This past week, Charlie Baker did something shameful.
The Legislature, much to their credit, had passed language in the budget to guarantee free phone calls for incarcerated individuals, ending the predatory practice of prisons and jails charging incarcerated individuals and their families exorbitant costs to stay connected.
All Charlie Baker had to do was sign it. Instead, he is trying to hold the No Cost Calls language hostage as a way to pass one of his own legislative priorities: a bill to weaken due process protections and expand pre-trial detention. Black and Latino electeds in the MA House rightly condemned this move as abhorrent.
Yesterday, the House voted overwhelmingly to reject Baker’s ploy. (If your state rep is among the 122 NAY votes here, you should thank them. NAY = against Baker’s amendment)
But the Legislative session is about to end, and the State Senate has not yet voted to reject Baker’s amendment and to protect No Cost Calls and due process.
If you have time TONIGHT, email your State Senator to tell them to reject Charlie Baker’s amendment and to extend the Legislative session if they have to in order to preserve their own legislative victories.
2 am update: Unfortunately, the MA Senate chose not to listen to advocates like Jane Doe Inc. and Families for Justice as Healing and still passed a version of Baker’s dangerousness bill, which will expand incarceration and put No Cost Calls at risk. Thank you to the 8 senators who voted no.
Earlier today, the MA House and Senate passed a comprehensive bill to strengthen protections for abortion care and gender-affirming care (H.5090).
According to the summary from the Beyond ROE Coalition, the bill contains the following important measures:
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, and a statutory fix to ensure over-the-counter emergency contraception can be sold in vending machines;
A confidential address program for reproductive health care and gender-affirming care providers who too often face threats and violence for providing health care; and
Language to clarify the ROE Act and ensure pregnant people are not forced to leave Massachusetts for abortion care later in pregnancy.
The bill passed the Senate 39 to 1, with only Republican senator Ryan Fattman voting NO.
The House voted was 137 to 16, with 5 Democrats and 11 Republicans voting no.
The following summary was written in conjunction with Jess Nahigian and Veena Dharmaraj from the Massachusetts Sierra Club and adapted from the overview done by the Mass Power Forward coalition (done by Jess — s/o again) and materials produced by the Legislature.
Last Thursday, the MA House and Senate finally came to an agreement on climate legislation this year: An Act driving clean energy and offshore wind (H.5060).
The bill was the conclusion of negotiations between the House and Senate merging two bills passed earlier this year that varied significantly in scope. In early March, the House passed a bill focused on offshore wind. In April, the MA Senate passed a more comprehensive bill focused on clean energy, buildings, and transportation electrification (See a write-up here).
The bill passed the House 146 to 7, with the only NO votes coming from Republicans Donnie Berthiaume, Nicholas Boldyga, Angelo D’Emilia, Marc Lombardo, Norman Orrall, Kelly Pease, and Alyson Sullivan. It passed the Senate 38 to 2, with Senators Ryan Fattman and Patrick O’Connor voting no.
The bill includes many strong provisions, as detailed below, and some notable omissions. Disappointingly, the bill omitted several large financial investments as well as language about air quality monitoring. Additionally, the transportation policy and building emissions reduction policy were limited in scope. The transportation section of the bill remains limited to electrification, rather than exploring ways to expand public transit usage (as well as biking/walking) and reducing the number of automobiles on the road in the first place (a limitation more of the reach of the original Senate bill than of the negotiations). The buildings emissions portion of the bill falls short of creating the investment and infrastructure to decarbonize buildings at the 100,000 building per year scale identified as necessary in the state’s pathway to decarbonization by 2050.
Now the bill must go to the governor’s desk, where he has until July 31 to pass it, send it back with revisions, or veto it.
Offshore Wind
Establishes a Massachusetts Offshore Wind Industry Investment Program, administered by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), consisting of annual tax incentives, grants, loans, and other investments
Creates the Massachusetts Offshore Wind Industry Investment Trust Fund to promote the manufacture of domestic supply chain components of the offshore wind industry; stimulate increased financing for permanent manufacturing facilities; advance clean energy research, technology, and innovation; and prepare individuals for offshore wind careers by supporting workforce training
Removes the price cap for new offshore wind projects, which requires each new project to offer power at a lower price than its predecessor, if there are fewer than three bidders.
