Transgender Bill PASSED!!!    THANK YOU EVERYONE

A great victory.  Massachusetts now protects gender identity in employment and education.

We still need to work on public accommodation.  Next round!

Update on CRIMINAL JUSTICE BILL

Criminal Justice Bill will wait until next session.  Since different versions were passed by the House and Senate, bill will need to wait for January.  JALSA is pleased that these versions have not been enacted into law. These are complex statutes with many provisions of concern.

These bills would result in three strikes sentences in MA mandating life without parole.   H3811 is even harsher than the notorious California Three Strikes law, which permits parole after 25 years.

Significant changes to the Massachusetts wiretap statute, enhanced criminal liability in DNA collection, expansion of the habitual offender law, mandatory post-release supervision and new standards of whom shall be eligible for parole and when were maintained.

Areas of our conversations with legislators:

1) This Bill has been proposed in an extremely hurried way with no research on what these measures will cost.

2) Research has shown that 3 strikes bills do not reduce crime.

3) Texas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Arkansas, New Jersey, New York and Michigan have all taken a thoughtful look at costs and crime rates without locking up more people or enacting tougher new laws; all have saved money and reduced crime by providing more substance abuse treatment both in the community and in prison. MA spends only 2.4% of its budget on programming and by implementing effective parole practices that help parolees become tax paying, lawful citizens.