Matt Murphy
State House News Service

Elections may never be the same after COVID-19. As the Legislature steams toward passage of a massive expansion of vote-by-mail for the 2020 elections, ranked-choice voting could be implemented in 2022.

The Legislature may have given itself until the end of the month to consider proposals for ranked-choice voting in future elections, but the extension for lawmakers did not change the deadline ballot campaigns face to turn in the final 13,374 voter signatures to local clerks by 5 p.m. On Wednesday.

Voter Choice for Massachusetts said Wednesday that it had submitted 25,000 additional signatures for inspection, adding to the record-setting 111,268 signatures the campaign had certified during the first round of gathering.

“Ranked Choice Voting is simple, fair and easy. On your ballot, you can vote for just one candidate like you always have, or you can rank your first choice, your second choice and your third choice, just like you rank things in order in your everyday life,” said Shauna Hamilton, Deputy Campaign Manager. “If your favorite candidate can’t win, your vote is instantly counted for your second choice so your vote matters more.”

Under a ranked-choice system, no candidate would win an election until they receive 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate has a majority after the initial votes are counted, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and the ballots are recounted based on a voter’s highest-ranked remaining candidate until someone clears 50 percent.

Critics of ranked-choice voting argue that it’s too complicated and could lead to unintended electoral consequences. The Legislature hasn’t taken a position. The Committee on Election Laws has extended its deadline to June 26 to issue recommendations on all ranked-choice voting bills, including the initiative petition that could wind up on the ballot regardless of what the House and Senate decide.

The Baker-Polito Administration today filed legislation to create a framework for certifying Massachusetts law enforcement officers, provide accountability, ensure that police departments in and outside Massachusetts have access to candidates’ training and disciplinary records, and provide incentives for officers to pursue advanced training to better serve their communities.

“This bill will create a more modern, transparent and accountable system for law enforcement credentialing and training. It will provide police departments with the tools they need to build trust and strong relationships with every community across the Commonwealth—at a time when we need it most,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “We are grateful for the Black and Latino Caucus’ and Public Safety officials’ collaboration on this bill, and look forward to working with the Legislature to get it passed.”

The bill, entitled An Act to Improve Police Officer Standards and Accountability and to Improve Training, would for the first time require police officers in Massachusetts to be certified, and it would allow for decertification, suspension of certification, or reprimand in the event of certain misconduct. Toward this end, the bill would create the Police Officer Standards and Accreditation (POSA) Committee, which would be comprised of law enforcement and civilian representatives, at least half of whom would be required to be persons of color.

“Massachusetts is one of four states without a police certification process,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “But the high standards of training we require for our police departments give us a strong foundation on which to build one. This bill will allow police departments to make better-informed recruitment and hiring choices while improving accountability for all the communities we serve.”

The bill would charge the POSA Committee with the responsibility of certifying all law enforcement officials in Massachusetts, including those from non-municipal departments serving transit agencies, colleges, and other entities. The bill would also require the Committee to create a database of certified officers, ensure that training and misconduct records are available to officers’ current and future employers, and develop a standardized background check for those seeking employment with a new police department. The background check would include a check of the POSA database and the National Decertification Index.

“A comprehensive POSA system will enhance accountability and apply consistent standards statewide,” said Secretary of Public Safety and Security Thomas A. Turco. “It will improve public safety and public trust for the men and women who serve, protect, and inspire our cities and towns.”

Finally, the Administration’s bill would provide incentives for law enforcement officers who pursue advanced training in relevant skills and specialties beyond the levels required of all police officers. Such training would include foreign languages, advanced domestic violence and sexual assault response, advanced de-escalation techniques, and other high-level proficiencies.

Matt Murphy
State House News Service

Following the lead of Boston, Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria declared racism a public health crisis in his city on Tuesday and said he had signed a pledge to review the Everett Police Department’s policies on use of force.

“The City of Everett is culturally rich and abundantly diverse. Racism or discrimination, in any form, will not be accepted nor tolerated. It is with this in mind that I find it imperative to declare racism a public health crisis in the City of Everett,” DeMaria said in a statement released by City Hall.

The move follows Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s Friday declaration of a public health crisis in the capital with respect to racism, and his decision to reallocate police overtime money toward social services.

DeMaria said he had signed the “Mayor’s Pledge” issued by the Obama Foundation and committed the city to reforming use of force policies, if necessary, and engaging the community for feedback as part of its review of policing in Everett.

