SENATE DOCKET, NO. 454        FILED ON: 2/1/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1910

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Jason M. Lewis

_________________

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:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 454        FILED ON: 2/1/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1910

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1715 OF 2019-2020.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

_______________

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:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 14 of the Massachusetts General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, shall be amended by inserting at the end thereof the following new section:-

Section 14. The commissioner shall, in consultation with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the Department of Transitional Assistance, and the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, establish a pilot program to test the viability and efficacy of an universal basic income program on a population of at least 1,500 residents, randomly selected.

The commissioner shall design the program to ensure that participating residents earn a monthly income that is at least equal to a living wage.

A participant’s monthly income shall be calculated by the Department in consultation with the above named agencies to determine an appropriate total income for the purposes of the program. The program shall develop mechanisms to address changes in month to month income to provide additional accuracy to the calculation.

The program shall also calculate monthly living incomes that take into account household size and other relevant characteristics as feasible.

The program shall compare the monthly income of the participant to the monthly living income that applies to the participant. If the living income is greater than the monthly income, then the department shall remit the difference to the participant.

The program shall actively solicit philanthropic funding to supplement any available state funds in order to operate and fund the program, and before remitting income to participants, shall certify the collection of at least 3 years worth of funding and the strong likelihood of providing full funding for the program for at least 5 years of operation.

The commissioner shall convene an advisory committee comprised of relevant experts from higher education institutions and from the administration. This committee shall advise the program on the calculation of the living income and on the creation and ongoing management of a research program to measure the wellbeing of program participants and the impact of the program on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Outcome measurements shall include but shall not be limited to:

(A). Cost of the program, including any potential savings or additional costs for other public agencies working concurrently with program participants, including but not limited to agencies within the executive office of health and human services.

(B). Public health outcomes, including cancer survival rates; nutrition and child malnourishment rates; proportion of low birthweight births; hospitalization rates including mental health admissions; rates of substance misuse; and rates of fetal alcohol syndrome.

(C). Workforce participation and educational outcomes, including measurements of hours worked, education attainment, school attendance rates and test scores, and material prosperity.

(D). Criminal justice outcomes, including crime rates and use of the court system.