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House convenes briefly, adopts emergency preamble for sick-leave bill and passes a batch of local and policy bills

December 26, 2024 | House, Legislative, Massachusetts


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House convenes briefly, adopts emergency preamble for sick-leave bill and passes a batch of local and policy bills
The House met in session, opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and proceeded through a sequence of committee reports, rule suspensions and voice votes that moved a broad slate of bills forward.

Speaker 1 opened the session and recorded motions throughout the day, frequently responding to committee reports read by Speaker 2. Early in the session Speaker 2 presented an order from the Senate concerning the judiciary with a deadline of Dec. 31, 2024 (Senate No. 2925). Multiple motions to suspend Rule 7(a) were made and adopted, including motions recorded as moved by "Mister McGonigal of Everett," "Mister Wong," and repeatedly by "Mister Frost of Auburn." Speaker 1 routinely called voice votes and announced results with the phrase, "The ayes have it."

The House considered and advanced many bills. Notably, House 5116 (an act establishing a sick leave bank for Daniel McKim, an employee of the Worcester County Sheriff's Office) required a separate constitutional vote on its emergency preamble. Division counts were returned and the emergency preamble was adopted (reported counts: 4 affirmative, 0 negative). Later in the session House 5116 was called again and Speaker 1 announced the bill "is passed to be enacted."

Other measures moved forward largely without debate: Senate 2471 (authorizing additional Everett licenses for sale of alcoholic beverages not to be drunk on the premises), Senate 2465 (residential tax exemption in Provincetown), several acts amending town charters (e.g., Provincetown, Grafton, Paxton) and local personnel authorizations (multiple House bills enabling named individuals to take civil service examinations notwithstanding maximum age limits). The House also advanced policy bills such as Senate 2884 (bus lane enforcement), Senate 2970 (applied behavioral analysis therapy), Senate 2994 (increasing access to blood donation), Senate 2908 (humane protection of animals) and Senate 2436 (Nantucket Sewer Commission regulation). In each case committee-recommended amendments were adopted by voice vote when recorded and the bills were ordered to a third reading or passed to be engrossed.

All procedural motions and roll calls, when recorded, were voice votes with the chair's announcement of results. Where a division count was taken (House 5116 emergency preamble), the transcript records the counts by division; otherwise votes are recorded as "The ayes have it" or similar voice-vote confirmations without named tallies.

The House adopted an order that when it adjourned it stand adjourned to meet Monday next at 11:00 AM (motion offered by Mister Mariano of Quincy and read by Speaker 2). Mister Frost of Auburn moved the final adjournment; Speaker 1 recorded the voice vote and announced the House adjourned to meet Monday at 11:00 AM in an informal session.

Votes at a glance (selected items advanced or enacted during the session):
- House 5116 — Establish a sick leave bank for Daniel McKim (Worcester County Sheriff's Office). Emergency preamble adopted (division counts reported) and bill passed to be enacted.
- Senate 2884 — An act relative to bus lane enforcement. Committee amendment adopted; bill ordered to third reading and later passed to be engrossed.
- Senate 2970 — An act relative to applied behavioral analysis therapy. Committee amendment adopted; ordered to third reading and passed to be engrossed.
- Senate 2994 — An act to increase access to blood donation. Committee amendment adopted; ordered to third reading and passed to be engrossed.
- Senate 2908 — An act providing for the humane protection of animals. Passed to be engrossed.
- Senate 2436 — An act further regulating the Nantucket Sewer Commission. Passed to be engrossed.
- House 3075 — An act relative to Rosa Parks' Day. Passed to be engrossed.
- House 5080–5082 — Acts directing the Boston Police Department to waive maximum age requirements for named individuals. Passed to be engrossed.
- House 5091 — Authorizing the Dudley-Charlton Regional School District to convey certain land to the town of Charlton. Passed to be engrossed.
- House 5134 — Increasing membership on the Paxton Select Board. Passed to be engrossed.
- House 5157 (substitute for House 2294) — Relative to special state police officers. Committee amendment adopted; passed to be engrossed.

Where the transcript records only voice votes, tallies are not specified in the record. The session featured repeated, routine committee reports and no extended debate recorded on the floor for these items. The session concluded with adoption of an adjournment order and a motion to adjourn; the chair announced the House stands adjourned until Monday at 11:00 AM in an informal session.

(Reporting based solely on the transcript record; votes described as "voice vote" reflect the transcript wording when no named tallies were recorded.)

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Scribe from Workplace AI
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