“Chokeholds have never and will never be a method of restraint taught to our Everett Police Department,” DeMaria said. The mayor said the police department’s policies and procedures mirror the guidelines established by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission for municipal police training, and the department is actively updating its use-of-force and de-escalation policies, as well as the rules concerning an officer’s duty to intervene when they observe misconduct by a fellow officer. While DeMaria said officers have been taught for years not to initiate police involvement with another person based on race, gender, sexual orientation, age, or physical ability, a policy codifying that practice in the city will be published and implemented within 10 days.

Chris Van Buskirk and Sam Doran
The State House News Service

The Senate passed expanded vote-by-mail legislation Tuesday that would allow voters to avoid the polls, but still participate, during the upcoming primaries and general election if they feel unsafe due to the ongoing pandemic.

The Senate approved its own version (S 2755) of vote-by-mail legislation that would offer registered voters three options to cast a ballot: during extended early voting periods, voting in-person on election day, or voting-by-mail. Between early voting and vote-by-mail, the reforms could substantially reduce lines on Nov. 3 and increase interest in sometimes lower-turnout primary contests, supporters said.

As social distancing has pushed people away from crowded, public locations, officials saw voting-by-mail as a way to offer a safe alternative to keep participation high during the 2020 elections. After adopting several amendments, the Senate unanimously passed the bill that would instruct Secretary of State William Galvin to mail every voter an application for a ballot by July 15.

The bill now goes back to the House, which approved the initial voting bill on June 4, and it must be reconciled between leaders of both branches before final legislative votes can be taken and the bill can be sent to Gov. Charlie Baker for review.

Operating in a virtual session with many members participating via phone, senators dispensed with 41 amendments over the course of nearly three hours. Senate President Karen Spilka said she thought the session went smoothly and the bill “will provide the most robust vote-by-mail ever in the history of Massachusetts.”

“We need to get this on the governor’s desk quickly so that the secretary of state can start working on it, the clerks can start working on it, and we can help them all meet their obligations,” she told the News Service, adding that the two branches must work together to push the legislation forward.

Sen. Barry Finegold, the Senate chair of the Election Laws Committee, said the process of crafting the pandemic voting bill was a “balancing act” and it did not come “without its challenges.” Provisions in the bill, he said, create new tasks for local clerks and “because of that we will do everything we can to be helpful to them.”

“Our goal with this legislation was to make it easier for people to exercise their fundamental democratic right to vote during these unprecedented times,” he said during the session. “This is the first time in the history of the commonwealth that we are offering early voting for primaries, sending out applications to vote by mail, and counting ballots after Election Day.”

Minority Leader Bruce Tarr questioned whether the expanded voting methods would be limited to the 2020 elections, or extended to future elections. Finegold said the provisions of the bill would expire Dec. 31.

Prior to Tuesday’s session, Common Cause Massachusetts and more than 80 organizations, including ACLU and MassPIRG, threw their support behind three amendments filed by Sens. Jo Comerford, Adam Hinds, and Eric Lesser dealing with an online portal to request ballots, postmarking ballots to ensure they are properly counted, and extending the deadline to request mail-in or absentee ballots to the Friday before Election Day. All three were adopted during Tuesday’s session.

Lesser’s amendment would require Secretary of State William Galvin to offer a functional online portal no later than Oct. 1 for voters to request mail-in ballots for the general election. Lesser said requesting ballots online is easier, reduces local clerks’ workload, and is “more in line with how most of us live our lives” in an increasingly online world.

If ballots are returned via bulk mail, some advocates have raised concerns that those ballots would not receive a postmark and might not be counted because it would be difficult to determine if it was mailed by a voter on time. As amended, the Senate bill would ask Galvin to pursue “a system which generates a postmark for determining the date upon which the envelope was mailed.”

Sen. Jamie Eldridge and others pointed to recent elections in other states as examples of what Massachusetts should avoid.

Eldridge said nearly 70 percent of Wisconsin’s African American voters live in Milwaukee, where the city reduced its physical polling location in the spring primary from 180 to five. The Acton Democrat sponsored a successful amendment to limit any last-minute changes to Massachusetts polling locations.

One amendment from Sen. Becca Rausch would have required the secretary of state to mail out ballots for the general election to every voter in the state who registered before Oct. 14, removing the step of asking voters to apply for a ballot. The Needham Democrat withdrew her amendment without asking for a vote and pointedly targeted Galvin for what she described as “disingenuous and belittling” remarks on the proposal.

