Beacon Hill Roll Call records the votes of local senators and representatives from the week of Jan. 13 to Jan. 17.
House 154 to 0 approved a measure that would establish a registry that identifies individuals who have been found to have committed abuse against persons with disabilities. The measure was filed by Sen. Mike Moore, D-Millbury, at the request of a constituent who is the mother of Nicky, an intellectually disabled and non-verbal individual. Nicky had been inappropriately restrained and struck multiple times by her caretaker. Under current law, unless the offender is criminally convicted, no system exists to identify caretakers and prevent them from finding employment with another provider licensed by the state.
“Enacting this registry will help disrupt a cycle of abuse of individuals with disabilities and put in place common-sense protections that families in the commonwealth deserve,” Moore said. “There are clear benefits to screening prospective employees who intend to work within the licensed caretaker field and I am hopeful that the bill will advance to the governor’s desk to help protect our most vulnerable residents like Nicky.”
The Senate has approved a different version of the bill and the House version now goes to the Senate for consideration.
A “Yes” vote is for the bill.
Rep. Natalie Blais — Yes
Rep. Paul Mark — Yes
Rep. Susannah Whipps — Yes
Senate 35 to 0 approved a bill designed to boost participation rates in school breakfast programs in high-poverty schools. The measure would require that breakfast be offered only after the school day begins, through a variety of ways including breakfast in the classroom, grab-and-go and second-chance breakfast. Currently, only 150,000 of the 300,000 students eligible for breakfast actually take part in it. The House has approved a different version of the bill and the Senate version now goes to the House for consideration.
Supporters said that most school breakfasts are currently offered in the cafeteria before the bell and the participation rate is less than 40 percent of eligible students because bus schedules and family obligations often result in the student not being able to arrive at school in time for breakfast. Participation is also low because of the stigma attached to the program. They said many students assume that everyone who arrives to school early for breakfast is from a poor family. The participation rate rises to up to 90 percent of eligible students participating in the lunch program later in the day.
“No child who shows up to school hungry can possibly be ready to learn,” said Sen. Sal DiDomenico, D-Everett, the sponsor of the bill. “I have seen the success of Breakfast After the Bell in my own district, and I am confident that this legislation will help to ensure that every child in the commonwealth has access to a stigma-free and nutritious breakfast.”
“We all understand that a hungry student is not ready to be a successful student, and Breakfast After the Bell is a proven strategy to close the hunger gap and ensure that all kids can start their school day on a level playing field,” said Sen. Jason Lewis, D-Winchester, Senate chair of the Committee on Education. “As the commonwealth continues to strive for an excellent and equitable educational experience for every child, regardless of their ZIP code or family income, this is an important step along the road to closing opportunity and achievement gaps in our schools.”
A “Yes” vote is for the bill.
Sen. Joanne Comerford — Yes
Sen. Adam Hinds — Yes
Senate 33 to 2 approved and sent to the House a bill requiring that all public schools offering a comprehensive sexual health education curriculum must “provide medically accurate, age-appropriate sexual health education.”
Under current law, public schools are not required to teach sex education and the bill does not change that but rather mandates that any schools that choose to teach sex education are required to follow a curriculum, based on age, that includes human anatomy, reproduction and sexual development; the benefits of abstinence and delaying sexual activity; the importance of effectively using contraceptives to prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and AIDS; ways to effectively discuss safe sexual activity; relationship and communication skills to form healthy, respectful relationships free of violence, coercion and intimidation; and information about gender identity and sexual orientation for all students, including recognition that people have different sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions.
The measure also requires any school offering sex education to notify parents about the school’s sex education curriculum and gives parents the right to withdraw a student from the instruction and create a process for parents to inspect the program instruction materials before the start of the course.
Supporters said that under the bill, local cities and towns still have the authority and power to decide whether sex education is taught in their schools. They said the measure will ensure that schools that choose to teach sex education will have a framework to follow. They noted the bill will prepare students to make healthy decisions and will reduce teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Opponents said local school committees, parents, teachers and administrators should have the authority to decide what will be included in any sex education course that is offered. They noted the bill gives way too much power to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to mandate what kind of things are taught. They argued that the definition of “age-appropriate” in the bill is vague and basically leaves that decision up to DESE.
“I am very proud that the Massachusetts Senate has once again reaffirmed our commitment to this common sense healthy policy that will ensure our youth have the tools needed to protect their health and form respectful relationships,” said Sen. Sal DiDomenico, D-Everett, the sponsor of the bill. “This legislation makes it clear that sex education in the commonwealth must be inclusive for all students and emphasize the importance and necessity of consent. I would like to thank and congratulate the many advocates who have partnered with us on this legislation and worked tirelessly to ensure Massachusetts youth have the information they need to build the bright futures they deserve — without shame or judgement.”
“The idea that a mandated sex education curriculum can be implemented in a school district without a required vote or public hearing of the elected school committee is a direct affront to local control and a community’s ability to decide what is best for its children,” said Sen. Ryan Fattman, R-Sutton, one of the two senators who voted against the measure. “I believe that parents and communities should be able to decide how they wish to teach their children and students about sensitive topics like sex education. The controversial nature of this legislation is the reason why it has failed to become law for multiple sessions now.”
“There are issues that should be left to the local communities to decide,” said Sen. Dean Tran, R-Fitchburg. “No two students are alike and no two school districts are the same. Educational curriculums should be left to the local communities to devise and implement, not by special interest groups and mandate by the lawmakers.”
A “Yes” vote is for the bill.
