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THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, October 18, 2024 Page 17 nous Peoples Day on the second Monday in October with a presidential proclamation, becoming the first U.S. president to do so. We must rename Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples Day — a holiday to honor those who first settled this land. This will pay rightful tribute to the contributions of Indigenous peoples in Massachusetts -- past, present, and future. DON’T MISS THIS HEALTH CARE EVENT - The Steward Health Care bankruptcy has shocked Massachusetts' healthcare system, creating challenges and raising questions about the future of primary care, urgent care and behavioral health. On Oct. 30, join top executives, legislative leaders, regulators and advocates for a discussion on the system's vulnerabilities and potential policy solutions at the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Conference Center in Boston. This event is hosted by the State House News Service and MASSterList. More information/register: https://www.eventbrite. c om/e/ur gen t -tr ea t - ment-mass-health-care-aft er -st ew ar d-tick - ets-1038286622237?aff=oddtdtcreator GUN LAW REPEAL EFFORT – A group calling itself the Civil Rights Coalition announced it collected more than 90,000 signatures in its effort to repeal the law, approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor in July, that changed some of the state’s gun laws.The group needed to collect 37,287 signatures and file them with local city and towns clerks by October 9 as the first step toward getting the repeal question on the November 2026 ballot. Sponsors then have until October 23 to file the signatures with the Secretary of State’s office which will decide if there are sufficient certified signatures to qualify for the November 2026 ballot. Provisions of the new law include cracking down on untraceable "ghost guns;" banning firearms in additional public spaces like schools, polling places and government buildings; expanding the 2018 "red flag" law that allows school administrators and licensed health care providers to petition a court to temporarily take firearms away from someone deemed a threat to themselves or others; closing loopholes that allow the modification of legal firearms into illegal automatic weapons; and providing a legacy clause so all firearms legally owned and registered in Massachusetts as of the effective date of the bill will continue to be legal and may be bought and sold within the state. Gov. Healey recently attached an emergency preamble to the law. The emergency preamble makes the law take effect immediately instead of on Oct. 23 as originally scheduled. Healy’s move came on the heels of the announcement of the campaign to repeal the law. Under the Massachusetts Constitution, if a ballot campaign collects a certain number of signatures, it can prevent the implementation of a law without an emergency preamble from taking effect until voters weigh in on whether to repeal it. The emergency preamble prevents suspension of the law while still allowing the repeal campaign to take place. "This emergency preamble that was signed was done so in an effort to suppress a right that is enshrined in our Bill of Rights," said Toby Leary, the leader of the coalition to repeal the law. "That should never be allowed. It should never be able to stand." "This is about ensuring that we're ready to go in terms of implementation,” responded Healey. “The system is there. It's a democracy. You can go to your Legislature and you can advocate for policy and advocate for laws, and that's the way the system works." "We've got a lot of work ahead of us,” said Leary.“We've got legal action that will be coming, and we've got a long way to go. I believe this will be a two-year civics lesson for the people of Massachusetts when they see what their politicians have done. It's our turn to remind them you need to comply with your oath of office. Let's make the oath of office great again." Leary also hinted that his group is weighing legal options to challenge the governor’s action. "We don't want to tip our hand exactly as to what we're doing, but yes, we are exploring all options. I do believe the governor acted outside of the constitutional provisions," Leary said. "No doubt, under Article 48, there's a provision there for a governor to sign an emergency preamble. However, the way in which it was done for purely political purposes to suppress a right [is something] I believe the courts would look very unfavorably on." CHILD CUSTODY (S 2961) – The Senate approved and sent to the House a bill that supporters say would simplify and modernize child custody jurisdiction laws in the Bay State. Supporters, noting Massachusetts is the only one of the 50 states that has not opted into this law, argued the pact will make the Bay State’s interstate custody laws consistent with the 49 other states. They noted the bill would create clear rules that would be established for multi-state custody cases, prioritizing the home state of the child and ensuring Massachusetts courts can work effectively with courts in other states, nationally and in other countries for international child custody orders. “I’m proud that the Massachusetts Senate passed my legislation to bring Massachusetts in line with the rest of the nation by enacting the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act,” said sponsor Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem (D-Newton). “I am grateful to have the support of the Boston Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, and