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Senate accepts conference report to adopt new joint rules boosting transparency and public access
Summary
The Massachusetts Senate accepted a conference committee report that updates joint rules with measures such as posting recorded joint committee votes, longer notice for joint hearings and delays before conference reports can be considered.
The Massachusetts Senate on a recorded vote accepted the conference committee report adopting revised joint rules designed to increase public access and legislative transparency.
The change, approved when the conference report was accepted by a roll call (40 ayes, 0 nays), includes requirements that joint committee votes be recorded and posted, plain-language bill summaries appear before joint hearings, and longer notice and review periods be provided for conference reports.
The conference committee report was presented on the Senate floor by Senator Cynthia Stone Cream, the Senate conferee who described the package as responsive to citizens’ calls “for a more transparent and effective legislature.” She credited Senate President Spilka and members of both chambers and outlined specific changes intended to make the legislative process “more open and more efficient.”
Among the…
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