Order S.6 187th (2011 - 2012)

[Text of proposed amendments to the Senate Order (offered by Senator Berry) recommending proposed Joint Rules to be adopted as permanent rules for the Senate and House of Representatives for 2011-2012 (Senate, No. 6)]

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Clerk # 1

Relative to timely local aid notification

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 6) by inserting after joint rule 35 the following new rule:

“36. Not later than March 15 of each year, the house and senate shall approve a joint resolution declaring the minimum amount of aid to be distributed to the cities and towns of the commonwealth in the upcoming fiscal year. Said resolution shall declare the minimum amount of chapter 70 aid, unrestricted general government assistance, and expected lottery disbursements to be received by each city, town or school district.”

Clerk # 2

Relative to the admittance of late-filed petitions

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 6), in joint rule 12, by inserting at the end of the second paragraph the following new sentence:- “If, after 30 days, the committees on Rules of the two branches, acting concurrently, fail to issue a report, then the committee on Rules of the branch in which the matter was deposited shall issue a report and said matter shall be deemed admitted and referred to the appropriate committee for consideration.”

Clerk # 3

Relative to the increased availability of public testimony at committee hearings

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 6), in joint rule 1D, by inserting at the end of the second paragraph the following new sentences:- “Included in such notice shall be a designated period of time, not to exceed 45 minutes, during which time testimony from legislators shall be heard on matters listed on the hearing agenda. Legislators wishing to be heard, either prior to or subsequent to the designated period, shall follow the guidelines set forth under the rules designated by each committee for the receipt of testimony by members of the public.”


Clerk # 4

Relative to joint committee reporting extensions

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 6), in joint rule 10, by inserting after the first sentence the following new sentences:- “Notwithstanding the provisions of this rule, any committee which requests a reporting extension on any matter referred to the committee shall communicate to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives the reasons necessitating an extension prior to the granting of any extension, and shall also provide a complete list of all matters included in the extension. No reporting extension shall be granted for a period that exceeds 30 days.”

Clerk # 5

Relative to requiring a supermajority vote for the use of stabilization funds

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 6) by inserting after joint rule 35 the following new rule:

“36. No appropriation shall be made from the Commonwealth Stabilization Fund, as set forth in section 2H of chapter 29 of the general laws, unless approved by two-thirds of the members in both branches voting on such an appropriation. This rule shall not be suspended except by unanimous consent.”

Clerk # 6

Relative to the posting of committee roll call votes

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 6), in joint rule 4, by inserting after the third sentence of the second paragraph the following new sentence: “Such roll call votes shall be posted on the official website of the General Court in a clear and conspicuous manner by the Clerks of both branches.”

Clerk # 7

Relative to the deadline for the consideration of the General Appropriations Bill I

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 6) by inserting after joint rule 12B the following new rule:

“General Appropriations Bill

12C. The House of Representatives shall undertake consideration of the General Appropriations Bill for the ensuing fiscal year not later than the second week of April of every calendar year. The Senate shall undertake consideration of the General Appropriations Bill for the ensuing fiscal year not later than the second week of May of every calendar year. This rule shall not be rescinded, amended or suspended except by a vote of two-thirds of the respective branch present and voting on the General Appropriations Bill.”

Clerk # 8

Relative to the deadline for the consideration of the General Appropriations Bill II

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 6) by inserting after joint rule 11D the following new rule:

“11E. Committees of conference on the General Appropriations Bill for each fiscal year shall make final report not later than the second Wednesday of June. This rule shall not be rescinded, suspended or amended more than once, except by unanimous consent.”

Clerk # 9

Relative to the filing of conference committee reports

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 6), in joint rule 11B, by striking the words “8 p.m.” and inserting in place thereof the following words: “5 p.m.”

Clerk # 10

One week notice to public for committee hearings

Mr. Eldridge moves to amend the order (Senate, No. 6) in the second paragraph of Joint Rule 1D, by striking the words “48 hours” and inserting in place thereof the words “one week” And in the second paragraph of Joint Rule 1D, striking the words "whenever practicable" And in the third paragraph of Joint Rule 1D, striking out the words “48-hour” and inserting in place thereof the words “one week”

Clerk #11

Divisibility

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the order (Senate, No. 7) by striking the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following:-“A question for debate before the Senate, including an amendment, containing 2 or more propositions, capable of division, shall be divided whenever desired by any member.”

