Massachusetts legislators had a productive 2023, highlighted by Governor Healey’s first year in office. They returned to Beacon Street in January seeking to enact another annual budget, continue work on priorities carried over from last year, and bolster their resumes ahead of Election Day. Heading into session, lawmakers seemed intent on addressing affordability generally, with a special focus on housing, healthcare, childcare, and education. Sen. Karen Spilka, the President of the State Senate, also cited gun law reforms as a priority in 2024.

Reliable Democratic supermajorities in both chambers usually ensures Democratic leaders are able to progress on their highest priorities. Unlike in other states, where partisan opposition can block a bill from becoming law, legislative priorities are often determined by intra-party debate in Massachusetts. How these unique dynamics play out is always interesting to watch, especially with a first-term Governor and in an election year.

In the short-term, Massachusetts’s 2024 formal sessions are likely to be remembered for a frenetic final push. Legislators worked well past their July 31st deadline, and many proposals were unable to make it past the finish line. In this report, we detail the key outcomes from the final year of the 193rd legislature. The data presented in this report is accurate as of August 1, 2024.

The Makeup of the Massachusetts Legislature

The Massachusetts General Court is the home of the largest Senate Democratic majority, tied with Hawaii. The House also has the third largest Democratic majority, trailing Hawaii and Rhode Island. These massive Democratic majorities have remained stable for decades — Republicans haven’t held more than 25% of seats in either chamber in over 30 years.

Key Session Data

Lawmakers introduced nearly 7,500 bills across the two years of the 193rd General Court. In 2024 alone, they introduced over 1,000 new bills and continued action on another 2,000 carried over from 2023.

After 89 bills became law in 2023, 139 have already become law in 2024. Governor Healey will soon act on a series of bills passed at the very end of session. Her action will likely bring the total number of new laws passed from the 2023-2024 session closer to 250.

What’s Next for the Massachusetts Legislature?

The Massachusetts General Court finally adjourned on August 1st, a day after their July 31st deadline. Attention will now turn towards the Governor’s office as she takes action on the bills passed as legislators wrapped up their work. Once she’s done, the full picture of the new laws from the 193rd legislature will be settled. While informal sessions will continue through the end of the year, it’s unlikely that significant actions will be taken, especially with many legislators out on the campaign trail.

All 200 seats in the General Court, 40 in the Senate and 160 in the House, are up for election this November. The state’s September primary means that the full picture of these races is not yet clear. But with many incumbents returning, Democrats will likely retain their massive majority.

Voters will also weigh in on five ballot questions with implications on 2025’s legislative work. In brief, these questions relate to:

•   Allowing the State Auditor to audit the Legislature.
•   Eliminating testing for high school graduation requirements.
•   Allowing ride-share drivers to unionize.
•   Legalization of “natural psychedelics” including psilocybin mushrooms.
•   Increasing the minimum wage for tipped workers.

It’s difficult to predict what the top priorities for lawmakers will be when they begin the 194th legislature next January. However, we expect efforts to address cost of living and affordability to remain central to their agenda. Other events, including the results of state and national elections this November, are certain to inform next year’s legislative work.

Get Started With Plural

Top public policy teams in Massachusetts trust Plural for their legislative tracking needs. In the world of public policy, it’s all about sorting through the noise to get to what matters.

With Plural, you’ll only get exactly what you need, and none of what you don’t. Plural is catered to the needs of public policy teams in Massachusetts. Plural users

•   Access superior public policy data
•   Are the first to know about new bills and changes in bill status
•   Streamline their day with seamless organization features
•   Harness the power of time-saving AI tools to gain insights into individual bills and the entire legislative landscape
•   Keep everyone on the same page with internal collaboration and external reporting all in one place

Interested in getting started? Create a free account or book a demo today.

More Resources for the Massachusetts Legislature

2024 End-of-Session Report: Massachusetts

Public Policy Brief Template

2024 Legislative Sessions Calendar

The post 2024 End-of-Session Report: Massachusetts appeared first on Plural Policy.

Policy briefs are concise, written documents that provide policymakers with a clear understanding of an issue and suggest policy options based on research, analysis, and evidence.

When effective, policy briefs can be used to advance your organization’s goals, influence decision-making, position yourself or your organization as a thought leader, and more!

Need help getting started? Download our fully-customizable policy brief template and start writing your effective policy brief today!

The post Public Policy Brief Template appeared first on Plural Policy.

Here are four options to access Plural’s 2024 Legislative Sessions Calendar. Choose the one that’s best for you:

1. Google Calendar: Add the calendar directly to your Google Calendar using this link.
2. Outlook or Other Calendars: Add the calendar as a public calendar through Outlook or other calendar applications. (Outlook instructions)
3. View Online: View and bookmark the calendar online here. 
4. Download a PDF: View and download a PDF of session start dates and expected adjournment.