Gives preference to offshore wind bids from companies that invest in local manufacturing, provide employment opportunities for underrepresented populations, adopt good labor practices, and mitigate environmental impacts, and takes utilities out of the bid selection process.
Establishes a commercial fisheries commission to provide input on best practices for avoiding, minimizing, and mitigating impacts to wildlife related to offshore wind
Solar Energy
Allows agricultural and horticultural land to be used to site solar panels and establishes a commission to study the deployment of these “dual use sites” while minimizing ecosystem and agricultural impact
Removes net metering constraints on solar up to 25kw and removes smaller solar arrays from the net metering cap
Other Renewable Energy Measures
Prevents wood-burning biomass power plants from qualifying for renewable energy incentives in the Renewable Portfolio Standard Program but, lamentably, does not exclude it from other incentive programs
Directs a study of the advantages and disadvantages of a regional or multi-state clean energy market
Enhances regional collaboration by allowing the Commonwealth to coordinate with nearby states on clean energy solicitation and transmission
Shifting Utilities Away from Fossil Fuels
Requires utility companies to proactively and regularly submit plans to upgrade the transmission and distribution grid, as overseen by a new grid modernization advisory council (the council lacks the public input requirements in the Senate plan).to improve reliability and resilience and accommodate the shift to renewables
Reduces incentives for fossil fuels by limiting ratepayer-funded efficiency programs from incentivizing fossil fuel equipment starting in 2025
Establishes a grid modernization advisory council (but without the public input requirements in the Senate bill) and requires distribution companies to submit regular modernization plans
Creates a working group to develop recommendations for regulatory and legislative changes necessary to align our pipeline replacement program (GSEP) with the state’s climate goals
Requires additional scrutiny of the utility-controlled investigation into the “future of gas”
Paves the way for expanded use of renewable thermal energy, including geothermal networks
Workforce
Ensures clean energy workforce development programs include workers in impacted and disadvantaged communities
Expands and develops workforce development programs in clean energy, particularly wind
Buildings
Requires an assessment of K-12 schools with an eye toward improving efficiency, air quality
Allows 10 municipalities to pilot fossil-free new and major renovations, but with newly added specifications that exclude life science labs and health care facilities, and requires any participating community to (a) meet the 10% affordable housing target set by state law (chapter 40B) or (b) have approved a zoning ordinance permitting multi-family housing by-right in at least one area
Requires that large buildings (20,000 sq. ft. and larger, more expansive than the Senate’s original 25,000 sq. ft. and larger) report their energy usage annually, and allows only Boston and Cambridge to set their own building energy reporting requirements (as opposed to allowing any city/town to do so, as in the Senate bill)
Increases public accountability and reporting requirements to ensure utilities are providing efficiency services to low-income ratepayers and households
Transportation
Provides up to $5000 in point-of-sale rebates for the purchase of electric passenger cars and light duty vehicles less than $55,000, with an additional $1500 rebate for low-income individuals. Rebates of at least $4500 for medium and heavy duty electric vehicles and for those trading in their internal combustion engine vehicle
Calls for the MBTA bus fleet to be all-electric by 2040 (with no more fossil-fuel buses purchased after 2030)and prioritizes deployment on routes that go through underserved communities (Note that environmental groups advocated for full electrification by 2030, and that the Senate bill had “no new non-electric purchases” after 2028)
Mandates all new cars sold in the state to be zero-emission starting 2035
Creates aninteragency coordinating Council to develop and implementa plan for deploying EV charging infrastructure in an equitable and accessible manner and establishes a Charging Infrastructure Deployment Fund
Mandates off-peak rates for EV charging and requires distribution companies to submit proposals for time-of-use rates
Requires the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to develop vehicle electrification and GHG emission regulations for ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft)
Requires MasDOT to provide technical and funding assistance to help Regional Transit Authorities electrify their fleets
Requires MassDOT to install EV charging stations at all service plazas on the MA Turnpike, at least five commuter rail and subway stations, and at least one ferry terminal.
Requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) to conduct a study on electrifying our school bus fleet
A Few Notable Omissions
Unlike the Senate bill, the final bill did not contain the following:
Banning competitive electricity suppliers, who often prey on the most vulnerable, from operating in Massachusetts
Increasing publicly available air quality monitoring and directing the state to establish baseline air quality in air pollution hotspots and corridors
Teeing up a successor to the state’s SMART solar program that favors development in the built environment
Interim and full electrification targets for the commuter rail system
Allocating $100 million to the Electric Vehicle Adoption Incentive Trust Fund; $50 million to the Charging Infrastructure Deployment Fund; and $100 million toward Clean Energy Investment Fund from the Senate bill (Funding for these programs is in the Economic development bill under consideration by the legislature)
Authorizing all public pensions, with the exception of the state employees retirement system, the state teachers retirement system, and the State Boston retirement system, to divest from any investment in fossil fuel companies
And a Few Red Flags…
Expands the definition of clean energy for Massachusetts Clean Energy Center research purposes to include “renewable biofuels, renewable biodegradable chemicals, advanced thermal-to-energy conversion, fusion energy, hydrogen produced by non-fossil fuel sources and methods, and carbon capture and sequestration”
Allows existing (grandfathered) anaerobic digestors to qualify for clean peak standard
Includes biofuels, “green” hydrogen, landfill gas, “low-emission advanced biomass power conversion technologies” are called “innovations” in the list of technologies eligible for educational grants
On Thursday, the MA Senate passed two bills to advance the “justice” component of our criminal justice system.
First, the Senate voted 31 to 9 to reform the civil asset forfeiture system, raising the legal bar that law enforcement must meet to seize and keep people’s money and property in suspected drug crimes. MA currently allows DAs the lowest legal burden of proof to keep property that’s seized, even when charges are never filed, and we’re the only state to do so.
The Senate also rejected 29 to 10 an amendment from Senator Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) to strip the language of the bill that would create a right to counsel for (1) defendants in related criminal cases (regardless of indigency) and (2) defendants in cases where there’s no related criminal case and who meet the indigency standard.
Unfortunately, however, the Senate, on voice vote, adopted an amendment from Senator John Keenan (D-Quincy) to strip language from the bill that would have prevented funds seized through civil asset forfeiture from going to local police departments and DA offices and allocated them to the general fund instead. Allowing police departments and DA’s offices to keep the money creates a perverse set of incentives and also enables them to use the money for propaganda purposes.
The Senate also voted 32 to 8 to pass a bill (S.2942) that would increase opportunities for judicial diversion for youth.
Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) roll-called three amendments to limit the scope of the bill.
The first was to eliminate options for diversion for a long list of offenses. It failed 30 to 9, with Senators Barry Finegold (D-Andover), Anne Gobi (D-Spencer), Michael Moore (D-Auburn), Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton), Walter Timilty (D-Milton), and John Velis (D-Westfield) joining the 3 Republicans in voting for the amendment.
His second was to strip the offense of “assault and battery with a dangerous weapon” from the list of offenses for which diversion would be an option. This offense, as Citizens for Juvenile Justice explain in an earlier link, is widely invoked, with things like eggs or lotion having been called “dangerous weapons” in past cases. It failed 26 to 12. The aforementioned 9 were joined by Sen. Nick Collins (D-South Boston), Paul Feeney (D-Foxborough), and Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford).
His third amendment, to limit diversion opportunities to only a first offense, was defeated 33 to 6, with only Finegold, Montigny, and Pacheco joining Republicans.
Last week was an exciting week at the Massachusetts State House, as both the House and Senate voted to override the Governor’s veto of the Work & Family Mobility Act, making Massachusetts the 17th state to ensure that all qualified residents, regardless of immigration status, are able to get a driver’s license.
You can see how your legislators voted below.
