Legislative Updates & Voter Registration Reminder

By Aaliyah BannisterBatie, Vice President of Government Relations and Chief Diversity Office

In case you missed it, on July 29, 2024, Governor Healy and Lieutenant Governor Driscoll signed a $57.78 Billion Fiscal Year 2025 Budget with the goal of addressing some of the state’s biggest challenges while building on the many strengths of the Massachusetts economy. This monumental budget passage led to some additional historic changes that followed.

Let’s review some of the legislation that followed the signing of the budget.

• Massachusetts Parentage Act – An act to ensure legal parentage equality. Passed the House and Senate and was formally signed into law on August 12, 2024.

Key Highlights:

-The passage of this bill updated the state’s parentage laws for the first time in
40 years to make them more inclusive. Massachusetts had remained the only New England State without an updated parentage law(s).

– This historic legislation ensures the rights and protections for parents who use surrogacy, in-vitro fertilization and assisted reproduction, while also updating the law to be more inclusive to LGBTQ+ parents.

– Provides all children with access to the security of legal parentage, regardless of the circumstances of their birth (i.e. surrogacy, in-vitro fertilization and assisted reproduction).

– Provides criteria and clarity on standards for courts to resolve competing claims of parentage, enhancing efficiency and consistency, which will reduce unnecessary litigation.

The Healy administration described the act “as a means to codify protections for families regardless of factors such as marital status, sexual orientation of the parents or the circumstances of a child’s birth”. The bill “modernizes the language in statutes governing parentage to make it more inclusive, swapping out words or phrases, such as ‘paternity’ for ‘parentage’ and ‘child born out of wedlock’ for ‘nonmarital child.’”

Versions of the bill received unanimous approval from the House and Senate, and was one of several comprised bills to clear conference committee and pass the formal session.

• Emergency Assistance (EA) Family Shelter Policy Revision(s)- The Healy Administration announced changes to their Emergency Assistance (EA) prioritization program(s) and safety-net sites for families experiencing homelessness with the overall of addressing the system’s capacity constraints.

Key Highlights:

– Beginning August 1, 2024, families will be prioritized for placement into EA shelters they meet the following criteria:
1. They are experiencing homelessness because of a no-fault eviction
2. They are experiencing homelessness because of sudden or unusual circumstances in Massachusetts beyond their control, such as a flood or fire.
3. They are or have at least one family member who is a veteran.

– Families will continue to be prioritized if they have significant medical needs, newborn children, are at risk of domestic violence, or are homeless because of fire, flood, or other disasters.

– Families who are not prioritized for placement in EA shelters (i.e. do not meet the criteria established) will be eligible to stay at a “Temporary Respite Center” for up to five days*. On August 1, 2024, the following state safety-net sites were transitioned to temp. respite centers: Chelsea, Cambridge, Lexington and Norfolk**.
* Families who have been in temporary respite centers prior to the policy change on August 1 will retain their prioritization for placement into EA
shelter, and the state will begin helping them leave these sites accordingly.
**The administration will not be opening additional respite center sites due to operational and financial constraints.

– Families that remain in the TRC will be required to wait at least six months for placement in the state’s emergency shelter system. However, they will remain eligible for the following diversion services:

1. The Reticketing Program: The State covers the travel cost for families that may have the option to stay with family outside of the State of Massachusetts.
2. The Home Base Program: Provides families up to $30,000.00 in financial assistance (over a 2-3yr. period) to assist with rental payments, utilities, furniture and moving expenses.

• Victims Of Crime Act (VOCA) & MA VOCA Bridge Funding update(s):
-What is VOCA? The Victims of Crime Act was created by the U.S. Congress in 1989
to provide federal support to State and local programs that assist victims of crimes.

– What is the MA VOCA Bridge Funding? The VOCA Bridge is a multi-year $60
million funding request to the Massachusetts Legislature to bridge impending
cuts to Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) programs to maintain victim services.

Key Highlights & Update(s):
– MA Legislature wrapped up their formal session on July 31, 2024, however, no new movement was made on VOCA bridge funding as of yet.
What does this mean? This will mostly likely be assigned to a conference committee to create a uniform version of the bill to pass to the Governor for signature.
** Please Note: that the Wayside GR department is closely monitoring this legislation and will provide updates on this initiative as it progresses through the legislative process.

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VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINE(S) ARE APPROACHING!

Are you registered to vote? Please refer to the information below for voter registration information, deadlines and voter identification laws by state.

Registering to Vote in Massachusetts

Link to Massachusetts voter registration information.

• How to register and update your registration-Start or update your registration on Massachusetts’s election website here.
• To register to vote by mail or in person please refer to this link.

VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINES:

The Voter registration deadlines for the November 5, 2024, election for Massachusetts are as follows:

• Online registration deadline: Saturday, October 26, 2024
• Register by mail deadline: Must be postmarked by Saturday, October 26, 2024
• In person registration deadline: Saturday, October 26, 2024

** Please click this link to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission for voter registration deadlines and information by State.

HOW TO CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION:
Not sure if you are registered to vote? Please go to the Massachusetts’s election website to confirm your voter registration status by clicking
this link.

OTHER WAYS TO REGISTER TO VOTE:
If you require additional assistance and/or need access to additional languages, please click here to download the National Voter Registration form in your preferred language (currently 21 languages are available for download).

VOTER IDENTIFICATION LAWS BY STATE:
As of April 2024, 35 states require voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on Election Day. Of the 35 states, 24 require voters to present identification containing a photograph and 11 other forms of identification. Valid forms of identification vary by state; therefore, it is vital that you are aware of the Voter ID laws within the various states. Please refer to the following links below for more information on Voter ID laws by state:

• Find your state’s voter identification laws
• Legislation related to voter ID policies