Order S.7 187th (2011 - 2012)

[Text of proposed amendments to the Senate Order (offered by Senator Berry) recommending proposed Senate Rules to be adopted as the permanent rules of the Senate for 2011-2012 (Senate, No. 7)]


Clerk # 1

Texting in the Chamber

Mr. Hedlund moves to amend the order (Senate, Number 7) by striking out rule 62A and inserting thereof the following rule:- 62A. No use of cellular telephones, including texting, shall be permitted in the Senate Chamber while the Senate is in session.

Clerk # 2

Relative to a Bipartisan Ethics and Rules committee

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 7), in rule 12A, by inserting before the first sentence the following new sentence:- "There shall be a standing Committee on Ethics and Rules consisting of six members, three of whom shall be appointed by the President of the Senate and three of whom shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate at the beginning of the first year of the biennial session of the General Court.";
And move to further amend the bill, in rule 13, by striking the second sentence of paragraph (b) and inserting in place thereof the following new sentence:- "Except as provided in rule 12A, the President shall in making such appointments give consideration to representation of both the majority and minority parties relative to their respective representation in the Senate and in any event shall reserve at least 2 positions on the Senate Committee on Ways and Means and at least 1 position upon each standing or special committee for a Senate member of the minority party and appointments to such positions shall be made by the Senate minority party leader."

Clerk # 3

Relative to the pairing of votes

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 7) in rule 56 by striking out the fifth sentence.

Clerk # 4

Relative to the availability of session calendars for members and the public

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 7) by striking, in rule 7, in the third sentence, the number "2" and inserting in place thereof he the following number: "3".

Clerk # 5

Relative to the consolidation of petitions

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 7) by striking, in rule 18A, the word "may" and inserting in place thereof the following word: "shall".

Clerk # 6

Relative to the broadcasting of informal sessions

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 7), in rule 59A, by inserting after the word "formal" in the first sentence the following words: "and informal";
and by inserting after the word "formal" in the fourth paragraph the following words: "or informal";
and by inserting after the word "formal" each time it appears in the fifth paragraph the following words: "or informal"

Clerk # 7

Relative to increased transparency in the General Appropriations Bill

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 7), in rule 27A, by inserting at the end of the first paragraph the following two sentences:- "Said presentation shall clearly indicate any reliance on non-recurring revenues and off-budget spending and shall also include a diagram that simply and clearly details all the spending recommendations and corresponding revenue sources, as well as indicate spending on each item for each of the previous five fiscal years. The committee shall, in its presentation, identify all new initiatives and major policy alterations within the general appropriations bill, including what service shall be provided by said initiative, any associated spending recommendations, savings realized by the Commonwealth, and revenue sources relied upon to fund said initiative."

Clerk # 8

Relative to increased transparency in supplemental appropriations bills

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 7), in rule 27A, by inserting in the third paragraph after the words "an executive summary which shall" the following text:- "identify the revenue source upon which the recommendation is based, identify the total appropriation for the fiscal year if an existing appropriation is being altered, and".

Clerk # 9

Relative to the filling of Senate vacancies I

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 7), by inserting after rule 5A the following new rule:
"5B. Upon a vacancy in the Senate, a date for a special election shall be rescheduled by the President of the Senate within 14 days after the vacancy occurs unless the vacancy occurs after April 1 in an even-numbered year."

Clerk # 10

Relative to the filling of Senate vacancies II

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 7), by inserting after rule 5A the following new rule:
"5B. Upon a vacancy in the Senate, with the exception of any vacancy that occurs after April 1 in an even-numbered year, a date for a special election shall be rescheduled by the President of the Senate within 20 days after the vacancy occurs and the proposed date of the special election shall then be put before the members of the Senate for a vote."

Clerk # 11

Relative to conducting Senate business beyond the hour of midnight

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 7), in rule 38A ", by striking the second sentence in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- "This rule shall be suspended only with the unanimous consent of the members present and voting consent to such suspension on a recorded yea and nay vote."

Clerk # 12

Relative to the consideration of matters during informal sessions

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 7), in rule 7, by striking the last sentence in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- "When the presentation of the calendar required under this rule is suspended under Rule 5A, a session shall be considered informal and no matter shall be considered if a member at said session objects to its consideration, or if a member prior to said session requested that the matter be held for consideration by placing such request in writing to the Clerk of the Senate no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of the informal session."

Clerk # 13

Relative to minority appointments to committees

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the order (Senate, No. 7) by striking rule 12 in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following rule:
"12. The following standing committees shall be appointed by the President, to wit:
A Committee on Bills in the Third Reading;
To consist of 5 members, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Minority Leader.
A Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets;
To consist of 6 members, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Minority Leader.
A Committee on Post Audit and Oversight;
To consist of 7 members, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Minority Leader.
A Committee on Ethics and Rules;
To consist of 6 members, including 2 members appointed by the Minority Leader.
A Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change;
To consist of 6 members, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Minority Leader.
A Committee on Steering and Policy;
To consist of 5 members, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Minority Leader.
A Committee on Ways and Means;
To consist of 17 members, including 2 members appointed by the Minority Leader.
Committee hearings and executive sessions shall not be scheduled in conflict with formal sessions of the Senate unless the chair submits to the Clerk a written explanation for scheduling the hearing or session in conflict with the formal session."

Clerk # 14

Adequate Time to Read Bills and Offer Amendments Before Consideration

Mr. Eldridge moves to amend the order (S7) in Rule 33A by striking the word "24" and inserting in place thereof the following words: "72 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays except when the Senate is in session on such a day" And in Rule 31A, inserting after the words "by the Senate" the following words: "provided that the bill is made available to members and the general public on the official website for the General Court at least 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays except when the Senate is in session on such a day, before the time at which amendments are required to be filed by said order".

Clerk # 15

Ensuring public access to roll call votes

Mr. Eldridge moves to amend the order (S7) in Rule 8A by striking the words "make a reasonable effort to" And in Rule 8A, striking the word "internet" and inserting in place thereof "official website of the General Court" And in Rule 8A, inserting after the word "identifiable" the words "searchable by text,"

Clerk # 16

Relative to showing cost and makeup of study commission

Mr. Ross moves to amend the order (Senate Bill 7) by inserting at the end of the fourth paragraph of clause (iii) the following: Any standing House, Senate or Joint Committee which establishes a special commission, board or committee in order to study any piece of legislation by means of a study order, shall be promptly made available on the official website of the General Court of any such commission, board or committee and shall be required to show the cost and source of the funding to perform any such study. Each study shall have a time frame for completion and have built in benchmarks to measure progress.