VOTES Act Advances…But With a Big Gap
Last week, the House and Senate released their final version of the VOTES Act. The bill contains many important reforms, like making the option to vote early-by-mail permanent, expanding early voting options, and strengthening the protections for jail-based voting. Unfortunately, however, the House’s opposition to Same Day Registration carried the day, and Massachusetts will continue to lag behind our neighbors with our arbitrary and exclusionary voter registration cutoff. The bill would shorten the deadline from 20 days before an election to 10 days, but that’s still 10 days too many.
The bill passed the Senate last week and is on track to pass the House soon.
Many of the educational issues and controversies we face today — state takeovers, standardized testing, charter schools, many more — have interconnected historical roots and mutually reinforcing current impacts that result in huge gaps in school quality and huge gaps in student opportunity. Understanding that history is crucial for finding solutions.
Join the important discussion with Dr. Rooks about her research on: segrenomics, connecting the dots between economics with segregated schooling and community organizers from across the state on their work.
Community Forum on Suffolk & Plymouth County DA Races
We’ll be joining community partners from the Justice for Massachusetts coalition for a forum with the Suffolk and Plymouth County DA candidates on Monday, June 20, from 6 pm to 9 pm.
Earlier this week, the House (Wednesday) and Senate (Thursday) voted by overwhelming margins to override Governor Charlie Baker’s veto of the Work & Family Mobility Act, which would allow any qualified driver—regardless of immigration status—to obtain a driver’s license.
The success was the testament to the hard work of the Driving Families Forward coalition, led by SEIU 32BJ and the Brazilian Workers Center (along with Field First), as well as bill sponsors Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier (D-Pittsfield) and Christine Barber (D-Somerville) in the House and Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) and Adam Gomez (D-Springfield).
Sixteen states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico already allow residents the right to apply for driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status, including our neighbors New York, Vermont, and Connecticut. And Massachusetts is poised to be next.
The bill is a win-win all around. It recognizes the essential contributions of our immigrant brothers and sisters, who often depend on a car to get to work, to school, to the hospital, etc. Immigration status shouldn’t be a barrier to getting a license. The bill would help make the roads safer for all, lower insurance rates, bring in more revenue for the state (through license fees), and strengthen our economy.
On Wednesday, exactly five months before the November 8 general election, the House and Senate released their final agreement on language for the VOTES Act. Yesterday, the Senate voted 37 to 3 in support of the final version of the bill, and the House is expected to vote soon.
The negotiations around the VOTES Act have been going on for months. The Senate passed a bill back in October, and then the House passed one back in January. There has always been strong support from both chambers this session for making the widely popular vote-by-mail and expanded early voting reforms from 2020 permanent, but House leaders have remained fiercely opposed to Same Day Registration or even a narrower Election Day Registration despite ongoing Senate support. Rep. Mike Moran (D-Brighton), one of the most vociferous opponents of Same Day Registration in the House debate, was one of the House appointees to the Conference Committee negotiating the bill.
The opposition to Same Day Registration / Election Day Registration is revealing. Reforms like vote-by-mail and expanded early voting can give incumbents a clearer picture of who is voting and who has already voted. SDR/EDR means that new people with whom they may not have spoken could show up at the polls. That uncertainty terrifies many representatives, and rather than stepping up their work at engaging all residents of their districts, they would rather shut such prospective voters out of the process entirely.
The final version of the VOTES Act, to be clear, contains a number of wins, some big and some modest. Special credit to the Democracy Behind Bars coalition for elevating the issue of jail-based voting during the debate and the negotiations around the bill.
Here are the key provisions of the Conference bill:
Voter Registration
Reducing the voter registration deadline from 20 days before the election to 10 days. Unfortunately, the Conference bill left out Same Day Registration or Election Day Registration, which, as noted, had been a major point of contention in negotiations. The Senate has now voted to pass Same Day Registration three times, only to see it fail each time due to House intransigence. Same Day Registration is one of the simplest and most effective ways to increase turnout, and it is especially important for working-class voters, BIPOC voters, young voters, and renters, and it continues to be appalling that our Democratic supermajority in the House is too afraid of new people participating in the democratic process to embrace this reform.
