League Day on the Hill Lobby Day Oct. 17
Day on the Hill is the key event to make the League’s voice heard in the legislature. We need a big turnout of League members on Beacon Hill that morning.
Plan now to participate in our annual lobbying day,
Thursday, Oct. 17
, at the State House, with a program from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by time to visit your own Senator and Representative. Look for registration information soon.
Senator Karen Spilka, the Senate President, is our keynote speaker. You'll also hear from legislative specialists on our legislative priorities-Election Day registration, the climate emergency, education funding and reproductive rights.
Climate Strike Sept. 20 for Planet’s Future
LWVMA is an official sponsor of the
Boston Youth Climate Strike, s
et for
Friday, Sept. 20
! The strike is being organized and led by youth, and youth leaders are asking for our help. Check this
link
frequently for updates, march route map, agenda, and ideas for signs! Follow the event on Facebook
here
and use @ClimateStrikeMA on Instagram and Twitter.
The Boston rally is planned for City Hall Plaza. Tentative schedule is preliminary activities 10:00-11:30 a.m., main rally 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., march to State House 1-1:30 p.m., and action at State House 1:30-2:30 p.m. You can attend as much as you can.
We are looking for 8-10 volunteers to take shifts tabling at the Climate Strike event in Boston on Sept. 20. Please contact
Launa Zimmaro
if you can help.
The strike is a
global effort
powered by youth around the world, with thousands of students striking on Fridays since March to bring meaningful attention and political action on the climate emergency. These young people are asking for our help as adults. LWVMA is doing its part to support their effort as part of its larger plan of climate emergency action available
here.
League Action on Gerrymandering
LWVUS is launching a 49-state + DC campaign to end partisan gerrymandering: The People-Powered Fair Maps Campaign. All League members are invited to tune into a
town hall forum
on the campaign on Wednesday, Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. The national board has authorized half a million dollars to launch this campaign, and every state League will receive some of that funding through grants. This work will look different in each state. The town hall forum will be recorded and available for those unable to participate Sept. 4.
Add Your Support at a Legislative Hearing
The legislature resumes its work in September, and we expect a full schedule of joint committee hearings on the
bills we are working on
.
Hearings are usually posted with only a few days’ notice. Below are ones coming up in early September, and our legislative specialists are always glad to have League members attend and support their oral testimony. We will also try to post future hearings where our specialists will testify in person on our
Facebook page
,
so you can check what’s coming up. If there is a bill you are particularly interested in, please ask the specialist to let you know when a hearing is scheduled by emailing
specialists@lwvma.org
.
Immigration:
Joint Committee on Transportation hearing Wednesday, Sept. 4, 10 a.m., room B-2 for H.3012/S2016, An act relative to work and family mobility
,
to
enable all qualified state residents to apply for a standard Massachusetts driver’s license, regardless of immigration status. Specialist Jen Muroff testifying.
Child Nutrition:
Joint Committee on Education hearing Wedsnesday, Sept. 4, 11 a.m., room A-1 for H.585/S.256, An Act to promote student nutrition, on school nutrition, student meal debt and “lunch shaming.” Specialist Palma McLaughlin testifying.
Moratorium on Face Recognition Technology:
Specialist Carolyn Lee expects a hearing on H.1538/S.1385, An Act establishing a moratorium on face recognition and other remote biometric surveillance systems in the coming weeks and would appreciate support at the hearing from League members. We will post a notice on the
LWVMA Facebook page
.
Seeking Stories to Share
Colleen Kirby, our specialist for criminal justice reform legislation, asks anyone who has personal stories about how the criminal justice system has impacted them or a family member or anyone they know and is willing to share that story, either anonymously in her testimonies or by testifying at a hearing, please
email her.
She is particularly working on bills and looking for stories related to juveniles or young adults in custody, juveniles in trouble for underage sex, the need for expungement, people out on parole,
people not getting a parole hearing, people with substance abuse disorder getting in trouble with the criminal justice system just for having addiction issues, and prisoner visitation.
