Good morning,
Whatever you have planned for this holiday weekend, we’re wishing you one thing: we hope you’re staying cool.
The nation’s 250th anniversary is coinciding with a massive “heat dome” scorching much of the United States with record-breaking heat. As the heat peaked on Thursday, both Boston and Springfield broke 60-year temperature records. In Boston, temperatures surpassed 100ºF for just the 29th time in recorded history.
As Americans everywhere gather to eat watermelon, run around in red-white-and-blue swim suits, and recognize (or not) the last 2.5 centuries of our federal democracy, the heat is a poignant reminder of what’s to come. New research last year found that New England is facing some of the fastest warming on Earth and the fastest in the U.S. outside of the Alaskan Arctic. As a movement that includes many young people planning our lives in Massachusetts, we’re conscious that these scorching temps might be the new normal for this time of year.
Extreme temperatures are a public health risk that exacerbate existing inequalities. Most buildings in Massachusetts—and the laws that govern them— have been designed for winter cold. For example, state law requires landlords to maintain a minimum indoor temperature for tenants during winter months, but no comparable standards exist for summer cooling.
Also, at a time of sky-high energy bills for Massachusetts residents, extreme heat means financial strain. Nationwide, average summer cooling costs have increased 39% since just 2020. In Massachusetts, summer cooling costs are up an estimated 10.6% since last summer! As residents pinch pennies to stay cool, utility giants are raking in massive profits and high salaries.
1.5 years into this legislative session, after many, many Scoops about the legislature’s inaction on energy costs, the Senate finalized their version of this session’s “energy affordability” legislation this week. We will cover this bill with more detail in a future Scoop!
This long-awaited bill is a sign of the times: with formal sessions coming to a close, lawmakers have until July 31st to get major bills passed by both chambers. With major policy priorities still outstanding (housing? healthcare? hello?), the next few weeks are likely to be jam-packed.
All this means Act on Mass is keeping busy too, with some exciting upcoming events! Join us
- July 15th, 7 pm: official launch of our “Every District Accountable: Good Government for Mass” leigslator pledge, featuring allies from 350 Mass and Progressive Mass. Sign up HERE.
- July 21st, 7 pm: a State House 101 workshop, featuring Act on Mass organizing intern Oscar Gillette (and me!) Join us for a review of the basics of life in our state house, in all its untransparent glory! Sign up HERE.
State House Scoop
Legislators finalize $63.4 billion state budget for Fiscal Year 2027
The top headline of the week was the finalization of Massachusetts’ state budget for Fiscal Year 2027, H.5555. Legislative budget leaders announced and approved a final agreement on Wednesday, which was July 1st. The fiscal year began on, uh, Wednesday, July 1st. This marks the 16th year in a row in which the fiscal year has begun without a state budget in place. With an interim budget in effect, Governor Healey now has until July 11th to sign the official FY2027 budget or return it with vetoes.
The finalized budget totals $63.4 billion, about a 4% increase over last year’s budget. Largely due to proceeds from the Fair Share Amendment, legislators did not introduce new taxes or revenue-raising measures to cover this cost increase.
Like most bills these days, the negotiations between the House and Senate versions of the budget were completed by a tiny “conference committee” of just six leadership-appointed members, led by House Ways & Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz and Senate Ways & Means Chair Michael Rodrigues. As for how the negotiations really go, I’ll quote Massterlist: “As budget veterans, it’s not clear that Michlewitz and Rodrigues lean too much on the other conferees to get the job done. And with the speaker and Senate president ultimately calling the shots, it’s not all that important who holds the title of vice chair or assistant, anyway (except, that is, to the lawmakers who get paid extra for doing so).” Note the nod to stipend reform!
Thus, the fate of $63 billion in taxpayer money, in the hands of roughly four people.
One of the major factors in budget negotiations was the state’s allocation of local aid. This has been a hot-button issue this year as many towns and cities face fiscal crises amid rising inflation, high healthcare costs, and stagnant revenues. As a timely example of the depth of the crisis, several Massachusetts towns were forced to cancel their annual 4th of July fireworks displays this year due to budget constraints. Our intern Oscar captured another aspect of this in a recent blog post: “Massachusetts is no longer first in education. What happened?” On municipal and education funding crises, many analyses have zeroed in on a relative decline in unrestricted local aid from the state, which has not kept pace with inflation since the Great Recession, in addition to a flawed school funding mechanism.
The new FY2027 budget compromise includes a few approaches to this crisis.
First, it increases unrestricted state aid to municipalities by $40 million, a boost of about 3%. Although this increase is important, it falls under the $53 million proposed by the Senate, which already faced questions of being insufficient. (For reference, the City of New Bedford—just one of the state’s 351 municipalities—faces a budget deficit of $32 million this year). The additional aid would be distributed on a per capita basis to municipalities, which experts from Mass Budget argue actually exacerbates discrepancies between wealthy and less affluent towns. TLDR: this budget increase is a good step, but it is clear that wider reform will be needed to fix the state’s approach to unrestricted local aid.
Second, the budget contains an “outside section” to revive the state’s Foundation Budget Review Commission to recommend updates to the state’s K-12 funding formula by October 2028. The timeline is long, but this is a first step in a new state approach to the crisis of municipal education funding. The budget also contains some reforms proposed by the House to zero in on busing costs, which school districts often cite as a significant budget strain.