A few things to note:

• The majority of legislative sessions begin within the first two weeks of January and end between late March and mid-May.
• 15 states are scheduled to have significantly shorter sessions than in 2023. Only 4 states are scheduled to have significantly longer sessions.
• Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Virginia will enter 2024 with the most new legislators after those states held regular legislative elections this fall.
• 4 states (Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas) only host regular sessions during even-numbered years, and do not have a regular session scheduled for 2024.
• 4 states, Puerto Rico, and the US Congress meet throughout the entirety of the year and do not generally have a typical end-of-session adjournment scheduled.

More Resources for Public Policy Professionals

2024 118th Congress Report

Guide to Preparing for Congressional Testimony

Upcoming Changes to Party Leadership in Congress

The post 2024 Legislative Sessions Calendar appeared first on Plural Policy.

Massachusetts FY 2024 Budget

Most notably, Massachusetts lawmakers passed their Budget for Fiscal Year 2024 on August 1, 2023. This budget was historic for many reasons, including:

• The millionaire’s surtax revenue, totaling $1B, was split between education and transportation initiatives. Of this total, funding was divided between the following initiatives:
  • $523M earmarked for education
  • $477 earmarked for transportation
  • $5M to research a “means tested” MBTA fare
• The budget included $50M in expansions to community college access, including:
  • $20M for MassReconnect, an new initiative by Governor Maura Healey
  • $18M to cover the cost of attending community college nursing programs
  • $12M to make community college accessible by the fall of 2023, an initiative by Senate President Karen Spilka
• Under the budget, universal free school lunch is now a permanent program.
• Lawmakers reintroduced an eviction protection program, called Chapter 257. The program will pause eviction cases for tenants who have a pending application for rental aid, which lapsed earlier this year.

Governor Healey signed the budget on August 9, 2023, with one veto and eight amendments. The veto removed $205M in one-time funding from the state.

Many priorities were not included in the final budget. These priorities will be included in future iterations of the annual budget.

Massachusetts Legislative Priorities in 2023

• Equity Initiatives
• Education
• Guns
• Environment
• Abortion/ Reproductive Rights
• Housing

Looking Ahead to 2024

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has only begun its two-year legislative cycle. Throughout the remainder of the session, legislators will continue to work on a wide range of bills and lead national movements on salient issues like gun violence and climate change. The Massachusetts legislature prides itself on its leadership in national conversations, and the state will be one of many to watch in the coming months.

The post Recap: Massachusetts Legislative Session 2023 appeared first on Plural Policy.

What is ESG Investing?

Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) is an investment strategy involving the consideration of a company’s environmental impact, social impact and governance history. These considerations are used to determine whether and where they will invest funds. ESG is also referred to as socially responsible investing or sustainable investing.

Interest in ESG investing has grown in the private sector. As a result, many large investing firms have begun to offer information about the impact of investments. This offers flexibility for investors to put their money towards “better” investments. The European Union (EU) has been the epicenter of ESG investing. The EU has taken steps to improve corporate transparency and aid ESG. For example, the EU increased reporting requirements for financial firms and companies.

ESG Legislation and Regulation

Regulatory action on ESG investing in the United States had been sparse. However, there has been an increase in legislation on ESG investing. This growth has occurred at both the state and federal levels. The trend is driven by recent actions by the Biden administration as well as Republicans’ focus on the so-called “culture wars.”

Over two-thirds of U.S. state legislatures have considered anti-ESG legislation in 2023, and 14 states have enacted legislation restricting the use of ESG factors in public investments and procurements. On the other side of the debate, just one pro-ESG bill has become law and only 11 states have even considered such legislation. While consumer demand for ESG investing has grown, the data in this report shows a wave of anti-ESG legislation rising to challenge that trend. 

The Plural team sought to better understand legislation regarding ESG investing. To do so, we analyzed the 2023 legislative sessions of all 50 states, US Congress and Washington, DC. This data is up-to-date as of July 19, 2023.

Key Findings

ESG investing has become a prevalent topic of discussion in state legislatures across the country. Understanding the state-of-play in these debates will allow you to be better prepared for their next iterations.

Overall, it’s unclear how states will progress in this space as well as how new laws will impact our economy at-large. At Plural, we’re committed to increasing government transparency. This involves shedding light on laws under consideration and analyzing their impact on our communities.

The post ESG Legislation in the First Six Months of 2023 appeared first on Plural Policy.

A Growth in Consumer Demand for Electric Vehicles

Consumer demand for EVs has grown rapidly. A decade ago, EVs accounted for less than 1% of total car sales. In 2021, they accounted for nearly 5% of total sales. Legislators across the country are racing to enact policy to accommodate this growth.