The package would have included an official ballot, instructions for early voting, instructions for completing the ballot, an inner envelope to place the ballot, and an outer envelope addressed to the local election official with postage guaranteed. Rausch said mailing every active, registered voter a ballot without the need for an application process would have removed unnecessary barriers for residents.

“An op-in vote-by-mail system creates additional bureaucracy for our clerks to manage. Automatic vote-by-mail is administratively simpler and more efficient,” she said during the session. “But we will not be adopting this policy today. And it’s important to say why. Our chief elections official simply will not make it happen.”

Galvin’s office declined to comment on Rausch’s statements.

MassVOTE Executive Director Cheryl Clyburn Crawford said while the organization is disappointed that voters will not automatically receive ballots this fall, they applauded the Senate for passing the legislation.

“This fall’s elections will undoubtedly prove challenging. Nevertheless, we believe the Senate bill passed today will provide local election officials the tools they need to run our elections this fall, while allowing voters to cast their ballot in a safe, secure manner,” she wrote in a statement. “With COVID19 impacting all sectors of society, from public health to the economy, voters deserve to face the least amount of burdens as possible when voting this fall.”

Citing the financial impact the Senate’s bill would have on municipalities for early voting and other measures, Tarr sought to “affirm our obligation to compensate cities and towns for the cost we are imposing on them” through an amendment guaranteeing prompt reimbursement. That amendment was rejected without further debate.

At the start of Tuesday’s session, Majority Leader Cindy Creem said the Senate took care to avoid “lofty ideas that could never be adopted in a timely manner,” pointing to the new technology deployed by the Iowa caucuses earlier this year which ultimately turned into a boondoggle.

“Admirable goal, however for a host of reasons, the process failed. Our process today that we are voting on will not fail,” she said.

Chris Van Buskirk and Michael P. Norton
State House News Service

House Speaker Robert DeLeo plans to create an “omnibus” piece of legislation before Aug. 1 that’s likely to address policing and other equity issues, he said Wednesday as Gov. Charlie Baker made it clear he does not support defunding police budgets.

Speaking to reporters hours before meeting virtually with the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus Wednesday, DeLeo described the potential legislation that he pledged to develop on Friday when he said the House would take “decisive action” against structural racism. The caucus outlined a 10-point plan last week addressing police brutality and structural racism that DeLeo said is an important starting point for discussions.

“There’s no pre-arranged agenda so to speak. But I think a lot of the items probably which are part of the 10-point plan will probably be the subject of discussion,” he said. “Can we do a better job in terms of the economy, in terms of making sure that you know, minorities are better represented, have more opportunity for economic advancement?”

With formal sessions scheduled to end for 2020 on July 31, DeLeo said he hoped to work with the Senate to get a bill to Gov. Baker’s desk by that time.

Later Wednesday, Senate President Karen Spilka announced the creation of a Senate advisory group on racial justice chaired by Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz, a member of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus, and Sen. William Brownsberger. The group, which is tasked with reviewing existing legislation and recommending further policies to address systemic racism, met for the first time Wednesday, Spilka said.

“I believe we have reached a history-making moment in our Commonwealth and that it should not pass without taking action on policing and racial justice this session,” the Ashland Democrat said in a statement in which she described herself as “the driving force” behind the promised action.

After swearing in two new representatives, Carol Doherty and Dan Sena, Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday that he has been working with the House and Senate, but said he does not support defunding the police, the phrase attached to a movement to redirect public funds assigned to police to other areas of government to benefit minority communities.

“I am reasonably optimistic that they’ll do something at some point that relates to state and local government, but I don’t believe in slogans as a general rule, and I certainly don’t support the whole concept that we should get out of the business of providing public safety to our communities,” he said. “I don’t support defunding the police.”

After talking with members of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus last Thursday, Baker said Friday that he expects to provide additional details this week on specific proposals to “dramatically improve transparency in law enforcement.”

Baker also filed legislation back in January to reform the State Police by allowing for the superintendent to be hired from outside the department, to make it easier to suspend troopers without pay after they’ve been charged with misconduct, and to create a cadet program that will improve recruitment of candidates from diverse backgrounds. That bill (S 2469) had a hearing in February, and is currently before the full Senate after the deadline for the Committee on Public Safety to make a recommendation passed without action on May 1, according to the bill history on the Legislature’s website.

