by Cate Henning
Massachusetts Peace Action and Massachusetts Peace and Justice Network filed a set of 7 bills with the State legislature in 2021-22, and Massachusetts Peace Action stood in strong support of 12 additional bills.
In a long overdue step towards immigration justice, the MA House of Representatives approved the Work and Family Mobility Act! It will now be passed along to the senate. Furthermore, the Protect Native American Heritage Act, Remove Racist Mascots Act, and No New Women’s Prison Senate bill have earned favorable reports from their assigned committees and are now either pending in the House Clerk’s Office or awaiting review from the House and Senate Ways and Means committees. These wins promise needed change towards peace and justice in Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, the reporting deadlines for a Nuclear Weapons Commission, Taxpayers’ Right to Know Act, Indigenous Peoples Day Act, Medicare for All Act, No New Women’s Prison House bill, Safe Communities Act, and Tenant Protection Act have been extended. And, the Statewide Accelerated Public Health for Every Community Act and An Act Relative to Preventing the Discharge of Radioactive Materials were reported favorably by their originally assigned committees and have been referred to new committees. These extensions and referrals allow more time to urge legislators to push these critical bills through their committees.
The following chart details the status of all 19 bills, including 6 sent to study, and the Selective Service Registration Act, which Massachusetts Peace Action opposes.
Status of 2021-22 bills after rule 10 deadline:
| Bill | Committee | House bill status | Senate bill status |
| Nuclear Disarmament Initiative | |||
| Back from the Brink Resolution (S.1556) | Joint Committee on Public Safety & Homeland Security | n/a | Sent to study |
| Nuclear Weapons Divestment (S.1703/H.2597) | Joint Committee on Public Service | Sent to study | Sent to study |
| Nuclear Weapons Commission (S.1555/H.3688) | Joint Committee on Public Safety & Homeland Security | Reporting deadline extended by 30 days for a committee decision | Reporting deadline extended by 30 days for a committee decision |
| Yemen War | |||
| Divest from the Yemen War/Raytheon (S.1735/H.2636) | Joint Committee on Public Service | Sent to study | Sent to study |
| Budget & Taxes | |||
| Moral Budget for Massachusetts (S.1866/H.2989) | Joint Committee on Revenue | Sent to study | Sent to study |
| Taxpayers’ Right to Know (S.2031/H.3123) | Joint Committee on State Administration & Regulatory Oversight | Part of an extension order, reporting deadline is now 4/15/22 | Part of an extension order, reporting deadline is now 4/15/22 |
| Ethics & Transparency | |||
| Travel Conflict of Interest (H.3240) | Joint Committee on State Administration & Regulatory Oversight | Sent to study | n/a |
| Indigenous Legislative Agenda | |||
| Honor Indigenous Peoples Day (S.2027/H.3191) | Joint Committee on State Administration & Regulatory Oversight | Part of an extension order, reporting deadline is now 4/15/22 | Part of an extension order, reporting deadline is now 4/15/22 |
| Protect Native American Heritage (H.3385) | Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development | H.3385 reported “Favorable,” pending in the House Clerk’s Office | S.2239 and S.2240 “Accompanied H.3385,” pending in the House Clerk’s Office |
| Remove Racist Mascots (S.2493) | Joint Committee on Education | Reported favorably by Education committee and referred to the committee on Senate Ways and Means; staff have begun reviewing | Reported favorably by Education committee and referred to the committee on Senate Ways and Means; staff have begun reviewing |
| Celebrate and Teach Native American Culture and History (S.382/H.651) | Joint Committee on Education | Sent to study | Sent to study |
| Educate Native Youth (H.582) | Joint Committee on Education | Sent to study | n/a |
| Healthcare | |||
| Medicare for All (S.766/H.1267) | Joint Committee on Health Care Financing | Not reported out of committee (Health Care Financing committee has until March 30th to report) | Not reported out of committee (Health Care Financing committee has until March 30th to report) |
| Statewide Accelerated Public Health for Every Community Act (H.4328) | Joint Committee on Health Care Financing | Reported favorable by Public Health committee and referred to Health Care Financing Committee | n/a |
| Prison Moratorium | |||
| No New Women’s Prison (S.2030/H.1905) | Joint Committee on the Judiciary | Part of an extension order, reporting deadline is now 4/15/22 | Reported favorably by committee and referred to Senate Committee on Ways and Means; staff have begun reviewing |
| Immigrant Rights | |||
| Work and Family Mobility Act (H.3456/S.2289 ? H.4461) | Joint Committee on Transportation ? House Committee on Ways and Means | Approved by the House 120-36 | H.4461 referred to Senate leadership |
| Safe Communities Act (H.2418/S.1579) | Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security | Reporting deadline extended to 5/4/22 | Not reported out of committee yet |
| Housing | |||
| Tenant Protection Act (H.1378/S.866) | Joint Committee on Housing | Reporting deadline extended to 5/9/22 | Reporting deadline extended to 3/1/22 |
| Environmental Justice | |||
| Preventing Radioactive Dumping Act (H.4444) | Joint Committee on the Judiciary | Reported by House Committee on Rules and referred to Joint Committee on the Judiciary | n/a |
Status of 2021-22 bills opposed by Massachusetts Peace Action:
| Selective Service Registration | |||
| Selective Service Registration Act (H.4263/S.2585) | Joint Committee on Transportation ? House Committee on Ways and Means | Reported favorably and referred to House Ways and Means; not yet reported out of House Ways and Means | Reported favorably and referred to Senate Ways and Means; not yet reported out of Senate Ways and Means |
—Cate Henning is a Northeastern University undergraduate and a MAPA intern