Plural’s Analysis of Electric Vehicle Policy

Harnessing Plural’s unmatched legislative data, our team analyzed legislation surrounding EVs so far in 2023. Read our report to see our findings.

Electric vehicle policy is a growing trend. These bills may affect the pace of EV transition and the automotive industry’s impact on the environment. Using Plural’s data, it’s clear that the first six months of 2023 have been the busiest for EV policy in history. These changes will drive electric vehicle policy development through the rest of 2023 and into next year. Understanding the state of play at this moment is important to prepare for that activity.

The post A Look at Electric Vehicle Policy in 2023 appeared first on Plural Policy.

If you don’t report it, it didn’t happen, right? And if you can’t find the data you need to document all of your work throughout the session, you can’t report on it. 

Creating a legislative report is key to proving the impact of your role, your team and your organization. It showcases the tangible results of your work to your board, stakeholders and community members.

Need help getting started? Download our end-of-session report template today!

The post End-of-Session Report Template appeared first on Plural Policy.

Need help getting started? Download our free, fully-customizable stakeholder mapping visualization tool and supercharge your stakeholder engagement strategy!

The post Stakeholder Mapping Tool appeared first on Plural Policy.

Lobbying at the State vs. Federal Level

Lobbying at the state level versus at the federal level is very similar, but there are some key differences between the two practices, including: jurisdiction, the scope of authority of each legislature, and the differences in the legislative process between state governments and the federal government.

Jurisdiction

First, the jurisdiction of the federal government encompasses all states in the United States. As such, policy objectives when lobbying the federal government are often broader. Further, federal policies impact the entire American population, generating a higher level of impact on a broad range of different groups, organizations, and communities. Laws passed by state legislatures, on the other hand, only affect the citizens of a given state.

Scope

Another key difference between state and federal policy is the type of differing types of issues that each can address. For example, state governments handle matters of education, healthcare, transportation, and other localized issues. In comparison, the federal government is tasked with handling issues that impact and regulate the entire county, such as immigration policy, the military, international relations and conflict, and commerce.  

Therefore, should a lobbyist be charged with the responsibility of impacting immigration policy, their efforts are more likely to be targeted at the federal level, since the federal government has a higher scope of authority on the issue.

Legislative Processes

Lastly, the difference in legislative processes between individual state governments and the federal government are immense and often require specialized knowledge. State and Federal governments have different rules for who may introduce bills, how committees are run, and even how voting will occur in their respective legislative chambers. These differences create  the need for lobbyists who understand these differences and are able to continue to leverage influence, strategize and support in order to continue to defend their respective causes within a specific legislative context.

Six Steps to Effective Lobbying

Lobbyists, in essence, are messengers who work to convey their concerns, ideas, and policy suggestions to elected officials, legislative staff, and other political decision-makers. While the specific process and legal requirements behind lobbying and policy influence do depend on each specific state and its regulations, here are six steps to help you successfully lobby at the state level:

Determine Your Legislative Priority

First, determine your legislative priority by  narrowing down the “what”, “when”, and “how” parameters of your organization’s mission and goals. For example, if your goal is to increase equity within education systems in the state of California, Michigan, or Texas, ask yourself: what specific problem must be addressed in my state in order to reach my goal of educational equity? Answering this question will allow you to narrow down exactly what needs to be addressed. It is essential to consider a broad variety of ideas and conduct thorough research and analysis to understand the dynamics of your problem, and how it will be most successfully addressed. 

Next, identify the “when”. When understanding a problem you are likely to come up with a laundry list of issues that must be solved, and creative solutions that are essential to implement. Answering ‘when’, reminds one to think intentionally within the context of the current legislative session, what will be most impactful, and identify the current state of political interest in your topic. For example, when seeking educational equity in California, defining ‘when’ will include analyzing what factors are necessary for your change to occur, you will want to set your strategies on when your issues will become the most salient. Such as during an election year. During election years there is momentum and will from legislators to make policy improvements that positively impact their constituents, often education is one of these all encompassing issues. 

Finally, identify the “how” by creating a list of strategies and goals that will enable you to create a successful legislative plan. Defining how you will strategize comes from understanding the audiences that are both against and for your suggested policy adjustment. Continuing the example of education equity in California, it will likely be most advantageous to have a strong relationship with PTA (Parent Teacher Associations) boards, student leaders who you coordinate with to amplify the necessity of your issue and the state should be in an economic state that has space to request additional programs in the states education budget. The combination of identifying what, when, and how allows you to create a clear legislative strategy  that is  consistent with your mission and relevant within the current political context.

Identify Your Target Lawmaker(s)

Now that you have your legislative priorities clear, it is essential to identify your target elected officials, legislative staff members, and coalition leaders. The individuals who are essential to identify will be those with whom your goals align, or those who may be a roadblock to you achieving your goals. 

