Well, friend,
You got a sneak peek on Tuesday, but it’s been a busy week. I would describe my general demeanor this week as oscillating between astounded, bewildered, and gobsmacked. Perhaps a dash of flabbergasted in between.
It’s not just the Rules– the legislature appears (!) poised to break two longstanding records this week. The first, of course, is a 6 year record that left us without finalized Joint Rules since 2019. That was broken this week when House and Senate approved a new Rules package Thursday. This is HUGE news for our movement for transparency and accountability, so keep reading for a deep dive!
The second is a record so longstanding that it’s basically the General Court’s “Curse of the Bambino”– although, of course, entirely self-imposed. For the last 14 years in a row, Massachusetts has started its fiscal year without a budget. That’s right: the last time Massachusetts had a timely budget, Obama was still in his first term and “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz was playing on every radio station!
As for this year, a conference committee of 6 members, hand-selected by leadership, has been at work on a FY 2026 compromise since the Senate passed their version in May. The fiscal year starts this Tuesday, July 1st.
This week, Governor Healey offered the legislature an extension via a supplemental budget that would keep the state funded for a few weeks. In a move that shocked… well, pretty much everyone, legislative leaders did not take the free pass and announced that a finalized FY2026 package would emerge this weekend, in time for formal votes Monday.
This may not mean that they break the record: Governor Healey still gets 10 days to review the budget before signing it, which would mean starting the fiscal year without a budget in place again. Still, it would be the earliest that legislators passed a budget since 2016.
In a session that has characterized itself by petty spats between House and Senate, you’ve got to wonder what was in the water on Beacon Hill this week!
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State House Scoop
Joint rules passed: how did we get here?
Before getting into the specifics of the Rules package, let’s take a little trip down memory lane to appreciate just how enormous this development is– especially for our scrappy little org.
Act on Mass was founded in 2018 with the aim of boosting transparency in the state legislature and making it a better place for organizing on progressive policies. My earliest predecessors advocated for rules changes in 2019, including public committee votes and sufficient time for reps to read bills before voting. These measures gathered some Democratic support, but were unsuccessful.
By the next rules vote, in 2021, Act on Mass had launched an extensive grassroots campaign called “the People’s House.” With over 60 advocacy organizations behind us, we mobilized over 4000 constituents in every district in the state, organizing meetings between constituents and legislators to push them directly to support rules reforms. That's where my Act on Mass story began– as a volunteer and then proud organizer for the People’s House campaign!
Yet, despite the strength of our movement, the push for transparency faced even more backlash in 2021. It was clear that legislative leaders had gotten the message out to their membership: “transparency” was a dirty word on Beacon Hill. They didn't want constituents getting in the way of their backroom deals with corporate donors and lobbyists. Some progressive champions had left, others flipped their votes, and our transparency reforms got even fewer Democratic votes in the Rules Debate than they had two years before. We got a small concession from leadership on releasing “no” votes from committees, but Joint Rules were never passed and this change was never finalized.
Here’s where I really have to give credit to my direct predecessors, Erin Leahy and Brenna Ransden: they made sure that this movement lived on. Act on Mass mobilized for non-binding ballot questions in 20 more districts in 2022, making it clear once again that MA residents support public committee votes by an average of 87% in favor. We pushed through a disappointing Joint Rules result in 2023, when the amendment to make committee votes public was killed without even a roll call vote. We launched our first legislative campaign, organizing around the Sunlight Agenda, while continuing to get the word out with the Saturday Scoop. I (Scotia) was lucky enough to rejoin the team last September, stepping into big shoes to keep this movement going.
To get a Joint Rules package now, after all these years of organizing, with public committee votes and other key demands, is nothing but an incredible victory. Of course, it should not have been this difficult to convince our representatives that we deserve to see how they’re voting on our behalf. Of course, the fight is not over. Still, this is a moment to celebrate!
I spoke to Erin this week about the exciting news. With her permission, I’m sharing what she had to say:
“When faced with record-levels of ineffectiveness and apathy from your state legislature, grassroots-led victories like this are extremely rare and hard-fought. This victory belongs to the thousands of people and dozens of progressive organizations which make up the Act on Mass movement of which I’ve been honored to be a small part. As the leading group in Massachusetts focused on State House transparency and accountability, we have spent every day of the last five years demanding more of our legislators: show us your votes. Today, they finally listened. And it’s about time.” - Erin Leahy, former Act on Mass Executive Director
Now for the rules!
What are the rules changes?