Clerk # 12

Relative to the posting of legislative documents

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 6), in joint rule 21, by deleting the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:

“The committees on Rules of the two branches, acting concurrently, shall establish regulations for the distribution of bills, reports or other documents, including petitions not assigned bill numbers. Bills, reports or other documents, including petitions not assigned bill numbers, shall be made available to members electronically and published on the official website of the General Court. The committees on Rules of the two branches, acting concurrently, shall make such changes pertaining to the availability of bills, reports or other documents, including petitions not assigned bill numbers, as they deem necessary for expediting the work of the legislature.”;

and by striking the word “may” in the second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following word: “shall”.

Clerk # 13

Ensuring public access to committee roll call votes

Mr. Eldridge moves to amend the order (Senate, No. 6) in Joint Rule 4 by inserting after “regular office hours.” the following words: “The records of all such roll calls, taken electronically or at the committee meeting, shall be submitted to The Clerk to be made available to the public on the official website of the General Court within 48 hours.”

Clerk # 14

Relative to committee cost-effectiveness oversight hearings

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 6), in joint rule 12A, by inserting at the end thereof the following new sentence: “Each standing committee shall hold at least one public hearing per year to determine if the agencies and programs that fall under its jurisdiction can achieve savings or operate in a more cost-effective manner, and each committee shall report its findings and recommendations to the Clerks of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and to the Chairs of the House and Senate committees on Ways and Means, no later than 30 days after the holding of such public hearing.”

Clerk # 15

Relative to committee cost-effectiveness oversight

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 6), in joint rule 1, by striking clause (ii) in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following clause: “(ii) in carrying out these review and study activities, each committee shall determine whether such laws, administrative regulations and programs under those laws are being implemented in accordance with the intent of the General Court; the cost-effectiveness of such laws, administrative regulations and programs; and whether such laws, administrative regulations and programs should be continued, curtailed or eliminated;”


Clerk # 16

Relative to the filing of minority reports

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 6) by inserting, after joint rule 1G, the following new rule:

“1H. Each standing committee, when reporting on matters referred to said committee, shall allow for the filing of a dissenting minority report by members of the committee who disagree with the committee’s recommendations.”

Clerk # 17

Relative to establishing an independent redistricting commission

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 6), by inserting after joint rule 1G the following new rule:

“1H. An independent redistricting commission, herein referred to as the commission, shall be convened and shall divide the commonwealth into congressional districts, 160 representative districts, 40 senatorial districts, and eight councilor districts. The federal census shall be the basis for determining congressional districts for the ten year period beginning with the first Wednesday of the third January following the commencement of the taking of said census. All districts shall comprise contiguous territory, shall be equal in population to the extent required by law, and shall comply with federal constitutional and statutory requirements. No district shall be drawn for the purpose or with the effect of diluting the voting strength of any group based on race, ethnicity or language minority status, or for the purpose of augmenting or diluting the voting strength of a political party, or any individual. In drawing district lines, the commission shall not consider residential address, party affiliation, or partisan voting history of any individual or groups of individuals, except to the extent necessary to avoid dilution of voting strength based on race, ethnicity or language minority status. In addition, to the maximum extent possible, district boundaries shall be drawn so as to: (1) maintain the unity of well-defined municipal neighborhoods; (2) observe municipal boundaries; (3) establish senatorial districts that follow representative district boundaries; (4) establish councilor districts that follow representative district boundaries and (5) promote geographic compactness of districts. If it is not possible to draw district boundaries that fully comply with these criteria while also complying with the mandatory requirements set forth herein, then districts shall be drawn to optimize the criteria in the order of priority set forth hereinabove. The commission shall also consider communities of interest in determining which cities, towns, or neighborhoods thereof to aggregate into a single district.

Within 30 days of the passage of this act, the following offices shall each appoint one member of the commission: the governor of the commonwealth, who shall appoint a dean or professor of law or political science or government at an institution of higher learning in the commonwealth; the attorney general of the commonwealth, who shall appoint a retired justice who resides in the commonwealth; and the secretary of the commonwealth, who shall appoint an expert in civil rights law who is a resident of the commonwealth.

By the same date, the house speaker, the house minority leader, the senate president, and the senate minority leader shall each nominate three individuals. The appointees chosen by the governor, attorney general, and secretary of the commonwealth shall then select one of the three nominees named by each said official within 7 days of their nomination.

