| 1 | 1 | | 1 of 1 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1001 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1864 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | Jason M. Lewis |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | An Act related to a universal basic income pilot. |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Jason M. LewisFifth Middlesex 1 of 3 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1001 FILED ON: 1/18/2023 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1864 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | By Mr. Lewis, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1864) of Jason M. Lewis for |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | legislation relative to a universal basic income pilot. Revenue. |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | SEE SENATE, NO. 1910 OF 2021-2022.] |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | (2023-2024) |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | An Act related to a universal basic income pilot. |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 14 of the Massachusetts General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 2Official Edition, shall be amended by inserting at the end thereof the following new section:- |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 3 Section 14. The commissioner shall, in consultation with the Executive Office of Health |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 4and Human Services, the Department of Transitional Assistance, and the Executive Office of |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 5Labor and Workforce Development, establish a pilot program to test the viability and efficacy of |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 6an universal basic income program on a population of at least 1,500 residents, randomly selected. |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 7 The commissioner shall design the program to ensure that participating residents earn a |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 8monthly income that is at least equal to a living wage. |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 9 A participant’s monthly income shall be calculated by the Department in consultation |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 10with the above named agencies to determine an appropriate total income for the purposes of the 2 of 3 |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 11program. The program shall develop mechanisms to address changes in month to month income |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 12to provide additional accuracy to the calculation. |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 13 The program shall also calculate monthly living incomes that take into account household |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 14size and other relevant characteristics as feasible. |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 15 The program shall compare the monthly income of the participant to the monthly living |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 16income that applies to the participant. If the living income is greater than the monthly income, |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 17then the department shall remit the difference to the participant. |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 18 The program shall actively solicit philanthropic funding to supplement any available state |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 19funds in order to operate and fund the program, and before remitting income to participants, shall |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 20certify the collection of at least 3 years worth of funding and the strong likelihood of providing |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 21full funding for the program for at least 5 years of operation. |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 22 The commissioner shall convene an advisory committee comprised of relevant experts |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 23from higher education institutions and from the administration. This committee shall advise the |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | 24program on the calculation of the living income and on the creation and ongoing management of |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | 25a research program to measure the wellbeing of program participants and the impact of the |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | 26program on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | 27 Outcome measurements shall include but shall not be limited to: |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | 28 (A). Cost of the program, including any potential savings or additional costs for other |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | 29public agencies working concurrently with program participants, including but not limited to |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | 30agencies within the executive office of health and human services. 3 of 3 |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | 31 (B). Public health outcomes, including cancer survival rates; nutrition and child |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | 32malnourishment rates; proportion of low birthweight births; hospitalization rates including |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | 33mental health admissions; rates of substance misuse; and rates of fetal alcohol syndrome. |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | 34 (C). Workforce participation and educational outcomes, including measurements of hours |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | 35worked, education attainment, school attendance rates and test scores, and material prosperity. |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | 36 (D). Criminal justice outcomes, including crime rates and use of the court system. |
|---|