Beacon Hill Report:
Gov. Maura Healey delivered her third annual State of the Commonwealth address from the State House Jan. 22. The first term democrat laid out her plans for tackling the affordability crisis, keeping Massachusetts competitive and tackling transportation issues across the state. The governor also announced her reelection bid on Tuesday last week.
Healy spoke about a wide variety of issues in her nearly hour-long address to the general court. She spoke about fully funding the MBTA and the turnaround the beleaguered state agency has pulled off under Philip Eng. She also spoke about accessory dwelling units and other plans to address housing affordability.
In the final minutes of her speech, the governor laid out a proposal to implement age verification and other requirements on social media platforms that operate in Massachusetts. Healey has proposed limiting social media use for children under the age of 18 and requiring parental consent for children to use platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
The governor’s plan would likely face extreme legal hurdles in federal court, much like in other states that have imposed other restrictions. There have also been examples of age verification data being stolen. Discord, a popular online chat app, saw its third-party age verification system hacked and 70,000 ID photos leaked.
Many legal rights organizations, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International, have come out against these types of laws, saying they violate fundamental rights of children and are unconstitutional.
“Safety doesn’t need to come at the cost of free speech,” Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at the ACLU, said in a press release last December.
In a Boston Globe article, Mitch Stoltz, a litigation director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, spoke about the legal hurdles these laws face under the Constitution.
“We haven’t seen one yet that can pass muster under the First Amendment,” said Stoltz.
Privacy advocates have pointed out that simply blocking children from online platforms is not an effective tool to protect children’s online privacy and safety. Advocates and Massachusetts state officials have pointed out that, in the past, a comprehensive online privacy law was the best way to defend not just children but people of all ages online.
“A ban is an ineffective quick fix that’s out of step with the realities of a generation that lives both on and offline. The most effective way to protect children and young people online is by protecting all social media users through better regulation, stronger data protection laws and better platform design. Robust safeguards are needed to ensure social media platforms stop exposing users to harms through their relentless pursuit of user engagement and exploitation of people’s personal data,” said Damini Satija, Program Director at Amnesty Tech, in a press release last December.
Healey is seeking a second term riding high on her successes with the MBTA, ‘Fair Share’ investments and her ability to take on President Donald Trump’s policies. Healy highlighted portions of this record in a video officially announcing her bid.
The governor said that in her current term, her administration has focused on affordability and defending Massachusetts residents from actions taken by the Federal Government. Healey touted protecting residents from limits on abortion restrictions, healthcare access, SNAP benefits and higher education cuts.
This comes as companies and universities across Massachusetts have seen sweeping cuts in federal research funding and drug companies have faced mounting challenges to drug approvals in the U.S. market. Notably, Moderna, whose headquarters are in Cambridge, recently announced that it has no plans to invest in late-stage vaccine trials.
During her term, Healey has overseen major legislation that has made school lunches free and another that banned tenant-paid brokers’ fees for renters across the state.
Healy is facing steep competition this cycle from one independent candidate and three republicans. The republican candidates, in particular, are each contributing significant amounts of their own money to their campaigns, the Boston Globe reported.
Read All About It:
- The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court will hear an appeal to a ruling barring the installation of two religious statues on a new public safety building in Quincy, Massachusetts.
Jesse Rossman, legal director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, said to the Boston Globe that the case is central to the right of equal protection in the state constitution.
The ACLU of Massachusetts, who filed the lawsuit, and the Mayor of Quincy, Thomas Koch, have both sought review by the court.
- Interim Transportation Secretary and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority General Manager Philip Eng recently unveiled the first completed pilot car of the Green Line’s Type 10 Light Rail Vehicles. The photos were shown off in a recent presentation to the MBTA’s board.
The Type 10 LRV will be much longer than the current Green Line trolleys and will be much more modern. The vehicles will feature wider doors and have more space for wheelchairs and other mobility devices. The vehicles will also be 100% low floor, meaning there are no steps inside the train or steps needed to board.
The first Type 10 LRVs are being built by CAF, the same company behind the Type 9 trolley. The Type 10 LRVs are slated to enter service in 2027, and all of the new vehicles will be delivered by the end of 2031.
- State Auditor Diana DiZoglio announced plans to sue the Massachusetts Port Authority in an effort to receive documents relating to a $1.4 million settlement that included a confidentiality agreement.
The auditor is also scrutinizing other settlements from Massachusetts public institutions that include nondisclosure agreements.
“DiZoglio’s review also raised ‘concerns’ that Massport’s list of settlement agreements submitted to her office may be incomplete, she said, and that Massport and Attorney General Andrea Campbell ‘improperly shared sensitive information’ about the audit before it was complete,” Samantha Gross said in the Boston Globe.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed on Jan. 21 that they have begun an enforcement surge in Maine, WBUR reported.
The surge, which has been called “Operation Catch of the Day,” has arrested at least 50 people so far, ICE deputy assistant director Patricia Hyde told Fox News.