If nominations or appointments are not made within 30 days of the passage of this act, the office responsible for making the appointment or nominations shall forfeit its rights under this section and the remaining direct appointees shall then make an appointment to fill the vacancy within 7 days. Nominations and appointments shall reflect the geographic, racial, ethnic, gender, and age diversity of the commonwealth to the maximum extent feasible and shall be selected on the basis of civic involvement and knowledge of redistricting policy, civil rights, political science, demographics or statistics, election expertise, voting rights, community organizing, or law. No person nominated or appointed to the commission, in the five years preceding such nomination or appointment, shall have held Congressional, state legislative or statewide elective office, or shall have served as mayor or city councilor of a city in the commonwealth, governor’s councilor, or shall have been elected to a state or federal party committee; or shall be a current employee, agent or family member of any of the above; or, in the two years preceding such nomination or appointment, shall have been a legislative agent. The commissioners shall agree: (1) not to stand for election to the general court, congress, or the governor’s council until districts are redrawn following the next census; (2) to apply the provisions of this article in an honest, independent, and impartial fashion; and (3) to act at all times so as to uphold public confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process.

The commission shall be convened no later than 60 days following the passage of this act. The commission shall disband only upon final adoption and exhaustion of judicial review of challenges to representative, councilor, and senatorial districts.

The commission shall hire staff and may retain experts to assist it in the performance of its duties. The commission shall establish rules governing its operation and procedures. Commissioners may receive compensation for actual time spent on commission duties and shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses. The budget of the commonwealth shall provide adequate funding for the operation of the commission.

A member of the commission or an appointing authority may petition the supreme judicial court to remove a commissioner on the grounds of neglect, misconduct, or inability to perform the duties of a commissioner. A vacancy so created shall be filled by the office which appointed the removed commissioner or by the nomination and selection process set forth in section 6, as applicable.

All meetings of the commission shall be open to the public, consistent with the laws of the commonwealth concerning open meetings as of the date of the adoption of this Article. All documents produced by or for the commission shall be public. The commission shall hold public hearings in at least five geographically disbursed counties. The public shall be afforded the opportunity to submit proposed maps for consideration by the commission and the commission shall make map-making software available for public use. The commission shall take all steps necessary to ensure that the public can exercise its right to review and comment on proposed district maps before they are approved and shall publish all preliminary and final plans in publicly accessible forums that are free of charge and that ensure wide public distribution. Proposed districts shall be presented in both graphic and narrative form.

No later than April 20, 2011, the commission shall prepare and publish for public comment a preliminary plan for representative, councilor, and senatorial districts. The public shall have a three-week period to comment on the preliminary district plan. The commission may revise the preliminary district plan in response to public comment and shall, no later than May 11, 2011, submit the revised plan to the special joint committee on redistricting, as created by order of the general court, as adopted by the senate on January 29, 2009 and adopted by the house on March 5, 2009, which shall vote on the revised plan. If the plan is rejected by either the committee or the general court, the commission shall prepare, publish, revise, and submit a second-round preliminary district plan in the same manner as the first within 30 days of the rejection of the initial plan. Following the three-week period for public comment, the commission may revise the preliminary district plan in response to public comment and shall submit the revised plan to the joint committee for a vote no later than July 29, 2011.

With respect to each plan the commission submits to the joint committee for a vote, the vote must be taken within two weeks of submission. No amendments to the plan as submitted may be made. If the plan is approved by a majority of the joint committee present and voting, or if no vote is taken within the two-week period, it shall be submitted to the general court for a vote. With respect to each plan the joint committee submits to the general court for a vote, the vote must be taken within two weeks of submission. No amendments to the plan as submitted may be made. If the plan is approved by a majority of the members of the house of representatives and the senate present and voting or if no vote is taken within the two-week period, then the plan as submitted shall become law.

Original jurisdiction is hereby vested in the supreme judicial court upon the petition of any voter of the commonwealth for judicial relief relative to the establishment of the congressional districts. The general court may by law limit the time within which judicial proceedings may be instituted to challenge any redistricting map.”

Clerk #18

Relative to the timely notification of sponsors

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 6), in joint rule 1D, by inserting at the end of the second paragraph the following sentence: “Sponsors of matters scheduled to be heard by a joint standing committee or any special joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives shall be notified by the committee at least five days in advance of the date, time and location of the public hearing scheduled on said matter.”