The 191st legislative session in the MA State House has started. Join us in the fight for progressive policy.

Summer is a season of action and a season of joy. So as the summer approaches, we need to double down on the work of passing our bold policy agenda, as well as celebrate the successes we’ve had.

TL;DR:

1. Call your state rep about fully funding our schools.
2. Call your state senator about common sense gun regulations.
3. Let your state senator and state rep know that it’s time to act on the Safe Communities Act.
4. Email your state rep in support of voting rights.

Saturday’s convention was exciting, as we saw all three of our endorsed candidates--Jay Gonzalez, Quentin Palfrey, and Josh Zakim--win the party’s endorsement.

But the convention also reminded us of all the work we still have cut out for ourselves this legislative session. The speakers highlighted how Massachusetts needs to do more to set a good example for other states and to fight back against Trump.

And that can’t wait.

Here are a few things that you can do this week.

The #MeToo movement underscored the myriad ways that power imbalances and a toxic culture increase the likelihood of sexual harassment and assault, across industries and across states. According to the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey data for Massachusetts, nearly 1 in 2 women and 1 in 4 men in Massachusetts have ever experienced sexual violence victimization other than rape. Nearly 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men in MA have experienced rape, and more than 1 in 7 women have experienced rape.

The Massachusetts Legislature has the opportunity to take action this session by promoting healthy relationships and protecting the rights of those who seek to speak out. But time is short.

The tool below helps you with tailored, scripts, actions, reporting. To dig in to specifics of the Safe Communities Act, read up here: safecommunitiesact.com! (It's always great to get more informed, but NB, you do not need to know the policy exhaustively to make these calls!)

Mon, Tue, Wed of this week (Nov. 13-15), the Massachusetts House will start voting on a comprehensive criminal justice reform. The House bill, as expected, is not as comprehensive or as progressive as the Senate bill.

We must work to make it better before the vote on its final form: we must contact our State Representatives, NOW, loudly, and in as large numbers as we can. 

The House will be voting on amendments Monday through Wednesday. 

It's vitally important representatives hear that you want to see a stronger bill that delivers on the promise of comprehensive criminal justice reform. Mass incarceration has proven socially a socially and economically damaging phenomenon, and it's time for Massachusetts to move beyond it.

Email/call your Representative TODAY (a copy/paste email script is here: progma.us/cjr-house-2017nov) and tell them to support/oppose the amendments below (when you're done--take a sec and let us know you called/contacted your Rep: it helps us know where we need to target more!). We'll be tracking the progress on these measures in the spreadsheet below. 

So... You called/emailed Monday. It's Tuesday. The field is shifting: we need you to call/email again! Debate is unfolding now. Big decisions are being made: for better and worse. Find your state rep here.

 UPDATE 11/14 11AM < click to go right to the prefilled email 

Hello! We are at the stage of #AmendmentActivism when we shift away slightly from itemizing individual amendments: some have been withdrawn. Some have passed, been rejected. Deals are being made behind closed doors. Horses are being traded. 

As things combine and disappear and trade and re-emerge in further amendments... We need you to reach out again and RE-EMPHASIZE the principles we want to see in a strong criminal legal system reform bill: 

- SMART SENTENCING REFORMS: Eliminate mandatory minimums, no new man. mins, decriminalize addiction, no new penalties, eliminate/no new "special penalties" like school zones or assault on police (all of these disproportionately affect the poor and communities of color) 

- EXPANSION OF STATE SURVEILLANCE POWERS: these proposals go so far as to specifically enable prosecutors to target people involved in street-level drug distribution and solicitation (yes, drugusers) for wiretap surveillance. No. No to all of it. 

- REFORM WRONG-HEADED "TOUGH" ON JUVENILES policies: science and data show--harsh penalties for children and young adults is damaging, and works against the goal of re-integrating youth into our communities. 

