Citizens for Juvenile Justice Debunks Myths about Metal Detectors and School Safety

Metal Detectors

By Stav Keshet

We all want students to feel safe at school. How can a student thrive if they don’t feel secure? In a recently released report titled Metal Detectors: “Security theater,” Not Safer Schools, Citizens for Juvenile Justice (CFJJ) answer an important question: do metal detectors in schools increase school safety? The answer: no. Research has shown that there is ‘insufficient evidence’ that metal detectors decrease crimes or violence in schools. So why do we use them? There are many reasons that factor in, including the fact that security systems got a boost from federal grant programs following the terrorist attacks of September 11.  For many, the “perception of safety” is a major motivator, but that perception is not anchored in reality or universally shared. Such claims around safety lack solid evidence, and make many students, especially students of color, feel less–not more–safe. These issues are not distinct to metal detectors, but demonstrate a larger pattern. Studies have shown that in addition to metal detectors, security cameras and the number of visible physical security measures tend to negatively affect perceptions of safety.

It is important to remember the effects of enhanced security on students’ mental health. As highlighted by the report, enhanced security measures have been documented to cause students to suffer from mental health impacts ranging from anxiety to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other forms of psychological distress.”  At a time when our nation is struggling with an ongoing mental health  crisis, it is more important than ever to notice how oversurveillance makes it harder for students to find a sense of trust and of belonging, necessities for any healthy learning environment. School should be an enjoyable experience—not a scary one.

The report also looks at the intersection of mental health and racial discrimination. A key takeaway from the report was that even when controlling for multiple other variables, the concentration of students of color [Black, Latine, and Native] at the school was a predictor of whether or not schools decided to rely on more intense security measures And while all students’ mental health is negatively impacted by surveillance measures, Black, Latine, and Native students are often uniquely impacted. The report highlighted a study which found that “the use of surveillance methods, especially when applied disproportionately to students of color, …. skews minorities’ perceptions of their standing in our society, and sends harmful messages to members of all races that students attending majority-white schools enjoy greater privileges and have superior privacy rights.”

Studies have shown that enhanced security measures have negative impacts on teachers and staff, too. The report details several research and anecdotal evidence of school administrators who were concerned about the negative social consequences of metal detectors, in addition to the high financial cost to the school.A senior analyst for the campus safety group Safe Havens International said that: “metal detectors… can also create a prison-like feeling among students, have been linked to diminished academic performance, and, worst of all, don’t work well in school settings.” At the best, ineffective devices are wasting valuable funds in many schools across the United States. At the worst, many students are unable to fulfill their academic potential because instead of school- they attend a quasi- prison. 

What’s Progressive and What’s Not in Gov. Healey’s Tax Proposal

In her campaign last year, Governor Maura Healey touted a promise to cut taxes and address the high cost of living in Massachusetts. In her recently released budget, she offered her version of tax reform.

Before diving into it, any discussion of taxes must begin with a few acknowledgements:

(1) The “Taxachusetts” myth is just that: indeed, we are middle-of-the-pack when it comes to taxation levels compared to other states.

(2) We have long had a regressive tax code, with a flat income tax such — meaning that someone making $30,000 would pay the same income tax rate as someone making $3 million. Voters, fortunately, chose to take a step forward toward progressivity by passing the Fair Share Amendment last fall, creating a surtax on income over $1 million.

(3) If we want to invest in our collective well-being and our public infrastructure, we need revenue. If we want to maintain public goods and services, we need to invest in them.

Back to Healey’s proposal…

How much? The total tax package would cost $986 million each year. Notably, that is almost the same as the amount of money she plans to designate for Fair Share revenue and appropriations ($1 billion). Healey’s proposed use of Fair Share funds cover many important programs and initiatives, but if we raise $1 billion only to also spend $1 billion in tax cuts, we risk creating a situation where money is just being moved around. Fair Share funds should be truly additive to deliver on the intent of the voters. Moreover, spending so much on long-term tax cuts is also risky as increased federal funding for Mass Health, rental assistance, and SNAP is ending — and could be cut even further if Republicans in Congress get their way.

What’s Most Progressive? According to an analysis from MassBudget, the most progressive parts of Healey’s proposal are the doubling of the the Senior Circuit Breaker tax credit (which helps offset property taxes faced by seniors with modest incomes) and an increase in the Renters Deduction (which, in impact, ends up only $50 for renters who don’t already get a refund). An extra $50 in the pocket of renters ultimately won’t go very far, given escalating rents and costs in general. Combined, these proposals amount to $100 million.

MassBudget: https://massbudget.org/2023/03/16/gov-tax-plan/

What’s Somewhat Progressive? The largest part of the tax package is the child and family tax credit, which would amount to $600 per child under 13 or dependent adult and cost $458 million. It is unclear why parents of teenagers should not get the same benefit: any parent of a teenager will tell you how much it costs to feed a teenager. Families with low and middle incomes will certainly benefit from extra money in their pocket, but $600 will not last long given that two weeks of child care cost more than that. The credit thus does little to address the real drivers of the cost of living in Massachusetts, even if it can help around the edges.

What’s Regressive? Unfortunately, almost $400 million in tax cuts from the package are outright regressive in impact. That includes $117 million in a cut to the tax rate for short-term capital gains: the highest-income 1 percent of households would receive an estimated 77 percent of this – an average of over $7,000 apiece. Even more jarring is the cut to the estate tax, which would amount to $275 million. Healey’s proposal would create a $182,000 tax credit for large estates, wiping away estate tax for estates under $3 million and amounting to a $182,000 giveaway to estates over $3 million.

