Samantha J. Gross and Matt Stout, “Months in, Healey is scoring wins with a Democrat-led Legislature in the very places her GOP predecessor failed,” Boston Globe, April 17, 2023.
“The disappointing thing about this is that many people were looking forward to having a Democratic trifecta,” said Jonathan Cohn, policy director of Progressive Massachusetts.“But they weren’t hoping to have a Democratic trifecta get tax breaks for day traders and speculators.”
John Budenas, “House sends $1.1 Bil tax relief bill to senate,” State House News Sevice, April 13, 2023.
The Progressive Massachusetts group zeroed in on the estate tax, short-term capital gains tax and single sales factor apportionment reforms collectively worth about $440 million as pressure points. During its lobby day earlier on Thursday, the organization slammed those measures as “regressive” and likely to blunt the impact of a newly voter-enacted surtax on high earners.
“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,” the group wrote in a handout from its event. “Indeed, tackling our housing crisis should be the #1 priority if legislators actually cared about the goals of ‘affordability’ and ‘competitiveness.’”
Joan Vennochi, “When it comes to issues facing the state, it’s Maura ‘in the middle’ Healey,” Boston Globe, April 10, 2023.
“To progressive Democrats, the answer is not enough. Pointing out that Healey’s tax reform proposal is basically the same as Baker’s, Jonathan Cohn, policy director of Progressive Massachusetts, said, “Her instinct has been to give that money back, weakening our state’s ability to deliver on the promise of investment.” On housing and transit, he added, “I think we need to see more from her administration about what their major goals are and how they would track their own success. There isn’t enough communicated urgency about what is needed for the affordability crisis and the crisis of the MBTA.” Cohn also flagged Healey for a “wait-and-see” attitude on zoning changes that are aimed at increasing affordable housing.””
Chris Lisinski, “House adds capital gains, biz cuts to $1.1B tax relief plan,” State House News Service, April 11, 2023.
The proposal drew criticism from some voices on the left. “Our Democratic governor and Democratic Legislature fighting hard for the day traders … ,” tweeted Progressive Massachusetts Political Director Jonathan Cohn.
PM’s Policy Director was on WCVB5 this evening talking about why the House’s tax proposal misses the mark on affordability. Check out the video here.
Ivy Scott, “Proposed amendment to state constitution could give prisoners back their right to vote,” Boston Globe, April 6, 2023.
Jonathan Cohn, policy director of the grassroots political group Progressive Mass, cited multiple studies that indicate a significant percentage of incarcerated people leave prison believing their right to vote is gone forever. Eleven states prevent formerly incarcerated people from voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Preventing prisoners from voting “disenfranchises more than just those directly affected,” Cohn said.
Alison Kuznitz, “Eight-year term limit eliminated for Mass. Senate President Karen Spilka,” MassLive, February 9, 2023.
Jonathan Cohn, policy director at the grassroots activist organization Progressive Mass, said the lack of floor debate Thursday likely stems from senators’ fear of retaliation from Spilka, particularly as committee assignments have yet to be released.
Yet should senators eventually elect a “very conservative” president, Cohn warned “you’re stuck with them for a long because there’s no fail-safe.”
“When you give one person that level of power- and agenda-setting for the body, it also just slows things down because you’re the one person and you’re in charge indefinitely for the future,” Cohn told MassLive. “It makes it clear that everything needs to run through you, and there are only 24 hours in the day. That centralization that exists in both House and Senate is something that causes a lot of the inertia that exists in the building.”
Jonathan Cohn, political director for the left-wing grassroots group Progressive Massachusetts, voiced concern that eliminating term limits for the Senate president would be another step moving the Senate closer to the House in the way it does business.
The past few years have seen “what I would call a House-ification of the Massachusetts Senate,” said Cohn, “operating with a greater concentration of power that we have, in recent years, more attributed to the Massachusetts House, and now possibly embracing its style of governance.”
“I am hoping we can get some reform-minded people in there, so we can make the changes that need to happen. The entire system, the entire culture, everything needs to be completely overhauled,” said Caroline Bays, board chair of Progressive Massachusetts. “This is a new job for her, this is a fresh start.”
“Healey’s partners in the Legislature skew to the center,” MASSterlist, January 12, 2023.
Left-leaning Democrats have been wandering around the State House in recent days looking for bread crumbs….crumbs that will lead them to a conclusion on whether Gov. Maura Healey will be a progressive champion in the Corner Office, or govern more from the center.
While it’s way too soon to be making judgments on Healey’s progressive bonafides as governor, it’s not too soon to consider who she will be working with and what it might take for her to be successful.
Progressive Massachusetts published its legislative scorecard yesterday grading lawmakers in the House and Senate based on votes they took during the 2021-2022 session.
The results show a decidedly centrist Legislature where – left’s face – the bulk of the decisions about what will and won’t get done on Beacon Hill get made. A plurality in both the House and Senate earned Cs, and more than half of lawmakers in each branch (97 in the House and 22 in the Senate) were given a grade of C or lower.
Only 11 lawmakers in the House and Senate earned As from the group, and of those only six are returning for the new session – Sens. Jamie Eldridge, Patricia Jehlen and Becca Rausch and Reps. Mike Connolly, Dan Sena and Erika Uyterhoeven.
That means Healey is going to have to work with a relatively moderate Legislature. Senate President Karen Spilka was not given a grade because of the infrequency with which she votes, while last session’s Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues got a B-.
On the House side, Speaker Ron Mariano and his Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz both received a C+.
Some of the faces have changed to start this new session, but that’s unlikely to move the needle much.
Progressive Massachusetts policy director Jonathan Cohn noted the “strong dynamic of legislators voting lockstep with the speaker,” which led to 45 House Democrats receiving the same score as the speaker.
“We are looking forward to the new legislative session,” Cohn said. “At the end of the day, legislators decide what votes we can score by what recorded votes they request and what bills they advance. We hope that the return of unified Democratic governance inspires the Democratic majorities to expand their policy ambitions.”