Issues

Many homeowners in Massachusetts are unaware that their power lines are private and that they are responsible for the maintenance and repairs. Eversource charges full cost to the consumer for maintenance and distribution on these private lines without compensation for using their infrastructure and without assuming any responsibility for maintenance. This bill gives the Department of Public Utilities or the Attorney General the power to compel Eversource to take over private utility lines, mandating that utilities indicate on their bill whether the homeowner is using a private line or pole, and requires DPU in consultation with the Attorney General to come up with a mechanism for the utility to pay customers for their private line in proportion to the line length.

Creates the Massachusetts Open Data Standard for state and municipal agencies to make public data available on a searchable open data portal to increase transparency, agency accountability, and the responsiveness of state agencies.

Exempts individuals with a net-worth under two million dollars from the estate tax.

Gives authority to the 104 independent public retirement systems in Massachusetts to divest fully or in part from fossil fuel companies, mitigating substantial losses from high risk fossil fuel industries and driving the economy towards cleaner, renewable energy sources.

Ocean acidification impacts our marine life, fishing industry, and our entire blue economy. This bill gives towns and cities a menu of nine cost-effective ocean acidification mitigation policies. If five out of nine policies are adopted, those municipalities are designated as Blue Communities. The nine options are varied, designed to give cities and towns flexibility. Once municipalities receive Blue Community status, they are given access to funding for further ocean acidification mitigation programs.

Mandates electric utility companies file periodic Climate Vulnerability and Resilience Plans. Electric utility companies will be required to prepare these plans in collaboration with communities most impacted by climate change within the company’s service area, including environmental justice populations. This bill will also remove a major impediment to community microgrids installation by preventing utility companies operating in the service area from blocking them.

This legislation would make saving easier for first-time homebuyers, by allowing them to open a tax exempt savings account. Individuals would be able to deposit up to $5,000 each year with a total cap on tax exempt savings of $50,000.

Massive global companies like Facebook and Google make billions of dollars each year from digital advertising, and corporate loopholes allow them to pay little to no taxes despite their large profits. This bill places a 5% tax on the advertising revenue of massive data corporations. The funds raised support pre-K and afterschool development programs, as well as local newspapers.

This bill closes the loophole that allows insurance to avoid covering craniofacial disorders. Craniofacial disorder is a rare medical condition that causes highly abnormal tooth structure and decay and can be both physically and emotionally devastating for individuals. The bill includes a requirement for insurance plans to cover medically-necessary functional repair or restoration procedures that are often out of reach to patients because of exorbitant costs.

Requires MBTA to begin commuter rail service to Buzzards Bay station within one year of passage.

Create the Veteran Breakthrough Treatments Program to support the development and deployment of treatments that have been designated as “Breakthrough Therapies” for veterans and first responders. Breakthrough Therapy designation is given by the FDA to treatments that clinical evidence has shown to be extremely promising.

Requires climate risk be incorporated into the state building code, and empowers cities and towns to better manage development in flood prone areas.

Incorporates ocean acidification into the state’s climate adaptation planning efforts and creates a permanent Ocean Acidification Council to oversee statewide monitoring and research. The bill also establishes an ocean acidification awareness week to educate the public and promote local monitoring efforts.

Police officers and firefighters risk their lives to serve and protect the citizens of Massachusetts; yet state law does not offer 100% pensions and benefits to those severely and permanently injured in the line of duty. A priority of the Police Chiefs, this commonsense legislation will allow injured officers and firefighters to receive 100% of their pension. If a first responder is violently injured while protecting our communities, we should protect them and their family by ensuring they receive their full benefits.

This legislation seeks to close the political transparency gap between candidate elections and ballot initiatives and local town meetings. Currently, even though Town Meetings are the legislative body for most municipalities across the Commonwealth, state campaign finance laws do not currently include within its scope political entities or expenditures established or made to influence the outcome of articles that appear on Town Meeting warrants.

This bill establishes a Massachusetts Green Bank to facilitate investment in low-carbon, climate-resilient infrastructure, and empowers it to utilize other economic tools to attract and retain companies that will create new clean energy jobs, particularly in low-income communities.

Reforms MassSave by ensuring it offers programs that improve energy efficiency, promote building decarbonization, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce consumer costs when possible.

Lack of affordable housing is eroding our communities and displacing local residents. This bill allows municipalities to impose a fee of up to 2% on multimillion dollar homes that cost $1 million or more, paid by the buyer of the home. The revenue raised goes directly back to the city or town to fund affordable and workforce housing projects.

Single use plastics are overflowing our landfills and devastating our ocean ecosystems. Our obsession with unsustainable and disposable plastic has created a floating island three times the size of France in the Pacific Ocean. Our state should take the lead on reducing dependence on single use plastics. This bill requires that all vendors that operate in state owned buildings ban single use plastic water bottles, soda bottles, and bags. The bill also mandates that food service utensils and packaging, including straws, utensils, lids, plates, and take-out packaging, are biodegradable.