Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Votes to Note: Senate Acts on Kennedy Succession Bill
Today the Massachusetts Senate debated H. 4246, “An Act Relative to Filling a Temporary Vacancy in the United States Senate”, which would provide the Governor with the power to appoint an interim U.S. Senator to fill a vacancy which arises until a special election empowers voters to make that choice. Two amendments were considered as part of this debate:
The first, offered by Senator Tisei, would delay the effective date of the change to the law until after the special election on January 20, 2010. This amendment would have cured a major problem with the current proposal, which changes the rules in the middle of the process to select Senator Kennedy’s successor. This amendment failed by a vote of 7 yes to 32 no. To view how members voted please click the “Read more” link and refer to the first spreadsheet at the end of this blog posting.
The second amendment, offered by Senator Tisei, myself and others, would require that communications by the Governor involving the appointment of an interim senator be subject to the state’s public records laws. This provision, important to the transparency and accountability of the selection process, was rejected by a vote of 7 yes to 32 no. To view how the members voted on this matter, please click the “Read more” link and refer to the second spreadsheet at the end of this blog posting.
Finally, without taking action to ensure that the bill wasn’t being used to manipulate the process to suit a particular political contingency, and without provisions to ensure transparency and accountability, the Senate approved the bill by a close vote of 24 yes to 16 no. To view the details of this vote please click the “Read more” link and refer to the third spreadsheet at the end of this blog posting.
To read the text of the amendments and H. 4246, please click on this link http://www.mass.gov/legis/senate/calendar.htm.
Amendment to change the effective date to January 20, 2010
Roll Call Votes: Yea Nay
Steven A. Baddour nay
Frederick E. Berry nay
Stephen M. Brewer nay
Scott P. Brown yea
Stephen J. Buoniconti nay
Gale D. Candaras nay
Harriette L. Chandler nay
Sonia Chang-Diaz nay
Cynthia Stone Creem nay
Kenneth J. Donnelly nay
Benjamin B. Downing nay
James B. Eldridge nay
Susan C. Fargo nay
Jennifer L. Flanagan nay
Anthony D. Galluccio nay
Jack Hart yea
Robert L. Hedlund yea
Patricia D. Jehlen nay
Brian A. Joyce nay
Thomas P. Kennedy nay
Michael R. Knapik yea
Thomas M. McGee nay
Joan M. Menard nay
Mark C. Montigny nay
Michael O. Moore nay
Richard T. Moore nay
Michael W. Morrissey yea
Senate President Therese Murray
Robert A. O'Leary nay
Marc R. Pacheco nay
Steven C. Panagiotakos nay
Anthony Petruccelli nay
Stanley C. Rosenberg nay
Karen E. Spilka nay
Bruce E. Tarr yea
James E. Timilty nay
Richard R. Tisei yea
Steven A. Tolman nay
Susan C. Tucker nay
Marian Walsh nay
Amendment to Require Communications by the Governor Involving the Appointment of a U.S. Senator be Subject to the State's Open Public Records Laws
Roll Call Votes: Yea Nay
Steven A. Baddour nay
Frederick E. Berry nay
Stephen M. Brewer nay
Scott P. Brown yea
Stephen J. Buoniconti nay
Gale D. Candaras nay
Harriette L. Chandler nay
Sonia Chang-Diaz nay
Cynthia Stone Creem nay
Kenneth J. Donnelly nay
Benjamin B. Downing nay
James B. Eldridge nay
Susan C. Fargo nay
Jennifer L. Flanagan nay
Anthony D. Galluccio nay
Jack Hart nay
Robert L. Hedlund yea
Patricia D. Jehlen nay
Brian A. Joyce nay
Thomas P. Kennedy nay
Michael R. Knapik yea
Thomas M. McGee nay
Joan M. Menard nay
Mark C. Montigny yea
Michael O. Moore nay
Richard T. Moore nay
Michael W. Morrissey nay
Senate President Therese Murray
Robert A. O'Leary nay
Marc R. Pacheco nay
Steven C. Panagiotakos nay
Anthony Petruccelli nay
Stanley C. Rosenberg nay
Karen E. Spilka nay
Bruce E. Tarr yea
James E. Timilty yea
Richard R. Tisei yea
Steven A. Tolman nay
Susan C. Tucker nay
Marian Walsh nay
Bill: House Bill 4246 An Act Relative to Filling a Temporary Vacancy in the U.S. Senate
Roll Call Votes: Yea Nay
Steven A. Baddour nay
Frederick E. Berry yea
Stephen M. Brewer nay
Scott P. Brown nay
Stephen J. Buoniconti yea
Gale D. Candaras yea
Harriette L. Chandler yea
Sonia Chang-Diaz yea
Cynthia Stone Creem yea
Kenneth J. Donnelly yea
Benjamin B. Downing yea
James B. Eldridge yea
Susan C. Fargo yea
Jennifer L. Flanagan nay
Anthony D. Galluccio yea
Jack Hart nay
Robert L. Hedlund nay
Patricia D. Jehlen yea
Brian A. Joyce nay
Thomas P. Kennedy yea
Michael R. Knapik nay
Thomas M. McGee yea
Joan M. Menard yea
Mark C. Montigny yea
Michael O. Moore nay
Richard T. Moore nay
Michael W. Morrissey nay
Senate President Therese Murray yea
Robert A. O'Leary yea
Marc R. Pacheco yea
Steven C. Panagiotakos nay
Anthony Petruccelli yea
Stanley C. Rosenberg yea
Karen E. Spilka yea
Bruce E. Tarr nay
James E. Timilty nay
Richard R. Tisei nay
Steven A. Tolman yea
Susan C. Tucker nay
Marian Walsh yea
