2022 MA Legislative Scorecard 2021-
The following scorecard lists several key votes in the Massachusetts General Court in 2021-2022 and ranks state representatives and senators based on their fidelity to (U.S.) constitutional and limited-government principles.
This is our first state-level Scorecard; the selected votes may not be reflective of legislators' overall records. Their cumulative scores will change as we add more votes. Please check regularly for updates.
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S9, the “Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy," sets a statewide target of “net-zero” emissions by 2050, establishes the Massachusetts Climate Policy Commission, and directs a “clean energy equity workforce” for “environmental justice populations.”
The Senate passed S9 on March 15, 2021, by a vote of 39 to 1. We have assigned minuses to the yeas because this bill—modeled after the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group III report—is a back-end, globalist-led effort to codify international treaty language on “environmental justice” into state law. Nevertheless, there is no constitutional authority for federal, state, or local government to pursue such policy, particularly in the name of “climate change.” Unjust encroachments on Americans’ private property or undue interference with their free-market enterprise is protected against by the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment.
S5 proposed to amend the Massachusetts Constitution to authorize an additional income tax of 4%—an 80% increase—on taxpayers who earn more than $1 million annually.
The Senate passed S5 on June 9, 2021, by a vote of 38 to 2. We have assigned pluses to the nays because the income tax is an immoral, anti-constitutional act of government-imposed theft that takes from citizens the wages they have rightfully earned. It disparages the principles of both the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment, which were intended to safeguard “private property” and guarantee “equal protection of the laws” for all Americans.
S2924, also known as the “VOTES Act,” adopts several changes to state election law, including permanent early voting by mail, reinforcement of automatic voter registration, and municipal discretion over the staffing of both non-local poll workers and local police officers.
The Senate passed S2924 on June 9, 2022, by a vote of 37 to 3. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this bill’s universal voter registration and unsolicited vote-by-mail application schemes enable electoral fraud, which disenfranchises eligible voters. States should instead exercise their authority, under Article 1, Section 4, of the U.S. Constitution, to implement free, fair, and secure elections, protecting the right of American citizens to vote.
H4805 makes applicants without “proof of lawful presence” eligible for a Massachusetts driver’s license and requires that motor vehicle registrars “shall not inquire about or create a record of an applicant’s citizenship or immigration status.”
The Senate passed (over veto) H4805 on June 9, 2022, by a vote of 32 to 8. We have assigned pluses to the nays because persons unlawfully present in the United States ought not to be permitted sanctuary or residency in Massachusetts, let alone be considered eligible for a state-issued form of identification or licensure. According to Article 1, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the authority to establish a uniform rule of naturalization. Rather than pursue unconstitutional “sanctuary policy,” states should use their powers reserved under the 10th Amendment to address the crisis of illegal immigration and provide for their own public safety.
H5090 orders the expanded public provision, facilitation, and promotion of “reproductive health care and gender-affirming care” activities, such as abortion and surgical treatment of “gender dysphoria.”
The Senate passed H5090 on July 26, 2022, by a vote of 39 to 1. We have assigned minuses to the yeas because Massachusetts should act to ban abortion and sex mutilation, which violate the unalienable right to life and limb endowed by God to every person—male or female. States have a duty to not only secure this most sacred right, as guaranteed by both the 5th and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, but to also reject the notion that “heath care” is in any manner the legitimate object of government.
H5163 removes the “good reason” provision from Massachusetts’s license-to-carry (LTC) statute in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen, but keeps the requirement of mandatory in-person police interviews for residents who possess or carry firearms.
The Senate passed H5163 on August 1, 2022, by a vote of 37 to 1. We have assigned minuses to the yeas because the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees that the fundamental right of the American people to keep and bear arms “shall not be infringed.” Moreover, the 4th Amendment requires that this right not be violated by means of warrantless inquiry or delay.
