Massachusetts Senate approves several local measures, adopts resolutions and adjourns in memory of Joseph W. Casper

The Massachusetts Senate in session approved several local measures and adopted resolutions, then adjourned in memory of Joseph W. Casper.

The Senate passed a bill authorizing the city of Taunton to continue the employment of Edward J. Walsh as Taunton’s police chief (Senate No. 2643), approved a sick leave bank for Anna C. Contreras, an employee of the trial court of the Commonwealth, and reauthorized the town of Swansea to issue additional licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages to be drunk on the premises (House No. 4276). The chamber also took up a House bill exempting the assistant fire chief position in the town of Natick from civil service law (House No. 3901). Each measure advanced by voice votes in which “the ayes have it.”

Votes at a glance

- An act authorizing the city of Taunton to continue the employment of Edward J. Walsh as chief of police of the city of Taunton (Senate No. 2643): read a third time and passed to be engrossed by voice vote; no roll-call tally recorded in the transcript.

- An act establishing a sick leave bank for Anna C. Contreras, an employee of the trial court of the Commonwealth (amount cited in the transcript as $15.96): read and passed to be engrossed by voice vote; no roll-call tally recorded in the transcript.

- An act reauthorizing the town of Swansea to issue additional licenses for the sale of all alcoholic beverages to be drunk on the premises (House No. 4276): ordered to a third reading, read a third time, and passed to be engrossed by voice vote; no roll-call tally recorded in the transcript.

- The House bill exempting the position of assistant fire chief of the town of Natick from the civil service law (House No. 3901): received from the House and passed to be engrossed; the Senate suspended its rules to consider the matter forthwith and ordered it to a third reading.

The Senate also adopted resolutions congratulating Trevor Joseph O’Brien on his elevation to the rank of Eagle Scout and took unanimous action to have the day’s adjournment be in memory of Joseph W. Casper. The presiding officer asked members, guests and staff to observe a moment of silence in Casper’s memory; the motion prevailed.

Procedural notes and timing

Most measures were handled by unanimous voice votes and were described in the transcript as being ordered to third reading and then passed to be engrossed. On the motion to suspend the rules to consider the Natick assistant fire chief measure forthwith, the chair stated, “Is there objection? The chair has none,” and the rules were suspended. The chamber adopted an order that, when adjourned, the Senate would reconvene on Thursday next at 11 a.m.

No roll-call vote tallies or named individual aye/no votes were recorded in the provided transcript for the measures above; the transcript records the outcomes as voice votes in which “the ayes have it.”