SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2468        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2020

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Sonia Chang-Diaz

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to the purpose, utility, nature, and timeliness of commissions in the Commonwealth.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

 

Sonia Chang-Diaz

Second Suffolk

 

Tami L. Gouveia

14th Middlesex

 

Michelle M. DuBois

10th Plymouth

4/1/2021

Kay Khan

11th Middlesex

5/11/2021

Diana DiZoglio

First Essex

9/23/2021

Marcos A. Devers

16th Essex

10/1/2021


SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2468        FILED ON: 2/19/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2020

By Ms. Chang-Diaz, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 2020) of Sonia Chang-Diaz, Tami L. Gouveia and Michelle M. DuBois for legislation relative to the purpose, utility, nature, and timeliness of commissions in the Commonwealth.  State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

_______________

 

An Act relative to the purpose, utility, nature, and timeliness of commissions in the Commonwealth.

 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. The Office of the Auditor shall review and report on the use of commissions by the Commonwealth in policy-making and oversight. The report shall include, but not be limited to: (i) a list of all permanent and special commissions created by the Commonwealth currently in operation as well as any special commission whose work concluded no more than ten years prior to the passage of this act; (ii) an evaluation of whether the compositions of such commissions were reflective of the populations directly experiencing the problems the commissions sought to address; (iii) an estimate of the total taxpayer dollars spent on each of the commissions on the list in item (i), and in the aggregate, via the hours dedicated by government employees to the work of said commissions; (iv) an assessment of whether the commissions yielded concrete  recommendations to the legislative, executive, or judicial branches and to what extent, if any, the relevant government entities acted on such recommendations; and (v) recommendations about how to better ensure that commissions’ recommendations are considered and adopted or rejected in a timely manner.

SECTION 2. Not later than one year after passage of this act, the Office of the Auditor shall submit its report and recommendations to the clerks of the senate and house of representatives and post the report on a public-facing website.