Report S.7 188th (2013 - 2014)

[Text of proposed amendments to the Senate Report recommending proposed Senate Rules to be adopted as the permanent rules of the Senate for 2013-2014 (Senate, No. 7)]

ADOPTED
Clerk #1

Codifying the Procurement Process

Mr. Brownsberger moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) by adding the following section:-

62B.(a) The Chief Financial Officer of the Senate shall complete the procurement of all goods and services for the Senate.Procurements for goods or services shallbe made from the statewide procurement list established by the operational services division, to the extent practicable,as determined by the Chief Financial Officer.If theChief Financial Officerdetermines that a procurement cannot be made using the statewide procurement list established by the operational services division, the Chief Financial Officer may procure the required goods or services under subsections (b), (c) or (d).

(b)Procurement of a supply or service from a vendor not on the statewide procurement list valued at less than $10,000 shall be made at the discretion of the Chief Financial Officer.

(c) If the Chief Financial Officer seeks to procure a supply or service from a vendor not on the statewide procurement listvalued at $10,000 or more, but less than $100,000, the Chief Financial Officer shall seek quotations from not fewer than 3 persons providing such supply or service. The Chief Financial Officer shall record the names and addresses of all persons from whom quotations were received, the names of the persons submitting quotations and the date and amount of each quotation. The Chief Financial Officer shall award the contract to the responsible person whose quotation offers the needed quality of supply or service and which represents the best value for the Senate.

(d) If the Chief Financial Officer seeks to procure a supply or service from a vendor not on the statewide procurement list valued at $100,000or more, the Chief Financial Officer shall seek proposals through a competitive bid process, which shall be established by the Chief Financial Officer. 

(e) The Chief Financial Officer shall maintain a file on each procurementnot executed using the statewide procurement list established by the operational services division and in excess of $10,000 and shall include in such file all documents related to the procurement.  The files maintained shall be available for inspection by members of the Senate during regular business hours unless the information is otherwise protected by state or federal law.

(f) In addition to the requirements of this rule, all procurements for legal services shall be approved by the Senate Counsel.

(g) If, in the determination of the Chief Financial Officer, an emergency procurement of greater than $10,000 is necessary, the Chief Financial Officer may procure the goods or services immediatelyand  create and maintain a file explaining the nature of the emergency and the goods or services that were procured as a result.  The Chief Financial Officer shall document the goods or services that were procured, the process used to procure the goods or services, the vendors that were contacted and any other information relevant to the procurement, and make that information available to members of the Senate during regular business hours, unless the information is otherwise protected by state or federal law.

ADOPTED
Roll Call #2 [39 YEAS - 0 NAYS]
Redraft Clerk #2

Roll Call Internet Clarification

Messrs. Tarr, Eldridge, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) by striking out rule 8A and inserting in place thereof the following rule:-

“8A. The Clerk shall make available on the official website of the General Court the results of all roll call votes not later than 48 hours after such vote is taken, not including quorum calls, in a manner easily identifiable, searchable, and conspicuously located.   The Clerk shall include the number of the roll call and the title of the matter voted upon.  This rule shall take effect not later than May 1, 2013.”

Rejected
Redraft Clerk #3

Relative to the availability of calendars for members and the public

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) by inserting, in rule 7, in line 66, after the word “public” and inserting the following:- “as soon as practicable but not less than”.

Rejected
Roll Call #3 [4 YEAS - 35 NAYS]
Clerk #4

Relative to a bipartisan Ethics and Rules Committee

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7), in rule 12A, by inserting before the first sentence, in line 202, 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), as appearing in lines 292 through 297, 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.”

Rejected
2ND Redraft Clerk #5

Relative to the broadcasting of informal and formal sessions

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7), in rule 59A, by inserting after the word “formal”, in line 975, the following words:- “and informal”; and

by adding at the end of rule 59A the following:-

“Not later than April 1 in the first year of the biannual session the Committee on Ethics and Rules shall issue a report on the progress and outreach efforts of negotiations providing for formal sessions of the Senate to be broadcast on television and be made accessible to electronic media, including television, radio and the internet.  Said report shall be filed with the Clerk of the Senate.”; and

by inserting after the word “request”, in line 1005, the following words:-

“and a copy of each formal Senate session broadcast shall be delivered to each community antenna television systems within 7 days of said session; provided, however, that said broadcast shall not be delivered if a community antenna television system provides notice to the Clerk of the Senate it does not wish to receive said broadcast.”;

Rejected
Clerk #6

Relative to conducting Senate business beyond the hour of midnight

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) by striking rule 38A ½ and inserting in place thereof the following:-

“38A ½. The Senate shall not continue in session beyond midnight. 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.”

