Back by popular demand, welcome to our second weekly Saturday morning digest. With these new weekly emails, we hope to 1) send you fewer emails overall, while 2) providing more information and State House updates, and 3) keeping you in the loop about volunteer opportunities and events on the horizon. Let’s get into it, shall we?
State House Scoop
ARPA bill making its way through the legislature
The American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) is a federal stimulus bill that provides states with billions of dollars for COVID-19 relief. Massachusetts was granted about $6.5 billion, and our legislature is in the process of deciding how it will be spent (we’re talking schools, worker bonuses, filling potholes, local hospitals, etc.). The House passed its version (H 4234) last week, and the Senate passed their version (S 2564) on Wednesday. (Read Senator Diana DiZoglio’s twitter takeover to learn how Senate Leadership implemented a “shadow deadline” rather than giving Senators 72 hours to file amendments.) Next, the two versions will be reconciled and sent to the Governor’s desk - probably on Wednesday, right before the holiday recess. Keep an eye on our twitter for updates.
Redistricting bill signed by Gov. Baker
Every 10 years the state house and senate districts are redrawn to account for population changes, and 2021 is one such year! The state legislature district map has been redrawn and was signed into law by Governor Baker last week. The main takeaways: there are far more minority-majority districts now than there used to be (which is an incredibly good thing!), population has grown in cities and decreased in rural areas, and a handful of new, incumbent-free districts have been created, which should make for some exciting open seat races in 2022.
Senate to tackle mental health
On Wednesday the Senate will be voting on a mental health bill (S 2572).
House to tackle ??
House members will meet in formal session Tuesday and possibly Wednesday, likely to engross the final ARPA bill, but we’re not sure what else they’ll be voting on before the break, if anything. Note that the House has made no indication that it plans to take up the Healthy Youth Act or the VOTES Act - two popular pieces of legislation passed by the Senate this fall.
Legislature Holiday recess
After Wednesday 11/17, the Legislature takes a 7-week recess for the holiday season, returning 1/5. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?
Take Action
Climate forum 11/14, 7PM - Register
We’re proudly cosponsoring a virtual forum on climate change tomorrow (Sunday) night - A Livable Future: How Can Massachusetts Lead on Climate? This forum will feature a word of welcome from US Senator Ed Markey, and a panel of speakers including Bill McKibben (the founder of 350.org,) Cabell Eames (political director for Better Future Project), and Rev. Vernon Walker (director of Communities Responding to Extreme Weather), and will be moderated by Rep. Nika Elugardo.
Prison Moratorium Weekend of Action - Volunteer
Act on Mass is also proud to partner with Families for Justice as Healing, Building Up People Not Prisons and the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls to advocate for the prison construction moratorium bill (S 2030, H 1905). Join the movement today or tomorrow during their Weekend of Action. Sign up to help spread the word in your neighborhood:
Act on Mass Fall Fundraiser - Donate
Today is the last day of our Fall Fundraiser! We set a goal of raising $2,000 by midnight tonight, and we have some ground to make up. Need a better reason to give? A few amazing donors pitched in to match all donations up to our goal. That means your donation, as small or large as is comfortable for you, will be DOUBLED - but only if you chip in before midnight. Need another reason to give? The more we raise now, the less time we have to spend fundraising in the future. Chip in before midnight to double your impact:
Plus! Don’t forget about our in-person Walk in the Park fundraiser later today at 2:00PM in Lincoln. Three words: donuts, cider, alpacas. Oh, and the incredible Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven.
And last, a not-so-fun-fact to kick off your weekend
The Massachusetts House had term limits for the speaker until 2015 when then Speaker Robert DeLeo had it removed from the rules so he could be Speaker for another session. Since then, attempts to reinstate the limit have been soundly defeated by the House. Meanwhile, the Senate President has an 8 year term limit, which is considered non-controversial in the Senate.