THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020 Page 13 the virus. Beacon Hill Roll Call also reports local senators’ roll call attendance records for the 2020 session through March 20. The Senate has held 33 roll IMPORTANT NOTICE: Anyone feeling overwhelmed from the COVID-19 epidemic or in general with sadness, anxiety or stress, or who wants to harm themselves or others, can access the mental health, emotional support and suicide prevention program Call2Talk by dialing 2-1-1. Call2Talk is also available by calling (508) 532-2255 or by texting C2T to 741741.” THE HOUSE AND SENATE. The focus on Beacon Hill last week was the Coronavirus. There were no roll call votes in the House or Senate. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call covers the state government's actions on call votes so far in 2020. Beacon Hill Roll Call tabulates the number of roll calls on which each senator was present and voting and then calculates that number as a percentage of the total roll call votes held. That percentage is the number referred to as the roll call attendance record. In the Senate, 34 senators (91.8 percent) have 100 percent roll call attendance records. Only three senators have missed any roll calls. Beacon Hill Roll Call contacted these senators who missed roll calls and asked them for a statement. The two senators who missed the most roll calls are Sens. Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville) and Mike Rush (D-West Roxbury) who each missed fi ve roll calls (84.8 percent attendance record). “On January 16, I was home with the fl u,” responded Jehlen. “There were fi ve roll calls that I missed [that day]. It's the only session I missed.” “I was out of state on offi cial orders, training with the U.S. Navy from January 10th to January 19th, 2020,” wrote Rush. Sen. Michael Rodrigues (D-Westport) missed one roll call. “I was in session participating in the debate on the climate change bill and I don’t remember missing a roll call,” responded Rodrigues. 2020 SENATE ATTENDANCE RECORD THROUGH MARCH 20 The percentage listed next to the senator’s name is the percentage of roll call votes for which the senator was present and voting. The number in parentheses represents the number of roll calls that he or she missed. Sen. Sal DiDomenico 100 Percent (0) HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK'S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature's job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been fi led. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of March 1620, the House met for a total of three hours and 52 minutes while the Senate met for a total of six hours and 56 minutes Mon. March 16 House 11:00 a.m. to 1:35 p.m. Senate 11:19 a.m. to 1:39 p.m. Tues. March 17 House 11:03 a.m. to 11:08 a.m. Senate 11:11 a.m. to 11:17 a.m. Wed. March 18 House 11:02 a.m. to 12:03 p.m. Senate 11:08 a.m. to 11:21 a.m. Thurs. March 19 House 11:00 a.m. to 11:11 a.m. Senate 11:04 a.m. to 3:21 a.m. No Senate session Fri. March 20 No House session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com
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