December Opportunities for Action
Safe Communities Act Hearing Dec. 2
A hearing on the Safe Communities Act, H3573/ S1401, will be held Monday, Dec. 2, at 10 a.m. in Gardner Auditorium at the State House before the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. Come and show your support if you can. Otherwise, please call or email your own Senator and Representative Dec. 2, and let them know that you and the League support the Safe Communities Act and our immigrant neighbors.

Two Upcoming Legislature Hearings
The Joint Committee on the Judiciary will hold a hearing Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 1 p.m. in hearing room A-1. An Act clarifying consent laws for adolescents, H1493/ S1014, would decriminalize consensual adolescent sexual relations.

The Joint Committee on Transportation will hold a hearing on two bills we are following Thursday, Dec. 5, at 1 p.m. in hearing room A-1 at the State House.

An Act to advance modern and sustainable solutions for transportation, H3008/ S2106, ensures that the revenue generated by the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) agreement between nine states and the District of Columbia to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector goes into a dedicated trust fund allocated to specified sustainable transportation programs.  

An Act to explore alternative funding sources to ensure safe and reliable transportation, H3010/ S2114, creates pilot programs to explore revenue alternatives to the gasoline tax, such as a vehicle mileage fee. 

LWVMA Plans Webinar on Census Effort
LWVMA will host a webinar Thursday, Dec. 5, 2-3 p.m. on helping with the 2020 U.S. Census. Carly Bari, Partnership Specialist for the Census Bureau, will explain how the census will be conducted, the resources available on the Census Bureau website, and answer your questions. You will need to register for the webinar here.

LWVMA has set up a 2020 Census online group, Census2020@lwvma.org, to share tips, resources and projects. Please contact Taylor Grenga if you would like to join this group.

Talk to Your Legislators Now
The Massachusetts legislature is in holiday recess until January, so legislators are spending more time in their districts. Many will hold in-district office hours in December, and you can find out when your Senator and Representative might be available by calling their offices. It would be enormously helpful if you could stop by and talk to your legislators in person for a few minutes. All bills must be reported out of joint committees by Feb. 5 or they are dead for this session, so ask your legislators to urge the leadership to move these bills out of committee:
  • Election Day Registration, H685/S396 and H636, a commonsense election reform used in 21 states. Read LWVMA's testimony here.
  • Allow use of campaign funds for childcare, H639/S408, to make it easier for parents to run for office. Read LWVMA's testimony here.
  • ROE Act, H3320/S1209, to expand access to abortion. Read LWVMA's testimony here.
  • Crime gun data reporting, H2045/S1388, to trace guns used in crimes. Read LWVMA's testimony here.
One of our Day on the Hill priority bills, H832, An Act to create a 2050 roadmap to a clean and thriving Commonwealth, has been reported favorably out of joint committee with a new number, H3983, so please ask your state Representative to contact the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, and urge action on this important climate crisis bill. Read LWVMA's testimony here.

We are supporting many other bills. You can find a list here, with our testimony on them; feel free to advocate for any of these as well.

People Powered Fair Maps: Learn About Campaign to End Gerrymandering
Interested in learning more about the LWVUS People Powered Fair Maps™ initiative? Click here to listen to LWVMA Co-President Judy Zaunbrecher discuss the importance of developing fair maps for voting districts here in Massachusetts and throughout the United States. Judy was interviewed by Mindy Todd of WCAI, the NPR station on the Cape and Islands. She was joined by David Daley of FairVote and Peter Levine of Tufts University. 

Click here to view Judy’s presentation to the League of Women Voters of Falmouth on redistricting and the People Powered Fair Maps™ campaign.

Volunteers Needed at Mass. Conference for Women
The Massachusetts Conference for Women will be held Dec. 11 and 12 at the Boston Convention Center. LWVMA will once again be among the “community” exhibitors at the Conference, and we are looking for volunteers to staff our booth! We need coverage between 5 and 9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, and between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12. If you are interested in covering a two-hour (or longer) shift, please contact Taylor Grenga or call the office, 857.452.1712. There will be at least two people covering each shift, so you will have a buddy!

Interested in Moderator Training?
LWVMA is planning to hold training sessions for members interested in becoming moderators in January and February. One session will be on the South Shore; the other will be where demand is greatest. If you would be interested in participating in such a training session, please contact board member Elizabeth Foster-Nolan, who is coordinating our moderator program.

League Day of Action on 100th Birthday
On February 14, 2020, the League of Women Voters will celebrate the actual 100th birthday of our founding. To celebrate our legacy, support the anniversary plans already scheduled, and amplify our League voice, LWVUS is holding an official Day of Action that day to capture the activities Leagues have planned across the country! We want to make the most out of this opportunity by sharing one League voice on this historic day.

League in the Rose Parade
The League of Women Voters will be featured on the Pasadena Celebrates 2020 float in the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 2020. Along with League president Chris Carson and League CEO Virginia Kase, the Pasadena Celebrates 2020 float will include a “Bouquet of Suffrage Descendants” - those in direct line to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Ida B. Wells, Susan B. Anthony, and Frederick Douglass.

Progress Update
Two of our bills passed both chambers of the legislature just before they recessed for the holidays and, at press time, Governor Baker has signed these bills:         
  • The Student Opportunity Act reforms the education funding formula and significantly increases the amount of state money available for school districts. This bill from the Joint Committee on Education replaced the Promise Act, which we initially supported.
  • The distracted driving bill bans the use of handheld devices while driving. The version that passed replaced S2120 which we initially supported.
A third bill, H591/ S267, to offer “breakfast after the bell,” so more students receive breakfast at school, passed the House and was sent to the Senate.

Best Wishes for the Holidays and the New Year!
How to Contact Your Legislator:   You can find phone numbers, email addresses and office addresses on the legislature’s webpage for your Senator and Representative.  Go to   www.malegislature.gov  and click on the Legislators tab.  If you don’t know who your legislators are, click  here .
The LWVMA Action Newsletter is distributed to all LWVMA members. Anyone can request the Action Newsletter by clicking  here . Please review this Newsletter for articles of interest to your League and include them in your local Bulletin.
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