The legislative advocacy efforts of the LWVMA are led by the Legislative Action Committee (LAC), composed of the League’s volunteer legislative specialists. Each legislative specialist follows one or more focus areas. For those areas, the specialist researches bills filed with the Massachusetts legislature, recommends League action, writes testimony on the League’s position to submit to the relevant committee of the legislature, and follows the progress of the bill. The bills LWVMA acts on must be consistent with LWVMA or LWVUS positions. The specialist may also join with approved coalition partners or advocacy groups to work together to support or oppose bills. The Legislative Action Committee decides on support for or opposition to a bill, with the LWVMA board of directors retaining final authority on those decisions.
Legislative specialists encourage League members who are interested in closely following an area of legislation or a specific bill to contact them and be added to that specialist’s “team” for notifications of committee hearings and other activities related to specific legislation.
To contact any of the legislative specialists, email specialists@lwvma.org.
Bills Followed by LWVMA in the 2021-2022 Legislative Session, listed by subject area
The bill numbers listed are the numbers initially assigned. Those numbers will change many times during the legislative process. You can find the new numbers by clicking on the numbers below, then following the links under “Bill History” on a bill’s page on the legislature’s website.
For the outcome of these bills as of the end of the formal session July 31, 2022, click here.
Affordable Housing, Clare Gordon, Lori Stewart
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
Emergency family housing assistance | An Act improving emergency housing assistance for children and families experiencing homelessness | Support | |
Prohibiting exclusionary zoning | An Act promoting fair housing by preventing discrimination against affordable housing | Support | |
Codifying the Mass. Rental Voucher Program-MRVP | An Act codifying the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program/An Act relative to the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program | Support | |
Right to counsel | An Act promoting housing stability and homelessness prevention in Massachusetts | Support | |
Eviction Sealing | An Act promoting housing opportunity and mobility through eviction sealing (HOMES) | Support | |
No longer active this session | Increase Community Preservation Revenue | An Act to increase community preservation revenue
| Support |
Real estate transfer fees to benefit affordable housing | An Act empowering cities and towns to support affordable housing with a fee on certain real estate transactions | Support |
Agriculture, Louise Haldeman
Children and Family Issues, Palma McLaughlin
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
Set floor for welfare benefits | An Act to Lift Kids out of Deep Poverty | Support | |
Domestic violence training for salon employees | An Act to mandate domestic violence and sexual assault awareness education for aestheticians, barbers, cosmetologists, electrologists, hairdressers, manicurists, and massage therapists | Support | |
| Outline how schools handle meal debt | An Act to Promote Student Nutrition | Support |
No longer active this session | Domestic violence training for child advocates
| An Act relative to to improving training for child advocates to recognize indicators of domestic violence | Support |
| Establishes 18 as legal age to be married in Massachusetts | An Act to End Child Marriage in Massachusetts | Support |
Adds coercive control to definition of domestic violence | An Act improving protections relative to domestic violence | Support | |
| Expands the list of professions, volunteers, and citizenry required to report suspicions of child abuse
| An Act to authorize the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to establish additional mandated reporters for the purpose of the protection and care of children | Oppose |
Criminal Legal System, Nancy Bettinger
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
Curtails use of solitary confinement | An Act to provide criminal justice reform protections to all prisoners in segregated confinement | Support | |
Requires treatment, not imprisonment after relapse while on probation or pre-trial release | An Act relative to treatment, not imprisonment | Support | |
Protects the right of incarcerated people to receive visits by family and friends | An Act to strengthen family and community connection with incarcerated people | Support | |
Ensures parole hearing when eligible, expands the size and composition of the parole board | An Act to promote equitable access to parole | Support | |
Expands the types of juvenile records that can be expunged | An Act relative to expungement of juvenile and young adult records | Support | |
Prevents consideration of juvenile adjudication records to “enhance” sentences for later offenses | An Act to prevent the imposition of mandatory minimum sentences based on juvenile adjudications | Support | |
No longer active this session | Establishes the right to a parole hearing after 25 years in custody | An Act to reduce mass incarceration | Support |
Restructures the juvenile justice system to include 18 to 20-year-olds | An Act to promote public safety and better outcomes for young adults | Support | |
Establishes systems to collect accurate data on juveniles’ contacts with law enforcement | An Act improving juvenile justice data collection | Support |