Sen. Joanne Comerford — Yes
Sen. Adam Hinds — Yes
Senate 35 to 0 approved an amendment that would require each city, town, regional school district, vocational school district and charter school, beginning in November 2021, to file a biennial report with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) regarding its sex education course.
The report would include a description of sexual education curricula offered, the aggregate number of students enrolled in the course and the aggregate number of students who withdrew from the course. The DESE commissioner would post the aggregated data on its website and transmit the raw data collected to the Department of Public Health.
Amendment supporters said the amendment would ensure transparency by allowing DESE to track the efficacy and compare the outcomes of students who receive this education versus those who do not.
A “Yes” vote is for the amendment.
Sen. Joanne Comerford — Yes
Sen. Adam Hinds — Yes
Senate 35 to 0, approved an amendment that would require parents or guardians to be notified 30 days before any sex education course begins.
Amendment supporters said the 30-day minimum will give parents and guardians adequate time to review and analyze the course and make an informed decision about whether to enroll their child.
A “Yes” vote is for the amendment.
Sen. Joanne Comerford — Yes
Sen. Adam Hinds — Yes
Ban advertising of marijuana on billboards (S 2462): The Cannabis Policy Committee will hold a hearing on Jan. 28, at 1 p.m. in Room 437 at the State House on a proposal that would prohibit the use of billboards for the advertising, marketing or branding of marijuana or marijuana products.
“Under current state law, delicious-looking marijuana products, including candies and cookies, may be advertised to young children through invasive billboards,” said the bill’s sponsor Sen. Diane DiZoglio, D-Methuen. “In the city of Haverhill, for instance, a recreational marijuana billboard advertisement was recently placed above a school bus stop and later moved after two city councilors, one of whom lost two children to the disease of addiction, raised concerns. I filed this bill on behalf of these city councilors, with the intent of protecting kids from underage substance use.”
The Transportation Committee held a hearing on several bills including:
Drivers privilege card (H 3000): Creates a “driver privilege card,” which can be used by illegal immigrants to legally drive a car on Massachusetts roadways. The measure requires the applicant to be over 18 years old, provide proof of his or her name, date and place of birth and Massachusetts residency for a minimum of five years.
For the first year following the initial issuance of the driver privilege card, the driver is prohibited from driving between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. and without a licensed driver over 21 in the car. The driver is also required to purchase insurance at certain levels for bodily injury to others, personal injury protection, bodily injury caused by an uninsured driver and damage to someone else’s property. The bill prohibits the card from being used for government identification and requires it be clearly marked with the words “For driving privileges only — not valid for identification.”
“The reality is that many places in the commonwealth have adopted sanctuary status. These protections result in more undocumented people driving due to the fear of deportation being removed,” said the bill’s sponsor Rep. Shawn Dooley, R-Norfolk. “It is imperative that this reality does not inadvertently harm our citizens and make the roads less safe.”
“This isn’t some grandiose proclamation on immigration,” Dooley continued. “It is simply a commonsense approach to the reality we live in. If communities are going to provide sanctuary, it is the commonwealth’s responsibility to make sure that one city’s individual policy doesn’t negatively affect the rights and safety of the citizens throughout Massachusetts.”
“The commonwealth should not reward those who broke this nation’s laws and are illegally here with the privilege of a driver’s license,” said Rep. Marc Lombardo, R-Billerica.
Driver-less vehicles (S 2115): Allows some testing of autonomous vehicles on the state’s streets and roads subject to restraints necessary to ensure protection of the state’s people and environment, adequate funding of the state’s transportation infrastructure, and compliance with state and federal laws. The bill requires a passenger with a driver’s license to be in the car to monitor the vehicle as a fallback-ready human driver and establishes a road usage charge to make up for lost gas tax revenue as electric autonomous vehicles replace gasoline-burning traditional vehicles.
“Autonomous vehicles offer the potential for significant benefits to our society and economy, including improved public safety and reduced traffic accidents, greater transportation accessibility and social mobility for elderly, disabled and low-income people,” said Sen. Jason Lewis, D-Winchester, the bill’s sponsor. “Massachusetts has the opportunity to become global leaders of this transformational technology. This bill incorporates the best policy ideas and practices from the federal government and other states to encourage a transition to a shared, clean-energy fleet of AVs, resulting in less congestion, cleaner air, lower greenhouse gas emissions and greater mobility opportunities for all Massachusetts residents.”
Distinctive license plates for atomic testing veterans (S 2089): Provides distinctive license plates for veterans who participated in the early testing of atomic weapons. The plates would be different from the existing veterans’ plates.
“I have a constituent who falls into this category and requested the bill,” said the bill’s sponsor Sen. Anne Gobi, D-Spencer. “It is important to recognize our veterans and their sacrifices. This group of veterans is often not mentioned, yet their unique service was instrumental to the safety of our country.”
Motorcycle helmets (S 2380): Repeals the current state law requiring all motorcycle drivers and passengers to wear helmets. The proposal would require only drivers and passengers under 18 to wear them.
Supporters said adults should have the power to make their own choices and that people ride more “aware” without helmets. They noted thousands of Massachusetts bikers choose to ride in neighboring New England states on weekends and spend millions of dollars there that should be spent in Massachusetts.
“A group of motorcycle enthusiasts, who are constituents (of mine) feel that they should have the option of wearing a helmet or not if they are over the age of 18,” said the bill’s sponsor Sen. Michael Brady, D-Brockton. “Three states have no helmet laws and 28 states limit mandatory helmet use to those under 18.”
Opponents said motorcycle crashes cause deaths and some of the most serious and costly brain injuries in the state. They noted wearing helmets reduces head injuries by 70 percent.