What Should Change? Any tax reform package should be progressive overall and should also be at least revenue-neutral (meaning that it raises back anything that it spends). Legislators should reject outright the proposed cut to the capital gains tax, as they did last year when Governor Baker proposed it. If legislators are committed to changing the estate tax, they can eliminate the cliff effect that currently exists at $1 million without giving away money to the largest estates. And if legislators want to pass the more progressive parts of Healey’s proposal, they should fund them by embracing progressive tax proposals like increasing the corporate tax rate, increasing the tax rate on offshored income, or creating a tiered corporate minimum tax (so that large corporations can’t get by with only paying $456).

What Can You Do? Write to your legislators! They need to hear from you while they are crafting their own budget proposals.

We’re Tracking Co-Sponsors

By co-sponsoring bills, legislators can take a small step to show their support for the bill and help build momentum for it at the State House. That’s why we’re tracking co-sponsorship of our Legislative Agenda and other key bills on our Scorecard website: https://scorecard.progressivemass.com/.
What the Scorecard Can Help You do

Get Some More Co-Sponsors

Don’t see your legislators signing on to bills that matter to you? First of all, you should give them a call or send them an email. But even better: join us at the State House! Our 2023 Progressive Mass Lobby Day will be on Thursday, April 13, at 10 am in Room 428 at the State House.We’ll hear from inspiring speakers and meet with our legislators about important bills. More details will be coming soon, but for now, let us know you can come and mark your calendars!
PM Lobby Day 2023

And Join Upcoming Coalition Lobby Days

Prison Moratorium Campaign Relaunch: “It’s not just about stopping a prison.”

Prison phone call

By Stav Keshet

On Monday, Jan 30, 2023, Families for Justice as Healing (FJAH) and The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls hosted a virtual relaunch for the Prison Moratorium campaign, with a packed crowd of over 200 attendees.

Last year, with a coalition of organizers, they were able to pass the Prison Moratorium bill, which would enact a five-year pause on prison and jail construction, through the Legislature; however, it was vetoed by former Governor Charlie Baker. But the fight isn’t over. The need to pass a prison moratorium is particularly urgent because of ongoing plans to build a new women’s prison in the Commonwealth—plans which are proceeding under the new administration of Governor Maura Healey.

The event, moderated by FJAH Executive Director Mallory Hanora, began with remarks from Andrea James, the Founder and Executive director of the National Council of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls and the Founder of Families for Justice as Healing. James powerfully argued that prisons do not allow one to take individual accountability for their actions, and instead merely continue a cycle of harm. She highlighted the concept of “community accountability”—stating that, as a society, we have a responsibility to prevent such continuous harm by investing in communities rather than pursuing criminalization. Highlighting that alternative models already exist, she asked the attendees: “It’s not just about stopping a prison– it’s about…Where is the funding? If you got 50 million plus another 25 to invest in prisons in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and we have worked for more than 12 years to develop models—that we have used our resources at FJAH and the National Council to create models of what different looks like—where is that funding?”

After James came two speakers from Jane Doe Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence. Hema Sarang Sieminski and Nithya Badrinath, Policy Director and Policy Manager, respectively, highlighted how over 90% of incarcerated women experienced sexual abuse or domestic violence before their incarceration, arguing that “the conditions and culture of power and control in prisons, jails, and detention centers are a mirror of the violence that so many survivors experience in the interpersonal context.” Whereas many legislators will point to survivors as a reason to expand criminalization, Jane Doe Inc. believes that carceral systems will not provide the safety and healing that survivors need and do not provide any form of accountability for harm done to them; therefore, they oppose any policy that will increase criminal penalties in the name of increasing accountability or promoting survivor safety.

The next speaker was Ms. Angelia Jefferson, a community member of Families for Justice as Healing and the National Council. Known as “Ms. Angie,” she is a mother, a grandmother, and a formerly incarcerated woman who served over 31 years at MCI-Framingham. She stated that “instead of using that money to build a prison, [she] can’t say it enough–mental health and medical needs to be at the forefront of this.” She spoke of the need to invest in community resources, and especially provide more accessible mental health services and trauma support, instead of defaulting to criminalization. Next spoke the lead sponsors of the bill, Representative Chynah Tyler of  Roxbury and Senator Jo Comerford of Northampton. They both discussed their commitment to passing the prison moratorium bill and to pushing a broader narrative that prioritizes investment in community well-being rather than punitive measures.

Some might ask, what does different look like? Sashi James, the Director of Reimagining Communities for Families for Justice as Healing and the National Council, has an answer. While organizers are working to stop the building of a new women’s prison, James is building the future of a non-carceral world, implemented through the vision of “Reimagining Communities”. Most of this work is done in Roxbury by creating programs to support community members. James discussed some of them, including a guaranteed income program for currently and formerly incarcerated women, a basic housing program, a hydroponic farm, and more.