As for reallocating money budgeted for the State Police, DeLeo said it was “premature” to talk about any type of funding as budget talks are still in early stages. House leaders have three weeks left before the deadline to offer a delayed fiscal 2021 spending plan.

“Although we’ve been dealing with preparing a budget, I think we still have a lot more serious to talk about. I’ve heard the word defunding on a number of occasions. And to be very honest with you, that word defunding means a lot of different things to a lot of different people,” he said. “I can tell you that I’ve been having trouble getting my hands around it in terms of what exactly we are discussing.”

House leaders this week announced support for a bill that would create a commission to study racial disparities in maternal mortality. The Committee on Health Care Financing advanced the bill Monday, sending it to the House Ways and Means Committee.

The killing of George Floyd, a Black man, while in the custody of a white Minneapolis police officer on May 25, has sparked nationwide protests calling on local, state, and federal officials to address structural racism and police brutality. In Massachusetts, protests remain largely peaceful and often number in the hundreds — several have drawn thousands to the streets of Boston.

Police reform must be part of the answer to protests over racism and police misconduct, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said Wednesday, but solutions are also needed in other major public policy priority areas.

“My focus is on creating a conversation that can be sustained and lead to permanent solutions and systemic change,” Walsh said. “In the past what we’ve seen is conversations and when the demonstrations stop, the conversation stops. And that’s not what we’re going to do here in the city of Boston.”

During a press conference outside City Hall, Walsh said solutions must go beyond the police and extend to areas like housing, education, economic opportunity and equity in public health.

“Equity is the message of this movement and equity is our top priority,” Walsh said. “We want people with heightened risk of any kind, whether due to long-term inequalities, or recent events, to be able to get tested, stay healthy and keep working and moving forward.”

Reporters asked Walsh about the possibility of reallocating funds dedicated to city police.

“I can’t get specific right now, because we’re in the process right now of reworking the budget,” the mayor said, noting he planned to meet later Wednesday with city police and budget officials. He said that during his tenure he has made progress on police training, diversity and de-escalation tactics.

“The police department has to evolve and address these issues,” Walsh said. “And I think that, in light of Mr. Floyd’s murder, I think it really puts a real urgency to have even a deeper look at our practices and how we handle ourselves, on what reviews look like.”

Complaints against police officers since 2013 are down 41 percent, Walsh said, while complaints about excessive use of force in the city are down 50 percent and arrests are down 10 percent over the last seven years.

“That’s all good numbers, but that doesn’t mean that we’re perfect by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.

Walsh plans to submit a revised city budget next week, reflecting feedback from the City Council, and said the city is looking at a revenue reduction of $65 million to $80 million associated with COVID-19 impacts.

“We’re not laying off in the city. I can say that right now,” Walsh said. He later added, “I won’t be laying any public safety off. I hope I don’t have to.”

United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA), along with Representatives Richard E. Neal (D-MA-01), James P. McGovern (D-MA-02), Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA-08), William Keating (D-MA-09), Joseph P. Kennedy III (D-MA-04), Katherine Clark (D-MA-05), Seth Moulton (D-MA-06), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07) and Lori Trahan (D-MA-04), announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded over $71 million in federal grants to support cities and towns across Massachusetts in providing emergency shelter and critical services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

The funding, which was awarded through HUD’s Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program, will support homeless individuals and individuals at risk of becoming homeless because of hardships such as job loss, wage reduction, or illness due to COVID-19. The funding can be used to make more emergency shelters available, operate emergency shelters, provide hotel/motel vouchers, provide essential services, and prevent individuals from becoming homeless.

This funding, targeted toward communities with high homeless populations or individuals at risk of becoming homeless, was awarded to:

Boston, MA – $23,348,669
Cambridge, MA – $2,268,869
Fall River, MA – $1,275,287
Lawrence, MA – $1,138,406
Lowell, MA – $2,610,376
Lynn, MA – $4,004,861
New Bedford, MA – $1,576,274
Newton, MA – $905,007
Quincy, MA – $1,237,584
Somerville, MA – $632,359
Springfield, MA – $3,951,604
Worcester, MA – $2,715,383
Massachusetts Nonentitlement – $27,939,981

“Housing is a human right and a necessary protection for all Massachusetts residents during this pandemic,” said Senator Warren. “This critical funding will help cities and towns continue to provide essential services and critical supports to ensure individuals experiencing homelessness have access to shelter and safety needs during this devastating pandemic. And I know that much more funding is needed – I will continue to fight for Congress to pass my and Rep. Pressley’s Public Health Emergency Shelter Act to provide the additional $11.5 billion in ESG funds that advocates say is necessary.”

