NEWS & MEDIALatest updates from Act on Mass and the fight for transparency in the State House

"\[Act on Mass organizer Calla Walsh] tells The New Republic that if progressives want to see change in the state, first they have to pull back the shades shielding Beacon Hill from public scrutiny. 'Right now, committee votes are for the most part secret. That means that bills will sit in committee for years or get sent to study, where they die,' Walsh says."

"In other words, maybe Mariano is shooing away these mosquitoes of open government with a fly swatter he has named 'transparency.' If that’s the case, we couldn’t think of a much more cynical maneuver by a new speaker not two months into his new job."

"Utility companies and their special interest friends like real estate and fossil fuel corporations are not just to blame though. It’s also our state government. In *Finding 12: Climate Action is tightly controlled by State House committees and leadership*, the report describes the 'hierarchy and lack of transparency' in the State House as a key barrier to progress."

"Matt Miller, co-founder of Act on Mass...called it 'shocking' that Mariano is trying 'to put the focus on a really small grassroots organization as if we’re doing something shady' when the group is asking for modest reforms to make the legislative process more transparent."

"On the rules front, there was going to be debate over House rules, with the progressive group Act on Mass pushing for more transparency. But Mariano decided to postpone that debate six months and re-adopt emergency rules crafted during the pandemic."

"A healthy democracy requires transparency because that is the foundation for accountability. We believe all voters should know how their representatives vote in committee and in floor votes and should have enough time to make their views known on a bill before a floor vote."

"Transparency is the key to good governance, and the Act on Mass pledge empowers constituents in their pursuit of information and their engagement in their democracy. This is a good beginning to help citizens speak out at the state level."

"Miriam Siegel, a constituent from the 5th Middlesex district and volunteer with Act on Mass, responds to Mariano’s letter: 'State House leadership is attempting to resist a popular movement for rules reform the only way they know how: by delaying action, shutting out constituents, and disempowering grassroots advocacy organizations. How can we be empowered as constituents if we are constantly kept in the dark?'"

"If ever there were a moment for common-sense rules reforms aimed at making lawmaking more transparent, at restoring public trust in an institution mired in complacency, it is now. House members new and old forget that at their own electoral peril."