This is music to my ears.
The state House of Representatives is likely to debate the final vote on repealing the 1913 law Tuesday, PolitickerMA.com has learned.
According to a House leadership source with knowledge of the legislative schedule, debate over the law is expected to occur when the House returns to full session Tuesday.
Given the homophobia that’s still alive in today’s society, repealing 1913 will send a great message that Massachusetts won’t stand for hatred and fear. One of the last vestiges of legally-mandated human rights abuse against glbt people will finally be gone, so we can focus on the far more difficult problems facing our commonwealth and country.
That said, while I’m very greatful for all the effort Speaker DiMasi and most of the House has displayed this year – one of the most successful and effective in memory – there’s still more work to be done in just a few short days. Most important of all the bills that could be passed before it’s too late is the Global Warming Solutions Act, capping emissions and setting policy that would make Massachusetts a true leader on Global Warming. We’ve passed a great Energy bill in this state this year, but unfortunately it didn’t cap emissions. We can’t afford to wait another year to make bold plans to cut emissions.
The Senate passed the Global Warming Solutions Act already, led by Senator Pacheco, so now it’s the House’s turn. It would be terrible to waste this golden opportunity. Unfortunately, because we’re already at the Global Warming tipping point, the climate can’t wait. If DiMasi and House Democrats can get this bill a vote during the last days of the session, a vote that will likely pass, this year will truly go down as one of the most effective legislative years in modern Massachusetts history. It will be a triumphant year for those who think Government can be a part of the solution.
Please, call your State Representative, and even ring DiMasi’s office. Thank them for taking up 1913, imploring them to vote the right way. But don’t forget to tell them that the climate matters and can’t wait, either.
Important bills. Thanks for writing this. Kate
why I think we need to pass the Global Warming bill now is because it’ll take a while to fully impliment it. Add that to the fact that it was tough to get it through the Senate, as well. So I really think that if we miss this chance to pass it, we’ll be talking about cutting emissions in Massachusetts for years… and then waiting even longer before we see results from any bills passed. So that’s why we can’t afford to wait – it needs to be one of the other bills that gets to be heard this session. It should pass, per my source, it just needs the floor vote.
as well in the Senate! (per Common Cause)
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p>You can call Senate President Murray’s office at: 617-722-1500
says it’s going to pass – if both houses are taking it up. Good news!
I am so excited about NPV and the possible changes it could bring. And definitely, if they didn’t want to pass it it would’ve been swept under the rug to make the least amount of noise possible. Still, I feel an obligation to keep the pressure up till it happens.
to vote on the Safer Alternatives Bill also. It passed the Senate in January. It will require companies making and using products that are poisoning us to substitute materials that are safer. It has lots of business-friendly provisions, like only requiring the substitution when there is an economically feasible alternative. Nonetheless, AIM and other industry groups are fighting it mercilessly, with a lot of misinformation. What a surprise! So it’s up to us to tell the legislators to do the right thing, that people’s lives are at stake.
that I think should be one of the ones they take up in these final days of the session.
I’ll admit I got caught up in the 1913 stuff and lost track of other legislation.
There was a pretty public event the other day in Beacon Hill that received some press, but I’m not sure if and when it’ll come up for a vote.
Thanks from the Speaker’s office for the praise, it is appreciated. We do have a lot of work to get to before we end formal sessions and your priorities are certainly noted – as they were before. On Global Warming Solutions, stay tuned. There is a chance we may yet have something for you there before the session ends. Can’t say more yet but we are hopeful.
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p>David Guarino
Communications Director
Speaker DiMasi’s office
Sorry to keep hammering this bill, David. Believe me, there’s a lot of people who really appreciate the effort. As I said, it’s a successful year no matter what happens from here on out, but I think passage of this particular bill, which would finally tackle emissions in a nation-leading way, would truly make this year one for the history books. People are going to start to quickly understand that with effective leadership, as we’ve seen this year, Government truly has a place in improving the lives of Americans – and in being responsive to its people. I haven’t felt as good about being from Massachusetts in a long time. I’m really looking forward to next session.
Some people don’t care about their lives and prefer to wither away on their own. That’s their right, especially if they are not causing problems. The last thing I want the government to do is to mandate to me something that I do not want to do, on the grounds of “personal improvement.” The people are the best judges of their lives, not the government. Nice try, though. đŸ˜‰
Look, no one is saying Government needs to dictate every decision every individual makes.
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p>But people as a group, ie society, exhibit certain behaviors, not thinking wholistically or long term being one of them, such that some things are best regulated all together.
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p>The environment is a GREAT example. The large corporations often get a pass at externalizing the actual cost of their products and services because they don’t have to clean up the environmental damage. Whether that’s sulfur in the burning of coal or pesticides or contributing to global warming, the actual cost to society in general is a lot higher than the price that is paid. Subsequently, when our land/air/water is contaminated/unbreathable/undrinkable, guess who pays? We do. Hence we subsidize the corporations and their cost of environmental damage and the corporations get to make huge profits off it, and us.
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p>Therefore, it is more than in our best interest to make sure that the cost is somehow built in, either via regulations that if violated, cost the company in fines, or through incentives to stop doing the bad behavior, or through direct taxation and cost-collecting, such as with carbon dioxide caps and required purchasing of credits (therefore making polluting more expensive than cleaning up your act).
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p>And how do you like your meat being contaminated, or your spinach or your tomatoes? Companies love to take short cuts (like cleaning produce in dirty water) if it makes them money, and they weigh how many people will sue them and that cost, with how much money they can make doing those shortcuts. Often even when they know they are killing people, they still see, in the cost-benefit analysis, that continuing the short cut is better than trying to do the right thing.
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p>This is what a corporation is set up to be – a money-making machine. It is not moral, it is amoral.
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p>So regulations creating a situation of limiting decisions that people or companies make can be a very good thing indeed – the alternative is getting rid of traffic lights (I mean, who is the government to decide when I should stop and when I should go), letting companies externalize and be subsidized by us, the consumer and taxpayer, or letting our produce and meat be as dangerous as the cost-benefit analysis sees fit (as we’ve seen with the Big Food under the Bush administration’s severe lack of giving a shit about the FDA).
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p>You might want to live in that world, but I certainly do not.
Honestly, I have no idea what the heck you’re talking about. Mandating what? That kids go to school? That you pay your taxes? What would you like the Government to stop mandating, that will improve the lives of the vast majority of Americans?
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p>Government most certainly has a role to play in improving the lives of Americans. That doesn’t mean they have to mandate every little personal decision – or barely any. Policy is important, even those that shockingly don’t directly impact you. If we cut emissions, for example, you’re not really going to notice it… but the Earth sure will. We’re lucky to have politicians in Massachusetts who value policy and take their jobs responsibily, seeking to improve our lives. That’s what a good government should do – promote policy that keeps the nation safe and strong, yet ensures personal freedom and liberty. Given our track record over the past year or so, I’d say our Democratic Trifecta of Patrick, Murray and DiMasi is doing a pretty good job so far.