CALENDAR
Wednesday, March 29
League Meet Up, Bell in Hand Tavern, 45 Union Street, Boston, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, March 31
LWVMA Student Video contest submission deadline
Wednesday, April 5
Safe Communities Lobby Day, State House, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Friday, April 28 - Saturday, April 29
LWVMA Convention, Sheraton Hotel, Framingham
Sunday, April 30
Deadline to vote for LWVMA to win Boston Globe GRANT
HAPPENING NOW
Checklist for LWVMA Convention 2017

Brian McGrory, Editor, The Boston Globe 
Registrations are rolling in from local Leagues across the state for LWVMA Convention 2017 on April 28 and 29 at the Framingham Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center. Be sure that your League is represented as we convene to plan program, elect a board and set a budget for the next two years, and have a serious discussion on what changes the League needs to make to remain relevant and be responsive to our members' interests.  

Important Deadlines, Forms and Reminders:

Registration deadline - April 17; click here to register
Hotel Reservation deadline - April 7; click here to reserve a room at the special $139/night (plus tax) rate for LWVMA
Delegate Sign Up deadline for local Leagues - April 7; click here for delegate count information (each League is assigned the number of its delegates based on its February 1 membership total); click here for the Delegate Sign Up form.
Delegate Sharing - If you don't plan to use all your assigned delegate slots and are willing to let another League who has more members attending than it has delegate slots use them, please contact Brynne Gorman who will put you in contact with each other.
Caucus Room Reservation deadline - April 7; click here for the Caucus Room Reservation form to reserve space Friday night at 8:45.
Local League Gift - Click here for the Local League Gift form; during the plenary session on Friday, local Leagues which wish to contribute to LWVMA, often in honor or memory of a member, have the opportunity to present their gift.
Local League Showcase - share a one-minute presentation on a highlight or a special event your local League participated in this past year. The one-minute limit will be enforced to allow time for everyone to share.

We're looking forward to seeing you April 28 and 29!
LWVMA Annual Report is available

We are pleased to share the 2015-16 Annual Report of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts.  The report recaps an extraordinary year of advocacy, voter engagement, and citizen education and celebrates the work of our local Leagues throughout the Commonwealth. Many thanks to our members and supporters for helping us Make Democracy Work!
Welcoming, Engaging and Retaining New Members
  
Please take a look at a new League resource, "Welcoming, Engaging and Retaining New Members," a guide developed by the LWVMA Membership Steering Committee with contributions from League leaders attending the winter 2017 Field Service Meetings.

Please review this document for ideas and use it as a resource. You might decide one of these ideas is perfect for your League, or you might find the suggestions will stimulate your board to come up with a different approach. Sections include General Procedures for New Members-the First Year, Specific Successful Programs or Procedures from Local Leagues, and New Member Reception/Orientation.
Help LWVMA Win Boston Globe GRANT
 
Boston Globe Grant
For the fourth year, the Boston Globe will be awarding grants of free advertising space to non-profit organizations. Please help us win ad space. Thanks to your support we were able to run a Get Out the Vote ad last fall.

If you are a Boston Globe subscriber, you will have received notification about the GRANT program either by mail or by email. You may receive a paper voucher in the mail to cast your vote for the nonprofit of your choice; if you don't receive a voucher, you can vote online here. Please select the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts Lotte E. Scharfman Memorial Fund. Information about the Globe's GRANT program is here. The deadline to vote is April 30!
League Meet Up in Boston
   
Looking for ways to get involved?

Join the League of Women Voters for a League Meet Up at the Bell in Hand Tavern, 45 Union St., Boston Wednesday, March 29, at 6:30 pm.

Everyone is welcome to enjoy an evening out while you meet with others interested in getting involved, meet League members, and find out what the League is doing.

Find the event and sign up on
Facebook. Registration is encouraged but not required.
ADVOCACY
Safe Communities Lobby Day April 5
  
LWVMA supports the Safe Communities Act, a bill to protect the civil liberties of all Massachusetts residents, ensure due process rights to people detained for civil immigration violations and ensure police and other local/state law enforcement agencies do not participate in immigration enforcement.

Please join us Wednesday, April 5, at the State House for Immigrants' Day, a lobby day in support of this
bill, sponsored by the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) organization. The event begins at 9 a.m. and lobbying will go until 2 p.m. There will be keynote speakers in the Hall of Flags from 10 to 11 a.m., after which we encourage you to meet with your legislators. 

