BOSTON– Last week, Senator Sal DiDomenico testified before the Joint Committee on Housing in support of legislation he has championed in the Massachusetts Senate for several sessions: An Act promoting housing stability and homelessness prevention in Massachusetts, also known as the Right to Counsel Bill. 

DiDomenico’s Right to Counsel bill, S.874, would make legal representation in eviction proceedings a right under Massachusetts state law. Currently, roughly 14% of renters in the Commonwealth are behind on their rent payments, and hundreds more eviction cases are being filed each week. Unfortunately, eviction proceedings disproportionately impact tenants with the lowest-income, especially immigrant families and the elderly, simply because they are unable to afford legal representation. This bill would provide legal representation for low-income tenants and owner-occupants landlords of two and three family homes in eviction proceedings.  

In 2020, at the start of the pandemic, Senator DiDomenico filed similar emergency legislation to launch a Right To Council Pilot program to provide legal representation for tenants facing COVID-related evictions. Governor Baker incorporated key elements of DiDomenico’s Bill into the state’s Eviction Diversion Plan, now called the COVID Eviction Legal Help Project (CELHP). This emergency pilot program has had an overwhelming positive outcome. 

Since its implementation in January 2021, CHELP has assisted approximately 7,000 individuals (including 2,300 children) and positively resolved 90% of cases. Of those 90% of cases, 70% resulted in the preservation of the tenancy, and 20% of cases were negotiated to afford the tenant(s) more time to find replacement housing. In just nine months, CELHP has proven the undeniable need and extraordinary benefit of granting a comprehensive right to counsel program in the Commonwealth. Unfortunately, the existing CELHP program is only temporary. 

During his testimony, Senator DiDomenico highlighted the benefits of his permanent right to counsel bill. “Even where tenant cases are ultimately unsuccessful, the presence of council can assist when negotiating things like payment, extensions of time to vacate, finding alternative housing, or different lease terms that satisfy both landlords and tenants.” Citing a 2020 Boston Bar Association report, DiDomenico pointed out that “the monetary benefits of representing eligible beneficiaries in eviction and foreclosure proceedings, far outweighs the costs of providing those services.” The report estimated legal costs at about $9.49 million and the potential savings at over $25 million. This legislation is imperative to keeping the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable of tenants and families-renters from becoming unhoused, homeless, and displaced.  

This legislation will prove to be vital for low-income renters in Massachusetts as the pandemics effect on housing continues to take its toll. “This bill is timely and more important than ever.” DiDomenico stated, “This bill levels the playing field.” Backed by a coalition of over 200 organizations the bill has garnered unilateral support among tenant, homeowner, and landlord advocacy groups alike.  

The bill is currently pending before the Joint Committee on Housing where it awaits a favorable report.  

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BOSTON– Senator Sal DiDomenico and his colleagues in the Massachusetts State Senate recently passed S.2545, An Act fostering voter opportunities, trust, equity, and security, also known as the VOTES Act. This comprehensive voting reform bill permanently codifies the popular mail-in and early voting options used in Massachusetts in 2020. The bill would also enact same-day voter registration, increase ballot access for service members serving overseas, and make a series of other improvements to the Commonwealth’s election administration process.  

“As one of the very first co-sponsors of this legislation, I am very proud of the Senate’s recent action to pass the VOTES Act,” said Senator DiDomenico, Assistant Majority Leader of the Massachusetts Senate. "This bill will prove to be critical in expanding voting access across the Commonwealth by making several COVID-era voting provisions permanent, including expansions to early voting, vote-by-mail, and absentee ballot access. Additionally, the legislation takes a historic step to implement same-day voter registration and will ensure greater voting access to all eligible voters. These are all policies that I have long supported, and I am very pleased that the Senate has affirmed our commitment to making voting easier and more accessible for all.”  

Responding to trends in voting and building off previous actions taken by the Legislature, the VOTES Act contains the following key provisions: 

Same-Day Voter Registration 

·         Individuals would be able to register to vote during early voting periods or on the day of a primary or election. 

·         Twenty other states and the District of Columbia already use same-day registration. 

