11/22/19

Dear Mothers Out Front Massachusetts friends,

For me, Thanksgiving is a small annual intergenerational gathering of a few family and friends. We traditionally take time to say what we are grateful for. Sometimes we share memories about relatives and friends who are no longer with us. It makes me reflect on my own life and how I would like to be remembered.

As always, I am grateful for the love of family and friends. This year I am especially grateful for Mothers Out Front's campaign for a livable future.

With every phone call, tweet, and letter to a public official, every rally and march, every conference call and meeting, my children see me as a passionate advocate fighting to transform a sick and threatened planet into a healthy, just, and thriving world.  

The Mothers Out Front Legislative Team thanks you for your amazing support this year and asks that you take a moment, in the next week or two, to send a Thanksgiving message to your state legislators. We want to get a hearing for a bill that would create a state carbon fee and dividend program that fairly benefits all Commonwealth residents.

Our calls are part of a statewide effort with the Clean Energy Future coalition in support of H.2810, “An Act to Promote Green Infrastructure and Reduce Carbon Emissions” sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Benson and co-sponsored by 104 other legislators. 

Filling our legislators inboxes with emails and voicemails during and just after the Thanksgiving break will show that we're serious about wanting them to join us to work for a just and livable future for all children. If you email, include a photo of your family with your note.

• Ask your legislators to urge the Chairs of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy (Senator Michael Barrett and Representative Thomas Golden) to hold a hearing on the Benson Bill, H.2810, “An Act to Promote Green Infrastructure and Reduce Carbon Emissions.” 

Thank you,

Ellie Goldberg for the Legislative Team

Below is a sample for you to use in calling your legislators. If you want to email, here is a sample. 

For those who live within Senator Barrett’s district (Waltham, Lincoln, Lexington, Concord, Bedford, etc), here are alternative sample scripts for calling or emailing.

Find my legislator: https://malegislature.gov/search/findmylegislator

Sample constituent phone script for calling your legislator: 

My name is ____ and I live at______. I am calling as a member of Mothers Out Front to ask you to please contact the Chairs of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy (Senator Michael Barrett and Representative Thomas Golden) to bring the Benson bill H2810 to a hearing and to personally encourage your colleagues to also champion this bill to put a fair price on carbon pollution. [Add something about the loved ones who make you feel the urgency of climate change and motivate you to take action]. Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving.

Learn more about H2810 here. 

Massachusetts Mothers Out Front's three legislative priorities

1. Environmental Justice (click here)

• Two bills, "The Environmental Justice Act” filed by Sen. Eldridge, Rep. DuBois & Rep. Miranda, and "An Amendment to the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act" (MEPA) filed by Sen. DiDomenico and Rep. Madaro, would codify environmental justice policies.

2. Carbon Pricing (click here) 

• Rep. Jennifer Benson’s bill puts a fair price on carbon pollution in the transportation and heating sectors, and other retail uses of fossil fuels.

3. FUTURE of Gas (click here) 

• A bill filed by Senator Cindy Creem, Rep. Lori Ehrlich and Rep. Christina Minicucci focuses on transitioning the gas utilities to selling renewable heat (FUTURE is an acronym: For a Utility Transition to Using Renewable Energy).  

Here is our tri-fold brochure to download and print featuring these priorities.

Thank you to all for showing up and supporting the FUTURE Act hearing

Other Bills We Support

In addition to our three legislative priorities which we are harnessing Mother Power to pass this session, we have also endorsed several other bills. These are not bills that the Legislative Team is actively engaged with, but we want to lend the Mothers Out Front name on a list or letter from supporting organizations. The bills that we have endorsed so far are:

100% Renewable Energy

Roadmap to 2050

Healthy Soils 

Efficient Appliances 

Interested in a bill that we haven't endorsed? We have a process for vetting bills to support. We need at least 48 hours if there is a deadline to sign on to a coalition letter. Contact Andra at amherstamr@gmail.com.

Showing Up to Shape the Laws that will Determine Our Children's Future

Mothers Out Front was well represented at the State House on June 4th thanks to twenty members who were able to shirt up and show up. We were there to support one of our legislative priorities, Environmental Justice. The bills were heard by the Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Committee; the room was packed and the testimony was lively. The legislators saw that we walk our talk. 

Thanks also to the Legislative Team, the Environmental Justice Team, and staff members who worked together to get the word out with short notice. 

The next step in the long legislative journey is for the bills to be voted on by the Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Committee. This could happen anytime before March 2020 but we want it to be reported out sooner. Our job will be to encourage our Reps to talk with the members of the Committee to make a favorable recommendation for the EJ bills to move forward. We will also contact the chairs of the committee directly. Let us know if you would like to be a part of that effort.

Now what?

• We are educating members about the EJ legislation, the FUTURE bill, and Carbon Pricing. See our trifold, and please use it.
• We are asking supportive legislators to step up and champion our priority issues

Sign up for Action Alerts 

• Sign up for MOF Action Alerts to get notified when we need everyone to call or email their legislators. 
• Would you like to be added to a list of people who particularly want to show up for legislative events like hearings? Please let Andra know at amherstamr@gmail.com. The Legislative Team will use the list to send a special invitation to you for events at the State House, in your district, and online (like webinars on bills). 

Know Your Legislators!

• Find your State Legislators' phone numbers and email; look them up here. Once you've got their contact information, keep it handy on your phone or your fridge, and use it often! Our representatives rarely hear from their constituents more than once and a small group of Mothers can have a big impact by asking for their Rep to be a climate champion and checking back regularly to see what they did since you last talked. They work for us and our children, so get to know them.

Resources

Background on the Massachusetts Legislature

Coalitions MOF Works with on Legislation

What we did in January

All the bills for the 2019-2020 legislative session are filed by our Representatives in the House this month. There's a mad rush to get as many Reps to cosponsor each bill before the deadline of February 3rd. Our goal is for every Community Team to meet with the Rep/s in their town, to introduce them to Mothers Out Front if they're a new Rep, and to ask them to cosponsor our two priority bills.

Learn how to run a Mothers Out Front lobbying meeting, and the exciting details of the carbon pricing and the FUTURE bills, and how to lobby your legislators the MOF way in these webinars:

• Webinar on Lobbying Legislators the Mothers Out Front Way. Here's a link to the recording. And a link to the slides. 
• Webinar on the FUTURE bill.

Lobby Days

• Thursday January 24th 11-3:00pm. Mass Power Forward Lobby Day
• Tuesday January 29th time tba. Clean Energy Future (carbon pricing coalition) Lobby Day.

This page is brought to you by the Mass Mothers Out Front Legislation Team:

Andra Rose, Ania Camargo, Ann Berwick, Bee Jay Baatz, Carol Chamberlain, Ed Woll, Ellie Goldberg, Judy Leff, Marilyn Ray Smith, Mary Hutton, Melissa Downes, Nancy Clark, Rebecca Pomerantz, Sharon deVos, Sue Swanson, Tanya Larkin, Zeyneb Magavi

For information, questions or to get involved, contact Andra at amherstamr@gmail.com.