To register with MIRA click
here and for information on Lobby Day click here.  Please also email Immigration Specialist Karen Price to let LWVMA know you are coming. You can find your legislators' contact information here to make an appointment.

LWVUS has come out strongly in support of such efforts at the state and local levels. In a
2017 statement it said: "The League supports cities, towns, counties and states that make a decision not to cooperate with federal deportation and enforcement actions that include non-criminal undocumented immigrants."
How LWVMA chooses bills to support
  
By the legislature's Jan. 20 deadline, some 6,000 bills had been filed for the new session of the legislature to consider. LWVMA's Legislative Action Committee (LAC)is now reviewing those bills to decide which ones we will support or oppose this session.  Each of our legislative specialists decides which bills she can follow for the two-year session, then submits those bills to the LAC, which discusses them and then votes to support or oppose. In addition to new bills, the specialists determine which bills we were supporting last session that did not get through have been refiled. 

The bills the LAC has acted on to date are listed on our website
here, but we will be adding more. The number of bills we can follow, however, is limited by the capacity of our volunteer specialists. We generally look for bills that have broad policy implications rather than a narrow focus. Once the bills are approved, the specialists track their progress, testify both orally and in writing on them before joint committees, lobby legislators, and send out action alerts to LWVMA members as votes on the bills come up.

If you are interested in being kept up-to-date on a specific bill or area of legislation, please contact the specialist in charge by emailing
[email protected] with the specialist's name in the subject line.
Legislative specialists needed
  
Our Legislative Action Committee currently has two specialist vacancies. If you are interested in covering women's issues or the environment in the area of natural resources and pollution, please contact Nancy Brumback, LAC chair.  
Tell the State Senate what you think
  
Plan to participate in Commonwealth Conversations, the listening tour sponsored by the State Senate, when it comes to your area. Among the areas you might discuss are the bills we are supporting on automatic voter registration, criminal justice reform, immigration, and the environment and climate changes. Take a look on our website for action in these areas.

Here is the current schedule for the listening tour; locations are still being added. Please check the Senate's official website
here before you go to make sure there has not been a change. Click on your region at the bottom of the page for a comprehensive schedule of times and events in the region and plan to attend the town hall meetings.
  • March 28 Western Massachusetts
  • April 4 Metrowest
  • April 11 North Shore
  • April 25 Central Massachusetts
If you missed an earlier stop in your region, you can still send your comments through the form on the official website.
VOTING & ELECTIONS  
Time to plan spring high school voter registrations
  
LWV Sudbury HS Voter Registration
It's not too early to contact high schools in your area and arrange to register students to vote. Remember you can now pre-register 16- and 17-year-olds to vote. You use the same voter registration form, but make sure you have the newest version which indicates people filling it out must be at least 16, not 18. You can see the new version here to check. Students can also register or pre-register online at  www.registertovoteMA.com if they have a driver's license.

LWVUS offers a guide to high school voter registration here. And please let us know how many students you register and in which schools, so we can publicize the League's success in this area. Send your League's information to Mary Ann Ashton.
LWVUS REMINDERS   
LWVUS has recently issued a number of notices that local Leagues may find helpful:
  • 100th Anniversary logo: The League Anniversary Committee approved a logo and belief statement for the 2020 celebration.   LWVUS will be adding updates and customizable graphics for state and local Leagues to add their name to the 100th logo. 
  • Immigration forum: LWVUS has set up a forum is to share information about the implementation of immigration policies. To join LWVUS Immigration Discussion Group, click on this link and apply to be a member.  The forum seeks information on what Leagues are already doing in the areas of immigration law and policies, and executive orders; League responses; and responses by other groups.
  • Critera for participation in marches and events:LWVUS has developed criteria to determine which events the League will support, and has established different levels of engagement. The guidelines are here.
  • New Impact on Issues: The 2016-2018 Impact on Issues, the national LWV policy positions, is now available for download here. Printed copies or Kindle versions may be purchased on Amazon.com.  
  • Update your bylaws: At the 2016 LWVUS National Convention, delegates approved amendments to Article III, Section 2 of the bylaws pertaining to types of membership. Since League policy requires consistency in the first three articles of the bylaws of all Leagues, this  memorandum explains how local Leagues should amend their bylaws if they have not already done so.
The League Leader Update is distributed to local League board members and LWVMA leaders. Anyone can request the Update by clicking here. Please review this Update for articles of interest to your League and include them in your local Bulletin.

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