Latest news with #StateHouseAdvocacyDay
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers, advocates push for remote public meetings
BOSTON (WWLP) – Since the onset of the pandemic, the public has been able to access town and state meetings via Zoom and other remote options. Late last week, lawmakers voted to extend the expiration date for these remote meetings. A COVID-era bill allowing public bodies to hold hybrid and remote meetings was supposed to expire at the end of this month, but lawmakers decided last Thursday to keep that option in place until late June 2027. Mass. Commission on the Status of Women gathers for State House Advocacy Day The bill also lowers the number of people required for a quorum for a town meeting and allows remote participation in representative town meetings. State and town leaders say remote options remove barriers like childcare and scheduling, and it's now the norm to offer Zoom or Teams meetings in addition to in-person access. Governor Healey offered an option to make remote access permanent in a municipal tax bill she filed in January, and a group of advocates released a statement saying they believe remote access should be mandatory. According to the advocacy groups, 'without the ability to participate remotely, people across the Commonwealth would be shut out from important public conversations about government decisions that directly impact their lives.' Groups include ACLU of Massachusetts, Boston Center for Independent Living, Common Cause Massachusetts, Disability Law Center, League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, and Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association. These groups support a bill filed by a New Bedford Representative mandating remote access, but critics of the bills say that may not be a realistic expectation for the 10,000 board, committees, and commissions that this law would apply to. A similar bill has been filed by Ludlow Senator Jake Oliveira, although this bill supports a non-mandatory remote access option. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mass. Commission on the Status of Women gathers for State House Advocacy Day
BOSTON (WWLP) – The Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women held their biannual State House Advocacy Day to promote their legislative priorities and bring women advocates across the state together to create change. These priorities are split into groups, including bills promoting healthcare, childcare and caregiving, government access and transparency, and a few technical bills dealing with the commission's organization and funding. Reminders from local experts ahead of tax deadline While speakers at the event did promote state priorities, they soon turned to concern about the policy objectives of the federal administration. The attorney general emphasized the necessity of coming together, like groups of women have had to advocate for their rights for centuries, to oppose what she sees as harmful federal actions. 'When it feels like you're on the brink of letting that happen, or that to get into your heart, your mind, your spirit, your soul, for me it means pray a little bit harder, but most importantly, evaluate that history in the process,' said Attorney General Andrea Campbell. The Chairwoman of the Commission, a Navy veteran, got into specifics, admonishing the Trump administration for removing photos of women and people of color veterans online. 'We have served and fought for this country and we're being disrespected by our commander in chief,' said Commission Chairwoman Mary-Dith Tuitt. 'We can't support that.' Tuitt said the best way to combat these federal decisions is to come together on the local level, such as calling your state legislators to urge them to support commission priorities. The commission's priorities will be eligible to pass into law until the end of the legislative session in late 2026. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
