Mass Power Forward Lobby Day

More than 100 members of Mass Power Forward prepped for lobby day

Environmental and Energy Justice advocates were in good company at the Massachusetts State House today for Mass Power Forward's (MPF) lobby day. Focus of the lobby day was threefold:

• Share our vision
• Get co-sponsorships, especially from House Reps
• Show solidarity with Weymouth

You'll recall that the MPF coalition, of which PDM is a part, succeeded in advocating for powerful energy and environmental policy changes last legislative session. All were unanimously supported in the State Senate.

Those bills have been "refreshed" for a second round this legislative session, strengthened by a commitment to environmental justice and against racism.

Leaders of MPF note that many of our communities, especially those with a majority of people of color and low incomes, have had to bear the brunt of decades of fossil fuel pollution and are most at risk from climate change. MPF is urging state legislators to call for energy policy that leads by example to stop fossil fuel subsidies, support local renewable energy resources, keep energy dollars in our communities, create good green jobs, and protect our Commonwealth from climate change and life-threatening pollution.

Messaging MPF's legislative priorities, especially to members of the House, calls for bold, decisive action on:

• Environmental Justice -- including communities impacted by climate change and fossil fuel pollution as participants in crafting new, equitable policy
• 100% Renewable Energy -- set an ambitious goal to equitably reach 100% renewable electricity by 2035 and 100% renewable energy for heating and transportation by 2045
• Equitable Investments and Green Infrastructure -- use mechanisms such as equitable carbon pricing or TCI (Transportation Climate Initiative) to invest today to create the future we want

After the briefing, members dispersed into the State House to meet with House Reps, asking that they co-sponsor these important bills* by Friday, February 1:

1. S.D.1885/H.D.3878; S.D.1824/H.D.3523 -- An Act relative to Environmental Justice; Sen. DiDomenico/Rep.Madaro and Sen. Eldridge/Rep. Dubois & Rep. Miranda
2. S.D.1625S.D.1625/H.D.3092 --  An Act Re-powering Massachusetts with 100% Renewable Energy; Sen. Eldridge/Rep. Decker & Rep. Garballey
3. H.D.2370 -- An Act to Promote Green Infrastructure and Reduce Carbon Emissions; Rep. Benson
4. S.D.1541/H.D.3009 -- An Act to Advance Modern and Sustainable Solutions for Transportation; Sen. Lesser/Rep. Ehrlich

At 1:00, MPF members joined organizers from Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station
at Governor Baker's office to protest the Weymouth Compressor Station.

Check out #EnergyJusticeNow and #mapoli on twitter, as well as links to MPF and Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station facebook pages, for videos, pictures, comments, and more.

* As of this posting, House Docket numbers have been assigned but links to bill texts are not yet live on malegislature.gov

Image credit, Mary Ann Stewart

Cross-posted to Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts

We The People

All 200 duly elected members of the 191st General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are sworn in at once, for two years, on the first Wednesday in January following an election. Today being that day, 30 new legislators took their places, 25 of them in the House. 

Big challenges lie ahead, particularly for those House Legislators, who must work together to challenge leadership, and for activists, who must hold House members' feet to the fire.

Activists must articulate what we stand for at a gut level and Legislators have a responsibility to respond. Voters want to know how legislation will help us and we need to be listening for policies that explicitly say, "This is what this legislation does".

This isn't the time for *the common good*. This isn't the time for *we're all in this together*. Legislation needs to be specific: This bridge. This road. This community.

Politics in 2019 demands proactive engagement from all of us, elected and non, insist ing that we not play small, and that we drive urgency on the critical issues before us:

• Revenue, for the short- and long-term

• Adequate funding for K-12 education, including improving vocational education, expanding early childhood education, and providing debt-free college options

• Safe communities for immigrants and the undocumented

• Stronger protections for the environment

• Healthcare for all

• Affordable housing

• Ballot access, i.e., same day registration and ranked choice voting

• Campaign finance reform

A progressive government will operate with transparency and the highest ethical standards. It will ensure fair debate of issues and accountability to constituents, provide a decent standard of living, affordable housing as a human right, and fair work schedules for all, as institutional racism is also addressed.

Freedom. Justice. Equity for all.

It's an ambitious list and by no means exhaustive. For legislative action to be truly effective, issues would be prioritized and informed by the needs of the citizenry.

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Image credit: Screenshot, I ♥️ HUE

Members of the 191st General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts may be found HERE. As of this writing, membership of House, Senate, and Joint Committees have yet to be determined. New House and Senate Legislators are listed below.

HOUSE DISTRICTS
1st Franklin, Natalie Blais (D)
1st Hampshire, Lindsay Sabadosa (D)
2nd Hampshire, Daniel Carey (D)
3rd Hampshire, Mindy Domb (D)

4th Plymouth, Patrick Joseph Kearney (D)

4th Suffolk, David Biele (D)

5th Suffolk, Liz Miranda (D)
6th Middlesex, Maria Robinson (D)
7th Plymouth, Alyson Sullivan (R)

8th Worcester, Michael Soter (R)

9th Suffolk, Jon Santiago (D)

11th Bristol, Christopher Hendricks (D)
11th Essex, Peter Capano (D)
12th Bristol, Norman Orrall (R)
12th Plymouth, Kathleen LaNatra (D)
14th Essex, Christina Minicucci (D)
14th Middlesex, Tami Gouveia (D)

15th Middlesex, Michelle Ciccolo (D)

15th Norfolk, Tommy Vitolo (D)

15th Suffolk, Nika Elugardo (D)

16th Essex, Marcos Devers (D)

17th Worcester, David LeBoeuf (D)

18th Essex, Tram Nguyen (D)
19th Middlesex, David Robertson (D)
30th Middlesex, Rich Haggerty (D)

SENATE DISTRICTS
1st Essex, Diana DiZoglio (D)
1st Middlesex, Edward Kennedy (D)
2nd Essex/Middlesex, Barry Finegold (D)
Norfolk/Bristol/Middlesex, Becca Rausch (D)
Hampshire/Franklin/Worcester, Jo Comerford (D)

The Fair Share Amendment

The Legislature meets in a Formal Joint Session this afternoon, scheduled for 1:00 PM, to consider a vote on the Fair Share Amendment.

