Act On Mass

The People's House Campaign

The MA State House is broken, and we need your help to fix it.

The Massachusetts State House is one of the least transparent in the country. From backroom deals, to private votes, and an ever-increasing concentration of power, our democracy is in crisis. Bay Staters deserve a government that centers their voices - not one that bends over backwards to keep them out.

Together, we can make the State House the People’s House. Will you join us?

Join the campaign!
Learn more about state house reform

The Problem:

A legislature that de-centers and devalues constituent voices

Year after year, widely popular legislation that would improve the lives of millions is delayed in the State House, made less ambitious, or killed behind closed doors.
With the least competitive elections in the country, an immense concentration of power into the hands of legislative leadership, and one of the least transparent state houses in the country, Beacon Hill has become unaccountable to the people
Instead, our government, time and time again, prioritizes the agendas of corporate lobbyists and special interests.

Learn more about the need for State House reform.

Our Solution:

Build grassroots power to fix the broken Rules

Step one: Organize thousands of everyday people across the commonwealth to demand their legislator support pro-democracy amendments to the House and Joint Rules.
Step two: Provide every District Team of constituents the skills and resources they need to effectively lobby their legislators to support these pro-democracy state house reforms.
Step three: Escalate pressure alongside the District Teams to ensure this issue is one that the state house leadership can’t ignore. After all, our democracy is on the line.

Our 2023 priority: Public Committee Votes

The Legislature starts every new session by writing their own rulebook. Every two years the legislature adopts anti-transparent rules that deliberately exclude the public from participating in the lawmaking process. Namely, the House and Joint rules do not require that votes taken in legislative committees be made public. This is disastrous for democracy; how can we hold our legislators accountable when we can't see how they're voting?

Our aim is the adoption of an amendment to make all committee votes public. This is an exceptionally popular piece of legislation: since 2020, our non-binding ballot question for public committee votes received an average of 87% approval among the electorate. Despite an overwhelming mandate for public committee votes, the legislature has, until now, refused to show us how they vote.

That's where you come in.

Become a Transparency Captain!

Our strategy is to organize across the Commonwealth to hold as many grassroots lobby meetings with legislators as possible, but we can’t do it alone; we need leaders in every corner of the state to take point on organizing the campaign in their hometown. Transparency Captains work closely with Act on Mass staff to lead and grow the campaign team in their district. This is a low-commitment high reward leadership role for anyone looking to make a big difference for democracy in their own backyard. The next Rules vote will likely be in January of 2025, and we intend to use every second of the next two years to build our movement. Sign up now to learn more about becoming a Transparency Captain and get plugged into the organizing and base-building we’re doing in your area!

Become a Transparency Captain

Write a Letter to the Editor!

Writing an op-ed or a letter to the editor in your local paper is a powerful way to spread the word and let your community know about why you’re committed to fighting for transparency. It’s also a great way to let your Rep know what’s important to you, since reps and their staffers keep track of what’s going on in the district through local media!

Check out our LTE Toolkit

History behind the campaign

In November of 2020, Act on Mass launched the Transparency is Power campaign. In April, we joined in coalition with Sunrise Boston, Mijente Boston Asamblea, Indivisible Mass, and Our Climate to form The People's House. Between November and July, over 4000 constituents in all 160 districts across the state and over 60 advocacy organizations joined our movement for a more transparent state house. We organized and built momentum in anticipation of key Rules debates in the House. In both the Joint Rules vote in February and the House Rules vote in July, House Leadership made a major concession in their proposal in direct response to the public pressure generated by the campaign. Because of our grassroots movement, "no" votes in Joint and House committees will be available online. While our three amendments were voted down, we successfully changed the landscape of this issue here in Massachusetts. This partial victory is a huge step towards a State House that is transparent, accessible, and accountable to the people. But there is more work to be done! Join us as we continue our campaign for a healthy democracy.