“Protecting those who are most vulnerable, those struggling with homelessness and exposure, is key to combatting the spread of the coronavirus,” said Senator Markey. “This federal funding means we can provide and expand the shelter, health care, treatment, employment assistance, and critical support that will ensure we combat homelessness as we battle this virus.”

“Thanks to HUD’s Emergency Solutions Grant cities and towns across Massachusetts, including Springfield, will be able to provide services for the vulnerable homeless population,” said Congressman Neal. “These individuals who have suffered hardship due to COVID-19 will be aided through programs that provide shelter and essential services. We must continue to assist these communities.”

“These Emergency Solutions Grants will help Massachusetts protect our most vulnerable families, and I’m glad to see this Congressionally-appropriated money flowing into communities like Worcester,” said Congressman McGovern. “But our work is far from over. We can’t go back to normal after this pandemic runs its course. Normal was working families at risk of homelessness and struggling to get by. Normal was people relying on emergency shelters because they couldn’t make ends meet. As the coronavirus continues to magnify the injustices and inequalities in our country, I want us to do better than normal. We must keep fighting for the types of big changes that will prevent a catastrophe like this from happening again.”

“These HUD Emergency Solution Grants are essential to protect those families that are most exposed,” said Congressman Lynch. “Poverty and homelessness are predictors of vulnerability to the COVID-19 pandemic and these funds will make more emergency shelters, childcare, substance abuse treatment and employment assistance available to vulnerable populations.”

“These Emergency Solution Grants from the CARES Act are vital to the South Coast,” said Congressman Bill Keating. “As we continue to battle COVID-19, we need to realize that this is not just a health crisis, but a financial one too for so many families. The additional resources New Bedford and Fall River will receive will ensure none of our neighbors will go hungry, find themselves homeless, or lack the support systems they need during this challenging time.”

“In the wealthiest nation on earth, none of our neighbors should go hungry or homeless, not now, and not ever,” said Congressman Kennedy. “As we celebrate these critical funds supporting our communities, we must do more as so many in our Commonwealth continue to lose food security and shelter.”

“Coronavirus started as a public health crisis but it quickly became a financial one, destabilizing families and threatening their ability to pay rent and purchase other basic necessities. Meanwhile, we know access to safe shelter is a fundamental protection against this virus,” said Congresswoman Clark. “These federal resources provided through the CARES Act will help ensure Massachusetts residents have a safe place to turn and the support services needed to keep them stable and healthy while we weather this storm.”

“The coronavirus has taken a heavy toll on people’s health and on their bank accounts. In the richest country on earth, nobody should be forced out of their home because they lost a job or got sick, especially during a pandemic,” said Congressman Moulton. “People are doing their best to tread water, but communities need federal help. These funds are a start, but we’ll need more federal action to get through this.”

“Housing is a critical determinant of public health, a fact that has only been underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Congresswoman Pressley. “We have a moral obligation to protect the health and safety of all people, particularly our most vulnerable, and that includes ensuring our neighbors facing homelessness and the workers who support them have the resources they need to remain safe and healthy amid this crisis. I’m proud to have fought to ensure that these Emergency Solutions Grants were included in the most recent CARES legislation so that local providers in the Massachusetts 7th and across the country have the flexibility and support they need to be responsive to the needs of their communities by providing funding for training, protective equipment, rapid rehousing efforts, and more.”

“As some states experience new surges in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, it’s important that communities like Lowell and Lawrence have the resources they need to provide services to their most vulnerable residents. I’m proud to announce this tranche of CARES Act funding, which will help governments keep those experiencing homelessness safe as we continue combating the spread of the coronavirus,” said Congresswoman Trahan.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Warren has worked to ensure individuals and families can obtain and keep the housing they need to stay healthy. She introduced the Public Health Emergency Shelter Act to provide an additional $11.5 billion for the Emergency Solutions Grant program to help provide emergency shelter and services for families experiencing homelessness during the pandemic, and co-sponsored the Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act to provide relief to renters. Senator Warren recently convened conversations with advocates for affordable housing and homelessness prevention to discuss the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on vulnerable communities in Massachusetts.