Requiring the Secretary of State to make the online registration portal accessible in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, and other languages deemed necessary or required by law
Reasserting that the Automatic Voter Registration law passed in 2018 is a back-end rather than front-end opt-out system. Secretary Bill Galvin has been refusing to implement the bill as passed, creating instead what is called a “front-end opt-out system” in which eligible registrants are given the opportunity to opt out during the initial transaction as opposed to afterwards. For more on this issue, read this.
Requiring the Secretary Galvin to enroll Massachusetts in theElectronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which helps states keep more accurate voting rolls, no later than July 1, 2022. This too was required in the 2018 AVR bill, and Galvin has refused to adhere to the law.
Vote By Mail
Permanent early voting by mail for all elections (unless municipalities vote to opt out in a public vote of the local legislative body for local elections)
Application deadline of the fifth business day before the election (the Tuesday before the election for all regularly scheduled Tuesday elections, and the Monday before the election when the primary falls on the week of Labor Day)
Special accommodations for those with disabilities seeking to vote by mail.
Creation of an online portal for VBM requests, as well as publication of the application on the Secretary website and the websites of each city and town
Mailing of VBM applications no later than 45 days before the election to all voters registered no later than 60 days before the election
VBM applications and ballots postage-paid, pre-addressed, and available in all languages as required by law.
Mailing of applications with the voter registration acknowledgement letters sent out after registering to vote or updating registration
Deadline of 5 pm on the third day after the election for receipt of VBM ballots mailed on or before Election Day
Unfortunately, there are no requirements around the number or accessibility of drop boxes for cities and towns to make available for return of VBM ballots.
Early Voting
Two weeks for biennial state elections (Saturday two weeks before GOTV Saturday through the Friday before the election)
One week for primary elections (Saturday before GOTV Saturday through the Friday before the election)
Posting of early voting sites at least two weeks prior
Local option for early voting in municipal elections (Majority of registrars must request, and then local legislative body must approve. The early voting period must exist within 17 days before the election and 2 business days prior. For Tuesday elections, this would mean between the Saturday two weeks before GOTV Saturday and the Friday before the election.)
See below for early voting requirements by city/town population
Staffing the Polls
Enabling cities and towns to appoint poll workers from outside the city/town if there is insufficient staffing
Granting the power to determine the staffing of police officers of the polls to the local legislative bodies, rather than the police departments
Jail-Based Voting Reforms
Ensures that individuals who are incarcerated who are currently eligible to vote are provided with voting information and materials to exercise their right to vote
Requires correctional facilities to display and distribute information about voting rights and procedures, as prepared by the Secretary of the Commonwealth
Requires facilities to assist individuals who are incarcerated in registering, applying for, and returning mail ballots
Ensures that individuals who are incarcerated are properly notified of their right to vote upon release and given the opportunity to fill out a voter registration form
Creates systems for data collection on jail-based voting, as well as the ability of incarcerated individuals to submit complaints
Unfortunately, the JBV language only applies to state/federal elections (and does not include municipal elections), but it is still a big win.
Earlier today, the MA Senate joined the House in passing the Work & Family Mobility Act, which would allow any qualified driver—regardless of immigration status—to obtain a driver’s license, by an overwhelming, veto-proof margin of 32 to 8. Five Democrats—Nick Collins (D-South Boston), Anne Gobi (D-Spencer), Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton), Walter Timilty (D-Milton), and John Velis (D-Westfield) joined the three Republicans—Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton), Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth), and Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) in opposing it.
The success of the bill was the testament to the hard work of the Driving Families Forward coalition, led by SEIU 32BJ and the Brazilian Workers Center, and the sponsors Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) and Adam Gomez (D-Springfield).
Sixteen states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico already allow residents the right to apply for driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status, including our neighbors New York, Vermont, and Connecticut. And Massachusetts is poised to be next.
The bill is a win-win all around. It recognizes the essential contributions of our immigrant brothers and sisters, who often depend on a car to get to work, to school, to the hospital, etc. Immigration status shouldn’t be a barrier to getting a license. The bill would help make the roads safer for all, lower insurance rates, bring in more revenue for the state (through license fees), and strengthen our economy.