- REFORM THE CRUEL AND UNUSUAL: Solitary confinement is abused and abusive and causes tremendous psychological harm that will need to be addressed for years and years after. MA solitary rules are appallingly out of date and have disturbing lack of oversight. Fix it. 

- REDUCE COSTS/PENALTIES associated with an individual's encounters with the legal system: it is a vicious cycle that disproportionately hurts the poor. (NB: with the withdrawal of Amdt 197, our best opportunity is already off the table. But we should remember this is a principle and an aim). 

Make Your Outreach ASAP!

Adapt ur email template for your state rep, here (UPDATED 11/14)....

(If the 'prefilled email' doesn't work: a cut/paste version lives here: progma.us/cjr-house-2017nov)

On these contentious issues, our advocacy must be consistent and continual. 

This is Happening NOW.

Debate and Voting is sched'd for M, T, W. PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS SLIP BY. Contact Your State Rep Now(< click for email template or c/p from here: progma.us/cjr-house-2017nov), and help 2 other people around you do the same! )

 (We learned some good (and some hard) lessons from the 10/27 Senate Bill...read up after sending your email/making your call!)

URGENT ACTION: Contact Your Senator to strengthen the Criminal Justice Reform bill: 

SUPPORT: Amendments 1, 8, 76, 100, 114, 124, 129, 149, 134, 135, 152

OPPOSE: Amendments 5, 25, 18, 60, 121, 24, 87, 29, 28 37, 40, 42, 80

Tomorrow (Thu 10/26), the State Senate will be voting on comprehensive Criminal Justice Reform legislation.

The bill has many good, thoughtful provisions that will make a real difference in people's lives and address the serious issue of mass incarceration in Massachusetts—ending mandatory minimums for many crimes, reducing the CORI sealing time, ending the imprisonment of people unable to pay fines and fees, among others.

However, there are still areas that need improvement. And that’s where you come in.

The Senate will be voting on a number of amendments, a major opportunity to strengthen the bill.

ARCHIVE ACTION. Review our analysis on the Senate's bill and amendments, here.

---------------------

URGENT ACTION: Contact Your Senator to strengthen S2185, the Criminal Justice Reform bill: 

SUPPORT: Amendments 1, 8, 76, 100, 152, 114, 124, 129, 149, 134, 135

OPPOSE: Amendments 18, 24, 28, 87, 80, 5, 25,  60, 121, 29, 37, 40, 42

Find your state senator here. Adapt our e-mail template here. Record your outreach here.  

DECEMBER 5 SPECIAL UPDATE -- Today Boston Students are protesting the damaging promises and policies of President-elect Trump -- specifically highlighting the dangers to immigrant and minority communities. 

The Student Organizers are asking supporters to help get the message thru to OUR elected leaders here in Massachusetts. Find more info about their demands on this facebook page. (News coverage in the Boston Globe, here)

Call the Governor, in support of their message, then record your call below. (Already called? Spread the word, and get others to amplify!)

"I'm a Massachusetts voter calling in support of Boston students walking out today, and I call on you to act on their demands. We can make changes right here in Massachusetts: as our governor, please commit to make Massachusetts a TRUST Act/sanctuary state and commit to protecting and funding PUBLIC education."

It has always been important to “act locally”. With dangerous trends at the national level, it is all the more important to create a robust infrastructure of progressive policy in Massachusetts,
-- to create a more just and equitable Massachusetts, and
-- to help lead the way for the rest of the nation.

Make the call now -- and stay tuned for the next call to action; this is going to be a long haul.

Please record your action below. (SPECIAL SCRIPT FOR DECEMBER 5-9, IN SUPPORT OF BOSTON STUDENTS!)

Call the Governor: (617) 725-4000
"I'm a Massachusetts voter calling in support of Boston students walking out today, and
I call on you to act on their demands.
We can make changes right here in Massachusetts:
As our governor, please commit to make Massachusetts a TRUST Act/sanctuary state
and commit to protecting and funding PUBLIC education."