Rejected
Clerk #7

Relative to the consideration of matters during informal sessions

Messrs. Tarr, Knapik, Hedlund and Ross move to amend the bill (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.”

Rejected
Clerk #8

Relative to the Divisibility of Amendments and Bills

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) by striking in rule 45 in line 823 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.”

Rejected
Clerk #9

Relative to increased transparency in the general appropriations bill

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7), in rule 27A, by inserting at the end of the first paragraph, in line 581, the following two sentences:-

“Said presentation shall clearly indicate any reliance on non-recurring revenues and off-budget spending, including the nature and amount of federal revenues, 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.”

Rejected
Clerk #10

Relative to increased transparency in supplemental appropriations bills

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7), in rule 27A, by inserting in the third paragraph, in line 604, 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”. 

Rejected
Roll Call #4 [4 YEAS - 35 NAYS]
Clerk #11

Relative to the pairing of votes

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) in rule 56 by inserting after the fifth sentence, in line 931, the following sentence:- “Pairing of votes shall be allowed only in those instances where a member is not present in the Senate Chamber due to military service or physical incapacity.”

Rejected
Clerk #12

WITHDRAWN

Rejected
Redraft Clerk #13

Relative to the use of cell phones and other electronic devices

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) by striking rule 61B in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following:-

“61B. No use of cellular telephones shall be permitted in the Senate Chamber while the Senate is in session.”

ADOPTED
2nd Redraft Clerk #14

Review Past Senate Procedure I

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) in Rule 68 in the second paragraph by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-

“This commission shall consist of 3 members: the Senate President pro tempore or a designee; the majority leader or a designee; and the minority leader or a designee; and shall examine and compare the current rules and practices of the Massachusetts State Senate with the body’s historic rules and practices.”

Rejected
Clerk #15

Review Past Senate Procedure II

Messer. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik, and Ross move to amend (Senate No. 7) by inserting in Rule 68 in line 1100 after the word “schedule” the following: - “, and staff compensation.”

Rejected
Clerk #16

Special Order Amendments

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) in rule 13A, by striking, in line 319, the words “two-thirds” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “majority”.

ADOPTED
Clerk #17

Relative to vacancy in the office of President

Messrs Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik, and Ross moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) by inserting, in rule 5, line 31 after the word “present” the following:- “as determined by years of service”

ADOPTED
Further Clerk #17.1

Further Amendment

Ms. Flanagan moves to amend the pending amendment (No. 17) by striking out the text and inserting in place thereof the following text:-

“in rule 5, by striking out the words, “eldest senior” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- longest, continuously serving and eldest.”.

Rejected
Clerk #18

Referencing a report or study during debate

Mr. Timilty moves to amend the bill (S. 7) by inserting after rule 42 the following new rule:- 42A No member shall reference a report or study without making available to the membership a copy of said report or study in printed or electronic form prior to debate.

ADOPTED
Redraft Clerk #19

Time Consideration of Amendments 

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) by striking, in line 596, the number “24” and inserting in place thereof the following:- “48”.

Rejected
Clerk #20

Senate Dockets

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) in Rule 20A by adding after the word “Senate” the following words:- “and all petitions not assigned bill numbers.”.

Rejected
Clerk #21

Written Notice of Objection

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) by inserting in rule 7, at the end the following:- “any member may object with a written notice to the Clerk”

Rejected
Clerk #22

Relative to members’ ability to declare an informal session

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7), in rule 5A, by striking the third sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- “The President may also declare a session informal in nature, with prior notice given; provided, however, that at the request of any member, the Senate may also take a vote to declare a session informal.

Rejected
Clerk #23

Audit

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) in Rule 13 C by inserting, in line 340, the following language after the word “Senate Clerk”:- “and state auditor”.

Rejected
Roll Call #5 [5 YEAS - 34 NAYS]
Redraft Clerk #24

Time Consideration of Amendments

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) by inserting, in rule 27A, at the end of the first paragraph the following, “No bill, resolve or order proposing an increase in taxation shall be placed before the Senate prior to its being in print and posted on the Senate website for 7 days.”

Rejected
Redraft Clerk #25

ORDERS IN THE CALENDAR

Mr. Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 7) by adding at the end thereof the following new rule:-

“XX. A measure to repeal, change, add or otherwise modify a rule or rules of the Senate may be proposed at any time by any two members, provided that such measure is presented to the clerk in the form of an order.  Such order shall be referred immediately to the Committee on Ethics and Rules, which shall report to the Senate on such order within 10 days of its referral to the committee.  Such report shall be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next formal session for consideration by the Senate.”