Early Voting In-Person 

·         The bill would require two weeks (including two weekends) of early voting in-person for biennial state elections and any municipal elections held on the same day. 

·         The bill would require one week (including one weekend) of early voting in-person for a presidential or state primary and any municipal elections held on the same day. 

·         The bill would allow municipalities to opt-in to early voting in-person for any municipal election not held concurrently with another election. 

Permanent No-Excuse Mail-In Voting 

·         The bill would require the Secretary of the Commonwealth to send out mail-in ballot applications to all registered voters on July 15 of every even-numbered year; the Secretary of the Commonwealth would have the option to include these applications as part of mailings already required to be sent by the Secretary. 

·         As in 2020, postage would be guaranteed for mail-in ballot applications and ballots. 

·         As in 2020, mail-in ballots would be accepted for a biennial state election if mailed on or by election day and received by 5PM on the third day after the election. 

Additional Flexibility For Local Officials 

·         The bill would give municipalities the option to set up secure drop boxes for mail-in ballots. 

·         The bill would allow election officials to pre-process mail-in and early voting ballots in advance of Election Day. 

·         The bill would give municipalities discretion as to the use of a check-out list at a polling location. 

Accommodations For People With Disabilities 

·         The bill would allow a voter with disabilities to request accommodations from the Secretary of the Commonwealth to vote by mail for state elections. 

·         Accommodations would include: electronic and accessible instructions, ballot application, ballot, and a voter affidavit that can be submitted electronically. 

Jail-Based Voting Reforms 

·         The bill would help ensure that individuals who are incarcerated who are currently eligible to vote are provided with voting information and materials to exercise their right to vote in every state primary and election. 

·         Through inclusion of an amendment, the bill would ensure that individuals who are incarcerated are properly notified of their right to vote upon release and given the opportunity fill out a voter registration form 

Joining the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) 

·         The bill would require the Secretary of the Commonwealth to enter into an agreement with ERIC no later than July 1, 2022. 

·         Thirty other states have already joined ERIC, which helps states keep more updated and accurate voting registrations to ensure voting integrity

The Senate also unanimously approved an amendment to the VOTES Act targeting vote-by-mail ballot access by U.S. service members residing overseas and allowing for them to cast their vote electronically. 

The bill, through inclusion of an amendment, would also instruct the Secretary of State to conduct a comprehensive public awareness campaign to highlight the new voting and registration options. 

This vote follows previous action by the Legislature to temporarily extend vote-by-mail and early voting options through December 15, 2021. 

The VOTES Act now advances on to the Massachusetts House of Representatives for further consideration. 

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BOSTON– Senator Sal DiDomenico and his colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate recently voted to pass Senate Bill 298, An Act to promote student nutrition, which would ensure that more children in Massachusetts have access to nutritious school meals. This legislation would require schools and districts where a majority of students are low-income to enroll in federal programs—known as the Community Eligibility Provision and Provision 2—that allow them to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students. In addition to providing universal meals, these programs reduce administrative burdens for schools. 

Assistant Majority Leader Sal DiDomenico, a longtime champion for food security and the Commonwealth’s children and families, spoke on the floor of the Senate in support of the bill during the Senate’s debate of the bill. “We live in a wealthy state but there are haves and have nots. There are students in our communities whose last meal was lunch the day before. We have parents in food lines making tough choices between feeding their kids, paying for prescriptions, and paying rent", DiDomenico stated. “We can have the best schools and teachers but if our kids come to school hungry, they are not ready to learn.” 

The legislation minimizes families’ meal debt by requiring school districts to maximize federal revenues and directing the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to assist them in doing so. When students do accrue debt, it requires school districts to determine whether they are eligible for free- or reduced-price meals. 

Finally, An Act to promote student nutrition prohibits schools from targeting students who carry meal-related debt with punitive practices such as withholding report cards and transcripts, preventing students from graduating or walking at graduation, barring students from participating in no-fee extracurricular events like field trips, or throwing a child’s hot meal away and replacing it with an inferior meal. 

This legislation returns to the House of Representatives for further action before heading to the Governor’s desk.  

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