I gave a little sneak-peek in my Tuesday email, but here again are the top hits for what this Joint Rules package will change:
- Joint committee votes made public and posted online
- 10-day notice for joint committee hearings
- First meeting of conference committee held publicly
- Written testimony made publicly available
- Plain language bill summaries for every bill
- Rules made subject of public review including a public hearing
- Earlier “Joint Rule 10” deadline for reporting bills from committee, with 60-day rolling deadline for House bills
- 24 hours to read conference committee reports before voting
Many of the items on this list have been key demands of Act on Mass and our allies *for years.* Public committee votes– the ability to see how our lawmakers are voting on our behalf during the most active phase of lawmaking– is a fundamental right that has been denied for years. Additional notice for committee hearings is a component of the Sunlight Act and will allow increased participation for citizens and rank-and-file lawmakers. Publicly releasing written testimony will allow us to gauge public opinion on key bills and see where legislators are being more influenced by lobbyists than their own constituents. And with the current trend in passing things by massive omnibus bills, more time for our reps to read conference committees will help them better understand what they’re voting on– and give us more time to organize.
The Joint Rules also make some significant changes to the structure of joint committees. The biggest of these is that Senate members will now vote out Senate bills and House members will now vote out House bills, which can happen independently. This rule has already been in practice this session for some committees.
The idea behind this reform is to speed up the passage of bills through the committee process, by preventing one chamber from holding up the other chamber’s priorities. It will make it easier for advocates to target which members of a committee are holding up a vote. However, if the two chambers are not forced to negotiate with each other on the content of bills until after votes have been taken on the floor, we are concerned that this will lead to yet more work being done in conference committees. Conference committees are tiny, unrepresentative, opaque, and hand-picked by leadership. We will have to see how this reform plays out in practice to see how it impacts transparency and efficiency in the legislature.
The agreement to post public committee votes on the website also comes with a caveat. The compromise Joint Rules adopt language stipulating that any bill that does not receive a report by its deadline will automatically be marked as “sent to study.” We are concerned, therefore, that lawmakers might use this as a loophole for anything they don't want to take a public position on– just wait out the deadline and they're spared an uncomfortable vote. Although we will certainly get committee votes for anything that is favorably reported, we are concerned that they could use this loophole to send a lot of bills to study– aka, killed– without a public vote.
That’s one reason that our advocacy does not end here. These rules grant us access to new information, and more opportunities for the press and the public to engage with the lawmaking process. However, they will only be effective at improving accountability if we put them to use.** To address this loophole, we can put pressure on committee chairs to ensure that votes are held by the deadline. Thanks to the new rules, we’ll know if they follow through– but we have to keep our watchdog eyes sharp.
You can count on us at Act on Mass to ensure that these new transparency reforms become tools for our movement for increased accountability. We’ll keep the momentum up for additional reforms, including stipend reform to tackle the concentration of power in leadership– something entirely un-addressed in these rules. We’ll use public committee votes, public testimony, and increased notice to refine our watchdog work, ensuring that you can access essential information about how and when your representative is voting on your behalf.
To that end, let’s take one step together to cement this victory. A key ingredient of accountability is also giving positive feedback when we get what we want. We want our legislators to remember that when they voted for increased transparency, their constituents were happy with them. So, please take a minute today to send a quick email thanking your legislator for passing these reforms. We’ve made it easy for you– just click our form and personalize it!
REFORM IS A WINNING POSITION: THANK YOUR REP>>
Finally, and most importantly, I want to send a huge thank you to all of you, who have supported and sustained this movement throughout the years. This victory was made possible by our people power– every single person who gave time, energy, and resources to this movement for transparency and accountability. It's been an honor and a privilege for us to organize alongside you, and we look forward to the next phase of organizing. Onward!
Transparency on Tour: Progress Report
Let's keep building our movement! Upcoming dates:
- Lexington Farmers Market, July 8th - 2 pm - 6:30 pm at Worthen Road Practice Field, Lexington
- Weymouth Farmers Market, July 9th - 4 pm - 7 pm in Weston Park, Weymouth
- International Festival, July 13th - 12 pm - 5 pm at Village Green in Hyannis
- Allston/Brighton Organizing Fair, July 14th - 5:30 - 8:30 pm at PSF Community Center in Brighton
- REC Farmers Market Worcester, July 18th - 9 am - 12 pm at Beaver Brook Park in Worcester
- East Boston Farmers Market, July 23rd - 3 pm - 6:30 pm at Central Square Park in East Boston
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>>
Missed a Scoop or two? You can find a full archive of all past Saturday Scoops on our blog.
