Senate met for a few minutes today. They’ll meet again on Thursday.
They did, as typical, no heavy lifting. No debates, no discussions.
Senate Session Summary – Monday, Jan. 30, 2023
State House News Service
January has come and gone without meaningful legislative action in the Massachusetts Senate. Since formally starting the two-year legislative term on Jan. 4, the Senate’s sessions have mostly stuck to putting reports on file, honoring a couple of people with memorial adjournments, and adopting congratulatory resolutions. On Monday, the Senate was in active session for about three minutes. The session featured a congratulatory resolution, the recess and then the introduction of a tour group from the Weymouth Council on Aging. There was no sign of Senate leadership and committee assignments or of the Senate rules — both will need to be in place for senators to truly begin considering the thousands of bills that were filed by the Jan. 20 deadline. The Senate’s next session is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday. — Colin A. Young
To track a bill’s legislative history or view its text, click here and enter the bill number. The News Service features gavel-to-gavel summaries of all sessions and audio of formal sessions on our web page: http://www.statehousenews.com.
CONVENES: Sen. Brownsberger banged the gavel at 11:07 a.m. and called the Senate to order.
PLEDGE: Members, staff and guests rose to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
RESOLUTION: The Senate adopted a Sen. Timilty resolution congratulating a Milton town employee.
ADJOURNMENT ORDER: The Senate adopted an order to meet next on Thursday at 11 a.m.
RECESS/RETURNS: The Senate recessed at 11:08 a.m. and returned to order at 11:19 a.m.
Sen. Brownsberger handed the gavel to Sen. O’Connor to introduce guests.
WEYMOUTH COUNCIL: Sen. O’Connor introduced a group of 80 members of the Weymouth Council on Aging. The group was touring the State House and O’Connor said he wanted their visit to be acknowledged in the Senate Journal.
Sen. Tarr moved that Sen. O’Connor’s remarks be printed in the Senate Journal. The motion passed without objection. Sen. Brownsberger wished the group well.
ADJOURNS: The Senate adjourned at 11:21 a.m. to meet next on Thursday at 11 a.m.
House Session Summary – Monday, Jan. 30, 2023
State House News Service
The House returned from the weekend for a 10-minute session, during which there was no public move toward creating committee assignments or drafting the rules under which the chamber will operate this session. The House adopted a resolution recognizing Rosa Parks Day, observed a moment of silence for a Worcester native, and welcomed the Longmeadow girls field hockey team before adjourning in memory of former Rep. Alice Wolf. There is chatter that a rules debate might be coming to the chamber on Wednesday, when representatives are scheduled to meet in a formal session on the same day that House Democrats have a caucus. An informal session on Tuesday could shed light on what’s on deck for Wednesday. – Sam Drysdale
To track a bill’s legislative history or view its text, click here and enter the bill number. The News Service features gavel-to-gavel summaries of all sessions and audio of formal sessions on our web page: http://www.statehousenews.com.
CONVENES: Rep. Garballey of Arlington banged the gavel at 11:03 a.m. and called the House to order.
PLEDGE: Members, staff and guests rose to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROSA PARKS DAY: The House adopted a Rep. Kushmerek of Fitchburg and Rep. Diggs of Barnstable resolution recognizing Rosa Parks Day.
MOMENT OF SILENCE: On the request of Rep. LeBoeuf of Worcester, the House observed a moment of silence for Robert H. DePew, who died on Jan. 23. Rep. Garballey said Bob was the safety director at JP Noonan Transportation in West Bridgewater for 25 years. He was born in Worcester and later graduated from South High Central New England College of Technology and Nichols College. He served in Army National Guard as a Leicester firefighter for 23 years, and emergency manager and hazmat coordinator for the Town of Leicester. Bob was a fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus and was a longtime hockey coach for Worcester Pee Wee Hockey.
LONGMEADOW FIELD HOCKEY TEAM: Rep. Ashe welcomed the Longmeadow Girls Field Hockey Team, who won the 2022 Division 2 state championship with a record of 20 wins, two losses and two ties.
ADJOURNMENT ORDER: The House adopted an order to meet next on Tuesday at 11 a.m.
IN MEMORY OF REP. WOLF: Rep. Decker of Cambridge moved that when the House adjourn it do so in honor of Alice K. Wolf, a member of the House from Cambridge from 1997 until 2012. The House adopted the special adjournment.
ADJOURNS: The House adjourned at 11:14 a.m. to meet next on Tuesday at 11 a.m. in an informal session.
Texas, with a population and economy larger than most nations gets its legislative business complete in less than 6 months a year.
Here in Massachusetts we have pompous clowns taking advantage of the system for their own benefit.