Lastly, the event ended with Rabbi Leora Abelson, the Rabbi of the Nehar Shalom Synagogue in Jamaica Plain and a member of T’ruah, a national organization of Jewish Clergy organizing for human rights. Leora discussed faith and spirituality in connection to social justice, stating that she perceives organizing as sacred work. Participants had the opportunity to think of a moment when they felt free, and Rabbi Abelson powerfully stated that “we live in a world whose structures and systems do not reflect what we know within us about freedom, and dignity, and worth. But we are building that world. And what we know inside of us is guiding us. Guiding us to know that we do not need any more prisons. That we don’t need any prisons. And to know what we do need.” She ended the reflection with a call for action, where participants had the opportunity to support the prison moratorium bill by signing up for an upcoming rally, call the governor’s office, and call their legislators.

If you weren’t able to join the event, you can watch the recording of the event here: https://youtu.be/GobJ-4UmmM8

Want to support the prison moratorium bill? You can with these quick steps!

  1. Sign up to join FJAH and the National Council at the State House for a Day of Action on February 9 from 3-6pm.
  2. Call Governor Healey and tell her NO NEW WOMEN’S PRISON
    Now is the time to let Governor Healey know that people across MA want a 5 year pause on jail and prison construction and expansion. Call and fill up the voicemail box: bit.ly/massmoratoriumguide
  3. Call your State Rep and Senator and ask them to co-sponsor the Prison Moratorium bit.ly/massmoratoriumguide
  4. Sign up for a phone bank or canvass!
    Volunteer to phone bank or canvass with members of  FJAH and the National Council, and support their efforts to stop the new women’s prison and pass the prison moratorium! Sign up for a shift here: bit.ly/nonewprisonvolunteer

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

So what does “Progressive” Mean Anyway?

Happy Giving Tuesday, and belated Thanksgiving!

We’ve come a long way in 2022. Back when Progressive Mass started, many politicians didn’t want to touch the word “progressive.” Now, more and more of them are embracing the term.

But that makes our work harder — and more important. Because it means greater attention to — and accountability for — what “progressive” actually means.

In a time when more politicians are calling themselves “progressive”, Progressive Mass has a critical role to ensure the term doesn’t lose meaning.

  • We define it through our candidate questionnaires that shape the conversation of progressive policy, such as explicit support for the Fair Share Amendment and the Work and Family Mobility Act.
  • We evaluate it through our scorecards, which show whether politicians are living up to their professed values.
  • We close the gap between our State’s progressive image and reality by keeping activists like you updated on the State House
  • We support local chapters, including two new chapters in Salem and Western Norfolk County, to put principles into practice through local policy advocacy, municipal candidate questionnaires and interviews, forums, book groups, and other community contacts
  • We help voters differentiate information from disinformation on crucial issues through posts and blogs, and thousands of voter contacts.

We’re in a great position to grow and we hope you’ll support us. Will you consider becoming a monthly donor?

Monthly donors allow us to consistently and effectively:

  • Support activists to launch new chapters to bring coordinated pressure to more legislators
  • Bring organizing muscle to statewide advocacy coalitions
  • Educate, engage, and mobilize activists and potential activists around the state on policies that would make our Commonwealth more equitable, just, sustainable, and democratic
  • Building tools to better enable constituents to hold their legislators accountable

I would be grateful for your support, we have much more work to do and your donation could make all the difference.

This year, like every year, we are thankful for you. We look forward to many years of progressive grassroots organizing to come.

Onwards,

Caroline Bays Progressive Mass Board President

Progressive Mass Trivia Night 2022

Progressive Mass Trivia Night 2022
Saturday, December 3, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Zoom

Who’s ready to play?! We’re looking forward to some time to unwind and enjoy the company of fellow advocates and allies after another busy election cycle.

Join us for a night of trivia and show off your knowledge of pop culture and politics while competing for fun prizes!

Reserve a ticket today!

Play trivia!

  • $15 per person
  • $45 per team of 4 people

Sponsor a question!

  • $100 to sponsor 1 question
  • $150 to sponsor 2 questions

*Sponsor name & logo will appear on question slide

Click here to reserve tickets or to sponsor a question!

If you have questions, please email Melanie O’Malley at: melanie@progressivemass.com.

MPAOC Conference: Facing our Challenges in Dangerous Times

Saturday, December 3, 2022 @ 9:00 AM
Online

MPAOC virtual conference: Facing our Challenges in Dangerous Times

We live at a time characterized by numerous dire threats to justice, peace, and the very stability of our country. Among these threats are rampant militarism, galloping climate change, growing inequality, an ongoing and divisive pandemic, and the emergence of a dangerous right-wing extremist movement.

The goal of this Conference is to explore with activists and thought leaders how to address these enormous obstacles to the fulfillment of a progressive vision. 

Click here to RSVP

Speakers:

  • John Nichols, National affairs correspondent for The Nation. His most recent book is Coronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Profiteers: Accountability for Those Who Caused the Crisis.
  • Jamie Eldridge, State Senator representing the Middlesex and Worcester District.
  • Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies. The seventh edition of her Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict : A Primer was published in 2018.
  • T. J. Jackson Lears, American cultural and intellectual historian with interests in comparative religious history, literature and the visual arts, folklore and folk beliefs. He is Board of Governors Distinguished Professor of History at Rutgers and Editor in Chief of Raritan. He is author of Rebirth of a Nation: The Making of Modern America, 1877-1920.
  • Lindsay Koshgarian, Program Director for the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies. She is an expert in dissecting the Federal budget including the contrast between Pentagon spending and domestic needs.
  • Jordan Berg Powers, Executive Director at Mass Alliance. In his over a decade there, he has helped elect new progressive leaders across the state, recruited progressive champions to run, and trained hundreds of grassroots organizers. Jordan is active in campaigns for saving public education, environmental justice, and a more progressive tax system for the Commonwealth.
  • Jean-Luc Pierite, President of the Board of the North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB). A member of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana and originally from New Orleans, he resides in Jamaica Plain.
  • Mallory Hanora, Executive Director of Families for Justice as Healing, a Roxbury based prison abolitionist organization led by incarcerated women, formerly incarcerated women, and women with incarcerated loved ones, which works to move Massachusetts towards community based solutions rather than constructing a new women’s prison.

