Page 16 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MAY 7, 2021 A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES OF Beacon Hill Roll Call By Bob Katzen A note from Bob Katzen, Publisher of Beacon Hill Roll Call: Join me this Sunday night and every Sunday night in our new time slot between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. for my talk show “The Bob Katzen Baby Boomer and Gen X Show.” Jump in my time capsule and come back to the simpler days of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Upcoming guests: Sunday, May 9: Tony Dow, best known for playing Wally Cleaver on the iconic television series “Leave it to Beaver.” Sunday, May 16: Susan Olsen best known for her role as Cindy Brady on the classic television series “The Brady Bunch.” Listeners are always invited to call in and talk with our popular guests. There are many ways you can listen to the show from anywhere in the world: If you have a smart speaker, simply say, “Play WMEX on Audacy.com” Download the free www.Audacy. com app on your phone or tablet Listen online at www.wmexboston.com Or tune into 1510 AM if you have an AM radio. THE HOUSE AND SENATE. Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ and senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of April 26-30. All the House roll calls are on the House version of a $47.7 billion fiscal 2022 state budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2021. THE BUDGET “DEBATE” Most of the decisions on which representatives’ amendments are included or not included in the budget are made “behind closed doors.” Or in the COVID-19 era, “behind closed Zoom meetings.” Of the 1,157 budget amendments proposed, most of them were bundled into consolidated “mega” amendments. This year there were seven mega amendments and all but one, which had just one vote against it, were approved unanimously. There is no real “debate” on the House floor. Everyone who spoke on any of the consolidated amendments spoke in favor of them. The system works as follows: Individual representatives file amendments on various topics. All members then pitch their amendments to Democratic leaders who draft consolidated amendments that include some of the individual representatives’ amendments while excluding others. The categories of consolidated amendments include some 16 subjects including programs relating to public safety, judiciary energy, environmental affairs, housing, labor and economic development. Supporters of the system say that any representative who sponsored an excluded amendment can bring it to the floor and ask for an up or down vote on the amendment itself. They say this system has worked well for many years. Opponents say that rarely, if ever, does a member bring his or her amendment to the floor for an up-ordown vote because that is not the way the game is played. It is an “expected tradition” that you accept the fate of your amendment as determined by Democratic leaders. BHRC | SEE PAGE 21
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