civic engagement

Over the past year, in nearly every state across our country, newspapers have been filled with stories of state legislatures and town committees trying to work their budgets out of the red.

These times of fiscal crisis can be opportunities for us all to work together to rebuild healthy, safe, and appropriately-funded state and local communities, but we can only be effective in these efforts if all involved have access to the necessary budget and revenue information.

Brockton community members have demonstrated their agreement as evidenced by at least two school committee members refusing to meet secretly with their Superintendent, and by the recent opinion piece on in The Enterprise regarding secret school committee meetings surrounding a potential layoff of hundreds of staff:

"As we face a serious financial crisis, the superintendent needs to lead openly, strongly and decisively. He can dispel any questions about his abilities to steer Brockton's system to even higher academic achievements if parents and citizens are certain of his strength and clear thinking under pressure.

But no one can support what they can't see or hear... [more]

It's time to take a long, hard look at what we value in our state - and how we want to support it. Last week, we discussed some potential revenue options.

Do you have ideas on how we should build a sound fiscal foundation for Massachusetts?

The ONE Massachusetts Leadership Team is meeting on April 2nd, and we're interested in using your suggestions to build our agenda for the upcoming budget season.

ONE Massachusetts network members are encouraging their legislative delegations to build new revenue options in next year's budget. Are you ready to encourage your legislators to take a close look at how they will support our communities - and avoid drastic cuts - with revenue options?

Here are a couple of sample talking points that could get you started...

Why We're Part of People First

By ONE Massachsuetts Guest Blogger Al Norman

The Mass Home Care Association represents 30 agencies whose mission it is to keep elders and individuals with disabilities living in the community, at their highest level of functioning. More than 55,000 people a month count on home care help to live independently. It is their civil right to avoid unjustifiable segregation in an institution.

The “People First” campaign is all about addressing the needs of these vulnerable people—first. The state budget is the expression of what our state Constitution refers to as a “social compact” to ensure all individuals with “the power of enjoying, in safety and tranquility, their natural rights and the blessings of life.”

The needs of our people to be safely housed, fed, and cared for is not diminished in a recession. In fact, it gets worse, as more people become eligible for public programs. The fortunes of the low-income do not rise and fall with the stock market. Government looks after these people because the Marketplace will not.  Greed in the Marketplace—not the need of our people--caused a precipitous drop in revenues to sustain our social compact. Despite these hard fiscal times, there are still people and corporations in this state who are doing very well financially. We need to turn to those who have, to help those who have not. [Keep Reading...]

Massachusetts voters will decide who fills the Senate seat formerly occupied by the late Ted Kennedy January 19. The winner of the special election, be it a congressman or state-wide office holder, will likely vacate another seat which will call for another special election.

Each of these elections will call for primary balloting as well, leaving open the possibility that Massachusetts voters will be called to the voting booth eight times between now and next year’s state balloting in November, 2010.

Fitchburg. On Wednesday July 15th members of the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center gathered together for a ONE Massachusetts session about the current state fiscal crisis and ways on how to better communicate about government.

In the two hour Spanish session the members of the Center learned about the decisions that have put us in our current state fiscal crisis that have jeopardized our ability to create and maintain the public structures we all value and rely on.

This week's Conference Committees Meetings...

After last week’s flurry of activity on Beacon Hill, this week may seem like a period of rest for our legislators – and for those constituents wishing to be heard on the reforms and revenues affecting the health of our state.

It's not too late! This week looks to be filled with conference committee meetings. And while they are all closed to the public, they will all be run by our legislators - men and women that are interested in and impacted by your thoughts and concerns.

Below you can find for each of these bills - Ethics, Transportation, Pension, and Budget - the full bill text, conference committee members, and analysis, when available. 

Meanwhile...

It is clear that the revenue options currently proposed in both the House and Senate Budgets will be inadequate to support the public structures that have been cut over the past year. Legislators are already talking about options for revenue bills in the fall, including a revamped bill to support Casinos and Slots.

Other options that were suggested in this year's budget debate included restoring the Income Tax to its 5.95% rate in 1999 (amendment by Sen. Chang Díaz), and the expansion of the Sales Tax to include professional services (amendment by Rep. Peter Kocot).

ONE Massachusetts is interested in hearing more about what you value in our state, and how you think we should pay for it! 

Many Massachusetts Representatives have already been asked by their constituents to support an "adequate, balanced tax package."

They know that Massachusetts has worked for decades to build a system of public structures that keep our communities safe and healthy, educate our children, and draw businesses to our state.

The House has already passed its version of our State Budget. [Budget Process]

Now is the time to ask your Senator to support our public structures with an "adequate, balanced tax package."

 

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE VIRTUAL RALLY:

1. Contact your Senator. Tell your Senator that you support an adequate, balanced tax package that both addresses our structural deficit and stabilizes the public programs that we depend on!

   Customize your message, telling why restoring these public programs is important to your local community!

2. Pass this on to your personal and professional networks via Facebook, mailing lists, or dining room table - and recruit five of your friends and neighbors to do the same.

3. Let us know how it went! Once you've called each of your legislators, Twitter about it with the tag: #MassRevenues
   

Boston community groups gathered today at the Massachusetts State House to tell their legislators:

“We need to raise new revenue to invest in our future and stop these cuts!”

Meanwhile, in the Boston Globe:

House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said yesterday that he is "open-minded" about raising the Massachusetts sales tax to help the state cope with a historic economic downturn, a sign that representatives will seriously entertain at least a one-cent hike in the sales tax in an upcoming budget debate.

"I'm open-minded towards it, as I am with the others," DeLeo told reporters yesterday, after being asked how he felt about increasing the sales tax.

...The House is scheduled to begin debating its budget Monday, a spending plan that is loaded with deep cuts that have drawn protests from social-service advocates, as well as unions. Business groups and state residents have said a recession is the wrong time to raise taxes. [Boston Globe]

In preparation to call my legislators for this week's Virtual Rally, I've decided to check out which of the amendments proposed after the release of the House's Ways and Means budget called for increased revenue.

I'm scanning down the list of the 978 proposed amendments, looking for words like tax and fee.

Aha!

This sounds promising:
Amendment #131    Clark, Katherine    Alcohol Tax Exemption

Let's read the text: 

Ms. Clark of Melrose moves to amend the bill by adding at the end thereof the following section:-

“SECTION X. Subsection (g) of Section 6 of chapter 64H of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 72, the following words:- “and one hundred and thirty-eight”.”

Umm... So what does that mean??

We are excited to announce the official launch of the Virtual Rally to Support Our State!!

Massachusetts has worked for decades to build a system of public structures that keep our communities safe and healthy, educate our children, and draw businesses to our state.

Now, in an effort to avoid raising state taxes, the House Ways and Means Committee has proposed to dramatically cut those public structures in a time when we all rely on them more than ever.

All this week, our legislators will be considering amendments to our budget. Debate starts on April 27th. Now is the time to talk to your legislators!!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE VIRTUAL RALLY:

1. Contact your legislators - in the House and in the Senate. Tell them that you support an adequate, balanced tax package that both addresses our structural deficit and stabilizes the public programs that we depend on!

   Customize your message by telling your legislators why restoring these public programs is important to your local community!

2. Pass this on to your personal and professional networks via Facebook, to mailing list, or in person - and recruit five of your friends and neighbors to do the same.
3. Let us know how it went! Once you've called each of your legislators, Twitter about it with the tag: #MassRevenues