I have served as a State Senator for the Middlesex and Worcester district since January 2009. I devote all my work as State Senator to delivering for those I represent. On Beacon Hill, I serve as the Senate-Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary and the Senate Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Election Laws. I also am the Senate-Chair of the Clean Energy, Criminal Justice Reform, Medicare For All, and MBTA Caucuses.
An Act to Prevent the Imposition of Mandatory Minimum Sentences based on Juvenile Adjudications (S.1022)
This bill prevents courts from lengthening certain mandatory-minimum sentences based on a person’s actions as a child (i.e. juvenile court adjudications). Utilizing juvenile adjudications to increase prison sentences is immoral. Scientific evidence demonstrates that, due to developmental differences between children and adults, the two should be treated separately within the justice system. A person should not be subject to additional mandatory punishment based on things they did when they were children, as young as age 7.
An Act Establishing Medicare for All in Massachusetts (S.D.546)
This bill would transition the Commonwealth to a single-payer healthcare system by removing profit-driven health insurance companies as the barrier between patients and providers, and instead allow the government to reimburse health care providers directly.
S.148 - An Act Authorizing Municipalities to Expend Certain funds for the Acquisition of Land to be Used for Rail Trails
This bill would expand the Communities Preservation Act to allow municipalities to purchase land intended for rail trails. Enacted through the FY21 Budget
S.527 - An Act improving municipal water infrastructure
This bill applies a $.70 fee per 1,000 gallons of water withdrawn for private and commercial uses in Massachusetts. Fees would be kept in a separate account dedicated to drinking water, wastewater, or stormwater infrastructure; 75% of which will be redistributed to municipalities for water infrastructure projects and 25% would go to the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust.
S.258 - An Act Protecting Pollinators by Eliminating Harmful Products
This bill would ban the use of harmful pesticides called neonicotinoids, which peer-reviewed scientific studies have shown to negatively impact pollinator health. IT would also ban the sale of blooming or flowering plant, plant material or seed that has been treated with a neonicotinoid shall be sold within the Commonwealth.
S.529- An Act protecting water systems through the labeling of flushable wipes
This bill would establish standards for classifying wipes and require those that do not meet dispersible standards to be labeled accordingly. A provider would need to submit a form to the Department of Environmental Protections verifying that the flushable wipe meets the performance standards and/or comply with the labeling 76 requirements.
An Act to Guarantee Debt-Free Public Higher Education (S.D.426)
This bill would create state grant program tasked with covering tuition and mandatory fees for all students admitted or enrolled in a Massachusetts public college or university, or at a certificate, vocational, or training program at a public institution.
An Act to Provide Equal Stimulus Checks to Immigrant Taxpayers (S.D.126)
This bill ensures that households in which taxpayers use Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (“ITINs”) to file their taxes (instead of social security numbers) receive stimulus checks equal to those provided under federal law
An Act to protect injured workers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic (S.D.1182)
Currently, no state agency has power or ability to investigate workers’ compensation retaliation complaints or to enforce the current workers’ compensation anti-retaliation law. This bill fills this gap in the law. It would empower the Attorney General’s Office as the state agency that could conduct an investigation and resolve retaliation complaints. The bill also creates a rebuttable presumption of employer retaliation when an adverse action against a worker takes place within 90 days of the employee exercising rights under the workers’ compensation law, including when an employee makes a workers’ compensation claim due to contracting COVID-19.
An Act to Establish a Massachusetts Public Bank (S.D.1712)
This bill establishes a state-chartered bank that accepts deposits from the government. With those deposits, the Massachusetts Public Bank will make loans to help government complete capital projects, and for other public purposes.
An Act to Establish the Massachusetts Works Progress Administration (S.D.124)
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a catastrophic level of joblessness in Massachusetts. To address the economic damage from the COVID-19 pandemic, this bill establishes a works progress program to approve projects such as: contact tracing for COVID-19; climate change resiliency, environmental conservation and water quality projects; projects enhancing the creative economy; projects enhancing farms and the food and beverage sectors; infrastructure projects; projects enhancing home care services; projects enhancing online education; and projects enhancing the cannabis industry. Like the Great Depression-era Works Progress Administration created by President Roosevelt nearly a century ago, this program will alleviate the effects of profound economic suffering by putting unemployed individuals back to work right away.
