High-stakes Legislative Language

Passing legislation is not for the faint of heart. To say it requires patience and humility is the understatement of the century. Some years ago, in my role as Executive Director of a Massachusetts-based nonprofit, I was tasked with drafting language to be included in the Commonwealth’s criminal code.

Over eight years, a colleague and I wrote and advocated for the bill among legislative sponsors, staffers, agencies, practitioners, victim advocates, caucus members, and criminal justice representatives. The Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 was an especially tricky time to be advocating for new ideas in the justice arena. Some language changed. Most of it stayed the same. Hundreds of coalition meetings, info sessions, and legislative breakfasts later — seriously, fist-name basis with statehouse security — the law passed in April 2018 (“An Act Relative to Criminal Justice Reform” §276B) 37-0 in the Senate and 148-5 in the House. Co-sponsor senators awarded me a “State Citation” for work on this legislation and restorative justice broadly. Knowing that everyone in the state affected by crime can access restorative justice? It makes all that “sausage making” 100% worth it.