Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 28          FILED ON: 1/31/2023
     HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2025
                           The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
                                                  House of Representatives, January 31, 2023.
                                                _______________
                               In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
                                                  (2023-2024)
                                                _______________
        Ordered, “Committees.
 1. 1. Joint standing committees shall be appointed at the beginning of the biennial session as
 follows:-
 A committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity;
 A committee on Agriculture;
 A committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets
 A committee on Cannabis Policy;
 A committee on Children, Families and Persons With Disabilities;
 A committee on Community Development and Small Businesses;
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 A committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure;
 A committee on Emergency Preparedness and Management;
 A committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies;
 A committee on Education;
 A committee on Elder Affairs;
 A committee on Election Laws;
 A committee on Environment and Natural Resources;
 A committee on Financial Services;
 A committee on Health Care Financing;
 A committee on Higher Education;
 A committee on Housing;
 A committee on the Judiciary;
 A committee on Labor and Workforce Development;
 A committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery;
 A committee on Municipalities and Regional Government;
 A committee on Public Health;
 A committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security;
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 A committee on Public Service;
 A committee on Racial Equity, Civil Rights and Inclusion;
 A committee on Revenue;
 A committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight;
 A committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy;
 A committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development;
 A committee on Transportation; and
 A committee on Veterans Affairs.
 Each to consist of 6 members of the Senate, and 11 on the part of the House except the
 committees on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets, Economic Development and
 Emerging Technologies, Public Safety and Homeland Security, Mental Health, Substance Use
 and Recovery, Health Care Financing and Transportation which shall consist of 7 members of
 the Senate and 13 of the House.
 Within 4 weeks of the appointment of joint standing committees in the first annual session of the
 General Court, each joint standing committee shall adopt rules of procedure regarding its
 conduct. Said rules of procedure, together with any amendments, shall be filed with the Clerk of
 the Senate and the Clerk of the House and shall be available to the public and members of the
 General Court on the official website for the General Court.
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 Except as provided by Joint Rule 1E, each matter shall be referred only to 1 joint committee for
 consideration and all reports of matters by joint committees shall be made to the House or the
 Senate, under Joint Rule 4, not to another joint committee. The committee to which a matter is
 initially referred may discharge the matter to another committee with jurisdiction over the matter.
 Matters referred by either the Senate or the House to its committee on Ways and Means shall be
 considered by the respective committees of the 2 branches, acting as a joint committee, when, in
 the judgment of the chairs of the respective committees of the 2 branches, the interests of
 legislation or the expedition of business will be better served by such joint consideration. Matters
 may also be referred to the committees on Ways and Means, of the 2 branches, as a joint
 committee.
 The committees on Rules, together with the presiding officers of the 2 branches, acting
 concurrently, may consider and suggest such measures as shall, in their judgment, tend to
 facilitate the business of the session and a majority vote of the 2 branches shall be required to
 approve such recommendations.
 In order to assist the House and the Senate in their: (1) consideration and enactment of new
 legislation and modifications of existing laws, when either are deemed to be appropriate; (2)
 evaluation of the effectiveness and administration of laws and programs previously enacted; and
 (3) appraisal of the conditions and circumstances which may indicate the desirability of enacting
 new legislation, the various joint committees shall have the following oversight responsibilities:
 (i) each joint committee shall review and study, on a continuing basis, the implementation,
 administration, execution and effectiveness of those laws, or parts of law, the subject matter of
 which is within the jurisdiction of that committee, the administrative regulations adopted to
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 implement those laws, and those state agencies or entities having responsibilities for the
 administration and execution of such laws;
 (ii) in carrying out these review and study activities, each committee shall determine whether
 such laws, administrative regulations and programs under those laws are being implemented in
 accordance with the intent of the General Court and whether such laws, administrative
 regulations and programs should be continued, curtailed or eliminated;
 (iii) each committee shall also review and study any conditions and circumstances which may
 indicate the necessity or desirability of enacting new legislation within the jurisdiction of that
 committee, regardless of whether any matter has been introduced on that subject, and shall, on a
 continuing basis, undertake research on matters within the jurisdiction of that committee.
 Committees shall coordinate oversight activities, under the direction of the presiding officers of
 both branches, to achieve the maximum objectives of clauses (i), (ii) and (iii).
 Each committee may, upon completion of its oversight hearings, report to the General Court the
 results of its findings and recommendations together with accompanying corrective legislation, if
 any, by filing the same with the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Clerk of the Senate.
 Copies of such reports shall be, whenever practicable, made available to all members
 electronically and to the public via the Internet. The disposition of said reports shall be
 determined by the Clerks with the approval of the Speaker and the President.
