Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security 192nd (2021 - 2022)

Carlos Gonzalez House Chair Walter Timilty Senate Chair Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security ____________________________________________________________________________ Temporary Committee Rules of Procedure for the 192nd General Court | 2021-2022 ____________________________________________________________________________ 1. All matters referred to the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security in the legislative session may be given a public hearing via in-person meeting, teleconference, or a written testimony submission period as per agreement of the Chairs. 2. The Chairs shall be responsible for determining the schedule of all public hearings. Matters shall be grouped together according to same or similar topic to the extent practicable. The matters to be reviewed, date, time, and location of each hearing is subject to change by agreement of the Chairs. 3. A hearing notice shall be posted on the General Court website and emailed to the General Court at least one week in advance of the scheduled hearing. The hearing notice shall include the list of bills, method of testimony being accepted by the Joint Committee, and process for signing up to testify and/or submit written testimony. 4. At least 24-hours prior to the public hearing, each member of the Joint Committee shall receive a packet including a list of the number, title, and summary of each matter being considered in the hearing. 5. All public hearings shall be conducted by either the Senate or House Chair. The presiding Chair of each hearing shall be determined by agreement of the Chairs. 6. The presiding Chair and Co-Chair shall have general supervision of all public hearings and shall preserve order and decorum. Persons testifying may be directed by the Chairs to limit the time of their verbal testimony. The presiding Chair may determine the order in which testimony is given. 7. Executive sessions shall be scheduled as agreed upon by the chairs. The presiding Chair of the executive session shall be agreed upon by the Chairs. No executive session shall be held in the absence of a Chair. Each member of the Joint Committee shall be provided with an agenda for the executive session prior to the session. 8. In concert with or in lieu of an executive session, the Chairs may conduct a poll of each Joint Committee member to determine the recommendation of the Joint Committee on any matter before the committee. The method and notice, including matters, form, and response period of each poll, shall be determined by agreement of the Chairs. The deadline for recording votes shall be announced in advance to each member. Members shall be given at least 48 hours to respond to the poll or another amount of time as determined by agreement of the Chairs. 9. These temporary rules may be modified upon agreement of the Chairs. Subjects not addressed by the temporary rules shall be subject to agreement of the Chairs.