Joseph F. Wagner

Vote was on reforming the joint House-Senate rules to publish full committee votes online (as opposed to publishing only NO votes and tallies) and making committee testimony available as a public record in order to make the legislative process more accessible to the public.

Progressive Position: YES

Vote was on narrowing a proposal to allow businesses to claim a tax break for expenses paid for by the federal government with Paycheck Protection Program grants – grants on which these businesses will pay no federal or state income taxes. The amendment would have capped such deductions to $100,000, mirroring the approach of other states.

Progressive Position: YES

Vote was on creating a roadmap plan for achieving net zero by 2050, setting stronger emissions reduction benchmarks, increasing renewable energy purchasing by utilities, and taking additional steps to promote renewable energy, energy efficiency, and environmental justice.

Progressive Position: YES

Vote was on advancing the Fair Share Amendment to the November 2022 ballot. The Fair Share Amendment would impose an additional 4% tax on annual income in excess of $1 million in order to provide dedicated funds for public education and transportation.

Progressive Position: YES

Vote was on postponing the redrawing of precincts until after new legislative districts are drawn in order to enable new districts to be drawn with more precise Census data, a change conducive to increasing representation for communities of color.

Progressive Position: YES

Vote was on reinstating a four-term limit on the Speaker of the House in order to curb the centralization of power in the office of the Speaker, who controls all members’ committee assignments and pay.

Progressive Position: YES

Vote was on publishing full committee votes online (as opposed to publishing only NO votes and tallies) for all House Committees so that constituents can see how their representatives are voting. Committees decide whether a bill advances to the floor.

Progressive Position: YES

Vote was on requiring bills to be released 48 hours before a vote so that representatives and the public have time to read legislation.

Progressive Position: YES

Vote was on overriding the Governor’s veto of a one-year delay in the charitable deduction. The charitable deduction, if implemented, would cost the state $300 million a year, mainly benefiting the wealthiest taxpayers.

Progressive Position: YES

Vote was on overriding the Governor’s veto and repealing a set of corporate tax giveaways (i.e., harbor maintenance credit, medical device user fee credit) that have been proven to benefit only a small number of companies without broader economic impact, according to the Tax Expenditure Review Commission.

Progressive Position: YES

Vote was on rejecting a tax change from Governor Baker that would have cost the state $90 million each year and given all of the money to the wealthiest residents of the state.

Progressive Position: YES

Vote was on overriding Governor Baker and repealing a law that prohibits anyone with assets of more than $250 from being eligible for Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled and Children (EAEDC). Such limits create unnecessary paperwork that can also jeopardize the eligibility of struggling individuals for these modest but critically important benefits.

Progressive Position: YES

Vote was on overriding Governor Baker and repealing a law that prohibits anyone with assets of more than $5,000 from being eligible for Transitional Assistance to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC). Such limits create unnecessary paperwork that can also jeopardize the eligibility of struggling individuals for these modest but critically important benefits.

Progressive Position: YES

Vote was on delaying the extension of vote-by-mail reforms.

Progressive Position: NO

Vote was on a tactic by conservative state representatives to undermine trust in vote-by-mail and peddle the inaccurate and racist myth of voter fraud. The amendment would have doubled penalties for voter fraud by mail, despite no documented evidence of such fraud.

Progressive Position: NO

Vote was on striking the language of the bill requiring the Secretary of the Commonwealth to mail all registered voters an application to vote by mail.

Progressive Position: NO

Vote was on ensuring that individuals who are incarcerated and currently eligible to vote are provided with the necessary information and materials to do so, creating reporting requirements for houses of corrections, and building voter registration into the re-entry process.

Progressive Position: YES

Vote was on blocking the implementation of Same Day Registration until a study occurs. Same Day Registration, a well-studied reform, would enable voters to update their registration or register anew at their polling location. The amendment was intended to prevent consideration of a proposed compromise amendment allowing Same Day Registration, but only on Election Day itself.

Progressive Position: NO

Vote was on blocking any location that ever serves as a polling location or ever offers voter registration paperwork from requiring vaccination for entry.

Progressive Position: NO

Vote was on a conservative amendment to create unnecessary administrative work on Election Day and symbolically protest against vaccination requirements. It would have required any location that hosts voter registration forms and requires proof of vaccination to also require proof of residency to enter.

Progressive Position: NO

Vote was on requiring excessive police detail for dropboxes, out of a desire to fear-monger around the security of vote-by-mail.

Progressive Position: NO

Vote was on requiring voters to show a photo ID at the polls, a common tactic by conservatives to pose roadblocks for low-income voters, especially Black and Latinx ones.

Progressive Position: NO

Vote was on a conservative messaging amendment to spread the unfounded fear that enabling immigrants without status to obtain driver's licenses would lead to such individuals being registered to vote, ignoring the reality that many non-citizens are already able to obtain driver's licenses

Progressive Position: NO

Vote was on giving departments across state government new unfettered access to documents from the Registry of Motor Vehicles in order to create a backdoor registry of people without legal status.

Progressive Position: NO

Vote was on removing immigration status as a barrier to obtaining a driver's license so that all drivers on the road are tested and so that immigrants without status are able to drive safely to work, to school, to the hospital, etc.

Progressive Position: YES