With annual budget finalized, lawmakers pass 135 policies at once
As has become increasingly common with budget bills, this annual budget is packed with policy changes unrelated to annual spending priorities, a.k.a. “outside sections.” Here’s a list of some of the most interesting ones:
- An extension of the ConnectorCare expansion program, which will continue to provide health insurance subsidies for individuals making up to 400% of the federal poverty level
- A requirement for MassHealth, the Group Insurance Commission (for state employees), and private insurers to cover PrEP, which protects against HIV exposure, without cost-sharing or prior authorization. This codifies current federal law into our state law, protecting PrEP users against any changes at the federal level
- Elimination of the current 15-year statute of limitations on prosecuting rape cases for cases where DNA evidence ties a perpetrator to a crime. This issue has been filed as a bill in at least two previous legislative sessions, where it died without a vote
- A long-sought reform to cost of living adjustments (COLA) for retired public employees, which hasn’t been updated since 1997
- Closing the so-called “consent loophole” that left it legal for teachers, coaches, and adults in similar roles to engage in sexual relationships with 16 and 17 year olds in their care, because the age of consent is 16. Advocates have been pushing for this change for at least a decade with no luck on Beacon Hill; until this budget is signed, Massachusetts is one of just 11 states with this sort of loophole
- Instructions for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to develop new approaches to curb wrong-way driving crashes, after several tragic crashes this year
- 129 other outside sections!
Some of these outside sections represent genuine progress on issues that advocates have been fighting for for years. Still, it is remarkable that no-brainer policies like many of these can only see passage through inclusion in massive budget bills that pass once per year. Our lawmakers have the capacity to make policy changes whenever they want, especially with Democratic supermajorities in both chambers. I’m happy for several of the hard-fought victories contained in this bill, but it’s a shame that the public had to wait so long for them.
Also, when 135 policies are combined together into a single budget bill, it is impossible to elucidate our legislator’s position on them (perhaps by design!) Maybe you disagree with some of the policies here, or one of the other 129. Maybe you’d like to know how your elected representative stood on that policy. With the current system of policy-making by omnibus, we are denied this simple mechanism of accountability and information.
Even as this session starts to draw to a close, we at Act on Mass know we’ll have to keep fighting through the next session for a legislature that works for the people. Onward!
Isabel’s Vol Call!
Hi everyone,
For this week’s Vol Call, I’d love to spotlight that we are continuing our Transparency on Tour from last summer!
We’ve heard from folks all across the Commonwealth that they care about our government being transparent and accountable. With an ongoing crisis at the federal level, a state government that is effective and responsive to the needs of its citizens is more important than ever.
Beacon Hill can seem worlds away, but the impacts of their inaction and lack of accountability are felt in communities across the Commonwealth. We want to collaborate with friends, allies, and supporters across Massachusetts who we don’t always get the chance to organize with in-person. We are looking to share tools, resources, and strategies with allied groups and activists in every district this summer. Like last summer, Act on Mass volunteers, staff, and allies will table at community events or key locations and reach folks where they live to ensure that they have the tools to engage with state level issues.
If your organization has a key district to target or a key state-level issue you want to stump for, please let us know! The lack of transparency and accountability in our state house affects many issues that we all care about and our movement for reform intends to make advocacy work easier. Let’s work together. Fill out the form below for more information!
JOIN US TO TABLE IN YOUR COMMUNITY THIS SUMMER>>
What we’re reading this week
Great reporting and writing from around the Bay State this week!
- *Act on Mass featured!* Massachusetts lawmakers, promising a tidier close to their session, still have a lot they want to get done by Anjali Huynh for Boston Globe
- MassHealth officials knew thousands would lose coverage under Trump requirements. It’s worse than they initially thought (paywall) By Marin Wolf for Boston Globe
- Experts bet World Cup wagers will bring Mass. big tax revenue — and public health worries by Patrick Madden for WBUR
- More than 10,000 Haitian workers in Mass. will lose immigration protections, a move that could ‘decimate’ industries by Katie Johnston for Boston Globe
- Who cares for trans youth? By Divina Cordeiro for the Shoestring
Missed a Scoop or two? You can find a full archive of all past Saturday Scoops on our blog.
Take Action
Help get stipend reform on the ballot in Cambridge!
This Monday (7/6) Act on Mass and the Coalition to Reform Our Legislature are collaborating to get stipend reform on the ballot in Cambridge. Passing this non-binding ballot question would show our legislature that voters want a legislature that works for them, not one where our representatives must bend to leadership’s will or risk loss of pay. To make this happen, we need to finish collecting 200 signatures before the deadline on July 8th.
We are close to the finish line in 25th Middlesex (currently represented by Majorie Decker) but we just need one final push! So, this Monday we are doing two signature collection drives:
- At 10:00am
- At 6:30pm
For both, we will meet at Cambridge City hall, and then break into groups to collect in four areas: City Hall, the Porter Square T stop, Cambridge Public Library, and outside 1369 Coffee House in Central Square.
If you’d like to see this question on the ballot in Cambridge, you can fill out this volunteer form (be sure to select “collect signatures”) or reply to this email. Once you do that, I will reach out with more day-of info, as well as a link to a signal chat we will use to coordinate on Monday.
If you can’t make Monday but would still be interested in collecting, feel free to reach out and we will be sure to get you some sheets!
Or, if you have been following the stipend reform saga via Saturday Scoops and haven’t been sure where to go to sign petitions, feel free to meet us at the above locations! Let’s make it clear where we stand on Beacon Hill’s broken culture together.
Thanks for reading and for supporting Act on Mass! Have a great rest of your weekend.
Scotia
Scotia Hille (she/her)
Executive Director, Act on Mass