Page 14 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021 commercial or economic development. “The right to own property is 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. 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: In keeping with tradition, there were no formal sessions of the House and Senate last week which was April vacation week for Bay State students. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports on proposed amendments fi led by representatives and senators to amend the state constitution. Any proposed constitutional amendment sponsored by legislators needs the votes of a majority of the 200-member Legislature in the 2021-2022 session and the same in the 2023-2024 session in order to appear on the November 2024 ballot for voters to decide. None of these proposals have yet been approved, but hearings have already been held on most of them. LIMIT JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS TO SEVEN YEARS (H 81) – Limits judicial appointments to seven years but allows judges to be re-appointed by the governor for an unlimited number of years every seven years. The appointment would have to be approved by the Governor’s Council as required under current law. “The people of Massachusetts should have the power to remove government offi cials in any position who are not doing or are unable to do their jobs,” said the measure’s sponsor Rep. Tom Golden (D-Lowell.) “Establishing term and tenure limits would help to ensure that judges do not stay in offi ce beyond the point at which they are eff ective.” PROHIBIT EMINENT DOMAIN TAKINGS OF LAND (H 82) – Prohibits the state from taking land by eminent domain from property owners for private a widely recognized principle in the commonwealth, and one I believe should be fi rmly protected,” said GOP House Minority Leader Brad Jones (R-North Reading), the sponsor of the amendment. “[The bill] will ensure that eminent domain proceedings are limited to those instances where it is necessary for the good of the entire community, and not for the economic benefi t of a limited class of persons. This bill strikes a balance between two competing but legitimate realities—the need of the government to acquire land to serve the public good and the rights of private citizens to own property.” PROHIBIT CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS FROM RESTRICTING FREEDOM AND EQUALITY (S 20) – Prohibits the proposal of any future constitutional amendment that would restrict the rights to freedom and equality that are in the constitution, or the right of each individual to be protected by society’s laws in the enjoyment of life, liberty and property. “Under the current constitutional scheme there is nothing to stop a group from attempting to repeal or abridge certain constitutional rights through the initiative process,” said amendment sponsor Sen. Cindy Creem (DNewton). “Subjecting such important rights to a popular vote or a fl eeting change in political winds is unconscionable and should not be allowed.” EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW (S 21 and H 83) – Expands a part of the constitution that currently provides that equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged because of sex, race, color, creed or national origin. The measure adds “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the section. Sen. Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth) and Rep. Patrick Kearney (D-Scituate) each fi led the proposal at the request of one of their constituents Sabrina Holland. “This legislation … is deserving of a favorable report by the committee and has my full support,” said Sen. O’Connor who supports the bill. “This language is needed to officially prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual preference or gender identity, to perpetuate Massachusetts’ values and to create a truly equitable and safe society for all.” Neither Rep. Kearney nor Sabrina Holland responded to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call to comment on the proposal. And Kearney did not respond to a specifi c question as to whether he supports the bill. Sometimes a legislator will fi le a bill as a courtesy to a constituent even if the legislator doesn’t support it. GIVE GOVERNOR THE POWER TO APPOINT LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR (H 84) – Grants the governor the power to appoint a lieutenant governor if the offi ce is vacant because of the death, resignation, removal from offi ce or incapacity of the lieutenant governor. The appointment would have to be confi rmed by a majority vote of the House and Senate. Current law leaves the seat vacant until the next election. The measure’s sponsor, Rep. Paul Mark (D-Peru) did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call to comment on the proposal. MAKE CONSTITUTION GENDER NEUTRAL (H 79) – Makes the state constitution general neutral by striking all references to “he” and replacing it with “the person.” The measure’s sponsor, Rep. Mindy Domb (D-Amherst) did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call to comment on the proposal. “AFFIRM” RATHER THAN “SOLEMNLY SWEAR” (H 80) – Amends a current section of the constitution that gives Quakers the option to change the oath a person must take upon taking offi ce from the current: “I do solemnly swear, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the commonwealth of Massachusetts and will support the constitution thereof. So help me God.” Currently Quakers are allowed to change the word “swear” to “affi rm” and the words “So help me God” with “under the pains and penalties of perjury.” The amendment would give that same option to anyone, not just Quakers. The measure’s sponsor, Rep. Mindy Domb (D-Amherst) did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call to comment on the proposal. CHANGE “SELECTMAN” TO “SELECT BOARD” (SD 2564) – Changes all references to the constitution to a town’s “selectman” to “select board.” “This bill would recognize that both men and women can lead in local government by updating antiquated references to “selectmen” in the constitution,” said sponsor Sen. Will Brownsberger (D-Belmont). The modern terminology, adopted by many towns, is “select board.” 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 April 1923, the House met for a total of eleven minutes while the Senate met for a total of eight minutes. Mon. April 19 No House session. No Senate session Tues. April 20 House 11:01 a.m. to 11:07 a.m. Senate 11:18 a.m. to 11:25 a.m. Wed. April 21 No House session. No Senate session Thurs. April 22 House 11:00 a.m. to 11:05 a.m. Senate 11:13 a.m. to 11:14 a.m. Fri. April 23 No House session No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com PATRIOTS | FROM Page 2 week’s opener served as a solid primer for the remainder of the season. “Now that we’ve gotten a game under our belt, we’ll be able to go back to practice and really drill down on some things to prepare for next week,” he pointed out. Lynn English had the honor of facing perennial powerhouse Everett in its opener last week. The Bulldogs suff ered a 42-12 defeat and will look to turn it around against the Patriots. Revere Tight End Dillan Day scores a touchdown in the end zone. Patriots Capt. Running Back Adetayo Atitebi picks up a fi rst down and 10 on the 45. A Patriot running back is tackled by a Ram defender during last week’s action.
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