An Act Relative to Commonwealth Automobile Re-Insurers (S.D.131)
The bill would remove the requirement that 2 of the 6 insurance producers on the Commonwealth Automobile Reinsurers (CAR) Governing Committee be those who write automobile insurance exclusively through the MAIP. Since the changes to the insurance market in 2009, this requirement has become obsolete. Today, the number of agents who write automobile insurance exclusively through the MAIP is negligible, meaning that only a handful of agents are eligible for these two seats while thousands of agents compete for the remaining four seats.
An Act providing for climate change adaptation infrastructure and affordable housing investments in the commonwealth (S.D.611)
(HERO Coalition Bill)
This bill provides $300 million in new revenue for environmental resiliency and affordable housing with half of the new revenue supporting climate resiliency and half supporting housing. Imposing an additional Deeds Excise Fee on home purchases is the right tool to generate revenue for both Climate response and Housing action. The Deeds Excise Fee has remained at the same level since 1989. This legislation is supported by the Housing and Environment Revenue Opportunities (HERO) Coalition.
An Act to Reduce Financial Barriers to Renting Homes (S.D.123)
This bill helps alleviate the burden of exorbitant rental costs, especially for low-income prospective tenants. Whereas according to current law, landlords can charge upwards of four month's rent upfront, this bill will essentially halve that. This bill also will shift the burden of the broker's fee to the landlord if the landlord opts to use a broker.
An Act relative to the Massachusetts lead law and promoting equal access to lead-free housing (S.D.2347)
This bill protects our children from lead poisoning and related housing discrimination by taking preventive steps to remove lead from homes. Current law usually only requires landlords to delead a property if a child under the age of 6 resides there. This bill updates the lead law to require landlords to delead properties, regardless of whether children under the age of six will reside in the property. Lead poisoning remains a widespread issue in Massachusetts. Across the state, only 10% of housing built before 1970 has undergone a lead inspection - meaning children are at risk in 1.8 million homes in the Commonwealth. This issue disproportionately impacts minority communities, with black and brown children 2.5 times more likely to have lead poisoning than white children.
An act relative to savings enabling prosperity (SD.142)
This bill reestablishes the matched-savings program in Massachusetts. Matched-savings programs are a critical tool to close the wealth gap that exists in Massachusetts, including a significant racial wealth gap, by helping low and moderate income individuals and families build assets and gain financial literacy skills. Participants may use matched funds to: help them purchase a home, fulfill an educational goal, develop and launch a small business, restore a home to habitable condition, pay tuition or related expenses at a college or university, purchase equipment to support employment, or create savings for retirement.
An Act Providing a Guaranteed Minimum Income to All Massachusetts Families (formerly An Act Improving the Earned Income Credit for Working Families) (SD.140)
This bill creates a guaranteed minimum income (GMI) to ensure that everyone in Massachusetts can attain a basic standard of living. Creating a GMI program in Massachusetts will be accomplished by enhancing the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) so that it covers more households and delivers larger cash benefits. This bill ensures that every family earning up to $70,000 receives a minimum of $2,400 per year, and often much more.
Promoting public safety and keeping our communities safe is one of the most important functions of government. This is one of the reasons Jamie has been such a strong advocate for local aid funding, which helps support our local town fire and police departments. One of the best ways to keep our neighborhoods safe is to have adequate numbers of public safety personnel patrolling our streets, equipped with the resources they need.
Jamie also knows we must support the brave men and women who join our police and fire departments, often putting their own lives on the line to protect the safety of others. He’s proud to have filed and help passed the MacNamara Law, which ensures that the family of any volunteer firefighter who is killed in the line of duty will not be left without financial support.
Jamie knows that protecting public safety goes beyond having strong fire and police departments, however. It means having:
With years of service on organizations like the Acton Conservation Trust, Nashua River Watershed Association, Organization for the Assabet River and the SuAsCo Watershed Community Council, Jamie understands the value of protecting the environment and recognizes that the ethic of passing a healthier environment on to future generations is a true legacy of this district.
Jamie is a leader in the Senate on environmental issues, currently serving as Vice Chair of the Environment Committee. Environmental accomplishments this year include:
Jamie is also the lead sponsor or co-sponsor of a number of important environmental bills, including:
You can learn more about these bills here.
In previous sessions, Eldridge has also been a co-sponsor of numerous bills to protect our environment, promote the use of clean energy, slow climate change and create more “green” jobs, including the Energy Efficiency Act, Global Warming Solutions Act, the Green Communities Act, and the Green Jobs bill.
He also supported the Mercury Products Bill, an effort to keep toxic mercury out of our landfills and incinerators and make manufacturers more responsible for the collection and recycling of their discarded products. This bill helped protect children from learning disabilities and other neurological problems caused by mercury in the atmosphere and water.