Syd's Sprinkles: Healey’s Environmental Response
With this week’s heat wave bringing record high temperatures to the state, we are facing the reality of more volatile weather patterns that are fueled by climate change in real time.
These high temperatures are creating dangerous working and living conditions, especially for those without access to air conditioners and the like [paywall]. Even with air conditioners, more and more strain is being put on our electric grid and our energy bills, which heightens threats of power outages and grid blackouts.
Overall, the situation is becoming more dire (as many environmental and climate scientists and activists have been warning would happen for years) and Bay Staters are looking to local and state policymakers rather than to the current administration in the White House for solutions to the climate-related problems that we are all facing.
With that being said, there is some good climate and environmental news this week in the form of Governor Healey’s $2.9 billion environmental bond bill – named the Mass Ready Act – which includes some precautions and solutions to the damaging impacts of climate change.
“So what even is a ‘bond bill’ anyway?”
I am so glad you asked!
A bond bill authorizes the state to fund different programs and projects via the buying and selling of – you guessed it – bonds, but does not necessarily guarantee that funding. Usually, bond bills have a five-year timeline and are focused on addressing a specific issue like transportation or infrastructure. (For more on bond bills, read the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center’s explanation here)
In Healey’s environmental bond bill, the focus is on infrastructure that is specifically at risk due to impacts from environmental and climate events. There are five specific categories outlined on the bill’s webpage – “Strengthening Our Infrastructure,” “Investing in Farms and Local Economies,” “Protecting Water and Nature,” “Housing & Environment Permitting Reform,” and “Supporting Western and Central Mass” – which are all important ways to protect communities and strengthen infrastructure in our communities.
Given that there are many different pieces to this environmental bond bill, here’s the TLDR (“too long; didn’t read”) of some projects that may get funding:
The launching of the “Resilience Revolving Fund,” which would fund projects in low-income communities that face damages due to climate and environmental events
- $764 million to fund Department of Conservation and Recreation property upgrades
- $304.5 million for land conservation and stewardship
- $401 million for flood control projects and dams
- $505 million for addressing the problem of PFAS contamination and other water projects
- $315 million for the Municipal Vulnerabilities Preparedness program
- $125 million for food security programs
While this bond bill still awaits the approval of the House and Senate, it is a step in the direction that climate activists across the state have been hoping we’d be moving in.
In addition to the precautionary provisions in the bond bill, you may remember Healey’s response to high Mass Save energy costs this past winter (you can read my blog post on this issue here).
Back in May, Healey released a bill that is intended to reduce ratepayer costs and increase the accountability of utility companies in the state. Since then, the bill has brought some new discourse about paths forward in addressing both high costs of living and the state’s climate goals.
Part of the plan that has been outlined in this bill includes the use of bonds to lower costs of energy to ratepayers without creating profits for the utility companies who are part of Mass Save. Other aspects of the plan have brought about concerns for non-solar energy customers and potentially disproportionate electric grid maintenance costs. However, the plan does seem to include various renewable and clean energy sources.
So what is the main concern that has come about with this bill?
According to some, including the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy chair, Sen. Michael Barrett, it ultimately comes down to whether decreased ratepayer costs and clean energy transitions are the main issue that the Healey administration is intending to address via this legislation.
The Healey administration’s answer to this concern is that accomplishing both goals is possible, with the added bonus of better consumer protections against the predatory practices of utility companies.
While the issue of climate change and taking action to address it seems pretty bleak given the current political climate across the country, it is important to acknowledge and appreciate opportunities like these climate bills, which are presenting active solutions to the issues that the federal administration is failing to address and oftentimes denying exist at all.
Our work as constituents is not yet done, given that these bills and many like itare awaiting the approval of our Legislators in the State House.
So, if you are wanting to take action in support of climate-related legislation, we encourage you to reach out to your Legislator and voice your support for bills that address these pressing issues that the Bay State is facing.
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Take Action
We protect us: make sure your rep takes a stand on ICE raids
Recent violent ICE arrests in communities around Massachusetts have left residents fearful. Governor Healey has come out with more sympathy for ICE than her detained residents and their families. We need legislators to step up and address this. Do you know where your rep stands and what they're doing to protect our communities? Use our form to send them an email!
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And that's all for this week! Enjoy your weekend.
In solidarity,
Scotia
Scotia Hille (she/her)
Executive Director, Act on Mass