Election Day Registration Lobby Day
Election Day Registration is a legislative priority for LWVMA and our partners in the Election Modernization Coalition after our success with Automatic Voter Registration. Plan to attend our EDR lobby day
Wednesday, June 5
, at the State House to convince your legislators to back this important election reform.
The EDR lobby day will start with a presentation about the bills and some how-to-lobby tips at
10 a.m.
in Room 428 at the State House. Then you will have a chance to visit your own Senator and Representatives in support of Election Day Registration.
You can continue to back EDR and other election reforms by attending a Joint Committee on Election Laws hearing
Wednesday, June 12, at 2 p.m.
to demonstrate public support for these reforms.
Register for LWVMA Convention
Join us
Friday and Saturday, June 7-8
, in Westford for the state League Convention, “
100
Years: Looking Back, Moving Forward,” to help shape our actions for the next two years. And be inspired to act by our speakers: environmentalist Bill McKibben, pan
els on election technology and the changing face of the legislature, and historian Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham on African-American women in the suffrage movement. For all the details and to register for Convention, click
here.
Women’s Issues Lobby Day
The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women will hold its annual Women’s Advocacy Day lobby day
Tuesday, May 21
, in the Great Hall at the State House. Come and support bills to benefit all women in the Commonwealth.
The lobby day schedule is breakfast and registration,
9-10 a.m.
; speakers,
10-11 a.m.
; and legislative visits and lunch,
11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Register to attend
here
and the commission will schedule legislator visits for you.
Support the Community Preservation Act
LWVMA, in keeping with our long-standing support of the Community Preservation Act, where the state matches locally-generated funds for projects in affordable housing, open space acquisition, recreation, and historical preservation, is supporting
H2463
/
S1618
, a bill that will increase the state funds available for CPA grants by increasing some fees at the Registries of Deeds. Without these new funds, CPA cities and towns are expected to receive only an 11% match in 2019. The proposed fee increases could increase this match to approximately 30% in 2020.
The fee increases proposed in this bill have been passed as part of the House budget. Please contact your state Senator right away and ask him/her to support an increase in recording fees at the Registries of Deeds in the Senate budget so that more money will be available for CPA matching grants to cities and towns.
Climate Change Forum in Winchester May 7
A forum, “
Climate Change and Regional Resilience
,” will present collaborative opportunities at the state, regional, and local levels to improve climate-preparedness. The forum will be
Tuesday, May 7, at 7 p.m.
at the Jenks Community Center, 109 Skillings Rd., Winchester, and is co-sponsored by LWVMA, LWV of Winchester, and other groups.
Kathleen Theoharides, newly-appointed Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs, will speak about higher levels of climate adaptation and resilience. State Senator Jason Lewis will discuss climate change legislation at the state level, and Representative Michael Day will discuss climate change initiatives at the municipal level. See a flyer for the event
here.
View LWVMA Webinar on Transportation and Climate Initiative
Jordan Stutt of the Acadia Center and Preyel Patel, Chief of Staff for Rep. Lori Ehrlich, presented “
Driving Down Emissions: Massachusetts and the Regional Transportation and Climate
Initiative,” in the latest webinar in the LWVMA Climate and Energy Solutions Series. They discussed the importance of the Transportation and Climate Initiative and state legislative efforts for a sustainable and equitable plan for Massachusetts.
Mother’s Day Walk for Peace
Please join LWVMA for the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute Mother’s Day Walk for Peace on
Sunday, May 12, at 8 a.m
. We will walk from Town Field Park, 1520 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester, to Boston City Hall. Our meeting location will be to the right of the speaker’s stage where you will see our LWVMA banner. Visit
https://www.mothersdaywalk4peace.org for more information and to register for the event, which is required. Questions? Contact
Jen Muroff.
Gun Legislation Lobby Day
The Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence will hold a Lobby Day
Monday, June 3, at 2 p.m. in Room 428 at the State House. We will ask legislators to support
S.1388/
H.2045, An Act relative to crime gun data reporting and analysis. We will hear from the chief sponsors of the bill, Sen. Cindy Creem and Rep. Marjorie Decker, as well as allies before we visit our legislators. Click
here for more information. #FollowTheGuns
LWVUS Policy Webinars
The national League is offering webinars updating League members on federal legislation and on litigation efforts. These two webinars are coming up:
- LWVUS Policy Update: For the People Act—Tuesday, May 21, 3-4 p.m. Join LWVUS policy and advocacy staff for an update on Senate version of HR.1, the For the People Act. Register Here.
- LWVUS Policy Update: 2019 Legislation and Litigation Efforts—Tuesday, June 11, 3-4 p.m. Join Celina Stewart, LWVUS director of advocacy and litigation, and Jessica Jones Capparell, policy and legislative affairs senior manager, for a mid-year update on LWVUS legislation and litigation efforts. Register Here.
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.