Before voting on passage, the Senate rejected five right-wing amendments.
The Senate voted 31-8 against an amendment from Bruce Tarr that would have required the RMV to issue licenses of a different color to immigrants without status, a move that would open the door to discrimination police entanglement with immigration enforcement. If you are driving and a police officer asks to see your license, there is no reason why that police officer needs to know whether or not you are a citizen; there is simply no bearing.
This vote was similar to the final vote on the bill, but with Michael Moore (D-Auburn) and Nick Collins (D-South Boston) flipping and Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) not casting a vote (which she only does on votes she deems especially important).
The Senate voted 32 to 7 against another amendment from Tarr requiring licenses to be marked “Not valid for identification” with bold text, again opening the door to stigma, discrimination, and entanglement with federal immigration enforcement. The only difference from the final vote was Nick Collins joining Democrats.
The Senate voted 29 to 10 against an amendment from Ryan Fattman requiring the RMV to pass on information on license-holders to city and town clerks, a pointless and costly exercise that is rooted merely in Republican myths around voter fraud. We already have non-citizen drivers (e.g., green card recipients) who have obtained a license but are not eligible to vote: earning a license has nothing to do with your ability to vote. Moreover, there is already a system in place at the RMV, MassHealth, and the Health Connector to account for this in the AVR system. Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford) and Michael Moore (D-Auburn) joined the bill’s opponents in voting for it.
The Senate voted 30 to 9 against another amendment from Tarr to require the RMV to provide information on the holder of a license in response to any request from any commonwealth agency pursuant to any criminal or civil investigation. Unnecessary information sharing would have a chilling impact and reduce the number of applicants, who would be afraid that their information could be passed on to ICE. John Keenan (D-Quincy) and Michael Moore (D-Auburn) joined the bill’s opponents, but Nick Collins voted with fellow Democrats.
The Senate finally voted 31 to 7 against another disingenuous amendment from Tarr to require that applicants attest that they will not use the license for identification or to register to vote, an amendment that serves no real purpose in a state where you don’t need an ID to vote other than to fear-monger about non-existent voter fraud. Collins joined fellow Democrats in voting against the amendment.
On Thursday, April 14, the MA Senate passed a new climate bill,S.2819: An Act Driving Climate Policy Forward, which focused on accelerating the clean energy transition and the shift to electric vehicles. Notably, the bill also creates a pilot program for municipalities to ban oil/gas hookups in new construction, solving the legal problem that municipalities like Brookline have faced in trying to do so.
Transportation advocates were very critical of the bill’s focus on electric vehicles as opposed to a “mode shift” focus, i.e., how we can shift people from cars (electric or not) to more sustainable forms of transportation (walking, biking, public transit). Indeed, although the bill had new targets for public transit electrification, there were no new investments made in it for our state’s public transit infrastructure (let alone biking or pedestrian infrastructure).
The bill passed 37 to 3, with the NO votes coming from the chamber’s 3 Republicans (Ryan Fattman of Sutton, Patrick O’Connor of Weymouth, Bruce Tarr of Gloucester).
The following overview of the bill combines information from the Senate summary provided to press and the write-up from the Massachusetts Sierra Club.