Sponsored by the Massachusetts Progressive Action Organizing Committee, whose constituent groups are Massachusetts Peace Action; Our Revolution Massachusetts; Progressive Massachusetts; Progressive Democrats of America; North American Indian Center of Boston; and Incorruptible Mass.

The End of the Legislative Session Was Chaotic. Here’s Where Bills Stand.

Sunlight behind the MA State House

Despite the fact that the Massachusetts Legislature is a full-time body, and that legislators have accordingly been in session since January 2021, legislators routinely push a lot of legislating off until the final months, even final days of the formal legislative session.

That formal session ends on July 31 (or, if the Legislature chooses to bend the rules of time as they did this year, early on August 1). However, the actual legislative session does not end until the day before the first Wednesday of the year, so legislators can come back at any time to pass new legislation or unfinished legislation; they just need the will to do so.

Let’s take a look at what important legislation became law in these final months, what passed only one chamber but not the other, what’s stuck in limbo, and what got stuck in various stages of the committee process.

Passed via Veto Override

Work & Family Mobility Act (H.4085, 6/9) 

  • Ensures that any qualified driver, regardless of immigration status, can obtain a driver’s license 

Passed and Signed by the Governor

VOTES Act (S.2922, 6/22)

  • Creates a permanent vote-by-mail option (and requires every voter to be mailed a vote-by-mail application)
  • Expands early voting options
  • Ensures that eligible voters who are incarcerated are able to request a mail ballot and vote
  • Shortens the voter registration cutoff period from 20 days until 10 days (but does not enact Same Day Registration as the Senate bill had)
  • Sets a deadline for that the Commonwealth to join the 30-state Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) to keep voter registration rolls up-to-date
  • See more at https://www.progressivemass.com/votes-act-june-2022/ 

CROWN Act (H.4554, 7/26)

  • Prohibits discrimination against employees, students and other individuals based on their natural or protective hairstyle (e.g., braids or knots)

Protecting Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Care (H.5090, 7/29)

  • Critical protections for Bay Staters who provide or help someone access reproductive health care and gender-affirming care
  • A requirement that insurance cover abortion and abortion-related care. The bill also ensures coverage is affordable—and not subject to cost sharing—for low income individuals
  • A requirement that Massachusetts public colleges and universities provide medication abortion at campus health centers
  • A statewide standing order for both prescription and over-the-counter emergency contraception, making no-cost insurance coverage possible for all forms of emergency contraception without delay
  • A confidential address program for reproductive health care and gender-affirming care providers who too often face threats and violence for providing health care
  • Language to clarify the ROE Act and ensure pregnant people do not have to leave Massachusetts for abortion care later in pregnancy

Gun Safety Regulations (in Judicial IT bill, 8/10)

  • Requires a licensing authority, like a law enforcement official, to conduct a personal interview with anyone seeking an initial application for a license to carry a firearm
  • Bans from getting a gun license anyone subject to “a permanent or temporary harassment prevention order” or who “may create a risk to public safety or a risk of danger to self or others

An Act driving clean energy and offshore wind (H.5060, 8/11)
The Legislature passed a climate bill that takes steps to accelerate the transition to renewable energy (with a special but not exclusive focus on stimulating the offshore wind industry), modernize the grid, make green jobs accessible to the communities most in need, require large buildings to report energy usage, enable 10 municipalities to ban fossil fuels in new construction (provided that they actually allow construction of affordable housing), improve electric car infrastructure and affordability, and require electrification of public fleets. Although the bill was modestly amended since its passage on July 21 in response to amendments from Governor Baker, the Legislature’s final bill mostly adhered to the contours outlined here.

Cannabis Equity Bill (S.3096, 8/11)

The Legislature passed a bill to address equity in the growing legal cannabis industry in the state. The bill would direct 15% of the money in the Marijuana Regulation Fund (which is generated from the marijuana excise tax, application and licensing fees, and industry penalties) into a new Social Equity Fund, which would offer grants and loans to boost participation in the industry by populations disproportionately harmed by the drug war. It would also give the Cannabis Control Commission the authority to review and approve host community agreements as a way to combat both corruption and undue obstacles to Social Equity applicants posed. Baker signed the bill, vetoing only one small part of the bill that would have commissioned a study on how to remove obstacles to the possession and consumption of medical marijuana in K-12 schools.

Transportation Bond Bill (H.5151, 8/15)

The Legislature passed a $11.3 billion transportation bond bill (H.5151). The bond bill contained a number of noteworthy authorizations, including $6.95 million for fare-free bus pilot programs for the MBTA and Regional Transit Authorities, $200+ million for electrification of the commuter rail, $1 billion in MBTA modernization and $64 million in RTA capital investments, $275 million for the East-West Rail project, and enhanced data reporting from companies like Uber and Lyft. However, it is important to remember what a bond bill is and what it isn’t. A bond bill is an authorization of debt; much of the funds end up never spent. Note also that Baker chose to weaken the bill before signing it, sending back amendments (a) to urge the use of battery electric trains for commuter rail despite the fact that there are no battery trains in passenger service in North America yet and (b) to remove the language requiring no diesel locomotives after December 31, 2030.

