Lois Ahrens in the Daily Hampshire Gazette: ‘Broken system’ — Worthy bills left behind
Published: 08-20-2024
According to Progressive Massachusetts, in the formal session that began in January 2023 and ended July 31, 2024, of the thousands of bills submitted, only 5.82% passed.
But lest you think this minuscule number was legislation meaningful to most Massachusetts voters, here are two examples: An act granting an additional liquor license for the sale of all alcoholic beverages drunk on the premises in Chatham. An act changing the position of the town clerk in Wenham from an elected position to an appointed position. Links to the others, all similar, can be found at malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2024 andmalegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2023.
As Gazette readers we know, important legislation failed to pass including the climate bill, which would have streamlined the permitting process for clean energy projects, allowing the state to reach its emission reduction goals. The bill died when the House and Senate leadership did not allow the bill to come up for a vote.
Another bill didn’t pass that would have capped or eliminated out-of-pocket costs for some popular medications that treat chronic illnesses and create greater oversight of pharmaceutical industry middlemen. It too did not make it over the proverbial “finish line.”
In the last two years, I was one of many advocating for legislation that could have made Massachusetts prisons and jails less cruel by curtailing solitary confinement, ensuring medical parole for the terminally ill, finally ending jailing people for substance use disorder as Sheriff Nick Cocchi does in Hampden County, establishing a moratorium on jail and prison building as our Sen. Jo Comerford introduced for the second time, and more than 100 other bills.
Every one died in committee. Each could have made our carceral system more just and humane. Like these bills, “An Act creating an independent correctional oversight office,” did not get a recorded vote even though the Department of Correction’s budget is $827,763,736 million to incarcerate 6,051 prisoners and where the ratio of prisoners to guards is 2 to 1. Of the $827 million, 2% goes to educational and other programs.
Closer to home, the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction’s 2025 budget is $17,755,312. As of Aug. 12, 2024, there were a total of 140 people incarcerated, 64 sentenced and 76 people held pretrial at the jail. Even though the number of people incarcerated is going down, prison and jail budgets keep climbing. Clearly, independent oversight is needed.
Throughout Massachusetts, the majority of legislative contests go unchallenged. A headline in Monday’s Gazette read, “Few decisions on Sept. 3 primary ballot.” According to the article, “there is only potential for one contested election in the region in November, in the 4th Hampden District.” On Aug. 19, WGBH reported that 4.66 million voters out of a total of 4,781,556 registered voters will have no choice about who represents us.
Yes, we in Hampshire County believe our elected officials are doing a good job; however, it would be important to hear current legislators explain the last session and have candidates for their seats discuss their ideas on how to fix this dysfunctional system.
Yes, there is always next year, but what does this broken system mean for people needing affordable medication, for people locked in solitary 21 hours a day, for all of us trying to breath unbreathable air?
Lois Ahrens is the director of the Real Cost of Prisons Project, a national organization based in Northampton.
