We are so excited to be officially announcing our Summer 2025 Transparency on Tour, where we'll be visiting every Senate district in the commonwealth! Click the link below to tell us where you'd like to see Act on Mass this summer:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Transparency | Act On Mass Act on Mass is a non-profit organization that tracks what happens in the Massachusetts State House and the issues that matter to you.

This allows the legislature to pay lip service to certain issues without actually supporting them and misleads constituents.

Find out more at: actonmass.org/transparency/

Bonus definition: "consolidated away:"
A filed amendment may be marked as having been consolidated, but a close reading of the consolidated amendment reveals that the original amendment’s language has been changed or left out entirely.

Example from this week: 2026 Budget
This week, the legislature worked through some of the 1650+ amendments filed to the 2026 budget (H.4000), largely by consolidation. Consolidated amendments A, B, C, + D passed with few dissenting votes. Take a look:

Why do they matter?
Consolidated amendments do not receive an individual vote, leaving constituents unclear as to how their rep feels about their content. Reps are expected to vote “yes” on every consolidated amendment because the contents have been hand-picked by leadership.

When there are many amendments filed to a bill (like the annual budget), the Speaker and Ways & Means Chair combine them into a handful of mega “consolidated amendments.” The content of these mega amendments is decided behind closed doors. They are voted on as a complete bundle.

Language on Beacon Hill can be intentionally opaque. Today, we're breaking down "Consolidated Amendments" - what they are and why it matters. 🧵

Now that the amendment is headed for a vote in the Senate, we need you to tell your Senator to stand up for trans rights.
Find your Senators here:
malegislature.gov/Search/FindM...

But let’s be clear: this is NOT ENOUGH. There is no reason Dems should be playing into Republican culture wars. House Democrats could have very easily voted “no” and killed this bill. Instead, they’ve showed us their unwillingness to stand up for trans residents.

In an apparent “response” to House Democrats folding to the Republican minority, the Senate announced a bill that would protect healthcare providers and attorneys who provide services to trans folks from federal audits.

Democratic reps are trying to claim that by burying the amendment in a study order, they are effectively shooting it down. But study order or not, what remains true is that Democratic reps FAILED to go on the record for trans rights by simply voting “no.”

The amendment won’t go into effect right away. Democratic reps, in a half-hearted attempt to thwart it, added a stipulation that it be “sent to study” first, meaning it will be subject to review by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The bill makes no explicit mention of transgender students, but still takes clear aim at them. It was originally introduced by Republican John Gaskey, who is loudly transphobic.

It was tacked onto the end of a $1.3 bil. spending bill and passed in an unrecorded voice vote.

Instead, House Democrats are playing into Republican culture wars by taking up an amendment to bar student-athletes from participating on athletic teams of the opposite sex. Here's everything you need to know ➡️

You read that right.

More than three months into the legislative session, we still have no:
- Finalized Joint Rules
- Coordinated policy response to the Trump Administration
- Protections from ICE for Massachusetts residents

🚨Action Alert🚨: MA House passes language banning student-athletes from playing on teams of opposite sex 🧵

Thank you to @indactonma.bsky.social for hosting our Growing our Democracy Fundraiser! We are so grateful for all the support - our efforts would not be possible without your hard work!

Go ahead! Thanks

Contact Gov. Healey:
(617) 725-4005
mass.gov/info-details...

Contact Rep. Ronald Mariano:
(617) 722-2500
Ronald.Mariano@mahouse.gov

Find your legislators here:
malegislature.gov/Search/FindM...

Tell Healey & Your Reps: “Outrage” Isn’t Enough.
We need to see action and back-up plans.
Contact Sen. Karen Spilka:
(617) 722-1500
Karen.Spilka@masenate.gov

Contact Rep. Ronald Mariano:
(617) 722-2500
Ronald.Mariano@mahouse.gov

Yet, in the legislature 3 months into session…
Joint Rules deliberations stretch on
Committees await Rules before taking up legislation
No hearings scheduled
Urgent bills like immigration protections, sit un-addressed
The Gen. Court just took a 2 week recess
Where’s the urgency?

While she may rage against tax cuts now, Healey’s crowning accomplishment last season was... a tax cut.
Governors are much better poised to “stop bad things from happening” than residents. Our suggestion: start with a plan to respond to funding cuts. And avoid tax cuts.

Governor Healey:
Healey said “residents” should do everything in their power to "stop bad things from happening like these tax cuts, which are just a way to funnel a whole lot of money to people who are at the very, very top."
Sound familiar? ➡️

So, in the 5 months since Trump was elected, the best they could come up with was “Contact the federal delegation?” Maybe with a policy plan and MA’s $8.8 billion rainy-day fund, we could come up with something better than “outrage.”

Senate President Karen Spilka:
“The Trump administration is changing what’s happening by the hour. So it is difficult to create a plan or know how to respond other than outrage and urging all residents to contact the federal delegation.” - March 13, 2025

Let us catch you up to speed, Speaker! Trump is on track to cut BILLIONS of dollars worth of essential federal funding to Massachusetts. It’s your job to figure out a policy solution. Hope this helps!

Here's what Rep. Mariano had to say:
“The speed with which these changes keep firing out of Washington is at a speed far faster than my simple brain can comprehend.” - February 27, 2025

...UMass Chan Medical School has rescinded offers for graduate programs, and considers mass layoffs following funding cuts.
Massachusetts schools are bracing for another $2 billion dollars worth of cuts

Trump’s admin has targeted our state with funding cuts that will harm many MA residents, with only more to come. Here are just a few:
Boston Children’s Hospital will lose more than $100 million in federal funding
$12 million to MA schools pay for foods from local farms was cut...

Federal cuts threaten Bay Staters. What do MA’s most powerful have to say about it? 🧵