To protect open space, Jamie co-sponsored legislation to increase conservation tax incentives, which was included in the 2008 environmental bond bill.
Jamie has been a vocal advocate for significant ethics and campaign finance reform. As the only candidate to be elected running a Clean Elections campaign, in 2003, he understands the critical need to reduce the influence of special interest money on elections and give the public confidence that their elected officials are acting in the best interest of their constituents – and not their campaign coffers.
Jamie strongly supported the ethics and lobbying reform legislation that was passed into law in 2009, including proposals to strengthen investigative and enforcement authority, improve the lobbying laws, enhance penalties, and impose ethics education and training requirements.
These reforms don’t go far enough, however – which is why he’s filed additional legislation regulating campaign contributions from lobbyists and those seeking government contracts. Jamie’s bill – the “Anti-Pay-to-Play Act ” — would limit the influence of moneyed interests and the impact they have on legislative deliberations — eliminating “pay-to-play” opportunities in the campaign finance system and, hopefully, increasing public confidence in the integrity of our system as a result.
In June 2010, Jamie also filed the Massachusetts Corporate Political Accountability Act to address the problems created by the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC by requiring new levels of disclosure and transparency for corporate political spending, eliminating “pay-to-playâ€Â opportunities for state contractors, enshrining new protections for employees, shareholders and investors, and prohibiting foreign corporations from influencing elections in Massachusetts.
Over the long term, Jamie also supports the reinstatement and funding of the Clean Elections Law, which was approved by 67% of voters in 1998. This law provided a limited amount of funding for candidates who agreed to strict spending and contribution limits and who qualified by demonstrating significant support in their districts. By providing public funding, Clean Elections breaks open the financial barriers to running for office and offers any citizen with good ideas and local support the opportunity to run a competitive campaign. It reduces the role of special interest money, brings more accountability to government, and helps to ensure that lawmakers put the needs of our communities before big corporations and special interest groups.
Jamie has been a leader in the Legislature in pushing to make our government more transparent and accountable to the public.
He led the effort in the Senate to pass tax credit transparency, which will require public disclosure of the results of refundable or transferable tax credit programs, including the identity of the corporation receiving the credit. It’s an important amendment, one that will promote greater accountability at a time when we need to be examining where every single public dollar is going, and what impact it is having. Learn more here.
Jamie believes that having the opportunity to vote for our representatives in office is a right, and not a privilege – which means that our Commonwealth should do everything it can to promote and protect citizens’ right to vote. He supports electoral reform legislation to eliminate voter participation barriers and ensure that all elections are conducted fairly.
This year, he’s proud to be the lead sponsor on the Massachusetts Freedom to Vote Act, which would comprehensively and fundamentally update and improve voting in Massachusetts. If enacted, this would give Massachusetts some of the strongest voting laws anywhere in the United States — fitting for the birthplace of American democracy. Provisions included in this omnibus bill include Election Day Registration, Early Voting, improvements in the absentee ballot process for members of the military, and measures to simplify the Election Day process
Jamie is also a co-sponsor of the National Popular Vote (NPV) bill, and he worked hard to see it passed by the Senate in July 2010. This bill will ensure that all votes are given equal weight in Presidential elections.
He supported the Massachusetts Voters’ Bill of Rights to ensure that voters clearly understand their voting rights in simple language.
As a member of the Joint Committee on Election Laws for six years, Jamie lead the fight in the House of Representative with State Representative Gloria Fox (D-Boston) to pass Same-Day Election Registration (â€ÂEDRâ€Â), and will continue to work to pass the bill as a State Senator. Jamie believes that EDR is a civil rights issue, because every citizen that is not able to vote on Election Day weakens democracy and waters down the influence of elected officials.
Jamie recognizes how tight local budgets are, which is why fighting for more local aid from the state has been his top priority. He believes that communities shouldn’t have to face the difficult choice between raising property taxes or cutting cops and teachers.
In this tough fiscal climate, cuts to local aid (and many other vital programs and services) are unavoidable – but Jamie is working to make sure these cuts are as small as possible. That’s one of the reasons Jamie believes our state needs to look for new sources of revenue, rather than balancing our annual budget by cutting critical aid to our cities and towns. Learn more about Jamie’s views on Revenue here.
As the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Municipalities, Jamie also led the effort in the Senate to pass the Municipal Relief Bill, which will give cities and towns across Massachusetts new tools to manage their budgets and govern more efficiently in these challenging fiscal times.