Onward!

The Baker-Polito Administration’s response to the COVID pandemic continues to be too little, too late, while failing to put forth any metric-driven plan and failing to share important data. Testing lacks a coherent system and people wait for hours to get tested and days to get results. No plans to expand or systematize testing are evident. COVID is running rampant in Massachusetts prisons with one in six prisoners and hundreds of prison workers testing positive over a recent six-week period from Nov. into Dec. Meanwhile, the Baker-Polito Administration has refused to report on how almost $3 billion of federal COVID assistance has been spent.

The Baker-Polito Administration weakened eviction protections in the state budget by: 1) removing a requirement that landlords beginning the eviction process notify tenants of their rights, 2) eliminating a pause in the eviction process if a tenant is applying for rental assistance, and 3) deleting reporting on and monitoring of the Eviction Diversion Initiative. Fortunately, the Legislature overrode these actions. Previously, the Baker-Polito Administration let the moratorium on evictions expire despite the facts that its rental assistance program is insufficient and inefficient, and that evictions are increasing dramatically as pandemic assistance is falling.

According to Mayors of five Massachusetts cities, the Baker-Polito Administration is doing too little to stop the spread of COVID, so they are taking action on their own to close businesses. As hospitals are filling up, municipal leaders are taking dramatic action despite the harm to businesses, especially in the absence of state or federal economic relief. They are frustrated by the lack of statewide action by the Baker-Polito Administration because residents and COVID flow freely among communities. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/14/metro/mayor-walsh-other-city-mayors-agree-roll-back-reopening-wake-rising-covid-19-rates/

The Baker-Polito Administration is doing too little to stop spiking numbers of COVID cases in MA, particularly given its push to have students in face-to-face classes. For all of us to feel safe and have some predictability, clear metrics should be laid for determining when restrictions need to be tightened and when they can be relaxed. This is particularly important for schools. If the Baker-Polito Administration wants to have children safely back in school – as we all do – then it should provide support and a plan for widespread testing and contact tracing in schools – as many colleges have done – so parents and teachers know that our schools are safe. The Administration also needs to invest in ensuring air quality and room for social distancing in our…

The Baker-Polito Administration has failed to build needed COVID testing capacity. Experts recommended in July that at least 140,000 tests per day were needed. However, MA is currently averaging only about 70,000 tests a day. When demand spiked to 100,000, long lines and waits occurred, but the Administration said the state would not expand testing sites. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/11/27/nation/across-state-long-lines-covid-19-testing-reflect-bigger-problem/

After weeks of dramatically increasing COVID cases, the Baker-Polito Administration finally took action. But public health experts say the steps taken are unlikely to make any significant difference. Data do not support the effectiveness of these steps and some of them have been tried in European countries without success. The Baker-Polito Administration has not released any data-driven plan for how it will respond to the alarming increases in COVID cases. Communicating the metrics that will trigger restrictions (e.g., what numbers of cases per day or what rate of positive test results) and what those restrictions will be on schools, businesses, and other activities is important. This lets people know what to expect and that restrictions are data-driven and not just a political decision. It also gives people an incentive to…

Dear Colleagues, We are approaching a dangerous housing and public health crisis. Governor Baker has decided to END the Eviction and Foreclosure Moratorium on October 17. This will enable the 10,000 eviction cases frozen by the April Moratorium to go forward in Court and many thousands of other cases owners will file against tenants who have fallen behind on rent due to unemployment during the pandemic. Unfortunately, many tenants decide to move when they get an Eviction Notice or the Summons to Court because they don't understand their rights, can't afford a lawyer, or are afraid of the courts. ***The last thing we need during a pandemic public health crisis and colder months is thousands of people doubling up with others or going to shelters or the streets. How you can help prevent…

On April 20, 2020 Massachusetts put in place a temporary moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, the strongest bill in the country according to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University and Columbia Law School analysts, providing the most protection for renters, owner-occupied buildings of four units or less, and small businesses who cannot pay their rent or mortgages because of lost income due to the COVID-19 crisis  The law stops all eviction actions except in cases that involve criminal acts or a threat to health or safety. Landlords cannot send any eviction notices - they cannot file for eviction, send any notices terminating a lease, including a notice to quit, or demand that tenants leave their unit. Landlords can send notices such as statements of amounts owed, but they cannot ask…

On behalf of the PDM leadership team, we hope that you and yours are safe and well, and are managing through these tumultuous and difficult times. Like us, you’ve no doubt received a barrage of emails from groups with which you’re associated, and we don’t want to further overload your in-boxes and attention.  But we do hope you’ll take a minute to allow us to share a couple of requests: First, PDM is working together with an array of allies, through Raise Up Mass and other coalitions, to identify ways that our government must act to protect our neighbors who are being most severely injured by the pandemic and the responses to it.  With Raise Up, we’re focusing especially on what the state needs to do to help those who…

Dear Members of the Legislature,    In this time of crisis, instability, and fear we look to you for leadership—and the lives of Bay Staters will literally depend on it. We are grateful for the role the legislature has played over the past two weeks, from moving legislative offices to remote function, to encouraging Governor Baker to close schools and daycares statewide, to waiving the 1-week waiting period for unemployment assistance. However, this moment requires more from the legislative branch, and on a rapid timeline.     Even as workplaces across the Commonwealth shutter and paychecks disappear, individuals’ expenses are increasing due to the demands of this emergency. And as we saw vividly in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when disasters strike, it is people of limited means who bear the…