Linda Dorcena Forry

Representative Linda Dorcena Forry joined her colleagues to pass five significant and long-coming bills this week, wrapping up a successful legislative season just in time for the holidays.

Casinos

This week the Massachusetts State Legislature passed comprehensive gaming legislation that is set to create thousands of jobs across the Commonwealth.  Representative Linda Dorcena Forry successfully advocated that the bill include three important provisions to ensure that the voices of small businesses are heard throughout the process of casino development from beginning to end and that businesses owned by women and people of color are given an equal opportunity to be a part of that process from construction to hiring.  “I am very pleased that my colleagues in the Legislature have joined me in making small businesses a priority in this legislation.” Rep. Forry said.  “In submitting my amendments, I wanted to focus on access. My amendments will make sure that representatives from the small business communities most affected by the new casinos will be included on the committee advising the Governor on gaming in the Commonwealth. They will also guarantee that the impact of casinos on local small businesses is researched and assessed by the gaming commission even after the development of casinos is completed.” Rep. Forry’s successful amendments passed along with only a handful of others out of more than 150 filed.

Congressional Districts

The House and Senate today approved legislation reconfiguring the Commonwealth into nine Congressional Districts. After collecting testimony from fellow legislators and the public, the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting, of which Representative Forry is a leading member, is finally able to celebrate the passage of this legislation. “I applaud Representative Moran and Senator Rosenberg for their work on our redistricting efforts,” House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said. “Chairman Moran and the Special Joint Committee conducted 13 public hearings across the state, utilized a website to facilitate public involvement, and worked closely with the people of our state to redraw these new districts in an open, inclusive, and transparent process. I congratulate my colleagues on the passage of this new plan.” During its work, the Committee heard thirty-one hours of testimony from more than 400 groups and individuals. The redistricting website received more than 45,000 hits. “It was a long thorough process and I am proud of what we have accomplished with the input from so many,” Rep. Forry said. The new plan includes the strongest minority-majority congressional district in the state’s history. Representative Forry’s Congressman, Michael Capuano, is set to run for the district.

Pension Reform

One of the most impactful pieces of legislation to pass this year, pension reform for public employees will save the Commonwealth an estimated $5 billion over the next thirty years. As the former Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Service, the body responsible for reviewing and recommending appropriate pension legislation, Rep. Forry played a leading role in crafting important reforms to the pension system last session and was very glad to see that work continue this session. “It was not easy, it required some compromises and some difficult decisions,” Rep. Forry said.  “But I am proud that after years of meticulous work, taking a hard look at how to modernize our pension system, my colleagues and I were able to pass a bill that is both good for taxpayers and for our public sector employees.” The legislation includes significant changes such as elevating the retirement age from 55 to 60, establishing a minimum pension for the first time, raising the base salary of state employees from $12,000 to $13,000 and closing several loopholes that have allowed some higher-paid public employees to take advantage of the system.

Human Trafficking

Massachusetts joined 47 other states this week in passing anti-human trafficking legislation that will bolster sanctions on pimps and traffickers while simultaneously increasing protections for victims. “As a mother of three, I cannot say how glad I am to see this critical bill pass,” Rep. Forry said. “Human trafficking increasingly affects communities and families across our state.  We need to do everything we can to punish those who would abuse our children, investigate the roots of this growing crisis, and encourage victims to come forward without fear,” Forry said of the legislation.  The new law will impose life sentences on traffickers, treat children who would be considered offenders under the previous law as victims, and designate a task force to address prevention and treatment of victims.

Transgender Equal Rights

This week, Massachusetts became the 16^th state to pass legislation explicitly protecting the civil rights of transgendered residents. The bill, which originated with questions over the public accommodation of transgendered individuals, has expanded to include protections in housing, employment, and educational institutions as well as against hate crimes. “This bill is one for our children and for our future,” said Rep. Forry, who both co-sponsored the bill and served on a special advisory body overseeing its development. “Having read letters from children as young as nine, I know that this bill will literally change the lives and outlooks of transgendered residents across our Commonwealth, old and young alike.”  The legislation carefully articulates protections for those who hold a “gender identity” differing from their determined sex at birth.

Habitual Offenders

Along with her fellow members of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus (MBLLC), Representative Forry voted to oppose the passage of the Habitual Offender Bill (H3811 and S2059) this week.  With this new legislation, habitual offenders sentenced under any major crimes indicated would not be eligible for parole, work release or furlough, nor would their sentence be eligible for reduction or suspension. Offenders would be ineligible for parole upon conviction of a third offense and be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for the maximum term provided by law. Although Rep. Forry and the MBLLC are adamant about the importance of violence prevention and protecting neighborhoods from repeat violent offenders, they felt the current legislation did not address this crucial need in a clear and comprehensive way.  “We need a holistic approach to violence prevention that takes into account things like rehabilitation and mental health assessment as well as strong sentencing for individuals that continually put our neighborhoods in danger,” Rep. Forry said. “We need to tackle the complexities in order to truly protect all of the residents of the commonwealth including those who have been convicted in the past.”  The Legislature is set to take up additional legislation addressing crime prevention and sentencing in January.

For more information on the recent legislative successes of Representative Forry and the Massachusetts General Court, please contact Rep. Forry’s office at 617-722-2080.