) / HD.2758 (Keefe): An Act relative to restoring corporate tax rates, which would restore the tax on corporate profits to 9.5%, where it was before 2009, from the existing 8.0% rate

Tiered Corporate Minimum Tax: SD.677 (Gomez) / HD.418 (Connolly): An Act establishing a tiered corporate minimum tax, which would ensure that larger corporations pay a minimum corporate tax bill in proportion to the size of their business in MA, while small businesses continue paying the current corporate minimum tax of just $456 per year

Ensuring Livable Wages for All

We won a $15 minimum wage, but that has already been eroded due to inflation, and too many people are forced to work multiple jobs to make ends meet.

Living Wage: SD.2032 (Lewis): An Act relative to raise the minimum wage closer to a living wage in the Commonwealth / HD.3965 (Nguyen / Donahue): An Act relative to the minimum wage, which would raise the minimum wage to $20 per hour over four years and indexes it to inflation to better align the minimum age with a living wage

A High-Quality Education for All

Everyone deserves access to a high-quality education, from pre-K to higher ed, and our state has the resources to make that happen.

Common Start: SD.667 (Lewis/Moran) / HD.2794 (Gordon/Madaro): An Act providing affordable and accessible high-quality early education and care to promote child development and well-being and support the economy in the Commonwealth, 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

Thrive Act: SD.2067 (Comerford/Miranda/Gomez) / HD. 3162 (Hawkins/Montaño): An act empowering students and schools to thrive, which would create a better system of assessment, support, accountability, and improvement that considers the whole child, and focuses on giving students and educators the tools and resources they need to succeed and thrive, replacing the harmful and failed state takeover policy

CHERISH Act: SD.2092 (Comerford) / HD.2755 (Garballey/Duffy): An Act committing to higher education the resources to insure a strong and healthy public higher education system, which would create a framework for adequate funding levels for public higher education, including increased student support and better pay and benefits for faculty and staff; implement a debt-free college plan; and create a plan for green and healthy buildings on campus

Housing for All

Massachusetts offers a great quality of life, but only if you can afford to live here. We need to embrace a diverse set of tools to address our state’s housing crisis.

Real Estate Transfer Fee: SD.1982 (Comerford) / HD.2857 (Connolly): An Act granting a local option for a real estate transfer fee to fund affordable housing, which would enable cities and towns to assess a fee of 0.5-2% on residential and commercial real estate transactions, with the funds allocated to affordable housing trust funds

HERO Bill: SD.1226 (Eldridge) / HD.2510 (Montaño): An Act providing for climate change adaptation infrastructure and affordable housing investments in the commonwealth, which would increase the deeds excise tax on home sales to provide a funding stream for the Global Warming Solutions Fund, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, and the Housing Preservation and Stabilization Fund

Zoning Reform: SD.2006 (Crighton) / HD.3252 (Vargas/Honan): An Act to promote yes in my back yard, which would set a statewide housing production goal, allow multi-family housing to be built near public transportation, make it easier for municipalities to pass inclusionary zoning ordinances, allow accessory dwelling units to be built as-of-right, and promote the use of vacant commercial properties and empty state-owned properties for housing

Our Racial and Social Justice Agenda

We need to move past a punitive model of mass incarceration and toward rehabilitation and community stability; recognize the full diversity and potential of our immigrant populations; and ground education in inclusion and respect.

No Cost Calls: SD.1441 (Creem): An Act to keep families connected / HD.822 (Tyler): An Act relative to telephone service for inmates in all correctional and other penal institutions in the Commonwealth, which would prevent prisons and jails from charging individuals who are incarcerated for phone calls to loved ones

Prison Moratorium: SD.661 (Comerford) / HD.799 (Tyler): An Act establishing a jail and prison construction moratorium, 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

Raising the Age: SD.428 (Crighton) / HD.3510 (O’Day / Cruz): An Act to promote public safety and better outcomes for young adults, which would raise the age of criminal majority to 21, allowing youth to have better access to treatment and educational services and thereby reducing recidivism

Language Access & Inclusion: SD.1066 (DiDomenico) / HD.3616 (Madaro/González): An Act relative to language access and inclusion, 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

Healthy Youth Act: SD.2199 (DiDomenico) / HD.3874 (O’Day / Howard): An Act relative to healthy youth, 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

Our Sustainable Infrastructure and Environmental Protection Agenda

Massachusetts has ambitious climate goals, but we won’t meet them without aggressive steps to transition to renewable energy and invest in a green and just economy.

Polluter Pays: SD.2366 (Eldridge) / HD.3460 (Owens): An Act establishing a climate change superfund and promoting polluter responsibility, which would 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

Zero-Carbon Renovation Fund: SD.500 (Gomez) / HD.776 (Vargas): An Act establishing a zero carbon renovation fund, which would create a fund for green and healthy home retrofits, with a prioritization of affordable housing, low-to-moderate-income homes, gateway cities, and environmental justice communities

Gas Moratorium: SD.1925 (Gomez) / HD.3794 (Williams / A. Ramos): An Act to establishing a moratorium on new gas system expansion, which would pause the approval for any new or expanded gas infrastructure through 2026

Our Good Government and Strong Democracy Agenda

Our democracy is strongest when all are able to participate, and we need to remove the barriers that remain.

Voting Rights Restoration: SD.1037 & SD.1464 (Miranda) / HD.3153 & HD.3188 (Uyterhoeven): An Act relative to voting rights restoration & Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution relative to voting rights, which would ensure that incarceration no longer leads to a loss of voting rights at any stage

Modern Open Meeting Access for All: SD.2017 (Lewis) /HD.3261 (Garlick): An Act to modernize participation in public meetings, which would require that all public bodies have options for hybrid participation and create a trust fund and competitive grants to help municipalities with the technology needed to do so

Public Records & Transparency: SD.131 (Eldridge): An Act to provide sunlight to state government, 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