ACTION ALERT: Senate votes THURSDAY on undercutting public records ballot question

This Thursday, the State Senate will vote on S.3200, a bill that seems intended to supersede the decision of the voters on Ballot Question 1 - Expanding the Public Records Law, which just certified for the ballot this November. 

Here is a fact sheet on the bill, which the Senate plans to vote on Thursday (7/30.) If this passes the Senate in its current form, it will have passed both chambers and can become law. This is why we are acting with urgency. 

Action first! If you're in the market for actions to strengthen our democracy this week, here are three ways to take action:

1.  Attend one of our two legislator phone-a-thons on Wednesday (7/29) at 12:00pm and 7:00pm.

Just like we did when the House version of this bill was introduced, we're hosting a quick phone-a-thon! During the phone-a-thon, Act on Mass staff and volunteers will call their senators together, share tips and encouragement, and debrief afterward. These calls are a space where constituents can build power alongside others, making the process easier, more supportive, and more impactful. Register here.

If you can't make it tomorrow but still want to make a call, here is a fact sheet on the bill and a sample script:

Hello, my name is [NAME] and I am one of your constituents in [NEIGHBORHOOD].

I am reaching out with concerns about S.3200, the public records bill introduced last week.

While I am relieved to see the language about the audit from the House version was not included, I am also very concerned with flaws and potential loopholes in this bill.

• 
  
  
  
  • First of all, I am concerned that this bill seems designed to supersede Question 1 for public records law, before the voters even vote on it.
  
  
  • It seems clear that almost all of the legislative records under the purview of this bill are already public, so I don’t see what substantive change this bill looks to achieve
  
  
  • I think the legislature should be subject to the same public records law as other government entities in the state 
  
  
  
  

I'm asking you to support Amendments 7 and 9 proposed by Senator Keenan, which would include legislator communications as a public record and strengthen the judicial review sections. If these amendments are not successful, I am asking you to vote against the bill, and to allow the voters to weigh whether or not to apply existing public records law to the Legislature and the Governor’s office at the ballot box.

Thank you for your time and commitment to our district!

2.  Email your Senator using this form.

3.  Join us on the State House steps on Thursday (7/30) at 1:00 p.m.

As the Senate votes on this bill, Act on Mass and our progressive allies will gather outside the State House to rally in for legislative action on progressive issues. We'll also be releasing our legislative transparency report card for this session. We hope you'll join us! You can register here.

Read on for more background: 

As a reminder, Massachusetts is currently the only state in the entire country in which our legislature, judiciary, and Governor’s office exempt themselves from public records law. The common-sense transparency standards that are followed by municipal workers, city councilors, and most state employees simply do not apply to those who write, enforce, and adjudicate our laws. Just this year, the Society of Professional Journalists granted Massachusetts its “Black Hole Award,” recognizing the state’s “troubling lack of transparency and disregard for the public’s right to know,” in no small part due to our dismal public records regime.

Question 1: Expanding the Public Records Law is designed to shine some sunlight on that “black hole.” It would simply apply the state’s existing public records law to the Legislature and Governor’s office, with some key exemptions for sensitive constituent information and developing policy positions.

For those who will remember, S.3200 is the Senate version of the House’s “transparency” bill which we mobilized against in June.

Like the House version, S.3200 includes language that would supersede the impact of the proposed ballot question, by “solely” allowing access to limited list of 19 types of records included in this bill. The kicker is, most of those records are already public! But that’s not the only issue with this bill. If enacted, S.3200 would also:

• Create an entirely separate public records system for the Legislature, overseen by a "legislative records officer" appointed by legislative leadership.


• Exempt legislators' communications, including emails with lobbyists and between legislators.


• Make it more difficult for record seekers to dispute records denials

One of the main strengths of public records law is that the public gets to decide what records are interesting to us. More than 90,000 Massachusetts residents signed their name for the chance to apply existing public records law to the Legislature and the Governor’s office. We should have the right to decide that at the ballot, not have that choice made for us.

At the federal level, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests have been one of the primary ways journalists, advocates, and the public have uncovered the machinations of the Trump administration. We deserve the same here in Massachusetts. In a healthy democracy, the public, not government officials, decide what records deserve scrutiny. We hope you'll join us in defending this fundamental democratic safeguard, and appreciate your fast action on this issue.

Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions, and I hope to see some of you over Zoom on Wednesday and at the State House on Thursday!