Beacon Hill Roll Call
Volume 49 – Report No. 48
November 25-29, 2024
Copyright © 2024 Beacon Hill Roll Call. All Rights Reserved.
THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week.
During the week of November 25-29, the House met for a total of 37 minutes and the Senate met for a total of 34 minutes.
The 2025-2026 legislative session is scheduled to begin in January. One of the first orders of business in the Senate will be the adoption of the rules under which the Senate will operate during the next two years.
One of the proposed changes that will be debated is an attempt by the Republican minority to make it more difficult for the Senate to conduct late-night sessions. The makeup of the new Senate will consist of 36 Democrats and four Republicans.
Under current rules, a two-thirds roll call vote is required for the Senate to conduct its session beyond 8 p.m. A separate two-thirds roll call vote is required for the Senate to continue beyond midnight.
For the 2023-2024 session, the Republicans proposed two changes to those rules. The first would require a separate two-thirds vote for the session to continue after 10 p.m. and go until midnight. The second would require a unanimous vote for the Senate to meet beyond midnight.
Opponents of the two new rules say the current Senate rules are sufficient.
Here is how your local senators voted on the two new rules for the 2023-2024 session. The same two new rules will likely be considered by the incoming 2025-2026 session.
REQUIRE A TWO-THIRDS VOTE TO GO BEYOND 10 P.M. – Senate 4-34, rejected an amendment that would require a two-thirds vote for the Senate to continue any session beyond 10 p.m. and continue the session until midnight. This would be in addition to a current Senate rule that requires a two-thirds vote to continue a session beyond 8 p.m. and a two-thirds vote to continue a session beyond midnight.
(A “Yes” vote is for requiring a two-thirds vote to go beyond 10 p.m. and continue until midnight. A “No” vote is against it.)
Sen. Jason Lewis No
REQUIRE UNANIMOUS VOTE TO GO BEYOND MIDNIGHT – Senate 4-34, rejected an amendment that would require a unanimous vote for the Senate to continue any session beyond midnight. Current Senate rules require a two-thirds vote to go beyond midnight.
(A “Yes” vote is for requiring a unanimous vote to go beyond midnight. A “No” vote is against requiring it.)
Sen. Jason Lewis No
For more information and details on each bill, roll call attendance, and other relevant information, please visit the Wakefield Daily Item at www.localheadlinenews.com.