 The Senate and House chairs of a joint committee may appoint subcommittees to investigate and
 study any matter referred to said subcommittee. Any subcommittee so established shall be co-
 chaired by a majority member of the Senate and a majority member of the House who are
 members of the joint standing committee appointing the subcommittee. The composition of the
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 subcommittee shall be proportional to the composition of the appointing joint committee;
 provided, however, that not less than 10 per cent of the subcommittee’s members shall be from
 the minority party. Chairs of subcommittees shall not be considered chairs under section 9B of
 chapter 3 of the General Laws. A subcommittee may, upon completion of an investigation and
 study, report the results of the investigation and study together with legislation, if any, by filing
 the same with the Senate and House chairs of the appointing joint committee.
 Temporary employees of the general court assigned to a joint committee who are students at an
 accredited education institution or employees or grantees of other non-profit organizations under
 section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code may receive compensation from such
 organization, according to that organization's regular program of providing such compensation
 for temporary governmental or public service employment. A temporary employee's Senate or
 House supervisor shall establish the employee's total compensation, shall verify that the sum of
 the employee's state compensation, if any, and that any outside compensation the employee is to
 receive under this rule would not exceed this total compensation, and shall file the written terms
 of the employee's compensation with the Senate or House Human Resources Office, where it
 shall be available for public inspection. The temporary employee shall sign a confidentiality and
 ethics agreement provided by the Senate Personnel Office or House Human Resources Office.
 The Senate and House Offices of Human Resources shall publish an employee handbook for
 joint employees of both branches of the general court. The handbook shall be developed with
 the advice and approval of both the Counsel to the Senate and the Counsel to the House. The
 handbook shall address access by joint employees to the human resource related services and
 programs of each branch of the general court. Joint employees shall complete any training
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 required by either branch of the general court, as may be agreed upon by the Senate and House
 Offices of Human Resources.
 [Amended Jan. 6, 18 82; Jan. 5, 18 83; Jan. 7, 18 84; Jan. 8 and 26, 1885; Jan. 8, 18 86; Jan. 12,
 18 87; Jan. 9, 18 88; Jan. 28, 18 89; Jan. 8, 18 90; Feb. 2, 18 91; Jan. 11 and Feb. 10, 18 92; Feb.
 7, 18 93; Jan. 8. 1894; Jan. 7, 18 95; Jan. 7, 18 96; Jan. 11, 18 97; Jan. 10, 18 98; Jan. 9, 18 99;
 Jan. 22 and 29, 1901; Jan. 6, 19 02; Jan. 9, 19 03; Jan. 8, 19 04; Jan. 6, 19 05; Jan. 4, 19 07; Jan.
 5, 19 10; Jan. 4, 19 11; Jan. 1, 19 13; Jan. 12, 19 14; Jan. 2, 19 18; Jan. 1 and 8 and Feb. 21,
 1919; Jan. 7, 19 20; Jan. 5, 19 21; April 17 and 30, 1925; Jan. 5, 19 27; Jan. 7, 19 31; Jan. 6, 19
 37; Jan. 4, 19 39; Jan. 1, 19 41; Jan. 3, 19 45; Jan. 2, 19 46; Jan. 6, 19 47; Feb. 1, 19 49; Jan. 7,
 19 53; Jan. 7, 19 59; Jan. 30, 19 61; Jan. 7, 19 63; Jan. 12, 19 65; Feb. 24, 19 65; Mar. 10, 19 66;
 Jan. 30, 19 67; Jan. 7, 1971 ; July 23, 1974 ; Sept. 30 and Oct. 12, 1976 ; Nov. 3, 1981 ; Dec. 21,
 1981 ; Mar. 15, 1982 ; Oct. 3, 1983 ; June 3, 1985 ; Jan. 25 and Mar. 14, 1988 ; Mar. 27, 1995 ,
 June 12, 1995 ; July 17, 2003 ; Jan. 26, 2005; July 21 and September 20, 2005; Feb. 20, 2007;
 Feb 12, 2009; Feb. 15, 2017; Mar 7, 2019.]
 1A. All meetings of joint committees acting concurrently, Senate and House standing
 committees, special committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, and joint special
 committees and committees of conference on the disagreeing votes of the 2 branches shall be
 open to the public, unless a majority shall vote otherwise; provided, that such committees may, at
 the discretion of the chairs of said committees, assemble and vote remotely and allow remote
 access to the public. [Adopted July 17, 1973. Amended July 18, 1974; Feb. 12, 2009.]
 1B. A joint standing committee shall hold a public hearing on each matter referred to it in each
 legislative session. [Adopted June 3, 1985; Amended Feb. 12, 2009.]