Passed and Signed: Mental Health ABC Act 2.0 (S.3097, 8/16)

The Legislature passed a broadly supported comprehensive mental health care reform bill (An Act addressing barriers to care for mental health, or Mental Health ABC). The bill would do the following, among many other provisions: 

  • Mandate coverage for an annual mental health wellness exam, comparable to an annual physical
  • Provide the state with better tools to implement and enforce mental health parity laws (meaning that if insurance plans must provide equal treatment of mental health conditions, including substance abuse, as they do for other medical conditions)
  • Implement the nationwide 988 hotline to access 24/7 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis services
  • Initiate a public awareness campaign for red flag laws and extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs) that limit access to guns for people at risk of hurting themselves or others
  • Enable individuals over 26 years old who live with disabilities can remain on their parents’ health insurance

In Limbo because of Baker 

However, Baker did not sign all of the bills the Legislature passed in the final days of the session, and by taking so long to finalize their bills, the Legislature gave Baker undue leverage. He was able to veto things when legislators were already in recess or had little time to act (which, in the case of No Cost Calls, they squandered). The Legislature should come back into the session to finish their work.

  • Prison Moratorium, the five-year pause on new prison & jail construction, which was passed by both House and Senate via the infrastructure bond bill. Baker vetoed it when the Legislature already ended the session, leaving them unable to override a veto.
  • No Cost Calls, which was passed by both chambers in the budget and was sent back with an amendment by Baker to add his “dangerousness hearing” bill (which would expand pretrial detention). The House rejected it, and the Senate passed a narrowed, but still harmful version of it, and then both chambers left
  • SAPHE 2.0 Act (Statewide Accelerated Public Health for Every Community), which would create local and regional public health standards and regular state funding to health boards and was passed unanimously. Baker sent back significant amendments when the Legislature already ended the session, leaving them unable to respond. 
  • $30 million in funding for virtual meeting capacities in municipalities, which Baker vetoed in the general government infrastructure bill the Legislature passed.

In Limbo because of the Economic Development Bill 

The Legislature had been working to finalize an economic development bill, centered on rebates (which concerningly excluded the residents of the greatest needs), some progressive tax reforms, some regressive tax reforms (a massive estate tax giveaway), and funding for important programs across the state. These negotiations got sidelined by the realization that a misguided Reaganite 1986 tax law in the state could be triggered, sending automatic (regressive) tax rebates to residents. Important policies that were included in the Senate or House version of the bill are stuck in limbo, and the Legislature should come back to finish them.

  • PILOT Study (H.3083, Robinson), which would order an estimate how much municipalities are losing each year due to the tax exemption for nonprofits
  • Community Immunity Act (S.1517, Rausch), which would create statewide consistent immunization policy and provide residents throughout the Commonwealth the data necessary to prevent future outbreaks of vaccine-preventable infectious disease
  • HOMES Act (S.921, Edwards), which would create a process for sealing eviction records, which can currently be a permanent obstacle for people in attaining new housing even if they won in eviction court 

What Passed the House, But not the Senate

  • Facial Surveillance Regulations, as recommended by a commission created by the Legislature in the 2020 police reform bill (and incorporated by the House into the Judiciary IT bill: H.5076, 7/21/222) 

What Passed the Senate, But Not the House

  • Stronger child care infrastructure (S.2973, passed 7/7/22), which was lauded by the Common Start Coalition as  a significant step forward in transforming the child care system in MA, including more affordability for families, early educator raises, and stability for child care providers 
  • The Healthy Youth Act (S.2541, passed 9/23/2021), which would ensure that Massachusetts schools that offer sex education use an age-appropriate, medically accurate, and LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum (Passed 9/23/2021)
  • Menstrual Equity Bill (S.2730, passed 3/7/2022), which would make menstrual products available without cost in prisons, homeless shelters, and public schools. 
  • Civil asset forfeiture reform (S.2988, passed 6/30/2022), which would raise the legal bar that law enforcement must meet to seize and keep people’s money and property in suspected drug crimes (For more, see our write-up here.)
  • Juvenile Justice Reform (S.2987, passed 6/30/2022), which would increase opportunities for judicial diversion for youth (For more, see our write-up here.)
  • Gender X Bill (S.2540, passed 9/27/2021), which would allow for a non-binary option on birth certificates and drivers licenses in the state.

