BOSTON – Last week, Senator Sal DiDomenico joined with Environmental Justice (EJ) advocates from across the Commonwealth at a virtual legislative briefing in support of the Environmental Justice Act, a bill he sponsored in partnership with Senator Jamie Eldridge, Representatives Liz Miranda, Adrian Madaro, and Michelle DuBois. The event was hosted by the EJ Legislation Table, an organization made up of local advocacy groups, including GreenRoots; Neighbor to Neighbor; Alternatives for Community & Environment; Coalition for Social Justice; Conservation Law Foundation; Clean Water Action; Community Action Works; MA Climate Action Network, Environmental League of MA; Green Energy Consumers; Better Future Project; Sierra Club, North American Indian Center of Boston, and 350 Mass.

The briefing sought to shed light on the Environmental Justice Act and identify its clear connection to the COVID-19 outbreak in Massachusetts. For decades, low-income communities & communities of color in the Commonwealth have borne the brunt of the state’s energy choices and have been left out of key decision-making processes. Consequences of these realities have resulted in a disproportionately high rate of COVID infections throughout EJ communities, as represented by data from the MA Dept. of Public health, and related CRESSH study. 

The CRESSH study, which has modeled COVID infection rates in towns throughout the Commonwealth, indicated during the height of summer infections that EJ communities like Chelsea and Everett faced 2955 and 1770 COVID cases, respectfully, while more affluent communities faced nearly a quarter of these outbreaks.  

“Time and again, cities like Chelsea and Everett have been disproportionately impacted by our long history of short-sighted environmental policies and have taken on this toxic burden for our entire region. It should come as no surprise then that this history has had severe consequences for our health and that EJ cities like those in my district are now the communities most impacted by the COVID-19 virus,” said Senator DiDomenico during the briefing. “It has never been clearer that we need to pass the Environmental Justice Act this legislative session. Our EJ communities cannot wait for us to take action any longer.” 

The Environmental Justice Act seeks to address the unfair share of environmental pollution faced by a handful of communities by defining disproportionate environmental burdens as injustices and the individuals affected by them as Environmental Justice populations. It further aims to facilitate a more equitable distribution of energy and environmental benefits and burdens throughout the Commonwealth via the expansion of environmental impact reviews, including evaluations by the Massachusetts Environmental Justice Advisory Council, which will have direct representation from EJ populations.

“Given what we know about the connection between environmental and public health, it is imperative that we get these bills passed immediately to protect our most vulnerable communities from any additional environmental burdens that could impact their health during these already challenging times,” summarized Senator DiDomenico. “Our EJ populations must be involved in the decision making related to their own environmental well-being into the future.” 

The Environmental Justice Act received a favorable report out of the Joint Committee on Environmental, Natural Resources and Agriculture in December of 2019, and is currently pending before the Senate Committee on Ways & Means.

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BOSTON–Last week, Senator Sal DiDomenico and his colleagues in the Massachusetts State Senate unanimously passed legislation to expand voter access and address safety for all remaining 2020 elections, including the September 1, 2020 state primary and November 3, 2020 general election, in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

The bill, An Act relative to voting options in response to COVID-19, would, for the first time in state history, give all eligible residents the opportunity to vote early for the state primary and general election, allow residents to vote-by-mail, and expand absentee ballot access.  

“Ensuring that we have safe, inclusive, and accessible elections is always of the highest importance, but especially critical as we face the COVID-19 crisis,” said Senator DiDomenico. “I am proud that we have unanimously passed a comprehensive bill that will allow voters-- for the first time ever-- to cast ballots by mail, vote early, and safely vote in person, as well as give our local election officials the tools they need to successfully run our fall elections. I am also pleased that we were able to adopt a number of amendments that will ensure there is a strong public awareness campaign on these election changes to help educate and empower voters ahead of the 2020 elections and help drive turnout.” 

The bill does the following: 

• Implements an early vote-by-mail system: An application to receive an early voting ballot will be mailed to all registered voters by July 15, 2020. The Secretary will then mail another application for the general election in the voter booklet sent out in the fall.  Both applications and ballots will be postage paid.

• Creates early voting for the primary and expands early voting periods: For the first time in Massachusetts, early voting will be available for the state primary, to take place from Saturday, August 22, 2020 through Friday, August 28, 2020. Early voting for the general election would take place from Tuesday, October 17, 2020 to Friday, October 30, 2020. Early voting hours would vary according to the size of the municipality in order to give voters ample opportunity to participate while not overburdening small towns’ election departments. Voters may return their early voting ballot in the mail, in a secure drop box, or in person. 

• Tasks the Secretary of State with creating an online portal: The bill requires Secretary Galvin’s office to create an online portal by October 1, 2020 to make it as easy as possible for people to apply for general election early voting ballots electronically. 

• Expands absentee voting: The bill provides for absentee voting by any person taking precautions related to COVID-19. Voters may also return absentee ballots via a secure drop box.

• Provides tools to assist clerks: Acknowledging the increased burden these options may place on municipalities and clerks, the bill also provides for several accommodations to make the logistics of processing votes easier. The legislation allows for tabulating ballots prior to election day, and it offers pre-addressed envelopes to voters, so their applications go directly to their clerk’s office.

• Makes in-person voting more efficient: The bill allows municipalities to consolidate polling places and eliminate the check-out table at these locations, allowing for a more efficient process and fewer poll workers. It also expands who is eligible to serve as a poll worker, knowing that many current volunteers are seniors who may feel less comfortable working in public during COVID-19. 

The legislation must now be reconciled with the Massachusetts House of Representatives.  

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BOSTON­– Senator Sal DiDomenico recently announced that his amendment providing $5 million for the development of a common application for MassHealth enrollees to more easily access the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was included as part of the Senate’s General Governmental Bond Bill. DiDomenico has been longtime champion of food security in the Commonwealth and has been filing legislation for years to streamline the process for individuals and families applying for federal SNAP benefits.

“I am very pleased that my amendment was included as a key component of the General Governmental Bond Bill,” said Senator DiDomenico. “As more individuals and families become unemployed and lose private health insurance, they will undoubtedly need both health care and nutritional benefits. This $5M will go a long way towards making the common application I have been advocating for a reality and will play a crucial role in helping to connect people with the food resources they need.” 

Senator DiDomenico is the lead sponsor of An Act improving public health through a common application for core food, health and safety-net programs, also known as the SNAP Gap bill. The SNAP Gap refers to the over 700,000 people who are MassHealth recipients and likely eligible for SNAP but are not receiving nutritional benefits. MassHealth and SNAP, as well as many other safety-net programs, use separate application processes that ask for similar information. This duplicates efforts and creates more work for both the state and low-income consumers.

DiDomenico’s bill would create a common application portal to let low-income households apply for MassHealth and SNAP at the same time, thereby consolidating the application process and raising awareness of SNAP eligibility. This bill would help more low-income students access free school meals, increasing food access for over 100,000 Massachusetts elders, and help more families meet their basic needs. 

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