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 1C. All joint standing committees shall schedule committee hearings and executive sessions
 upon agreement of the chairs and so as not to conflict, to the extent feasible, with the schedules
 of other committees and, to the extent feasible, the day of the week and times during that day set
 aside for formal sessions by the respective branches from the first Wednesday in January through
 the fourth Wednesday of April in the first annual session. [Adopted June 3, 1985; Amended June
 12, 1995; Mar. 7, 2019.]
 All hearings of joint standing committees shall be conducted in-person with the option of remote
 participation available to both members of the joint standing committee and the public; provided,
 however, that the chairs of said joint standing committees shall be physically present at the
 hearing location where in-person public testimony is offered. All joint standing committees, in
 the conduct of their hearings, shall utilize, to the extent practicable, online platforms or systems
 that allow for synchronous, audio-visual communication between the chairs of the committee
 and individuals offering testimony remotely. All hearings of joint standing committees shall be
 publicly livestreamed on the website of the General Court and shall display and transmit, in real-
 time, the audio-visual attributes of public testimony offered remotely; provided further, that said
 livestream shall be archived on the website of the General Court for the duration of the
 legislative session. Members of joint standing committees may participate remotely and shall
 have the same privileges, rights and responsibilities as if the member were physically present at
 the hearing location, and other members of the Senate and House of Representatives may offer
 remote testimony before joint standing committees of which they are not a member. The chairs
 of the joint standing committees shall use best efforts to prioritize the testimony of those
 physically present at the hearing location and may, in their discretion, allow individuals
 participating in-person a greater amount of time to testify than those participating remotely. All
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 notices of hearings of joint standing committees issued pursuant to Joint Rule 1D at which public
 testimony is being solicited shall include instructions on how to offer testimony both in-person
 and remotely. Nothing in this rule shall preclude a joint standing committee from conducting
 hearings in which only written testimony is accepted; provided, however, that such hearings shall
 only consider home rule petitions referred to the joint standing committee pursuant to Joint Rule
 7B, or any other matter referred to a joint standing committee after having first been reported
 favorably by a separate joint standing committee sharing jurisdiction.
 1D. All meetings of joint standing committees, and special joint committees of the Senate and
 House of Representatives, and joint special committees and committees of conference on the
 disagreeing votes of the 2 branches shall be open to the public, and any person shall be permitted
 to attend any such meeting unless such committee convenes in executive session, as provided
 herein. All joint standing committees shall determine a schedule for committee hearings to be
 held from the beginning of the first annual session through the fourth Wednesday in June in said
 session. These committee schedules shall be submitted to the Clerk of the House who shall cause
 them to be published on the official website for the General Court. Establishment of such
 schedules shall not preclude joint standing committees from scheduling additional hearings or
 meetings as needed. No executive session shall be held until after the committee has first
 convened in an open session for which notice has been given, the presiding officer has stated the
 purpose of the executive session, a majority of the committee members present has voted to go
 into executive session, the vote of each member has been recorded on a roll call vote, and the
 presiding officer has stated before the executive session if the committee will reconvene after the
 executive session. The records of all such roll calls shall be kept in the offices of the committee
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 for the duration of the General Court during which said vote was recorded, and shall be available
 for public inspection upon reasonable notice and during regular office hours.
 Committees shall provide to members of the committee either the text or comprehensive
 summaries of the bills or other forms of legislative matters prior to the beginning of an executive
 session or poll. All joint standing committees, and special joint committees of the Senate and
 House of Representatives, shall notify the Sergeant-at-Arms of the time, place and agenda of all
 public hearings and executive sessions not less than 72 hours prior to the time of such meetings.
 If public testimony is being solicited, agendas shall include an electronic mail address and
 physical mail address for the submission of testimony. The Sergeant-at-Arms shall notify the
 clerk, who shall inform all members electronically and publish such information on the official
 website of the General Court whenever practicable.
 Nothing contained in this rule shall prohibit a joint standing committee or special joint
 committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives from taking appropriate action
 including, but not limited to, the exclusion of a person from a committee meeting in order to
 prevent the disruption of or interference with committee proceedings. All meetings of joint
 standing committees, and special joint committees of the Senate and House of Representatives,
 shall be limited to no more than 50 bills to be discussed in a hearing, unless it can be determined
 that all of the bills being considered are of the same subject matter.
 The 72 hour requirement shall be suspended in an emergency only after all reasonable efforts
 have been made to contact all committee members and upon a recorded vote of at least a
 majority of the members of each branch appointed to the committee, but not less than two-thirds
 of the members of each branch voting.
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 A meeting of a committee may be recorded by a perso