Reported out of Committee But Never Taken Up

One Fair Wage (S.1213 / H.1971): An Act requiring one fair wage (Jehlen – Farley-Bouvier / Fluker-Oakley), which would phase out the discriminatory subminimum wage for tipped workers

Wage Theft Enforcement (S.1179 / H.1959): An Act to prevent wage theft, promote employer accountability, and enhance public enforcement (DiDomenico-Donahue), which would provide the AG’s office with additional mechanisms for enforcing the Commonwealth’s wage and hour laws and subjects lead contractors to joint and severable civil liability if their subcontractors commit wage theft

Banning Mandatory Arbitration (S.1164 / H.1984): An Act relative to the defense against abuse waivers (Chandler – Gordon), which would ban mandatory arbitration in the workplace, a practice which affords employers one-sided protections such as selecting the arbitrator and holding arbitration at the employment site

Injured Workers Bill (S.1187 / H.2032): An Act to protect injured workers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic (Eldridge – Nguyen), which would provide for an administrative complaint and investigation mechanism for enforcement and otherwise addresses employer misconduct that prevents workers from receiving timely medical care and benefits

Equity in Public Contracting (S.2018 / H.3166) An Act Relative to Equity in Public Contracting in Honor of Bruce C. Bolling (Chang-Diaz — Holmes), which would commit the Commonwealth’s commitment to lowering unemployment rates in distressed communities and uses both transparency and competition to help ensure projects funded by taxpayer dollars are creating local jobs and promoting workforce diversity

Wage Equity Bill (S.1196 / H.2020):  An Act relative to transparency in the Workplace (Feeney – Malia/Miranda), which would require employers of 100+ workers to publicly post annual wage data reports by race and gender to check compliance with the Pay Equity Law

Lift Kids Out of Deep Poverty (S.96 / H.199): An Act to lift kids out of deep poverty (DiDomenico – Decker) Sets a floor for cash assistance benefits at 50% of the federal poverty level, improving basic financial security for low-income families with children

Homeless Bill of Rights (S.142): An Act providing a bill of rights for people experiencing homelessness (Rausch), which would people experiencing homelessness from discrimination in housing, employment and voter registration; removes archaic and offensive laws about “vagabonds,” “vagrants,” and “tramps” from the General Laws

CHAPA Housing Production Bill (S.871 / H.1448: An Act relative to housing production (Crighton – Vargas/Honan), which would establish a statewide goal of producing 427,000 new units of housing in Massachusetts by 2040, with more than one quarter meeting the definition of affordable housing

Tenant Opportunity to Purchase (S.890 / H.1426): An Act to guarantee a tenant’s first right of refusal (Jehlen – Livingstone/Consalvo)l which would provide tenants of small, medium, and large multifamily properties with right of first refusal when the owner plans to put a building on the market, provided that they can make a bona fide offer to match the asking price in a reasonable period of time

Visitation Rights (S.1550 / H.2440): An Act to strengthen family and community connection with incarcerated people (Chang-Diaz – Decker), which would strengthen and secure the rights of prisoners to receive visits and maintain relationships with their friends and loved ones without unnecessary interference from the state

Safe Communities Act (S.1579 / H.2418): An Act to protect the civil rights and safety of all Massachusetts residents (Eldridge – Balser/Miranda), which would limit local and state police collaboration with federal immigration agents, bars law enforcement and court personnel from inquiring about immigration status, and ensures due process protections

Access to Medication Treatment (S.1296 / H.2067): An Act regarding consistent care for addiction rooted in evidence  (Keenan – Balser), which would require prisons and jails to provide medication for opioid disorders

Media Access in Prisons (S.1638 / H.2513): An Act relative to media access and transparency in correctional facilities (Rausch – Decker/Rogers), which would require correctional facilities to guarantee access of media representatives to incarcerated individuals

We the People Act (S.2402 / H.3658): Resolutions for a United States Constitutional Amendment and a limited amendment proposing convention (Eldridge – Gentile/Vieira), which calls for an Article V convention to propose an amendment to undo Citizens United and authorize campaign finance regulation

Empowering Parents to Run (S.475  / H.769):  An Act supporting parents running for public office (Jehlen – Connolly/Meschino), which would allow parents running for elected office to expense child care to their campaign accounts

Remote Access to Public Meetings (S.2082 / H.3152): An Act to modernize participation in public meetings (Lewis – Garlick), which would guarantee that remote access to public meetings outlives the pandemic by codifying Governor Baker’s March 2020 emergency order in statute (Rather than making this permanent, the Legislature extended the rules only to next March)

Regional Transportation Ballot Initiatives (S.1899 / H.2978): An Act relative to transportation ballot initiatives (Lesser – Lewis), which would allow municipalities to use ballot initiatives to raise revenue (increase a tax of their choice, sales, hotel, gas, etc.) that would be used specifically for identified regional transportation projects, something many other states already allow

Native Mascots Ban (S.294 / H.581):  An Act prohibiting the use of Native American mascots by public schools in the Commonwealth (Comerford – Elugardo/Gouveia), which would prohibit the use of Native American mascots in Massachusetts public schools.

Data Equity Bill (H.3115): An Act ensuring equitable representation in the Commonwealth (Chan), which would require that government agencies that collect demographic information disaggregate by country of origin in order to better identify community needs and inequalities between communities.

Indigenous People’s Day (S.2027 / H.3191): An Act establishing an Indigenous People’s Day (Comerford – Lewis / Fluker Oakley), which would recognize the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day and recommends appropriate incorporation into school curricula

Left in Committee, Sent to Study, or Voted Down 

Medicare for All (S.766 / H.1267): An Act establishing medicare for all in Massachusetts (Eldridge – Sabadosa/Garlick), which would establish a single payer system, in which the state provides health care to all residents as a right

HERO Act (S.1853 / H.2890): An Act providing for climate change adaptation infrastructure and affordable housing investments in the Commonwealth (Eldridge – Elugardo), which would double 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

Real Estate Transfer Fee (S.868 / H.1377): An Act empowering cities and towns to support affordable housing with a fee on certain real estate transactions (Comerford – Connolly), 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

