Amendment S.8 188th (2013 - 2014)

[Text of proposed amendments to the Senate amendment (Ethics and Rules) to the House order relative to Joint Rules governing the 2013-2014 legislative sessions (House, No. 2016) (Senate, No. 8)]

ADOPTED
Roll Call #6 [35 yeas - 0 nays]
REDRAFT Clerk #1

Committee Hearings

Messrs. Timilty and Tarr move to amend the proposed Joint Rules by inserting in rule 1D after the words “interfering with committee proceedings” the following sentence:- “All meetings of joint standing committees, and special joint committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, shall be limited to no more than 35 bills to be discussed in a hearing, unless it can be determined that all of the bills being considered are of the same subject matter.”

ADOPTED
Roll Call #7 [35 yeas - 0 nays]
Clerk #2

Roll Call Posting on the Internet

Mr. Eldridge moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8) by inserting, after rule 20, the following rule:-

“20A. The Clerk of the House and the Clerk of the Senate 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
Further Clerk #2.1

Roll Call Posting on the Internet

Messrs. Eldridge and Tarr moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8) by inserting, after rule 20, the following rule:-

“20A. The Clerk of the House and the Clerk of the Senate 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. Such roll call votes shall be accompanied by a statement of context, which shall be prepared by the Clerk of the branch in which the matter was voted on ”

ADOPTED
Roll Call #8 [35 yeas - 0 nays]
Clerk #3

Relative to the posting of committee roll call votes

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8), 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.”

ADOPTED
Further Clerk #3.1

Relative to the posting of committee roll call votes

Mr. Donnelly moves to amend the pending amendment (No. 3), by striking out the text and inserting in place thereof the following text:- “in rule 4, in the second paragraph by adding the following sentence:- ‘Such roll call votes shall be posted on the official website of the General Court in a clear and conspicuous manner by the Clerk of the branch to which the bill was reported and shall be accompanied by a statement of context, which shall be prepared by the chairs of the joint standing committee.’”.

Rejected
Redraft Clerk #4

Relative to the admittance of late-filed petitions

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No.8), in joint rule 12, by inserting at the end of the second paragraph the following new sentence:
“If, after 60 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.”

Rejected
Clerk #5

Relative to conference committee reports

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8) by striking joint rule 11C and inserting in place thereof the following:-

“11C. Reports, other than those filed under Rule 11A, from a committee of conference shall be accompanied by a summary which shall be filed with the clerk.”

Rejected
Redraft Clerk #6

Relative to the filing of conference committee reports

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

and further move to amend joint rule 11D by inserting after the word “practicable”, in line 456, the following words:- “but not later than three hours following its filing”

Rejected
Clerk #7

Relative to the filing of minority reports

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8), in joint rule 4, in the first sentence of the third paragraph by inserting, after the word “opportunity” the following words:- “to issue a dissenting minority report or”; and

move to further amend joint rule 4 by adding at the end thereof the following sentence:-
“Said report or reports shall be posted on the General Court website in a form and manner prescribed by the Clerk.”

ADOPTED
Clerk #8

Relative to joint petitions

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8) by striking joint rule 6A in its entirety.

Rejected
Clerk #9

Relative to joint committee reporting extensions

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8), 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 in writing or electronically 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.”

Rejected
Clerk #10

Relative to the posting of legislative documents

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8), 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, regardless of whether or not they have been assigned a bill number, shall be made available to members electronically and published on the official website of the General Court, including the full text and the date on which each petition was filed.  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”.

Rejected
Clerk #11

Consideration Time for Polls

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8), in Joint Rule 1D, by inserting after the word “meetings” in line 141 the following words:- “, including a list of matters and copies of all bills that are to be voted on at an executive session, which shall be made available to the members of each committee electronically prior to their consideration”

and move to further amend Joint Rule 1D by inserting, after the word “information” in line 143, the following words:-
“, including a list of matters and copies of all bills that are to be voted on at an executive session,”

Rejected
Roll Call #9 [5 yeas - 30 nays]
Clerk #12

Relative to timely local aid notification

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8) by inserting after joint rule 35 the following new rule:

“36. Not later than March 15 of each year, the house and senate shall consider and 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.”

Rejected
Redraft Clerk #13

Timely Reporting of Home Rule Petitions

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8), in Joint Rule 10, in line 389, by inserting after the first sentence the following sentence:-
“Notwithstanding the previous sentence, all joint committees shall make final report on all petitions filed or approved by the voters of a city or town, or the mayor and city council, or other legislative body of a city, or the town meeting of a town, with respect to a law relating to that city or town, within 60 days of receiving them.”

Rejected
Clerk #14

WITHDRAWN

Rejected
Redraft Clerk #15

Expiration of Local Votes of Approval II

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8) by inserting, after Joint Rule 7B, the following rule:-

“7C. The approval vote required to file a petition, the operation of which is restricted to a particular city or town under Section 8 of Article LXXXIX of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, shall be valid for not more than 2 years, regardless of any intervening action that may be taken by any legislative committee or either branch of the General Court.”

Clerk #16

WITHDRAWN

Rejected
Clerk #17

Relative to committee cost-effectiveness oversight

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8), in joint rule 1, by inserting in clause (i) after the word “laws” in line 60 the following:- “and the fiscal impact and sustainability of such laws, parts of laws, or regulations,”

and move to further amend 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;”

Rejected
Clerk #18

Taxation Fiscal Impact Statement

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8) by inserting after Joint Rule 4A the following rule:-

“4B. All joint committees of the General Court when reporting on bills referred to them shall include a taxation impact statement prepared based on information collected under section 3A of chapter 29 of the General Laws, showing the fiscal impact of any change to fees or taxes in the proposed legislation.  Such taxation fiscal impact statement shall include the impact to the average taxpayer and to the economy of the commonwealth and shall be filed electronically in the office of the clerk to which the report is being made, and shall be promptly made available on the official website of the General Court.”

Clerk #19

WITHDRAWN

Rejected
Clerk #20

Relative to the timely notification of sponsors

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8), 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; provided, however that sponsors shall have the ability to waive said notice in writing.”

Rejected
Clerk #21

Relative to the broadcasting of sessions

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8) by inserting, after Joint Rule 32, the following new rule:-

“32A. The Senate and the House shall make available televised broadcast coverage of all informal sessions in the same manner and format as formal sessions.”

Rejected
Roll Call #9 [5 yeas - 30 nays]
Clerk #22

Relative to committee oversight hearings

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik, and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8), 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 and 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 hearings.”

Rejected
Clerk #23

Relative to the posting of executive session roll call votes

Messrs. Tarr, Hedlund, Knapik and Ross move to amend the bill (Senate, No. 8), in Joint Rule 1D, by striking the last sentence of the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-
“The records of all such roll calls shall be kept in the offices of the committee for the duration of the General Court during which said vote was recorded, shall be available for public inspection upon reasonable notice and during regular office hours, and shall also be posted on the General Court website.”

Clerk #24

WITHDRAWN