Senate adopts multiple transparency changes, defeats in-person voting mandate and considers limits on late-night voting

BOSTON — The Senate considered dozens of proposed changes to its internal rules Tuesday, adopting measures aimed at boosting transparency while rejecting a proposal to make in-person presence the default for roll-call voting and taking up a late-night voting limit for further consideration.

The most immediate outcomes included adoption of an amendment that renames the panel overseeing services for older residents and several technical transparency provisions. The chamber also voted down a change that would have made in-person attendance the default for roll-call votes; that proposal failed on a recorded vote, 5 in favor and 32 opposed. The Senate later moved to take up a proposal to bar continuing sessions beyond midnight.

The changes matter because they reshape how the Senate posts and shares information about its work, how members may participate remotely, and how late-night legislative sessions are handled. Proponents said the updates will make the Senate more open and accountable; opponents warned some changes would reduce access or hamper members who represent distant districts.

Senator Patricia D. Jalen, sponsor of an early amendment, asked the chamber to align committee names with executive offices, saying the Executive Office’s recent renaming justified the change. “It seems to me that we should have a committee that reflects the name of the Executive Office,” Senator Patricia D. Jalen said, and the amendment renaming the committee on elder affairs was adopted.

Senator Rebecca L. Rausch spoke for amendments aimed at increasing transparency on…