In the last few days, an organization opposing the Amendment has sent out a scurrilously misleading and inflammatory mailing, district-wide, in the districts of several Legislators who have publicly supported the Amendment; my representative, Jay Kaufman, House Co-Chair of the Joint Revenue Committee, is one of them. I hope Rep.Kaufman and his colleagues who have been targeted have heard that their constituents want them to support the Amendment!

If the measure passes, this is what the Amendment will do*:

The proposed constitutional amendment would establish an additional 4% state income tax on that portion of annual taxable income in excess of $1 million. This income level would be adjusted annually to reflect increases in the cost of living by the same method used for federal income-tax brackets. Revenues from this tax would be used, subject to appropriation by the state Legislature, only for public education, public colleges and universities, the repair and maintenance of roads, bridges, and public transportation. The proposed amendment would apply to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2019.

Since this is an amendment to the state constitution, the Legislature needs to approve the measure in two successive constitutional conventions ("ConCon") before it can appear on the ballot for final approval in November 2018. We actually only need 25% support in the Legislature on each occasion, but I hope we do far better than that.

*The language of the proposed constitutional amendment, approved by the Attorney General's Office last fall.

Public Hearing on the Fair Share Constitutional Amendment

Proud to be one of the ten original signers of this initiative petition

The Joint Committee on Revenue meets at 10:30 AM today for a public hearing on the Fair Share Constitutional Amendment (H3933) - room B-1 at the State House. I'll be providing one minute of testimony as part of an education panel. Here are my thoughts:

Honorable Co-Chairs and Members of the Committee:

Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of the Fair Share Constitutional Amendment. I’m Mary Ann Stewart, from Lexington, parent representative on the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), speaking for myself, not for the Board.

I’ve been deeply involved in education from a number of local, statewide, and national perspectives. Students need a well-rounded education that’s based on a rich and varied curriculum that includes music, art, and athletics - but, many of these programs were eliminated or severely eroded in many communities during the recession years.

To provide a sound future for our children and our Commonwealth, we must ensure that all children get a great education, including those who face the greatest challenges. We need to invest more in foundation funding for school districts, early childhood education, extended day & wrap-around services, and post-secondary education.

Improving the quality of the education our children receive requires up-front investments for long term pay-offs to individual students, society, and to the workforce. Determining how to raise revenue for these long term investments is a critical challenge. We can make those investments by asking our highest income residents, who, as you know, currently pay less of their income in state and local taxes than the rest of us, to pay a little more on their income over $1 million.

Thank you for your consideration.

Schools that Work

When we think of being involved parents* at school, what comes to mind? Is it to volunteer in the classroom? Fundraise for needed items? Attend a program, event, or meeting?

These are only part of what it means to be a modern, engaged parent today. Parents are working, juggling family, extra-curricular activities, and other commitments. Certainly, our students and schools win when parents are meaningfully involved in classrooms and schools. And, while it's true that an engaged parent may be a school volunteer:

• he may also be interested in learning how school events actually link to learning, so that he may better support learning at home;

• or, she may want to participate in decision-making opportunities in the school or in the district;

• or some may wish to advocate not only for their child and her classroom, but for all of the children in the school, city, or town, by speaking out on school-wide issues before local, state, and/or national elected representatives and policymakers.

Between government mandates, increasing class sizes, and shrinking budgets, public schools today are challenged to provide every child with opportunities to meet their educational needs.

Our communities, along with the Commonwealth, and the federal government as a critical third partner, have a shared responsibility for maintaining public schools and ensuring that all children have access to a high-quality public education.

The parent partnership extends beyond the school walls and includes our elected representatives at the local, state, and national levels. We must let them know how they can make a difference for our children by showing up to advocate for resources.

Across Massachusetts, schools lack resources for critical programs they need to close gaps and overcome barriers to learning that threaten the quality of education for every child - and leave our most vulnerable children behind.

To keep the promise of public education alive is to renew our partnership with policymakers and to promote a more fruitful collaboration on behalf of every child in every public school in every city and Town.

I'm dedicated to building family, community, and statewide partnerships that work for our schools and children.

Yes - family engagement is about partnering with our child's teacher and school -- and, yes, it's also about packing healthy lunches for them, monitoring their screen time, and talking with them about their goals and passions.

But, that's not the whole picture.

We all need to work together - beyond the classroom and school - to help our schools obtain the resources they need to fulfill the promise that public education holds for every child.

Advocacy is like an ever-flowing river - one that you may step into at any place, at any time. And whether you choose to dip your toe in at the edge of the shore, or wade all the way into the deep - your presence has changed the course.

Now is the time. We must partner together because these are our children, our schools, our future and they deserve no less.
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* Throughout this post, "parent" refers to any adult who serves a care-giving role in a child's life.