the Massachusetts chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers behind this important bill.” “Today’s legislation aims to simplify a process that is already difficult for children and families,” said Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland). “Bringing Massachusetts in line with other states nationally will enhance the wellbeing of people going through this process and give families clarity in their path forward.” The Senate approved similar bills in 2016 and 2018 but the bills died in the House from inaction. ADDITIONAL $600,000 TO FUND DIAPERS FOR CHILDREN PROGRAM - The Massachusetts Association for Community Action (MASSCAP) announced that it has been awarded $600,000 in federal funds to extend for another year, the federal diaper pilot program that provides diapers for low-income families. The $600,000 is on top of the original $1.2 million grant that funded the program for two years. MASSCAP has operated the program with 16 agencies across Massachusetts and Connecticut to distribute over two million diapers to low-income families. “The continuance of resources … signals a definitive recognition that this is a very real issue for countless families experiencing low incomes,” said Joe Diamond, MASSCAP Executive Director. “However, in Massachusetts, more than one third of families struggle to afford enough diapers, meaning we are limited in the number of families we can reach with this award.” “Our resources support the inclusion of less than half of our agencies across the state, but all of our statewide network has indicated they have a need for diapers. Participating agencies in our network are currently operating their programs at [full] capacity and hold long waitlists,” said Colleen Cullen, MASSCAP’s Grants and Compliance Director. “We applaud the federal government for recognizing the need, but this funding only begins to scratch the surface.” MASSCAP also urged passage of state legislation that would create a diaper program funded and operated by the state. The two bills (H 149 and S 104) were given a favorable report by the Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities Committee but have been stuck in the House Ways and Means Committee since February 15. "Access to diapers is a critical need for families across the commonwealth and no caregiver should have to make compromises because a basic necessity like diapers is unaffordable,” said Sen. Joan Lovely (D-Salem) who sponsored the bill in the Senate. “[The bill] would be a major step in supporting the caregivers of the commonwealth by expanding access to free diapers through food pantries, providing much-needed relief for our low-income families’ need." ATTORNEY GENERAL CAMPBELL FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST TIK TOK - Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court against TikTok for intentionally designing its social media platform to be addictive and harmful to young users and deceiving the public about its efforts to keep its platform safe. The lawsuit alleges this violates the state’s consumer protection laws and has contributed to a youth mental health crisis among the hundreds of thousands of young people in the Bay State who use TikTok’s platform. “Massachusetts will not tolerate a future where companies exploit the vulnerabilities of young people for profit,” said Campbell. “Today’s lawsuit further demonstrates my office’s focus on the wellbeing of our children by laying out arguments that TikTok, primarily driven by greed, designed technology that leads young people to become compulsive and addicted users of the platform, harming their wellbeing and contributing to the ongoing youth mental health crisis across our country.” QUOTABLE QUOTES CHARLIE RETURNS - Former Bay State Gov. Charlie Baker spoke at the UMass Club last week about his work as president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the organization that regulates student athletics at some 1,100 schools in the United States, and one in Canada. Baker began his duties at the NCAA in March 2023 following his decision not to run for a third term as governor. While the speech and Q&A session focused on the NCAA, Baker was asked several times about his possible return to politics. Here are some of his responses: “If someone told me, literally, in October of '22, rolling into the end of my term... you're going to be president of the NCAA, I would have said, 'yeah right.' So, I never rule anything out.” "I'm not old enough to run for president, I'm only turning 68 this year." "I'm not here to talk about [who I am voting for in the presidential race].” "I'm here to talk about college sports and the NCAA, and that's why I'm here. I'm not here to talk about other stuff.” “I think we live in really challenging times, and it's important [for] really good people to step up [and consider running for elective office].” HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK’S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of October 7-11, the House met for a total of 29 minutes and the Senate met for a total of 32 minutes. Mon. Oct. 7 House11:01 a.m. to 11:21 a.m. Senate 11:06 a.m. to 11:25 a.m. Tues.Oct. 8 No House session No Senate session Wed. Oct. 9 No House session No Senate session Thurs. Oct. 10 House11:00 a.m. to 11:09a.m. Senate 11:07 a.m. to 11:20a.m. Fri. Oct. 11 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com Bob founded Beacon Hill Roll Call in 1975 and was inducted into the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) Hall of Fame in 2019.

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