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 principal reforms in the report, as explained on the floor:
- All joint committee votes will be recorded and posted on the General Court website to give the public a clear record of committee-level action.
- Joint committees must publish plain-language bill summaries online prior to hearings so members of the public can understand proposals before testifying.
- The full first meeting of a conference committee will be open to the public, and conference reports filed before 8 p.m. will not be considered until at least 24 hours have passed; reports filed after 8 p.m. will not be considered until the second calendar day after filing.
- An independent financial audit of the legislature’s joint accounts will be required annually.
- Chairs will record and post attendance for their branch members at joint committee hearings, including noting conflicts such as military service or medical emergencies.
- Joint committee hearings will continue to be conducted in person with remote participation available for the public; committees will provide 10 days’ notice for hearings (an increase from 72 hours).
- The reporting date for timely-filed bills was moved to the first Wednesday in December of the first year of the session to encourage earlier committee action; the regular formal session end date was clarified as July 31 of the second year, with limited return for conference reports, appropriation bills filed after July 31, and vetoes.

Senator Bruce E. Tarr, the Senate minority leader, and Senator Ryan C. Fattman, the minority conferee, both supported adoption while urging continued vigilance against extensions or procedural workarounds that could undermine the reforms. Tarr called for guarding the rules against “abuse of extension orders” and for ongoing attention to audit procedures. Senator Joan B. Lovely, a conference committee conferee, described the process as bipartisan and stressed the package’s role in strengthening transparency and efficiency.

The conference report was accepted following debate and a roll call in which the clerk recorded 40 affirmative votes and none opposed. The rules package includes a provision for a joint-rules review every two years; the conference report also directs the Joint Committee on Rules to hold a public hearing at the end of each two-year session to solicit feedback.

The adopted changes modify how information about committee actions and conference reports is made available to the public and establish procedural timing changes to expand public review time. The Senate recorded acceptance of the conference report and ordered the changes implemented under the terms of the conference agreement.