In order to identify those who will work to assist you in completing your goals, conduct research on the representatives who govern the area most impacted by your policy issues and become familiar with their legislative goals for the session to determine if there is alignment. You can also identify news, politics, and academic leaders within the research that support your cause, as they will be helpful in generating knowledge and awareness of your campaign issue. 

In order to identify those who may work against you, look at the voting records of the state you are planning to lobby within, seek out their voting history on the issue you are lobbying for and identify those who have a consistent track record of voting against projects like yours. 

Use Plural to identify key political officials on the committees that will be reviewing your policy proposals. Within Plural you can search for any legislator and be immediately provided with the comprehensive list of their office contact information, committee assignments, vote data and all of their authored and co-sponsored bills. Further, you and your team can make notes in the legislator’s profile. Having one location for this level of essential data is critical for lobbying. Lobbying opportunities can present themselves at unexpected moments, sometimes in elevators, hallways, or post committee meetings to have the ability to look up a legislator’s name and understand their political perspective and key roles in the legislature provides a key advantage to those who utilize Plural to lobby and track policy.

Refine Your Messaging

Next, it is essential to define your messaging as an individual and organization when lobbying. Establishing your messaging involves understanding your audience, the issue at hand, and  your proposed solution. Your messaging is essential to a successful lobbying campaign — how people understand and connect with your campaign can generate political will. 

A unique way to refine your messaging is to connect your issue and policy solution to a compelling narrative. This can happen by connecting policymakers with the community of individuals who are directly affected by the policy you are seeking to change, humanizing the overall issue.

When engaging with individual staff members and elected officials, be sure to emphasize the local impact of your policy proposal and how it aligns with constituent needs and interests. Provide specific examples or stories that illustrate the positive effects on their district or region and be sure to personalize the issue to make it more relatable and relevant.

Consider Your Approach

When considering how to approach your lobbying efforts at the State Capitol, there are many ways to engage with the political process. Be sure to research the legislative process, the state budget, influential government officials and staff members, and, most importantly, your state’s guidelines surrounding engagement with politics and policy. 

There are many different approaches to engagement with staff members and elected officials, including 1:1 meetings, organized events, volunteer efforts, fundraising dinners, state capitol protests, or simply running into them in the halls of the Capitol building. Each approach provides benefits or disadvantages, in order to make each a success focus first on building relationships as they are core to the political process.

Reach Out

Reaching out to elected officials and government employees can be an intimidating experience, especially when you are not sure where to start. 

A great place to start is by researching and connecting with people on committees where many of your bills will pass through. For example, a lobbyist who works for an education non-profit will want to research the education committee members and reach out to individuals who align with their ideals. Using Plural, a lobbyist could begin with our Jurisdictions Map, locate their state, and then view all the committees in the state legislature. Plural provides the partisan party makeup of each committee and the structure of each committee. This information is valuable to a state-level lobbyist in strategizing connections and building issue awareness in order to pass essential legislation.

Remember to Follow Up

Always remember to follow up. Staying connected and relevant in today’s world can be difficult; make it a fundamental task to stay in touch with your representatives and political coalitions as a lobbyist or advocate. 

When lobbying, there will be many policies that connect to your mission and require your consistent attention. Using Plural, you can track individual bills that you are focusing on for the legislative session in your state. While tracking a bill, Plural will notify you of upcoming events and actions on the bill prior to essential vote days, or days when your bill will be read in committee you should follow up with your representatives about their necessary support. This follow-up can be a  reminder of the research gathered by your organization proving that the policy would be positively impactful for the community you represent.

Plural for Lobbyists

Impacting state policy is no easy task – as such, state-level lobbying is most often a coordinated, team effort because of the level of work that it takes to make an impact on state policy. Using Plural, a small team of lobbyists can do the work of a large organization by intelligently tracking policy, keeping people connected to important events, and creating workspaces optimized for collaboration. 

As a state-level lobbyist, one of your most important duties is to track multiple bills as they move through committees and chambers within your respective state capitol. Plural streamlines bill tracking so that your team can all be aware of the priority bills that will be watched most closely throughout the session. Further, as a lobbyist, it is essential to build relationships with the correct government officials, utilizing Plural you can easily find contact info for committee leadership and  majority or minority leaders of the House and Senate. . Quick access to information on government officials increases democratic access by making it easier to connect with one’s representatives. 

Lastly,  Plural is a collaborative tool for members of your organization and team to connect with the legislative process and bill text directly. Team members can annotate bill text, highlight areas, make notes and share these actions with all members of your team to keep people informed, up to date and hold a critical eye to the text of complicated legislation.

Looking for a solution to streamline your lobbying work?

The post How to Lobby at the State Level appeared first on Plural Policy.