Happy September,

Summer winding down, Cape traffic slowing to a stall, and the gears of legislative action are slowly starting to turn on Beacon Hill. Well… sort of. 

It was a slow week at the state house itself. Just three hearings were hosted. If I’m counting right, the House met in formal session for just 14 minutes (paywall) and the Senate for a grand total of 9 minutes (paywall). Both chambers dealt with a handful of bills related to local control and the House approved extending reporting deadlines for bills in two Joint Committees– Education and TUE (energy policy). Not exactly a roaring start. 

Definitively off to a roaring start: the race to the 2026 ballot! This Wednesday, the attorney general’s office released their decisions on question language, approving 44 proposed ballot questions to move to the next phase– a record number. 

This came with good news for us as good government advocates: the stipend reform question was approved! This brings us one step closer to reforming the legislature’s system of loyalty pay, which keeps the rank-and-file dependent on leadership and suppresses democratic debate. This reform would drastically reduce the number of stipends controlled by leadership, increase pay for rank-and-file members to shrink pay disparity, and incentivize transparent conduct in committee operations. 

Here’s the next hurdle: we need to gather 75,000 signatures by December to get this question on the ballot. This means we need all hands on deck. We’ll start scheduling shifts shortly and I’ll include the info in future Scoops. Also, future Transparency on Tour dates will incorporate signature gathering. In the meantime, if you know you’ll be able to help out with signature gathering, you can sign up on the brand-new Stipend Reform website. 

HELP US GET STIPEND REFORM ON THE BALLOT>>

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State House Scoop

Proposed MA Democratic party platform shows shocking capitulation to Trump agenda

Massachusetts’ Democrats are planning to gather next weekend, September 13th, in Springfield, MA to vote on the party’s platform for the next four years. The party platform isn’t a panacea: party members have long lamented the state legislature’s tendency to completely ignore the policy goals passed in the platform. Nevertheless, in our Democratic supermajority state, the party platform can be a helpful entry point for pushing Democratic electeds on specific policy goals. 

That is, if the platform includes specific policy goals! Party members were shocked last week by the party’s draft platform, released last week, which is significantly stripped down compared to past platforms. Eight full sections of policy demands were removed from the previous version of the platform, finalized in 2021. I’ll let you take in the list of those deleted: 

  • Immigration
  • Racial Justice, Equal Rights, and Opportunity for All 
  • Ethics & Transparency 
  • Reproductive Health, Freedom, and Justice 
  • Children and Families 
  • Veterans
  • Voting and Democracy
  • Labor and Workforce 

Other sections have been anti-DEI-ified (“Climate and Environmental Justice” became “Climate & Environment,” for example), with any specific policy goals extremely watered down. 

What’s the saying? “There’s no Republican like a Massachusetts Democrat”? You'd forgive me for feeling a bit like we're in the twilight zone. Massachusetts Democrats hold a trifecta in government and easily maintained 80+% supermajorities in both chambers in 2024. Notwithstanding concernsabout a “rightward shift,” Massachusetts voters still rejected Trump’s agenda by a margin of almost 2-1!!! Yet, leading MA Democrats seem to think that conceding to that same agenda at the state level is a winning strategy? I’m at a loss. 

Let’s dig into a couple of these deleted issues. First of all, this platform emerged as the Trump administration announced plans to target MA again for an ICE “surge.” Deportations and cruel detentions have already wrought havoc all over the state. In response, community groups have surged to action to defend their immigrant neighbors, reporting ICE arrests, showing up in person to ICE actions, and ensuring legal counsel. And amidst all that, Democratic party leaders seem to want to give up– or hide– our state’s support for immigrants. A section with 12 specific policy goals has been reduced to a vague paragraph in the preamble: “Massachusetts Democrats assert their commitment to strengthening local and state laws protecting immigrants who are our neighbors, who work hard and abide by our laws.” Ignoring the fact that immigrants shouldn't have to "work hard" to have constitutional rights– what laws dude? Name them? 

Meanwhile, as states around the country restrict access to lifesaving reproductive and abortion care, the drafters of this proposal would have us believe that standing up for those rights should no longer be a top priority for our state. The “reproductive health” section received a similar treatment as immigration, with the twist that the new vague bullet point veers oddly into kudos for the state legislature’s one (1) policy action this year. “We are proud of our state’s updated Shield Law.” Um, since when is a party platform used to congratulate past successes…? 

Finally, Act on Mass’ bread and butter: “Ethics & Transparency.” Policy goals in this section included removing dark money from elections, requiring further financial disclosures from presidential candidates, and improving transparency measures in the state legislature, among other targets. All cut in the new version. 

Personally, I would love to have a conversation with the person that took a hard look at how things are going nationally right now and thought “eh, we can probably leave ‘ethics and transparency’ off this year.” In fact, the document’s opening statement is an acknowledgement that we’re facing “the greatest constitutional challenge in our lifetimes.” Next sentence: “many Americans have lost faith in our government and trust in our institutions.” Yet, the platform would dispense with any specific expectations of increased ethics or transparency standards from our elected officials. Baffling!

