State Representative Bill Driscoll will meet in a virtual Zoom meeting with the Randolph Democratic Town Committee and the Milton Democratic Town Committee on Wednesday, June 2nd from 6:30 to 7 p.m. All residents of Milton and Randolph are welcome but must pre-register in advance.

Rep. Driscoll represents the 7th Norfolk District which includes Milton Precincts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and Randolph: Precincts 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10. (All of Milton except for Precincts 1 and 2 near Mattapan Square, and the west half of Randolph, including South Randolph.)

The discussion will include legislation of interest to Milton and Randolph, and Rep. Driscoll will be asked his opinion on pending legislation as well as his opinion on the chances of the legislation passing. There will be an opportunity for Milton and Randolph Residents to ask questions as time permits. The Milton Democratic Town Committee has asked Rep Driscoll to speak about his work as chair of the COVID-19 & Emergency Preparedness & Management Committee and both Democratic Town Committees are interested in learning about H.805 relative to absentee voting.

"The Randolph Dems support no-excuse absentee balloting, but our Town Council voted against it," says RDTC Chair Jesse Gordon, who voted for the measure on the Randolph Town Council along with Councilors Clerger, Clifton, and Huff-Larmond. "So we're looking for a state bill to raise the issue again, and we'll ask Rep. Driscoll to co-sponsor the bill." No-excuse absentee balloting was used successfully in 2020 across the Commonwealth, allowing anyone to ask for an absentee ballot without providing a reason or documentation, but the special pandemic rules will expire before the November 2021 elections.

On other pending legislation, "The End of Life Options Act (Bill H2381) addresses the compassionate choice and personal decision-making for people with a terminal illness,“ says Toby Lynne Schwartz, co-Vice Chair of the RDTC. "We held a forum last year and the Randolph Dems voted unanimously to support this bill! We would like very much to get Rep. Driscoll’s opinion and his support by becoming one of the bill's 58 co-sponsors." Details of this legislation and others are on Facebook and below.

To register for the meeting, go to: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJItdeygrDsrGdCBEKjVnttIwW9tc8djBx-X (or click the link on the Randolph Dems' or Milton Dems' Facebook pages). After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting

List of topics and Legislative Bill links:
• No-excuse absentee balloting & easier early/mail-in "Voting Opportunities":
  HD1536 - sponsored by Rep. Lawn
  Bill H.805
• Death with Dignity bill ("An Act relative to end of life options")
  - Sponsored by Reps. O'Day and Mahoney
  Bill H.2381
  DeathWithDignity.org
• Movement for Transparency in MA Legislature - proposed amending House rules
  Amendment 8 was voted down in Joint House/Senate Rules Committee; would have:
  - All committee votes made public on the Legislature’s website.
  - Require 72 hours between time a bill is released from committee and time it is voted on
  - Reduce the number of members needed to call for a roll call vote from 16 to eight.
• Campaign Finance Reform (federal and state level)
  MA version H.3208 / (Gentile & Vieira) https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H3208'>H3208 (previous legislature)
  ( NOTE: Rep. Ayanna Pressley is a co-sponsor of HJR 48 (focused on overturning Citizens United) - federal equivalent MA Senate version is S.2163 (Sponsored by Sen. Eldridge)
  SD858 (previous legislature)
  Federal HR1 is broader on voting rights but only weakly recommends overturning Citizens United - state status.)
• FairShare Amendment: - State Constitutional Amendment sponsored by RaiseUp-Mass:
  Raise-Up MA/ - surtax on earnings over $1 million
  On ballot this year; in legislature last year
• COVID Relief and COVID Stimulus: What can Randolph and Milton do to prepare for the "Jobs Plan" bill?
  H.1434- preventing COVID-19 evictions
  H.2929 - financial relief to small businesses