The MA Warheads to Windmills Coalition is excited to announce our Legislative Priorities for the 194th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts!
In this new session we are supporting 2 divestment bills to move the public fund out of weapons of mass destruction and climate risk. The logic is simple: our tax dollars should not fund destruction and killing. We should not be complicit in nor profit from weapons of mass destruction or the climate crisis.
Why divestment? Check out this handy graphic from our partners at the Coalition for Responsible Investment:
Priority Bills:
An Act to mandate the review of climate risk in order to protect public pension beneficiaries and taxpayers
H.2811 presented by Rep. Mindy Domb
Click here to send a letter to your reps in support of this bill!
This bill would assess the public fund investments for any climate risks and divest the fund from those risks. Our tax dollars should not be going to an industry that is driving us to climate doom. Continuing to invest in this industry is not only globally unsustainable, but it is also a financial risk to invest in an industry that has no future. The state should not be taking this risk with our public funds.
Past research has proven that divesting from fossil fuels actually has financial benefits to a fund. Divesting from the industries helps to combat climate risk AND financial risk. Read about the financial case for fossil fuel divestment here.
Financially AND ethically, it is time for Massachusetts to get our money out of fossil fuels.
An Act Promoting Responsible Investment
S.767 presented by Senator Pat Jehlen, and H.1264 presented by Representatives Samantha Montaño and Lindsay N. Sabadosa.
Click here to send a letter to your reps in support of this bill.
This bill requires the Massachusetts administration to divest public pension funds – taxpayer money – from all entities involved in activities that manufacture, produce, sell, or promote weapons of mass destruction (WMD). This includes all nuclear weapons companies!
As of 2024, Massachusetts has approximately $2.1 billion invested in entities with ties to WMD, including nuclear weapons producers RTX Corporations (Raytheon), Northrop Grumman Corp, Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing, and more. Imagine what divesting even a portion of that money could do to feed, house, educate, and heal our communities. This bill would ensure taxpayer dollars are no longer tied to weapons of mass destruction, nuclear or otherwise, aligning public investments with our values.
And besides the ethics- financially, nuclear weapons are not a viable long term industry. Binding international agreements to negotiate disarmament, like the TPNW, are in effect globally, and many financial institutions are removing themselves from the industry already. Our public finances should not be held in that risk.
Find more resources and information via the Massachusetts Coalition for Responsible Investment
Other legislation we endorse:
S. 1649, The Back from the Brink Resolution
Sen. Comerford
Resolutions to embrace the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and move the US back from the brink of nuclear war.
Learn more with Greater Boston PSR
H.1014/S.588 An Act Establishing a Climate Change Superfund
Rep. Owens & Rep. Jack Lewis, Sen. Eldridge
An Act establishing a climate change superfund to make polluters pay.
Learn more with Mass Power Forward
What Happened to the Nuclear Weapons and Climate Commission Bill?
For the past several years we have been trying to establish a citizens commission to look into the economic transition from the nuclear weapons industry to green technologies. Unfortunately, the commission was never able to make it onto the floor for a vote. The fate of the nuclear weapons and climate advisory committee now lays solely in the hands of Governor Healey. The coalition, with support from the Bill’s sponsor, Senator Comerford, delivered the request to Governor Healey in December of 2024, she still has the power to establish the committee by executive order.
You can read about the commission bill and send a letter to the Governor here.