Amidst all the St. Patrick’s Day banter, the Massachusetts Legislature on Wednesday runs into the biennial bill-reporting deadline that’s designed to get bills out of committee and give their sponsors a chance to move them in the House and Senate before the curtain closes on formal sessions on July 31.
The deadline, which is spelled out in Joint Rule 10 of the General Court’s joint rules, was the subject of surprisingly heated debate at the start of the 2015-2016 session when new Senate President Stanley Rosenberg and his leadership team passed rules reforms that they hoped would end the advantage the House has long held over the flow of bills and get more legislation out of committees earlier in order to give senators more time to pass it. But the House has won again, if only by dint of the lack of action in an almost forgotten joint rules conference committee. And Rosenberg has turned instead to a dizzying array of newly formed and often unofficial special committees and work groups and private Democratic caucuses in order to facilitate work on bills that senators consider priorities.
Asked whether the flow of bills was still impeded as in sessions past, Rosenberg declined to make any observations when asked about it by the News Service last week. “It’s business as usual at this point,” he said. “Joint Rule 10 Day is approaching and we’re just going to follow the rule and follow the procedures outlined.” After formals close in July, Rosenberg said, there will be time to analyze things.
Click the audio player above to hear NEPR’s Henry Epp speak with State House News Service reporter Matt Murphy about the week ahead on Beacon Hill.
