Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Senate GOP Caucus Files Additional Joint Rules for 188th General Court
The
Massachusetts Senate Republicans Caucus are proposing an ambitious series of
changes to the joint rules which govern the House and Senate, setting the stage
for a critical debate tomorrow centering around transparency and accountability
in the state’s legislative process. The
proposed changes, filed on Tuesday afternoon, would put more information in the
hands of the public and members of the legislature, ensuring more informed and
accountable actions on Beacon Hill.
The changes proposed by the caucus
come at the beginning of a legislative session that will confront critical
issues such as increases in taxes and spending proposed by Governor Patrick,
the reform of the Sex Offender Registry System, and the oversight of the
state’s forensic crime labs.
Highlights of the Senate Republican Caucus’ proposed rules package include:
- Requiring
committees to post all committee votes on the General Court website;
- Requiring
conference committee reports to be accompanied with a summary when filed
with the Senate and House clerk’s office;
- Requiring
all conference committee reports to be filed no later than 5:00pm on the
prior day scheduled for consideration by the General Court and the text of
all conference committee reports be posted on the General Court website;
- Providing
conference committee members with the option of issuing a minority report;
- Providing
legislators at least 48 hours before meeting in an executive session to
provide recommendations of legislation to the full membership of the House
and Senate with the bill numbers and texts of all petitions to be
considered;
- Allowing
the House and Senate to consider and adopt a joint resolution by March 15th
of each year declaring the minimum level of state aid to be appropriated
to the cities and towns for the upcoming fiscal year;
- Requiring
each committee to hold at least one public hearing per year to determine
if the agencies and programs under its jurisdiction can achieve savings or
operate in a more cost-effective manner, and to submit their findings and
recommendations to the House and Senate Clerks and Chairs of the House and
Senate Ways and Means Committees;
- Requiring
that each committee to consider the cost-effectiveness of all laws,
regulations, and programs that fall under its purview, and recommend
whether such measures should be continued, curtailed, or eliminated;
- Requiring
all joint committees to include a taxation impact statement showing the
fiscal impact of any changes to fees or taxes contained in the proposed
legislation, and how they will impact the average taxpayer and the state’s
economy; and
- Requiring
the broadcasting of all informal sessions.
Modern technology and communications mean that more informed and accountable decisions are a necessity and not a luxury. We must modernize our rules to reflect the fact that we can, and we should, provide increased amounts of information to each other and the people we represent.
Last week the Senate Republican Caucus was successful in the passage of a Senate rule that would require the posting of all roll call votes taken by the members of the Senate on the General Court website within 48 hours of the vote being taken. That measure was passed unanimously by a vote of 39-0, and will take effect no later than May 1st of this year.
Labels:
Joint Rules; 188th General Court