Page 18 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MArCH 28, 2025 If you have any questions about this week’s report, e-mail us at bob@beaconhillrollcall. com or call us at (617) 720-1562. Beacon Hill Roll Call Volume 50 - Report No.12 March 17-21, 2025 Copyright © 2025 Beacon Hill Roll Call. All Rights Reserved. By Bob Katzen G ET A FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO MASSTERLIST – Join more than 22,000 people, from movers and shakers to political junkies and interested citizens, who start their weekday morning with MASSterList—the popular newsletter that chronicles news and informed analysis about what’s going on up on Beacon Hill, in Massachusetts politics, policy, media and infl uence. The stories are drawn from major news organizations as well as specialized publications. MASSterList will be e-mailed to you FREE every Monday through Friday morning and will give you a leg up on what’s happening in the blood sport of Bay State politics. For more information and to get your free subscription, go to: https:// MASSterList/subscribe/ THE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ votes on roll calls from recent debate on the House rules. There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. MORE TIME TO READ BILLS (H 2024) House 23-128, rejected a House rules amendment that would require bills be made available to House members and the public no later than noon two days prior to consid- LEGAL NOTICE - COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS THE TRIAL COURT PROBATE AND FAMILY COURT Docket No. ES25P0675EA Estate of: MARIE-CHRISTINE A. CARDILLO Also Known As: MARIE C. AMARA CARDILLO Date of Death: November 28, 2023 INFORMAL PROBATE PUBLICATION NOTICE To all persons interested in the above captioned estate, by Petition of Petitioner NOELLE E. SELIN of SOMERVILLE, MA a Will has been admitted to informal probate. NOELLE E. SELIN of SOMERVILLE, MA has been informally appointed as the Personal Representative of the estate to serve without surety on the bond. The estate is being administered under informal procedure by the Personal Representative under the Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code without supervision by the Court. Inventory and accounts are not required to be filed with the Court, but interested parties are entitled to notice regarding the administration from the Personal Representative and can petition the Court in any matter relating to the estate, including distribution of assets and expenses of administration. Interested parties are entitled to petition the Court to institute formal proceedings and to obtain orders terminating or restricting the powers of Personal Representatives appointed under formal procedure. A copy of the Petition and Will, if any, can be obtained from the Petitioner. March 28, 2025 eration and also sets an amendment deadline of 5 p.m. the day after the bill is released, or one day prior to consideration. For example, a bill released on a Monday by noon would have an amendment deadline of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, and the House would debate and vote on the amendments and the bill on Wednesday. “Under current House rules, there is a same day amendment fi ling deadline of 5 p.m. for bills that are released by noon,” said amendment sponsor Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading). “This gives members very little time to review legislation, draft amendments and fi le those amendments. The House and joint rules off er a perfect example of why this rule should be changed, as members essentially had about fi ve hours to review more than 200 pages of documents, try to understand what was and wasn’t in either rules proposal, and then draft amendments before the 5 p.m. fi ling deadline. The current process simply doesn’t provide enough time for members to review legislation and off er amendments.” Rep. Jessica Giannino (D-Revere) said that extending the bill distribution timeline to two days can and will slow down the entire legislative process. She argued that this introduces unnecessary delays, especially in situations that demand swift action, such as emergencies or rapidly developing circumstances in need of legislative action. She noted that the current one-day rule strikes a better balance between maintaining transparency and allowing effi ciency and noted the House must ensure our legislative operations remain agile. (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment requiring that members have two days to read legislation before voting on it. A “No” vote is against the amendment.) Rep. Jessica Giannino No Rep. Donald Wong Yes KEEP COMMITTEE POLLS OPEN FOR TWO HOURS (H 2026) House 23-128, rejected a House rules amendment that would require House committee polls to be open for at least two hours or until all committee members have voted. Committee polls are used to record which members favor or oppose a bill that was heard by the committee. “When voting to advance legislation, it is important that the members understand the bill they’re voting on so they can make an informed decision,” said amendment sponsor Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading). “That is not always possible with the short turnaround time required of some polls, especially when the bills under consideration have been redrafted, are lengthy or are technical in nature. Providing a two-hour window to respond to a poll is a reasonable compromise that will help to ensure that each member feels comfortable with their vote without hampering the committee’s ability to move legislation in a timely fashion.” Amendment opponents offered no arguments. But earlier that day, the House voted against a similar amendment to the joint House-Senate rules. At that time, Rep. Kathy LaNatra (D-Kingston) said, “In Massachusetts, we have a full-time, professional Legislature, which requires preparation and preparedness. When a poll is released by a committee chair, that should not be the fi rst time we are reading a piece of legislation. Committee polls should remain at the chair’s discretion, ensuring decisions refl ect urgency rather than arbitrary deadlines. Committees I have been on have provided days to review language. We must, however, always maintain our ability to act for our constituents when the time arises.” Rep. Mike Moran (D-Brighton), a member of the House Rules Committee who helped write the House rules package, did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call to explain why he and the Democrat House leadership voted against the amendment. (A “Yes” vote is for the twohour minimum. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Jessica Giannino No Rep. Donald Wong Yes NOTIFY REPRESENTATIVES OF COMMITTEE POLLS AT LEAST 12 HOURS IN ADVANCE (H 2024) House 23-128, rejected a House rules amendment that would require all House committee members to be notifi ed at least 12 hours in advance if the committee is going to poll members electronically. “When a poll is released with a tight deadline to respond, there is always a danger that a committee member may not see it until after the poll has closed because they may be tied up in a constituent meeting, attending a municipal event in their district or driving to the Statehouse and unable to review their e-mails,” said amendment sponsor Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading). “This amendment simply provides members with advance notice of an upcoming poll so they can plan their schedule accordingly and provide a timely response.” Amendment opponents offered no arguments. But earlier that day, the House voted against a similar amendment to the joint House-Senate rules. At that time, Rep. Christine Barber (D-Somerville) said, “As full-time legislators, committee work and committee votes are a major part of our role. Requiring a 12-hour notice for an electronic poll would not increase the effi - ciency of our legislative process and [would] only slow down our work to address critical issues.” Rep. Mike Moran (D-Brighton), a member of the House Rules Committee who helped write the rules package, once again, did not respond to repeated requests by Beacon Hill Roll Call to explain why he and the Democrat House leadership voted against the amendment. (A “Yes” vote is for the 12hour minimum. A “No” vote is against it.) Rep. Jessica Giannino No Rep. Donald Wong Yes ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL ALLOW REMOTE ACCESS TO PUBLIC MEETINGS (H 62) - The House and Senate approved and sent to Gov. Maura Healey legislation that would extend, until June 2027, the current law that allows cities and to off er remote participation at public meetings through June 2027. The option, fi rst adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent state of emergency, was due to expire on March 31. The extension applies to public bodies and representative town meetings. “I voted for this legislation because it has substantially increased resident participation and engagement in local government and has made it easiBEACON | SEE PAGE 19
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