Education (Finance), Mary Frantz
Education (Higher), Susan Loffredo
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
Establishes pilot at community colleges to remedy student food insecurity | An Act establishing a community college campus hunger pilot program | Support | |
Guarantees additional funds to counteract cuts in higher education spending and inflation since 2001 | An Act committing to higher education the resources to insure a strong and healthy public education system | Support | |
Medication abortions provided at public universities | An Act to require public universities to provide medication abortion | Support |
Education (Policy), Karen Mazza
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
Affordable Early Education & Childcare | An Act Providing Affordable and Accessible High Quality Early Education and Care to Promote Child Development and Well-Being and Support the Economy in the Commonwealth | Support | |
H716/ No longer active this session | CIVICS studies | An Act creating an inclusive vision for implementing civics studies (CIVICS) | Support |
Anti-racism education | An Act relative to anti-racism, equity and justice in education | Support |
Elder Affairs, Pat Costello
Elections and Voting, Nancy Brumback, Linda Freedman
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
Make 2020 voting reforms permanent | An Act Fostering Voting Opportunities, Trust, Equity, And Security (VOTES Act) | Support | |
No longer active this session* | Voting assistance for incarcerated voters | An Act to protect the voting rights of eligible incarcerated people | Support |
No longer active this session* | Same day voter registration | An Act relative to same day voter registration | Support |
No longer active this session* | An Act allowing election day registration | ||
Remove absentee ballot restrictions from Constitution | Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution to provide for no excuse absentee voting | Support | |
Allow use of campaign funds for child care | An Act supporting parents running for public office | Support | |
Free public transit on Election Day | An Act to establish free access to ride to elections in Massachusetts (FARE Act) | Support | |
No longer active this session | Allow municipalities to lower voting age for local elections | An Act ensuring municipal participation of the widest eligible range (EMPOWER Act) | Support |
no longer active this session | An Act establishing health voting habits among youth | ||
No longer active this session | Ranked choice voting in municipal elections | An Act providing a local option for ranked choice voting in municipal elections | Support |
No longer active this session | An Act ensuring municipal power over whether elections are reformed | ||
No longer active this session* | Change processes for electronic transmission of completed absentee ballots by overseas voters | An Act relative to Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting (UOCAVA) | Oppose |
An Act relative to voting overseas | |||
No longer active this session | Photo ID to vote | An Act requiring photo IDs to vote | Oppose |
No longer active this session | An Act ensuring the election integrity through voter identification |
Environment—Climate Change and Energy, Launa Zimmaro
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
Decarbonization of buildings | An Act relative to building energy and decarbonization | Support | |
TCI funds for transportation and EJ | An Act relative to transportation and environmental justice | Support | |
Infrastructure funding EJ | An Act achieving a green future with infrastructure and workforce investments | Support | |
Transitioning off gas heating | An Act relative to the future of heat in the Commonwealth | Support | |
Updated bottle bill | An Act to expand the Bottle Bill | Support | |
Producer responsibility for paper and packaging | An Act to save recycling costs in the commonwealth | Support | |
100% Clean Energy by 2035 and 100% clean heating and transportation by 2045 | An Act transitioning Massachusetts to clean electricity, heating, and transportation | Support | |
Promotes offshore wind energy | An Act to promote offshore wind energy and renewables | Support | |
No longer active this session | An Act relative to enhancing reliability of renewable resources in the |
Environment—Natural Resources, Carolyn Lee
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
Water Resources – Drought policy | An Act relative to maintaining adequate water supplies through effective drought management | Support | |
Water Resources – “Water Banking” trust fund | An Act improving municipal water infrastructure | Support | |
Water Resources – Flushable Wipes labeling | An Act protecting water systems through the labeling of flushable wipes | Support | |
No longer active this session | Environmental Protection – pest management | An Act providing for the public health by establishing an ecologically based mosquito management program in the Commonwealth | Support |
Environmental Protection –invasive species | An Act responding to the threat of invasive species | Support | |
Environmental Protection – hazardous chemicals (PFAS) | An Act restricting toxic PFAS chemicals in consumer products to protect our health | Support | |
Environmental Protection – air pollution, environmental justice (biomass) | An Act furthering our commitment to non-carbon emitting energy sources/ to prevent biomass energy to protect the air we breathe | Support | |
Environmental Protection – Public Lands | An Act preserving open space in the Commonwealth | Support | |