Banning Exclusionary Zoning (S.867 / H.1373): An Act promoting fair housing by preventing discrimination against affordable housing (Chang-Diaz — Barber)

HOMES for All (S.866 / H.1799): An Act Relative to Homes for All (Chang-Diaz – Miranda), which would require that any person having the right to rent, lease, or sell properties can not discriminate against any person for sealed criminal records, misdemeanors that occurred over three years ago or that did not result in convictions

COVID Housing Equity Bill (S.891 / H.1434): An Act to prevent COVID-19 evictions and foreclosures and promote an equitable housing recovery (Jehlen – Moran/Honan), which would require landlords to cooperate with rental assistance programs before pursuing eviction; protects the most vulnerable tenants from forced removal for COVID-19 debts; pauses no-fault evictions during the state of emergency and recovery period; pauses foreclosures and requires forbearance based on federal policies; and requires the state to adopt equitable principles, flexibility, and simplification in the distribution of rental assistance funds

Tenant Protection Act (S.886 / H.1378): An Act enabling local options for tenant protections (Gomez – Connolly/Elugardo), which would enable cities and towns to pass tenant protections such as rent stabilization laws, just cause eviction, limitations on condo conversions, etc.

Right to Counsel (S.874 / H.1436): An Act promoting housing stability and homelessness prevention in Massachusetts (DiDomenico – Day / D. Rogers), which would provide legal representation for low-income tenants and owner-occupants in eviction proceedings

Paid Leave for Municipal Workers (S.1160 / H.2044): An Act to ensure paid family and medical leave benefits for municipal employees (Brady – D. Rogers), which would extend the 2018 paid family and medical leave law to cover municipal employees

Dignity At Work Act (S.1185 / H.3843): An Act addressing dignity at work without regard to protected class status / Dignity At Work Act (DiZoglio/Lewis), which would create a legal claim for bullying targets who can establish they were subjected to malicious, health-harming behavior in the workplace

Debt-free higher ed (S.829 / H.1339): An Act to guarantee debt-free public higher education (Eldridge – Higgins), which would create a higher education system where every Massachusetts resident has a right to attend any public college or university free of tuition and fees

Endowment Tax (S.836  / H.2931): An Act to support educational opportunity for all (Gomez – Higgins/Barber), which would impose an excise tax on university endowments greater than $1 billion to create a fund subsidizing the cost of higher education, early education, and child care for lower-income and middle-class residents of the commonwealth

PILOT Funding (S.1874 / H.3080): An Act relative to payments in lieu of taxation by organizations exempt from the property tax (Gomez – Uyterhoeven), which would enable cities and towns with nonprofits owning total property valued at or above $15 million to require them to make payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) equal to 25% what they would have owed without the exemption

CHERISH Act (S.824 / H.1325): An Act committing to higher education the resources to Insure a strong and healthy public higher education system / CHERISH Act (Comerford – Garballey/Mark), which would commit the Commonwealth to funding public higher education at 2001 levels, adjusted for inflation

CARES Act (S.365 / H.584): An Act relative to anti-racism, equity and justice in education (Lewis / Elugardo – Uyterhoeven), which would create a commission to develop curriculum materials with a social justice perspective of dismantling racism and ensure that ethnic sftudies, racial justice, decolonizing history, and unlearning racism is taught at all grade levels using a critical approach and pedagogy that is age-appropriate (The bill was folded into an Educator Diversity bill, but none of the text was incorporated into the bill it was folded into…)

Safer Schools (S.286 / H.648): An Act relative to safer schools (Chandler – Khan), which would support schools that want to transition their school safety program to one that does not rely on a school police model and require greater transparency on the impact of school policing on students’ discipline and information sharing with law enforcement agencies

Decriminalizing Consensual Sex (S.1126 / H.1726): An Act relative to consensual adolescent sexual activity (Rausch – Lewis), which would decriminalize consensual activity between teenagers close in age

Curbing Solitary Confinement (S.1578 / H.2504): An Act to provide criminal justice reform protections to all prisoners in segregated confinement (Eldridge – Miranda), which would expand the rights of those in solitary confinement, including requiring treatment for those with serious mental illness and monthly reviews for eligibility to return to the general population

Ending Life without Parole (H.1797): An Act to reduce mass incarceration (Livingstone/Miranda), which would repeal mandatory sentences of life without parole, which have strong racial biases and have been deemed human rights violations by international courts

Raising the Age (S.920 / H.1826): An Act to promote public safety and better outcomes for young adults (Boncore-O’Day/Khan), 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

Justice Reinvestment Act (S.1815 / H.2008): An Act to reinvest justice and opportunity in communities affected by incarceration (Chang-Diaz — Keefe), which would establish a training and workforce fund that would reinvest the savings from lower incarceration into neighborhoods most affected by the criminal justice system

Eliminating Mandatory Minimums (S.977 / H.1910): An Act to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences related to drug offenses (Creem – Uyterhoeven), which would repeal mandatory minimum sentences for opioid-related offenses, which were left in or newly created by the 2018 criminal justice reform bill

Cannabis Expungement (S.1048 / H.1904): An Act ensuring equitable access to cannabis related expungement (Gomez – Comerford / Tyler – Lewis)w, which would permit a person eligible for expungement of a decriminalized offense for possession of marijuana to expunge the charge without a hearing and permits a person who is incarcerated due to a possession of marijuana that is now decriminalized to seek release from incarceration