This is the second round of CARES Act funding through HUD’s ESG program. In April, Senators Warren and Markey announced over $25 million awarded to Massachusetts cities and towns through funding under the ESG program. More information about HUD’s COVID-19 relief funding is available here.

Matt Murphy
State House News Service

U.S. Sen. Edward Markey and U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy have been unable to come to terms on a pledge to keep outside money from being spent in their primary race for U.S. Senate, but both Democrats agreed on Wednesday not to accept contributions from police unions.

Kennedy wrote on Twitter in the morning that he had signed the pledge drafted by College Democrats of Massachusetts. “Thank you College Dems for our activism and commitment to justice,” he said.

Later in the afternoon, Markey’s campaign sent a press release announcing that he, too, had signed the #nocopmoney pledge, which was initiated in the wake of protests against police brutality following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. “Police unions represent part of a system that needs fundamental change if our society is ever to see justice, which is why candidates and elected officials must reject police union money if they are serious about enacting reforms,” Markey said.

Candidates who sign the #NoCopMoney pledge are expected to reject campaign donations from police unions and to donate any past campaign contributions to community organizations. Kennedy’s campaign said it gave $1,000 from 2015 to the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute. Markey’s campaign did not say if or where it planned to donate any money.

Chris Lisinski
State House News Service

American leaders must address not only police violence but also a slew of other social and political issues that stem from centuries of structural racism, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley told business leaders on Friday.

During a virtual appearance before the New England Council, Pressley described brutality by law enforcement, the COVID-19 pandemic and the national recession prompted by the viral outbreak as a “crisis within a crisis within a crisis,” all linked by systemic inequity oppressing people of color.

Her comments came as Boston Mayor Martin Walsh declared racism a public health crisis in the city.

Driven by outrage over the deaths of several Black Americans at the hands of police, protests have swept the country in recent weeks with tens of thousands of people demanding reforms, including a reallocation of significant portions of police department budgets toward other social services.

Pressley said government officials should take immediate action to curb police brutality, but urged elected officials to broaden their response to include other factors that disproportionately affect people of color, such as the fact that Black mothers are four times as likely to die during childbirth as white mothers.

“It will mean we have to be intentional, deliberate and unapologetic about calling out structural racism for what it is: white supremacy,” she said. “It will call on us to legislate with an equity lens in everything, not just police reform. It means examining our housing policies, our lending policies, our criminal-legal system top to bottom, our health care system, and on and on.”

Congressional Democrats unveiled legislation this week that would ban chokeholds, encourage racial bias training, limit access to military equipment, and create a national registry of officers found to have committed misconduct, according to news reports.

Pressley introduced legislation in the House that would eliminate the legal protection against lawsuits known as qualified immunity for police and government officials in most cases, and she also filed a resolution in the House of Representatives condemning police brutality and calling for reforms to hold departments accountable.

She said Friday that the resolution, which has almost 200 cosponsors, is the first time since 1999 that a U.S. representative introduced such a proposal.

“Congressional intent is a powerful tool,” Pressley said. “I do believe in this moment that Congress must act as the conscience of our nation and state plainly that this is an issue of care and consequences to our nation, and we must go on record when it comes to racial injustice.”

Although Pressley slammed President Donald Trump for “overtly racist and cruel rhetoric,” she said that structural racism “existed long before Donald Trump descended the escalator at Trump Tower” to start his presidential campaign.

The other two COVID-related crises Pressley described Friday — both public health and economic — have also had a disproportionate impact on nonwhite communities.

Black people account for about 24 percent of deaths where the victim’s race is known, but only 13 percent of the national population, according to figures from the COVID Racial Data Tracker published by the Atlantic and the Antiracist Research and Policy Center.

Pressley said she represents the “hardest-hit district” in Massachusetts, noting that it includes hotspots Boston and Chelsea.

Infections and financial strain appear linked as well. The congresswoman cited a MassINC Polling Group survey released Wednesday that found 29 percent of Massachusetts renters — who are more frequently younger, lower-income and nonwhite than homeowners — had missed at least some rent payment between April and June, compared to just 13 percent of homeowners.

She said the poll showed that the likelihood of a household containing someone who tested positive or displayed COVID symptoms is “directly related to the level of economic stress.”

For households that did not list any of six markers for economic distress, 4 percent said someone in the home had symptoms of COVID-19. That rate increased to 30 percent for households in the most economic distress.