Clean Energy
Enables nuclear fusion, networked geothermal, and deep geothermal energy to be eligible for support from the Mass Clean Energy Center
Creates a $100 million Clean Energy Investment Fund
Updates the offshore wind procurement process by maintaining a price cap while allowing certain direct economic development costs to be excluded from the calculation, removing utilities from the role as selector of the winning procurement, and reducing the remuneration rate for utilities
Removes impediments to medium-sized solar developments and tees up a successor to the state’s SMART solar program (Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target) solar program that favors development in the built environment
Expands the ability for “dual use” solar and agriculture projects to receive incentives, and incentivizes pollinator-friendly measures in solar developments
Authorizes all public pensions, with the exception of the state employees retirement system, the state teachers retirement system, and the State Boston retirement system, to divest from any investment in fossil fuel companies
Electric Vehicles
Establishes a $100 million fund for the MOR-EV rebate program (Massachusetts Offers Rebates for Electric Vehicles) and provides a $3,500 point-of-sale rebate for the purchase of an electric car or light-duty trucks (with an additional $1000 for trading in a gas-powered vehicle), with $4,500 for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles; also allows used vehicles to qualify for the first time and establishes a $1,500 rebate at point of sale for low-income buyers
Creates a new outreach program for underserved and low-income communities, as well as communities with high proportions of high-emission vehicles
Codifies Governor Baker’s pledge for all vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035;
Requires the entire MBTA bus fleet to be electric by 2040, with no gas-powered purchases after 2028 (Note that environmental groups had advocated for a 2030 deadline for full electrification)
Requires emissions reduction targets for ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft
Creates a new interagency coordinating council to develop and implement a plan for deploying EV charging infrastructure in an equitable and accessible way, backed by a $50 million fund
Requires new developments to allocate 10 percent of parking spaces to electric vehicle charging
Requires utilities to offer reduced electricity rates for off-peak EV charging
Buildings
Creates a 10-municipality demonstration project allowing municipalities to restrict the use of fossil fuels in new construction projects
Limits ratepayer-funded efficiency programs from incentivizing fossil fuel equipment starting in 2025
Expands equity in the Mass Save program by requiring DPU to include equity data in its evaluation of efficiency investment plans and to invest to strategically to reduce racial disparities in outcomes
Other Measures
Prevents biomass facilities from receiving state clean energy incentives
Directs creation of a study into future energy storage needs
Bans competitive electricity suppliers, who often prey on the most vulnerable, from operating in Massachusetts
The Amendment Process: What Was Adopted, Rejected, or Withdrawn without a Vote
Most floor debate happens without discussion or a vote. Occasionally, a lead sponsor will make some remarks before an amendment is adopted by voice vote or before withdrawing the amendment to avoid seeing it rejected. Thursday was no different.
Moreover, many amendments that were adopted were redrafted before adoption. Curious to know how an amendment changed during redrafting? Well, so am I. The Senate does not show the original text, a striking lack of transparency.
Here’s a run-down of the fate of some key amendments advocated for by the Sierra Club or Mass Power Forward:
Adopted by Voice Vote
#5 Offshore Wind, redrated (Cyr): Increases the minimum required offshore wind target to 10,000 MW total by 2035 and ensures that local indigenous tribes are included in both the process and the opportunities that result
#7 Large Building Energy Reporting, redrafted (Rausch): Requires the owners of large buildings (such as offices, apartments, hospitals, and university campuses) to report their energy use to the state each year and allows municipalities to set stronger reporting standards
#13 Commuter Rail Electrification, redrafted (Crighton): Requires all commuter rail procurements to be electric by 2031 and requires the MBTA to establish short-term, medium-term, and long-term plans for each commuter rail line and how they fit into the state’s emissions reductions goals
#36 Monitoring & Reducing Air Pollution, redrafted (Jehlen): Creates a committee to identify air pollution hotspots and establish baseline pollution levels, and requires a 2024 report from the committee on how to reduce air pollution in identified locations by 50 percent by December 31, 2030
#65 Mass Save Equity, redrafted (Chang-Díaz): Adds increased valuation of equity, renter access, and data collection in Mass Save programs
#128 Green and Healthy School Buildings, redrafted (Comerford): Assesses and creates a plan to renovate k-12 schools to improve energy efficiency, air quality, temperature and light control and more, starting with the highest needs schools
Rejected by Voice Vote
#8 Large Building Energy Performance Standards (Rausch): Requires large buildings to meet minimum standards for energy efficiency, reducing their reliance on fossil fuels over time
