Statement on Bail Reform Provisions included in S.2185

Cindy Friedman

I am in strong support of the bail reform provisions included in the Senate’s comprehensive criminal justice bill, S.2185 – An Act relative to criminal justice reform.

Under our current cash-based bail system, we incarcerate too many individuals before their trial – not because they are likely to flee or pose a danger to society, but because they are poor and unable to afford their cash bail. A person’s freedom should never be based on their ability to pay.

The Supreme Judicial Court’s (SJC) recent decision in the Brangan case, which states that a court may not impose excessive cash bail that the court knows a person is unable to pay without a formal written or oral finding, is a significant step in the right direction. However, this decision alone does not address the full range of problems created by the Commonwealth’s reliance on a cash-based bail system.

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Criminal Justice Reform Legislation

Cindy Friedman

Last Thursday, I was proud to join my colleagues in passing comprehensive criminal justice reform legislation after 14 hours of debate on the Senate floor.

I am very pleased that bail reform was included in the final version of the omnibus bill – our office has worked incredibly hard over the past few months to move this provision forward. To read my full statement on bail reform, please click here. In addition, my colleague Senator Brownsberger, the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, provides an informative summary of the bail reform provisions at this link on his website.

With this bill, the Senate took critical action to move Massachusetts toward a fairer system that focuses on lessening unnecessary incarceration and increasing access to diversion programs. We still have a lot more work to do, but we have certainly taken a step in the right direction.

Thank you to everyone who called, emailed, and visited my office to express your advocacy for criminal justice reform over the past several weeks. Your voice truly had a say in the outcome of this legislation. If you have any additional questions or comments, please share your thoughts below, call my office at (617) 722-1432, or email me directly at Cindy.Friedman@masenate.gov.

Senate names worker grants for the late Sen. Donnelly The Lowell Sun

Cindy Friedman

BOSTON — A workforce training grant program championed for years by the late Sen. Kenneth Donnelly would be named in memory of him and given a dedicated funding stream under a bill the Senate passed Thursday. The Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund provides regional training partnerships with the goal of placing unemployed and underemployed workers in jobs that pay a decent wage. Sen. Jason Lewis said the trust fund can help both workers and employees.

“Ken Donnelly never gave up this effort, nor did he ever relax his constant and vocal support for working families,” said Sen. Cindy Friedman, who served as Donnelly’s chief of staff and has since been elected to his seat in the Senate, said in her maiden address. “Because of the work he did to provide opportunities for our residents, it is a fitting gesture that as we supply a reliable funding stream we name the grants that will be made possible after Ken Donnelly.”

Donnelly’s widow, Judy, was present in the Senate’s temporary chamber for the unanimous vote on both the amendment and bill. The bill now goes to the House for consideration.

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Senate TV takes to the air, with policy focus The Lowell Sun

Cindy Friedman

Ahead of the long-anticipated debate on its criminal justice bill Thursday, the Massachusetts Senate launched its own online broadcast program to highlight major Senate initiatives.

The streaming series, “State of the Senate,” premiered at 10:30 a.m. with seven Democratic senators discussing various aspects of the criminal justice bill (S 2185). The program is available on the Legislature’s website and on closed-circuit TVs inside the State House.

Sens. William Brownsberger, Patricia Jehlen, Karen Spilka, Michael Barrett, Sonia Chang-Diaz, Cindy Friedman and Jamie Eldridge spoke, accompanied by stock footage and elevator music, for about 18 minutes about the bill they will debate Thursday.

The Senate president’s office said the program will air “periodically” and that a second episode is planned to cover the Senate’s health care reform bill.

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What would the Massachusetts Senate’s criminal justice reform bill do? MassLive

Cindy Friedman

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Legislature is considering a major overhaul of the state’s criminal justice system. The bill, S.2185, is 113 pages long, has 239 sections and is estimated to cost more than $1 million in the next fiscal year. So what would the bill do? Here is a look at a few major topics addressed in the bill.

The purpose of bail reform is to ensure that someone is not imprisoned solely because they are unable to afford cash bail.

“What we’re trying to do with bail reform is move bail from a cash based system, which disproportionately affects people who don’t have money, to a system that’s evidence based and that’s objective and that determines or looks at whether someone is a flight risk or a danger to themselves or others,” said Sen. Cindy Friedman, D-Arlington.

What this means is establishing ways for judges to assess whether someone is a flight risk or a danger, determine how much they can pay, and set bail at the least restrictive amount possible to ensure that they will return to court and will not pose a danger to others.

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Friedman finds her place as state senator The Lowell Sun

Cindy Friedman

BOSTON — Sen. Cindy Friedman never thought she wanted this job. But last year, everything changed.

She’s managed political campaigns, and even worked as chief of staff for a senator. But she’s ‘always been behind the scenes — and I’m fine with that.’ Then her boss in the Statehouse, Kenneth Donnelly, was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. He died in April.

Friedman didn’t have to run for his open seat. She could’ve stepped back and let a newcomer try their hand at state politics. But she felt like she lost her “partner,” she said.

“I had to get out of my comfort zone and say, this is important to me that I’m willing to risk losing, that I’m willing to put everything I have out there to try to remain in this work so I can continue it,” she told The Sun in a recent interview.

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Senate Healthcare Report & Legislation

Cindy Friedman

Earlier this week, the Massachusetts Senate released a health care report with accompanying legislation that focuses on short and long term goals to fix our healthcare system to lower costs, improve outcomes, and maintain access. The report is a result of a yearlong study and research conducted by the Senate’s Health Care Cost Containment working group on best practices, cost-saving measures, and innovations and trends in seven states.

I look forward to working with my colleagues in the coming weeks to further strengthen the bill to ensure that we continue to develop the most efficient way to deliver high quality health care coverage to consumers at a fair price. To learn more about the health care report and proposed bill, please refer to the following links. In addition, I invite you to share your comments on this post.

Push to open region-wide lockup sites Sentinel & Enterprise

Cindy Friedman

BOSTON — If lawmakers give county sheriffs the funds and leeway to open up region-wide lockup facilities for detainees, Middlesex County would need to expand its current jail facility — but its current staff could handle the influx of prisoners, Sheriff Peter Koutoujian says.

Sen. Cindy Friedman, Donnelly’s successor and former chief of staff, said she has heard from several concerned police chiefs who feel the bill would save money in the long run. The bill filed last session was reported favorably out of committee before stalling.

Friedman, a Democrat whose district includes Arlington, Billerica, Burlington and Lexington, said the Senate Ways and Means Committee expressed some concerns last session about the funding of the facility. “This time we’re gonna try and address those issues for them, so people feel comfortable about it,” she said.

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