Massachusetts Dems, fearing Trump overhaul, codify civil liberties

State of play: Top lawmakers want to bolster protections for abortion and gender-affirming care — both of which have become targets under Trump — and preserve rights that critics fear will soon come under threat.

The latest: Lawmakers soon plan to send Gov. Maura Healey an updated "shield" law that protects patient information when it comes to abortion and gender-affirming care following the Dobbs ruling.

• Meanwhile, lawmakers are negotiating competing versions of a supplemental spending bill.
• The House version would guarantee every child a right to a free public education regardless of immigration status or disability — protections stemming from a landmark 1982 Supreme Court case and federal education guidance.

Between the lines: Democrats want to codify education rights stemming from Plyler v. Doe, even though Trump has not commented on the 1982 ruling — a similar approach they took to passing the Roe Act while Roe v. Wade was still in effect.

• Rep. Alice Peisch, the House Assistant Majority Leader, told Axios "there's some concern" the 1982 ruling and guidance could be overturned.
• If that happens, Pesich said, "we want to ensure that does not impact Massachusetts negatively."

Context: The U.S. Education Department said this month it would limit Head Start programs to children with green cards or citizenship.

• Massachusetts and 19 other states are suing the administration over the changes.
• Questions about immigrant schoolchildren's rights also surfaced this year after the Department of Homeland Security rescinded its "sensitive locations" policy that discouraged immigration agents from entering schools, churches and hospitals.

Yes, but: Although Republicans have control of the White House and both branches of Congress, they are a minority in both branches of the Massachusetts legislature, making it harder to fight Democrats' efforts to enshrine these protections.

• The MassGOP declined to comment. Minority Leader Bradley Jones did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Sen. Cindy Friedman, who co-sponsored the shield law update, said that while the Trump administration has spurred their efforts to codify civil liberties, "these are still the right things to do, and now's the time to do it."

Sean Kealy, a law professor at Boston University and a former State House staffer, says lawmakers are responding to fears of executive overreach by Trump.

• "Making the law as specific as possible and removing any potential tools that could be abused to avoid that executive overreach is a really wise thing to do if you're a legislator," Kealy tells Axios.

Those fears have also prompted state lawmakers to revisit updating archaic laws, including ones that ban homosexuality and "night walkers" — a term alluding to trans women and sex workers.

• Though those laws are long outdated, Kealy said, that wouldn't stop a Trump-aligned sheriff or district attorney from trying to enforce them.
• The Senate plans to vote on the archaic laws bill Thursday.
• "The way we speak about people and things and issues has been so eroded by this person, by Donald Trump. I just think it's very important to at least make sure our statutes don't play into that," Friedman said.

Reality check: Lawmakers are negotiating multiple proposals, and even priority bills fall to the wayside.

• There's no guarantee that the education rights measure will end up in the final supplemental spending bill or that the archaic laws bill will reach Healey's desk this legislative session — even with Democrats' increased urgency.