Last week was quite the week--to put it mildly.

Lost amidst the euphoria around exciting election wins in Georgia and the terrifying display of white supremacist violence in the attempted coup in the US Capitol was the news of the end of the legislative session here in Massachusetts -- and the start of the new one.

Back in July, the Legislature voted to extend the legislative session. That didn't mean votes that were more spread out over time--just another end-of-session crunch, but later.

The formal legislative session in Massachusetts typically ends on July 31 every even-numbered year. Beyond that, the Legislature remains in "informal" session, with only a handful of legislators actually present and only non-controversial policies advanced (if anything at all).

Back in July, with no budget in the near future, the Legislature voted to extend the formal session, enabling it to go as long as it possibly could -- until 11:59 pm on Tuesday, January 5.

That didn't stop them, however, from pushing off so much of their work until the very last minutes (and extending the final day of the session into 4:30 the next morning). Like college students pushing off all assignments until the hours before they're due.

Despite the embarrassment of a process --- with legislators lacking time to read what they were about to vote on -- there were still some important victories.

The current legislative session in Massachusetts ends in just three short weeks, with a few holidays in between.

And there's a lot left to do.

When Governor Charlie Baker sent an economic development bill to the MA Legislature, he included his "Housing Choices" legislation, which had been stalled as a standalone bill. The "Housing Choices" bill addresses one aspect of Massachusetts's affordable housing crisis: the fact that new construction is relatively rare in the suburbs due to the prevalence of single-family zoning. If you can only build one housing unit per lot, it makes it more difficult to respond to a growing population or growing demand. Currently, zoning changes (such as those that would approve multifamily housing construction) require a 2/3 approval from local government. Baker's bill, which the MA House retained in their economic development package, would lower that to a simple majority.

The need for more supply, though, is just one part of the problem. There is no guarantee that the new supply would be affordable, nor that the new supply would not push up rents for current tenants, thus running the risk of displacement. There isn't even a guarantee that any new housing will be built at all (it's a removal of a barrier rather than promise of new construction).

That being said, as an MIT researcher recently noted in CommonWealth Mag, all this means is that we need to think comprehensively when we approach the affordable housing crisis: we do need zoning reform, but we also need stronger protections for existing tenants. Tenant protections will not address the need for supply: only new construction can. Zoning reform will not address displacement: you need tenant protections for that. This was also an essential takeaway of the book Golden Gates by Conor Dougherty on the housing crisis in San Francisco.

Unfortunately, the MA House voted down efforts at striking such a balance.

In a mere eleven days -- on Friday, July 31st, at 11:59 pm -- the legislative session in the Massachusetts State House comes to an end.

The bills that didn't make it past the finish line this year will disappear into the ether or return like a phoenix from the ashes in January next year, only to face the same grueling process.

But there are many policies that can't wait until January. Indeed, passing them now is already far later than should have been done. And, frankly, the Legislature shouldn't get to leave session until they finish.

TL;DR: Tell your legislators to extend paid sick time, extend the eviction moratorium, and extend the legislative session.

Today marks Phase 3 of Republican Governor Charlie Baker's reopening plan. That means that movie theaters (??), casinos (??), and gyms (??!?) are allowed to reopen today -- even as states around the country are seeing resurgences of the COVID-19 outbreak.

And to make matters worse, this reopening is happening without any new, enforceable protections for workers.

Chairman Eldridge, Chairwoman Cronin, and Members of the Judiciary Committee: 

My name is Jonathan Cohn, and I am the chair of the Issues Committee of Progressive Massachusetts. Progressive Massachusetts is a statewide grassroots advocacy organization that fights for shared prosperity and racial and social justice. 

Shared prosperity is impossible in a state where people cannot afford to live or are barred from opportunities for housing. Tackling our affordable housing crisis requires action on a wide variety of fronts, and curbing the outsize role of eviction records in access to housing is an important part. We urge you to give a favorable report to the HOMES Act (S.824/H.3566). 

Victory! Newton’s Board of Alderman Grants Special Permit for 28 Austin Street

As reported here, Progressive Newton has been working throughout 2015 with residents and other organizations to make the proposed development at 28 Austin Street in Newtonville a reality.

We are thrilled to report that on December 7, by a 17-6 vote, Newton’s Board of Alderman approved the special permit needed for the project to go forward.

Our chapters work on Progressive Mass’s state-wide priorities (legislation, campaigns, elections), such as Raise Up Mass, but they also organize locally around the issues important in their communities. We know that our strength comes from this energy and activism that comes straight from the citizen volunteers, and we want to share their work with you!

First up: Progressive Newton’s tenacious fight for the Austin Street project, as part of creating a welcoming community for all and pushing back against increasingly unaffordable housing in their city. Take a look, with this update from Prog. Newton member, Robert Fitzpatrick.

Progressive Newton strongly supports the Austin Street project, a proposed four-story building with retail space and 68 apartments in the city-owned Austin Street parking lot in the heart of Newtonville’s village center.

The Austin Street location is ideal for an apartment building: right on the commuter and bus lines and within easy walking distance of a supermarket, plus dozens of shops and restaurants.

It is exactly the kind of sustainable development Newton needs, especially now as soaring housing prices are putting our city out of reach for many.

For Newton to remain a welcoming and economically diverse community, we need affordable housing and a variety of housing options.

Haverhill resident and Progressive Mass member Bill Taylor wrote an opinion piece for the Boston Globe. You can read the published version here, and a longer, original draft below.

"Will the election of Charlie Baker as governor improve Massachusetts?"

No.

During his campaign, Governor-elect Charlie Baker promised to smartly reform government spending, reduce the supposed culture of dependency and abuse in the welfare system, and never, ever raise taxes.  He argued that his experiences in the Weld and Cellucci administrations and private sector made him uniquely qualified to deliver on those promises and tackle the state’s most pressing, complex issues.  But tackling these issues takes much more than flimsy campaign rhetoric, and his track record as a policymaker suggests that he won’t be up to the task.