October surprises are so last month–November surprises are all the rage.
With less than a week until the election, Beacon Hill enacted the long-awaited compromise version of the economic development bill that got shelved in July. This entirely reworked 203 page $3.8 billion spending bill emerged from closed-door negotiations on Wednesday of this past week, and was passed by both chambers before EOD on Thursday.
Did lawmakers come back for a special session to take a roll call vote on this enormous piece of legislation? Nah, they just passed it in sparsely-attended informal sessions. Well, let’s hope it’s a good bill because constituents and advocates, and even rank-and-file legislators, had virtually no input whatsoever.
Ah, sweet democracy!
Speaking of which–if you haven’t already cast your ballot, remember to make a plan to vote on or by Tuesday 11/8! The early voting period has ended, so there are now two ways to vote:
- By mail: if you have your mail-in ballot but haven’t returned it yet, you still have time to do so. You can drop it in a ballot drop box provided by your town by 8pm on election day. If you choose to mail it in, your ballot must be postmarked on or before election day and must be received by your clerk by 5pm on 11/12.
- In person: you can always vote the old-fashioned way! Polls are open 7:00AM - 8:00PM this coming Tuesday. Find your polling place here.
Our democracy here in Massachusetts isn’t perfect. But the only way it’s going to get any better is by participating every chance we get–and then going out and creating our own opportunities to participate by organizing.
Let’s get into it.
State House Scoop
Long-stalled economic development bill reaches Baker’s desk
After three months of negotiations between a handful of people in legislative leadership, the House and Senate finally released and passed their joint economic development bill on Thursday. The massive $3.8 billion spending bill combines an economic development package (the one derailed by the 11th hour “discovery” of the tax rebate law known as “62f”), and a spending bill that finally closes the books on the fiscal year that ended on June 30th.
And this bill wasn’t just written by a handful of legislators–it was passed by a handful of legislators too; because lawmakers failed to pass either of those packages before formal sessions ended on August 1st, lawmakers passed this mega-bill in informal sessions where it is impossible to record the vote and only a handful of legislators are present.
Despite the egregiously undemocratic practices that got the bill to Baker’s desk, there’s a lot to celebrate in the bill, including funding for the MBTA, reproductive healthcare providers, and low-income heating assistance–and frankly thank goodness. One other notable line item is $100,000 to fund staffing for the commission examining the racist state flag–a very long time coming. Notably, the tax cuts and middle-income tax rebates–significant focuses of the original bill–were stripped from this final version. Looks like our effort to keep the estate tax intact lives to fight another day.
Oh, and one more thing: $315.5 million of the bill is set aside for local earmarks, which Speaker Mariano told Commonwealth Magazine were driven by “self-interest;” According to the Speaker, these earmarks are intended to help members who are fighting for re-election on Tuesday. Maybe I’m just a starry-eyed idealist, but it would be nice if our state government invested in local communities for their own sake, not as a political favor to play only when deemed necessary to protect the Speaker’s buddies. More to the point–I do wonder which races he was referring to, since, if you recall from last week’s Scoop, Massachusetts has the least competitive legislative races of any state… for the fourth cycle in a row.
Baker signs step therapy bill
That was fast: Governor Baker signed the bill to restrict step therapy this week after a compromise bill emerged in informal session. “Step therapy” is the practice of health insurers requiring patients to try and fail on cheaper treatments before covering the treatments preferred by their doctor. (You can read more about that in last week’s Scoop.) Would ya look at that–the legislature did two things this week! They should make it a round three and come back for a special session to pass the 5 year prison moratorium.
The Student Opportunity Act in action
It’s been three years since the passage of the Student Opportunity Act (SOA), and despite several roadblocks and funding shortcomings, we are finally seeing what happens when the legislature actually takes action on behalf of the communities they serve. In Chelsea, a low-income city composed of predominantly immigrant families, we saw roughly $2,600 more in aid per student than two years ago, which is a much needed improvement to the formula originally developed in the 1993 Education Reform Act.
While Massachusetts is heralded as a leader in education, the reality and outcomes for students of color, low-income students, and disabled students, are starkly different. The SOA’s goal is to close those gaps, and in Chelsea, we are finally starting to see those effects. This report comes at a critical time, just days before Massachusetts will vote on the Fair Share Amendment (Question 1) which would generate $2 billion in revenue that would be constitutionally earmarked for our public education system and transportation. SOA was momentous. Let’s continue to show up for students by passing question 1 by a landslide on Tuesday.
Housekeeping
Blog Post: Biden’s Marijuana Pardons and the War on Drugs in Massachusetts
Check out our latest blog post from one of our amazing interns, Margie Banker, about how Biden’s recent marijuana pardons will (and won’t) affect Bay Staters, and how we need to do so much more.
Join Act on Mass as a Regional Organizer!
With the rules debate anticipated in late January or early February, it’s officially time to start gearing up for The People’s House campaign for rules reform! And our very first step is to build our campaign team–we’re hiring Regional Organizers to help lead the campaign!
This is a volunteer position, roughly 5-10 hours per week for the duration of the campaign. If you or someone you know is interested in applying, please email your resume to brenna@actonmass.org.
Take Action
Get Out The Vote for Critical Races
With three days until the election, it’s time to Get Out The Vote! Join Act on Mass in supporting Teresa English, who is running to flip Billerica blue for the first time in over a decade, as well as the Yes on 1 Fair Share campaign, and Yes on 4 for Safer Roads campaign.
Sign up for a shift between now and Election Day to help bring these campaigns across the finish line:
GET OUT THE VOTE FOR TERESA ENGLISH >> GET OUT THE VOTE FOR FAIR SHARE >> GET OUT THE VOTE FOR SAFER ROADS >>
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That’s it for this week! And heck, that’s it for next week too–there won’t be a Scoop on Saturday 11/12 because I will be enjoying the long weekend. And I know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry–of course we’ll be sending an election recap email in the meantime.
Until then, happy Election Day!
Erin Leahy
Executive Director, Act on Mass
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