The U.S. House approved a $3 trillion stimulus package last month that would direct $500 billion to state governments and $375 billion to local governments, increase funding for personal protective equipment and testing, inject hospitals with $100 billion in support, and extend a range of other relief.

Pressley touted the $7.6 billion contained in the bill for community health centers, which often serve lower-income and vulnerable populations.

That bill has been sitting in the Senate, where Republican leaders have not indicated their plan.

“We need to continue to advocate for the Senate to do their job,” Pressley said. “They’re confirming judges, but they’re not leading on getting this bill to the floor for a vote still in the midst of this pandemic.”

Matt Murphy
State House News Service

House Speaker Robert DeLeo and the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus agreed to the parameters of a policing reform bill Wednesday that would ban law enforcement’s use of chokeholds and create an independent office to enforce policing standards and certification.

The broad outline of legislation that House leaders hope to have ready for a vote in the coming weeks is just the latest sign of growing momentum on Beacon Hill to address policing and the use of force by cops on people of color, following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

As protesters have taken to the streets of Boston and other Massachusetts cities night after night, leadership at the State House, including Gov. Charlie Baker, have been contemplating the best ways to respond.

DeLeo and Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, a Springfield Democrat and the chair of the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus, released a joint statement on Wednesday night after a “frank and productive meeting” during which they agreed to a goal of sending legislation to Baker before the end of July.

The bill that House leadership intends to write would also establish an “affirmative obligation” for police officers to intervene if a fellow member of law enforcement is improperly or illegally using force, and would create a special legislative commission to study the civil service law for ways to improve minority recruitment of police.

“As with any difficult task, the first step is to dig in and begin working. Today we took that first step. And we want to be clear, we view the ultimate enactment of this piece of omnibus legislation as our first step along the long road to ensuring the promise of equal justice for all the citizens of the Commonwealth,” DeLeo and Gonzalez said in the statement.

The short-term actions will “help address structural inequalities that lead to racial bias — both implicit and explicit,” they said, adding that they plan to identify additional issues that require review and plan separate discussions on the shared goals of addressing education and income inequality.

The new independent Office of Police Standards and Professional Conduct envisioned by DeLeo and the caucus would develop minimum statewide polices and procedures for law enforcement, including the use of force, and provide oversight of police certification and enhanced training.

DeLeo last Friday night in an email to House legislators promised “decisive action” to reform policing in Massachusetts and assemble a package of policy
reforms modeled on the Black and Latino Caucus’s 10-point plan. Wednesday’s meeting with the caucus was the next step in the development of that bill.

Tear Gas and No-Knock Warrants

Senate President Karen Spilka also came out Wednesday and said she had put Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz at the head of a Senate Advisory Group on Racial Justice to review appropriate policy responses that could be taken up this session. That group held its first meeting on Wednesday and Spilka said she wants to see action on policing and racial justice legislation this session.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Cynthia Creem of Newton said she had filed a bill Wednesday with Rep. Liz Miranda of Boston to improve the rules around police’s use of force, create a “duty to intervene” for police who witness abuses of forces and make clear in law that unnecessary use of force is a violation of someone’s civil rights.

The Creem-Miranda bill would also prohibit “no-knock” warrants, ban chokeholds, tear gas and other non-lethal weapons, put new investigatory requirements on the attorney general’s office and require data collection and reporting to prevent abusive cops from being hired by other law enforcement departments.

“We have listened to far too many egregious stories from the black and brown communities to not take the decisive and comprehensive actions envisioned in this legislation,” Creem said in a statement. “This bill is about putting in place systematic reforms that ensure accountability and work to restore the public’s confidence that everyone is protected under the law from the use of outdated dehumanizing police tactics and excessive force.”

The Boston Globe also reported Wednesday night that Baker was finalizing legislation to establish a statewide certification process for police, and could be ready to detail the proposal as soon as next week.

Opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts continued a steady decline in the first three months of the year, according to the latest opioid-related overdose deaths report released today by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH).

In the first three months of 2020, preliminary data show there were 467 confirmed and estimated opioid-related overdose deaths, an estimated 28 fewer deaths compared to the first three months of 2019 for a 5.7 percent decline. That trajectory underscores the Commonwealth’s ongoing commitment to stem the opioid overdose epidemic at an unprecedented time in which it is intersecting with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The March figures included in this latest quarterly report are the first this year to overlap with the state of emergency declaration and stay-at-home advisory put in place due to the coronavirus.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, we have taken action to ensure that crucial substance use disorder treatment and recovery systems remain available in the ongoing fight against opioid addiction,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “While we remain encouraged that opioid-related overdose deaths continue to decline from their peak four years ago, we will continue to carefully consider and monitor any impact the social isolation practices that are helping us fight the virus may have on the battle against opioid addiction.”