COVID Decarceration (H.1868): An Act regarding decarceration and COVID-19 (Sabadosa), which would direct the Department of Corrections and Sheriffs to to release people from incarceration who pose no immediate threat to the community so that the virus does not spread quickly in our jails and prisons, and in turn, to staff, families, and our health care system

Curbing Police Militarization (S.1539 / H.2479):  An Act relative to military grade controlled property (Barrett – Keefe/Lewis), which would require a vote by a local legislative body before a municipality can acquire military equipment

Banning Tear Gas (S.1637 / H.4150): An Act banning the use of tear gas by law enforcement (Rausch – Connolly/Lewis), which would ban the use of tear gas and other chemical weapons by law enforcement

Limiting Qualified Immunity (S.945): An Act to Allow Restitution for Civil Rights Violations (Chang-Diaz), which would prevent  qualified immunity from being used as a shield against lawsuits for violations of a person’s civil rights

Updating the MA Civil Rights Act (S.946): An Act to Secure Civil Rights through the Courts of the Commonwealth (Chang-Diaz), which would remove a narrow limitation in the MA Civil Rights Act in order to allow people to seek recourse through the courts for any violation of their civil rights

Vote16 (S.448):  An Act ensuring municipal participation of the widest eligible range (Chandler), which would enable cities and towns in Massachusetts to lower the voting age for municipal elections to 16 to encourage good voting habits early

All Resident Voting (S.465 / H.770): An Act extending voting rights in municipal elections to noncitizen voters of the commonwealth (Eldridge — Connolly/Elugardo), which would allow  non-citizens to vote in municipal elections

Local Option RCV (S.485 / H.825): An Act providing a local option for ranked choice voting in municipal elections (Rausch – Pignatelli), which would enable cities and towns in Massachusetts to adopt ranked choice voting for municipal elections

Expanding Public Records Law (S.2107, S.2048, & H.3239):  An Act expanding the public records law (Rausch) & An act to apply the public records law to the legislature (Eldridge – Uyterhoeven), which would remove the full exemption that the Governor and Legislature have from public records law

IPCC by 2030 (S.2170 / H.3372): An Act investing in a prosperous, clean commonwealth by 2030 (Eldridge – Uyterhoeven), which would commit MA to transitioning to 100% renewable electricity and net zero carbon emissions across all sectors by 2030

Rooftop Solar (S.2165 / H.3278): An Act Increasing Solar Rooftop Energy / An Act establishing solar neighborhoods (Eldridge – Lewis/Connolly), which would require that all new construction be built to accommodate solar energy installations

Building Justice with Jobs (S.2226 / H.3365): An Act providing for building justice with jobs (Pacheco – Robinson/LeBoeuf), which would put thousands of MA residents to work retrofitting 100,000 homes each year to improve energy efficiency and health outcomes, and reduce utility bills and carbon emissions

Environmental Justice Protections (S.996 / H.1792): An Act to create access to justice (DiDomenico — Meschino/Madaro), which would increase access to legal remedies for communities disproportionately impacted by environmental burdens, e.g., by eliminating the legal burden of proving that programs or activities with a disparate impact are motivated by discriminatory intent

Siting Reform (S.2135 / H.3336): An Act Relative to Energy Facilities Siting Reform to Address Environmental Justice, Climate, and Public Health (Boncore – Madaro), which would add environmental justice, public health, and climate to the factors that the Energy Facilities Siting Board must consider in its deliberations; requires community engagement prior to filing for environmental or Siting Board review of a petition to construct an oil, gas, or substation facility; among other steps

100% Clean Act (S.2136 / H.3288): An Act transitioning Massachusetts to clean electricity, heating and transportation (Boncore – Decker/Garballey), which would transition Massachusetts to 100 percent clean electricity by 2035 and 100 percent clean heating and transportation by 2045

State Infrastructure Bank (S.665 / H.1223): An Act establishing the Massachusetts infrastructure bank (Eldridge – Connolly/Elugardo), which would create a public bank, capitalized by the Commonwealth and offering financing at lower cost to Mass cities and towns, increasing municipal capacity for making infrastructure improvements

The Fight for Reproductive Justice Isn’t Over

We’ve seen it coming for months (years, even), but it was still a gut punch to see the Supreme Court vote 6-3 today to overturn Roe vs. Wade, ending protections for legal abortion in the United States and taking our country back decades.

Here in Massachusetts, abortion is still legal, thanks to strong laws we have on the books (a thank-you especially to everyone who fought for the ROE Act two years ago).

But barriers to care—including exorbitant costs, complicated insurance coverage, and under-resourced providers—still exist, especially for low-income communities, communities of color, and immigrant communities.

And Massachusetts can do more for those who might need to leave other states to obtain abortion access. The Senate budget included strong language to protect reproductive health care providers who serve out-of-state residents, and it’s vital that that stay in.

Our allies at the Mass Beyond Roe Coalition (spearheaded by the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and Reproductive Equity Now) laid out a comprehensive agenda for reproductive justice. You can read about it — and get ready to advocate for it — here: https://massbeyondroe.com/.

As abortion access has always been most difficult for those with the least resources, please consider donating to one of the Commonwealth’s abortion funds:

Eastern Mass Abortion Fund: https://emafund.org/

Abortion Rights Fund of Western Massachusetts: https://arfwm.org/

The Jane Fund: https://www.janefund.org/