Environmental Protection | An Act increasing the conservation land tax credit | Support |
Fiscal Policy, June Michaels
Good Governance, Carolyn Lee
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
Privacy protection | An Act to regulate face surveillance | Support | |
Privacy protection | An Act establishing the Massachusetts Information Privacy Act | Support | |
Remote access to public meetings | An Act to modernize participation in public meetings | Support | |
Call for Article V Constitutional convention | Resolutions for a United States Constitutional Amendment and a limited amendment proposing convention | Oppose |
Gun Safety, Jennifer Muroff, Sue McCalley
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
Analysis of crime gun date to determine illegal gun trafficking patterns | An Act relative to crime gun data analysis and reporting | Support | |
Classifies 3D printed guns and ghost guns (or unserialized, untraceable guns) as illegal | An Act Relative to 3D Printed Weapons and Ghost Guns | Support |
Health Care, Janice Goodell, Valentina Pasquantonio
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
No longer active this session | Universal single payer health coverage for all | An Act establishing Medicare for all in Massachusetts | Support |
Ensure minimum local public health standards, uniform data collection and reporting | An Act relative to accelerating improvements to the local and regional public health system to address disparities in the delivery of public health services | Support | |
Uniform collection and reporting process for immunization information | An Act promoting community immunity | Support | |
Tax credit for caregivers of family members at home | An Act establishing the family caregiver tax credit | Support | |
License midwives practicing in out-of-hospital settings | An Act relative to out-of-hospital birth access and safety | Support |
Immigration, Jennifer Muroff
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
“Safe Communities Act” prevents state/local involvement in federal immigration enforcement | An Act to protect the civil rights and safety of all Massachusetts residents | Support | |
Allow drivers’ licenses to all regardless of immigration status | An act relative to work and family mobility during and subsequent to the COVID-19 emergency | Support | |
Prohibits county sheriffs and state officials from entering into contracts with federal immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) | An Act relative to enforcing federal law | Support |
Meeting Basic Human Needs, Clare Gordon
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
Rights for Homeless Persons | An Act providing a bill of rights for people experiencing homelessness | Support | |
Common Application for Assistance | An Act to streamline access to critical public health and safety-net programs through common applications | Support | |
Earned Income Credit State Match | An Act improving the earned income credit for working families | Support | |
Lift Our Kids | An Act to lift kids out of deep poverty | Support |
Racial Justice, Vedna Lacombe-Heywood, Jennifer Muroff
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
Enhance hate crime statues to add protected classes and increase penalties | An Act to reform the hate crime statutes | Support | |
Grant program to establish community/clinician response to 911 calls | An act to create alternatives for community emergency services (ACES) | Support | |
Fair wages for agricultural workers | An Act establishing fairness for agricultural laborers | Support | |
| See our testimony for the Special Commission on Qualified Immunity here. | |||
Transportation, Tanya Roy, Lois Levin
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
No longer active this session | Omnibus transportation bill | An Act creating a New Deal for Transportation in the Commonwealth | Support |
Promotes use of ZEVs thru rebates and special rates disclosure | An Act promoting zero-emission vehicles | Support | |
Authorizes municipality to impose tax surcharge to fund transportation-related projects | An Act relative to regional transportation ballot initiatives | Support |
Women’s Issues, Jan Soma, Susan Loffredo
| Bill # | Topic | Bill Title | LWVMA Action |
Equal Pay | An Act relative to transparency in the workplace | Support | |
Parity on public boards | An Act to ensure gender parity and racial and ethnic diversity in public boards and commissions | Support | |
Harassment prevention in workplaces | An Act to require policies and training to prevent harassment, including sexual harassment | Support | |
Ban on mandatory arbitration in the workplace | An Act relative to the defense against abusive waivers | Support | |
No cost menstrual products | An Act to access disposable menstrual products in prisons, homeless shelters and public schools | Support | |
Independent commission to investigate State House sexual harassment/abuse | An Act promoting equality and respect in the legislature | Support | |
Health insurance coverage for all pregnancy related care | An Act ensuring access to full spectrum pregnancy care | Support | |
Ensures age appropriate, medically accurate sex education in schools | An act relative to healthy youth | Support |
Bills Followed by LWVMA in Previous Legislative Sessions
- League Supported/Opposed Legislation 2019-2020
- League Supported/Opposed Legislation 2017-2018
- League Supported/Opposed Legislation 2015-2016
- League Supported/Opposed Legislation 2013-2014
Asterisk (*) indicates the essence of the bill was included in another bill, even though this bill was sent to study