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News Briefs: Senate passes transgender anti-discrimination bill; Farley-Bouvier prioritizes clean energy

Legislators are also calling for the bill to include meaningful offshore wind energy development.

Senate passes transgender anti-discrimination legislation

Boston — State Sen. Benjamin B. Downing (D – Pittsfield) has announced that the Massachusetts Senate solidified its role as a civil rights leader in passing S.735, “An Act relative to transgender anti-discrimination,” a bill that provides equal access to public places for every resident of the Commonwealth regardless of gender identity.

The legislation builds on the Transgender Equal Rights Bill, filed by Downing and signed into law in 2011, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity in housing, education, employment, and credit. The bill passed in its original form with a 33-4 vote, with rejection of all but one amendment. The adopted amendment, filed by Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz, is an emergency preamble that calls for the legislation to take effect as soon as it becomes law.

More than 200 cities and towns across the country, including 14 in Massachusetts, already have these protections in place. If implemented at the state level, Massachusetts would become the 18th state in the country to offer public accommodations protections to its transgender residents.

The bill will now go to the House of Representatives for consideration.

–E.E. 

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Farley-Bouvier leads call to prioritize clean energy

Pittsfield — In anticipation of an omnibus energy bill emerging from the Massachusetts House of Representatives this month, a group of state representatives led by Tricia Farley-Bouvier (D-Pittsfield) is sending a letter to House leadership to communicate its vision for what the bill should include. The letter, co-authored by Lori Ehrlich (D-Marblehead), shows a commitment to a more diverse and sustainable energy future in the Commonwealth.

“Fixing our state’s tens of thousands of natural gas leaks will save consumers more than $90 million a year, reduce our Greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent, and signal that Massachusetts takes its commitments to the economy and the environment with the utmost seriousness,” said Ehrlich.

The letter, signed by 56 state representatives, includes representatives from across the state as well as the entire Berkshire House delegation. Echoing a recent bipartisan letter co-authored by State Representatives Stephen Kulik (D-Worthington) and Brad Jones (R-North Reading), the letter calls for House leadership to release a bill that does not provide for publicly funded gas pipeline projects.

The letter also calls for the bill to include meaningful offshore wind energy development (at least 2000 MW of offshore wind energy by 2030), fix Massachusetts’ leaking gas distribution system, and provide for consumer and environmental protections in large-scale hydropower procurement so that self-dealing by utilities is not allowed and environmental best practices are utilized for transmission projects.

–E.E.

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