I’ve recently received several emails urging me to support House 331, An Act prohibiting service providers who offer cloud computing services to K-12 educational institutions from processing student data for commercial purposes. House 331 is very straightforward. It reads in full as follows: Section 1. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary any …
Author Archives: Will Brownsberger
Belmont Center Reconstruction
The Town of Belmont has been working hard on plans to reconstruct Belmont Center. The town recently applied unsuccessfully for a $1.5 million grant to move the plans forward. The town’s application summarizes the project as follows: A reallocation of space within the existing roadway right of way is proposed to offer adequate space for …
Safe Driving
The “Save Driving” bill would instruct the Registry of Motor Vehicle not to check immigration status as a condition for issuing licenses. I do support the bill and I am, in fact, a co-sponsor of it. It is a controversial concept and I get a lot of email on both sides of it. Most recently, …
Election Laws
In January, the Senate passed an election laws bill. The bill is currently in conference committee with the House. The Senate bill included essentially all of the proposals that have been floated recently to improve voter participation. Currently I’m receiving emails in the following form: Massachusetts election system has become outdated. I’m writing today to …
The "Upskirting" Law
There’s been much understandable concern expressed over yesterday’s Supreme Judicial Court decision. In Commonwealth v. Robertson, the court found that Massachusetts’ peeping tom law did not apply to “upskirting.” Robertson’s alleged behavior was certainly invasive and from a commonsense perspective, criminal. The court summarized the allegations as follows: At approximately 8:30 A.M. on August 11, …
MBTA Pension Transparency
Back in 2008, I became aware and concerned that the MBTA Retirement Fund is not subject to the same transparency rules that apply to state agencies. My understanding of this issue has greatly evolved over the past few months: While I have undiminished passion for transparency, I have to admit that the Retirement Fund is …