#31 Prioritizing Project Labor Agreements in Offshore Wind Energy Generation Proposals (Feeney): Requires DOER to give preference to offshore wind proposals that demonstrate benefits from the greatest economic development and employment contributions and adds consideration of the use of project labor agreements for the life cycle of offshore wind projects
#55 Promoting Sustainable Development and Infrastructure (Collins): Integrates climate adaptation planning across various components of the economy, such as capital infrastructure projects, environmental impact reviews, utility infrastructure, and building codes and standards
#63 Expanding Electric New Construction (Eldridge): Increases the number of municipalities that can participate in the demonstration project allowing municipalities to restrict the use of fossil fuels in new construction projects by 30 to a total of 40
#82 Parking Spaces Wired for Charging Stations (Edwards): Requires at least 90% of all parking spaces in new residential and commercial construction be wired to be electric vehicle capable
#88 Fleet Electrification (Edwards): Sets interim targets and requires all public fleets including state, municipal, and school bus fleets to be electric by 2035. Also requires the DOER to design an incentive program to encourage the transition of private fleets to electric vehicles
#122 Methane emissions accounting (Comerford): Updates MA’s greenhouse gas reporting law to meet latest scientific understandings on methane emissions, ensuring more accurate and consistent accounting of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the use of methane
#148 Expanding the MassSave program (Chandler): Expands the range of energy efficiency applications and subsidies covered by the MassSave program to include insulation, upgrading electrical systems, heat pumps, and solar energy systems
Withdrawn
#24 Fare-Free Bus Pilot (Jehlen): Requires the MBTA and the RTA to implement a one-year fare-free bus pilot by March 31, 2023
#33 Hydrogen & Biomethane Gas Contracts (Jehlen): Prevents the department of public utilities from approving a contract for the so-called “decarbonized gases” of hydrogen, renewable natural gas, or any gas derived from hydrogen if it costs more than an average cost of fossil gas
#64 Food Justice with Jobs (Eldridge): Creates Community Land Trusts in food-insecure communities in order to grow more food and create food security jobs, and creates Garden Agriculture Program and Grants
#89 Restrict the use of fossil fuels in new construction projects (Friedman): Expands the number of municipalities that can participate in the demonstration project allowing municipalities to restrict the use of fossil fuels in new construction projects by greenlighting all gateway cities with over 50,000 residents and 20-30 additional towns.
#109 Equitable Siting in East Boston (Edwards): Prevents the building of an electrical substation in East Boston
#118 Electrification of New and Substantially Remodeled or Rehabilitated Buildings (Comerford): Requires all newly constructed, substantially remodeled, or rehabilitated buildings to use electricity or thermal solar instead of fossil fuels, with some exceptions; allows municipalities to impose reasonable penalties for violations
Notable Roll Call Votes
As noted earlier, the final bill was a party-line vote of 37-3. The Senate also rejected 36-3 the Republican caucus’s substitute version of the bill, a truncated version of the bill that allows the “future of gas” work of the Department of Public Utilities to conclude with the current governor and that removes the language ensuring that wood-burning electric power plants not be counted as clean energy.
The Senate voted unanimously for amendments to allow local pension funds to divest from fossil fuels (#57, Pacheco) and to require MassDOT to assist Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) in transitioning to the use of electric buses (#123, Chandler).
The most interesting contested vote was that on Sen. Pacheco (D-Taunton)’s Amendment #4: Building Environmental Justice and Energy Efficiency With Jobs, which integrated critical pieces of the Building Justice with Jobs bill with funding sources. The amendment requested $1 billion from federal Covid-19 recovery funds be transferred to the Clean Energy Investment Fund for at least 1 million home retrofits, prioritizing people living in Environmental Justice (EJ) communities. The amendment was a key priority for the Mass Renews Alliance, MA Power Forward, 350 Mass, and the Mass Sierra Club.
There was a tense floor debate between Sen. Pacheco and Sen. Barrett (D-Lexington), the chairman of the Telecommunications, Utilities, and & Energy Committee. Barrett criticized the amendment for requesting too much of the remaining $2.5 billion in ARPA funds (although, given the urgency of climate action, effective equity and job-focused climate investment can never be too little) and for delegating the creation of a plan to a task force of state officials, policy experts, and community and nonprofit leaders rather than the Legislature itself (strikingly, this seemed to be a rare moment of legislators complaining about something being delegated to a commission…).
The amendment failed on an 11 to 28 vote, with strange coalitions on either side.
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