Overall, for our nonpartisan, progressive organization, this ceding of ground to right-wing extremism by the state party of one of the bluest states in the nation is extremely concerning. It’s also cowardly. This is not just a question of rhetoric or deleting “woke” buzzwords: when we fail to pass meaningful policies to protect our immigrant and transgender neighbors, or to fight racial injustice, or to secure voting rights, or to empower workers (!), real lives are caught in the balance. Now is certainly not the time to give up the fight. 

Luckily, as with most failures of political power in Massachusetts, the people have an answer. There is an effort to amend the proposed party platform to replace it entirely with the 2021 version– and then make corrective amendments to that. If you’re a delegate to the convention or know someone that is, make sure that they’re aware of this action! 

Otherwise, I would encourage you to reach out to your elected representatives and ask them what they think of the party’s proposed platform. If they have a D next to their name (and most of them do!) they should have a stance on the changes proposed here. Make sure you know what it is!

GET YOUR REP'S TAKE ON NEW DEM PARTY PLATFORM>>

Worth reading: more stories from this week

Some stories from local, regional, and national news about what's going on in the Bay State

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An Update on Massachusetts Climate Projects (Spoiler Alert: Things aren’t great)

It seems like there has been a lot happening at the federal level of government as of late (because there has been), which makes it hard to differentiate between news to keep up with versus news that is just meant to feed the 24 hour news cycle. 

One piece of the Trump Administration's agenda out of many that affects Bay Staters specifically is the ongoing attacks on the Northeast’s renewable energy sector. 

In another blow to wind energy, the Department of Transportation down in D.C. has cancelled $34 million in funding for the Salem Offshore Wind Terminal. 

Unfortunately, the latest case of cancelled federal funds comes along with a large-scale cancellation for wind projects across the country, amounting to $679 million.   

But what’s at stake here in Massachusetts? 

With the offshore wind project in Salem, a projected 800 jobs have been lost. 

This is also coming at a time where the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs is having to consider alternatives to in-state renewable energy projects when it comes to reaching our climate and renewable energy goals in the coming years.

In other words, since renewable energy projects are being targeted by the federal government here in the United States, states who have goals of addressing climate change and creating new jobs in renewable energy sectors are having to outsource energy from other sources (i.e. Canada), which means that Massachusetts is: 

  1. Losing new job opportunities 
  2. Losing the opportunity to become competitive in renewable energy sectors
  3. Potentially going to see higher energy costs
  4. Missing crucial components of plans to transition to renewable energy

Not to mention that wind energy isn’t the only target of federal overreach. 

Overall, it can be pretty disheartening to see progressive, productive, and proactive projects and programs struggle under the current federal administration. 

Luckily, there is some good news concerning climate activism in the state! 

Make Polluters Pay had a Make Polluters Pay/Climate Superfund Bill hearing at the State House this past Tuesday, with a huge showing! Learn more about this bill here. 

And if you are feeling emboldened to take action to protect our climate, join the Massachusetts Sierra Club Lobby Day on Thursday, September 18th, which you can learn more about and sign up for here!

Transparency on Tour: Progress Report

Had a great time in Chelmsford this week. And the tour keeps rolling! Upcoming dates: 

  • Norwood Farmers Market, September 9th, 2 pm - 6 pm on Norwood Town Common
  • West Brookfield Farmers Market, September 17th, 3 pm - 6 pm in West Brookfield
  • North Adams Farmers Market, September 20th, 9 am - 1 pm Main Street in North Adams
  • Easthampton Farmers Market, September 21st, 10 am - 2 pm,  50 Payson Ave in Easthampton
  • Franklin Farmers Market, October 10th, 2 pm - 6 pm, Town Common in Franklin

If one of these are in your district or a district you want to visit, join us to table!

HELP US HIT 40 DISTRICTS THIS SUMMER>>

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Missed a Scoop or two? You can find a full archive of all past Saturday Scoops on our blog.

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Take Action

Annual Free Her March - September 13th, 10:30 AM

Our allies in the fight for decarceration of women and girls in Massachusetts will be hosting their annual march in Framingham on September 13th. Join them to call on Governor Healey and the legislature to stop the construction of a $360 million women's prison complex and support the Free Her policy platform. 

RSVP FOR MORE INFO ON #FREEHER MARCH>>

Sierra Club Lobby Day - September 18th

Our allies at the Sierra Club will be hosting their Lobby Day on September 18th. Join them to push our representatives to stand up for climate progress! 

SUPPORT SIERRA CLUB LOBBY DAY>>

Help us support a documentary about Beacon Hill dysfunction

Shadows on the Hill is a documentary about the real reason popular bills don’t pass: leadership decides which ones live, which ones die, and who gets punished for speaking out. The film is fundraising now to finish production.** Watch the trailer (featuring a familiar face!) and help amplify the campaign.** 

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That's all for today, see you next week!

In solidarity,

Scotia

Scotia Hille (she/her)

Executive Director, Act on Mass