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