“Our administration remains committed to ensuring that the hard-won progress we’ve made in the fight against opioid addiction in Massachusetts continues, even during the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “That has included boosting the availability of lifesaving tools that can prevent an overdose, and using technology to facilitate treatment options while traditional methods are not possible.”

During the pandemic, DPH has worked to ensure that substance use treatment centers have the supplies they need and are able to meet the needs of clients. For example, DPH provided over 13,000 naloxone kits and more than 1,000 survival kits that include naloxone and local resources to help reduce the risk of accidental opioid-related overdose fatality among high risk populations, including people recently released from incarceration. DPH also has worked to expand access to telemedicine in licensed facilities, including providing counseling, group support services, and referrals to treatment.

“From the earliest days of the pandemic, we have worked quickly to implement innovative solutions that keep people struggling with substance use connected to the treatment and recovery services they need,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders. “Moving forward we must remain vigilant in our efforts to reduce the impact of the opioid epidemic.”

“COVID-19 is demanding a great deal of our focus and attention, but we know the opioid epidemic has not gone away,” said Public Health Commissioner, Monica Bharel, MD MPH. “Creative and aggressive measures by DPH have ensured uninterrupted treatment and support systems in the midst of a pandemic, including access to medication for our priority populations and those at highest risk.”

In 2019, preliminary data show there were 2,015 confirmed and estimated opioid-related overdose deaths, continuing a downward trend from the previous two years, and a four percent drop from the 2016 peak of 2,102 deaths.

Use of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl continued to increase through 2019, while the rate of heroin or likely heroin has been on a decline since 2014, according to toxicology reports of opioid-related overdose deaths. Among opioid-related overdose deaths in 2019 where a toxicology screen was also available, 94 percent were positive for fentanyl while heroin was present in approximately 24 percent of these toxicology screens.

Although the presence of fentanyl continues to rise, the 2019 opioid-related overdose death rate of 28.9 per 100,000 people is approximately six percent lower than the 2016 rate of 30.6 per 100,000.
Toxicology screens also indicated that the presence of cocaine, benzodiazepines and amphetamines in opioid-related overdose deaths has remained stable, while the presence of prescription opioids continued to trend downward.

At the municipal level, several communities experienced a notable decrease in opioid-related overdose deaths from 2018 to 2019, including Lowell, Worcester, and Gardner. Meanwhile, Middlesex County marked its third consecutive year with declining opioid-related overdose deaths. Last year, Middlesex County had 95 fewer deaths, a 24 percent decrease, compared to 2016.

Among the findings of the latest opioid report are:
The confirmed opioid-related overdose death rate for females increased in 2019 compared with 2018. Death rates for Black non-Hispanic females increased, while the rate for White non-Hispanic, and Hispanic women decreased.

Males comprise 74 percent of all opioid-related overdose deaths. Between 2018 and 2019 the confirmed opioid-related overdose death rate for Black non-Hispanic and Hispanic men increased, while the rate decreased for White non-Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander non-Hispanic men.

In the first quarter of 2020 there were just under 479,000 Schedule II opioid prescriptions reported to the Massachusetts Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP), just over a 43 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2015 when there were 841,990 Schedule II opioid prescriptions.

Just over 213,000 individuals in Massachusetts received prescriptions for Schedule II opioids in the first quarter of 2020, which is nearly a 45 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2015, when 390,532 people were receiving these prescriptions.

In 2019, males aged 25-34 continued to represent the greatest number of suspected opioid-related incidents treated by Emergency Medical Services (EMS), accounting for 24 percent of opioid-related incidents with a known age and sex.

Norfolk County had 40 fewer opioid-related overdose deaths, a notable 23 percent decrease, in 2019 compared with 2018.

Both Bristol and Plymouth counties had an increase in opioid-related overdose deaths in 2019 compared with 2018.

The following cities and towns experienced a notable decrease in opioid-related overdose deaths in 2019 compared with 2018.

The following cities and towns experienced a notable increase in opioid-related overdose deaths in 2019 compared with 2018.