THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2021 Page 17 BHRC | FROM PAGE 16 el in which he spoke to ‘legislators’ from other countries including from China and Russia. Can Massachusetts’ most narcissistic green elite be this tone deaf or is he there for the self-celebration and pageantry?” It’s a Senate tradition that the Senate president only votes occasionally. Current Senate President Karen Spilka follows that tradition and only voted on 45 (39.1 percent) of the 115 roll calls while not voting on 70 (60.9 percent) of them. Sen. Spilka’s office did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call to comment on her voting record. We specifically asked if Spilka was in the Statehouse building for all the formal and informal sessions; how the tradition developed that the president rarely votes; has she ever thought of breaking that tradition and being recorded on all roll calls; and how does she choose on which roll calls she will vote? “Sen. Spilka follows the tradition that many before her followed,” said Paul Craney. “In this particular case, it’s not necessarily a bad tradition but unfortunately a much worse trend in the state senate is quickly emerging, and that is its opaqueness. The Statehouse has been closed for over 600 days, and now major budget decisions are being done behind closed doors and when lawmakers are on recess. The Massachusetts Legislature, including the State Senate, is the most opaque legislative body in the United States. There is no other state legislature this secretive.” SENATORS’ 2021 ROLL CALL ATTENDANCE RECORDS The percentage listed next to the senator’s name is the percentage of roll call votes on which the senator voted. 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 filed. 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 November 29-December 3, the House met for a total of one hour and 30 minutes while the Senate met for a total of one hour and 22 minutes. Mon. Nov. 29 House 11:00 a.m. to 11:12 a.m. Senate 11:14 a.m. to 11:18 a.m. Tues. Nov. 30 No House session No Senate session Wed. Dec. 1 No House session No Senate session Thurs. Dec. 2 House 11:11 a.m. to 11:21 a.m. Senate 11:07 a.m. to 11:14 a.m. Fri. Dec 3 House 11:03 a.m. to 12:11 p.m. Senate 11:03 a.m. to 12:14 p.m. Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com For Advertising with Results, call The Advocate Newspapers at 617-387-2200 or Info@advocatenews.net
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