SAPHE 2.0 is Public Health Bill Before the MA Legislature is Costly, Intrusive and Counter-productive. SAPHE 2.0 has DANGEROUSLY BROAD language and uses financial coercion to gain compliance with national standards.

A bill before the Massachusetts Legislature—H.4101/S1334—has serious potential adverse effects for the public. Referred to as the “Statewide Accelerated Public Health for Every Community Act (SAPHE 2.0 pronounced Safe),” the current bill aims to reshape public health infrastructure at great personal and financial cost to MA citizens.

The bill as written poses several problems:

1. Disempowers local boards of health to manage their own local situations, compelling them to comply with national standards if they wish to receive federal funds.
2. Increases power of the Commissioners of Public Health and of Environmental Protection to organize public health responses. Terms such as “outbreak of disease” and “health care situation import public health” are used vaguely, along with what “public health responses” might be proposed and the criteria for implementation—giving dangerously broad powers that would affect every MA resident to two unelected government officials.
3. Allows for increased surveillance and tracking of individuals, eroding medical/personal privacy.

It is now known that many COVID pandemic mandates and restrictions—despite bold and inaccurate promises made at the time—were ill-advised and harmful to individuals and the community. Lost jobs, bankrupted businesses, physical injury, psychological distress, isolation of dying family members, neglect of routine health maintenance care, and delays in children’s development are among the harmful effects. Caution, discernment, and localized responses are needed going forward, not increased powers for unelected officials to enact widescale mandates that bypass individual and community decision-making.

1. Please share these amendments with your legislators and ask them to take a closer look at this bill.

• HRMA Suggested AMENDMENTS for H4101/S1334

2. Please sign and send this letter to the editor of your local paper

• Download letter to the editor of your local paper

3. Call or email your local BOH. Attend the meetings. Ask questions about the Public Health Excellence funds and any contracts signed. Most towns have already agreed to take the funding. A few have not. This information should be available under FOIA. Are they aware of the strings attached to accepting these funds? There will be CONTROL over their decision-making. Is it possible to opt-out?

5. Time to make some calls! Call these 4 elected officials and tell them you oppose the SAPHE (pronounced SAFE) 2.0 as written. Ask them to take a closer look at the language and consider amending the bill. We have provided sample call scripts below.

Are we going sit back and quietly let the legislature grant even more powers to unelected “public health” officials that will affect the lives of all Massachusetts residents? Do we want Massachusetts to be forced to comply with National Standards in order to get federal dollars (our own taxpayer dollars) to improve public health? Why all the strings attached?

It’s really easy! Read over the talking points at the top of the page to get an idea of what is wrong with the bill. Think about everything we’ve lived through the past 3 years and pick up the phone. Remain calm and politely voice your concerns. This week’s targets:

1. Karen Spilka – Senate President (617) 722-1500 https://malegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/KES0
2. Ronald Mariano – Speaker Of House (617) 722-2500 https://malegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/R_M1
3. Michael J. Rodrigues – Senate Chair on the Ways and Means Committee (617) 722- 1114 https://malegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/MJR0
4. Representative Aaron Michlewitz – House Chair on the Ways and Means Committee (617) 722-2990 https://malegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/JJL2

• If someone answers it will most likely be a staff person, go ahead and speak to them.
• If you get a voice mail leave a message letting them know you oppose the SAPHE 2.0 bill as written and preferably ask for a call back.

Sample Call Script 1:

Hello,

My name is XYZ, I’m from XYZ Massachusetts. I have reviewed the SAPHE 2.0 bill (S1334/H4101) and I have serious concerns. This bill uses federal tax dollars (our own money!) to force Massachusetts to comply with National Standards (think CDC, FDA) when it comes to public health. Are you aware of this bill?

It puts too much power in the hands of a few unelected public health officials. It is taking power away from the legislature and the local boards of health to make decisions. The bill states “in the event of an outbreak of a disease or health care situation important to the public health, as determined by the commissioner or the commissioner of the department of environmental protection affecting more than 2 boards of health, the department may coordinate the affected boards of health, assemble and share data on affected residents and organize the public health response within and across the affected communities.” (lines 130-134)

This language is extremely broad – anything could be considered “important to the public health” and there are no checks, balances, time limits or restrictions on these powers to organize the “public health response.” This response could be anything! Lockdowns, school and business closures, mask or vaccine mandates, etc. And “outbreak of a disease” Any disease? No limitations?

Please take a closer looks at these bills. I’m sure we can improve public health services without violating the constitutional rights and freedoms of the people of Massachusetts.

I will be calling my own legislators as well but as the (fill in position) I wanted to share my position with your office too since you will be making decisions that will affect the lives everyone in Massachusetts, including me and my family.

Sample Call Script 2:

Hello,

My name is XYZ, and I’m from XYZ Massachusetts. I am calling to let you know that I oppose the SAPHE 2.0 bill (S1334/H4101), which is deceptively described as “An Act relative to accelerating improvements to the local and regional public health system to address disparities in the delivery of public health services.” Basically, this bill, if enacted, will disempower local community health boards by shifting decision-making authority to regional health boards, and it ultimately gives power to two unelected officials—the commissioners of public health and environmental protection—to determine the “public health response” “in the event of an outbreak of a disease or health care situation important to the public health.”

If you take a close look at this bill, you will see that its broad language is highly problematic. Any “outbreak of a disease,” no matter how limited or mild, could be considered “important to the public health,” and the “public health response” could be anything—draconian lockdowns, school and business closures, mask or vaccine mandates, etc. As has become increasingly apparent, many of the centralized Covid measures and mandates during the last few years not only did not work as intended, but ended up causing extensive physical, psychological, economic and societal harm—including bankrupted businesses, lost jobs, lost education, serious side effects such as strokes and heart attacks from the Covid vaccines, increased substance abuse and suicides, supply chain interruptions, and increased deaths from a variety of causes due to disruptions in regular medical services. One of the most important lessons we learned from the Covid pandemic is that it is dangerous to centralize power when it comes to public health matters—especially by granting unlimited emergency powers to politicians and unelected officials. Instead, we need to ensure local autonomy to address local circumstances.

I will be calling my own legislators as well, but I wanted to first share my views on this bill with your office, since in your capacity of XYZ, you’ll being making a decision that will affect the lives everyone in Massachusetts.

Sample Call Script 3 SHORT – just get your opposition on the record!:

Hello,

My name is XYZ, I’m from XYZ Massachusetts. I have reviewed the SAPHE 2.0 bill (S1334/H4101) and I have serious concerns about the language in this bill.

Please take a closer looks at these bills. I’m sure we can improve public health services without violating the constitutional rights and freedoms of all the people of Massachusetts.

I will be calling my own legislators as well but as the (fill in position) I wanted to share my position with your office too since you will be making decisions that will affect the lives everyone in Massachusetts.