House Journal, November 24, 2003

Met according to adjournment, at eleven o’clock A.M., in an Informal Session, with Mr. Donato of Medford in the Chair (having been appointed by the Speaker, under authority conferred by Rule 5, to perform the duties of the Chair).

Prayer was offered by the Reverend Robert F. Quinn, C.S.P., Chaplain of the House, as follows:

Holy Spirit God, You, Your daily assistance and guidance enables us to make each day a successful, happy and learning experience. We are grateful for the gifts and spirit of compassion, kindness and love which You offer to all open and willing hearts and minds. Inspire us to make just and ethical decisions as we contend with complex intellectual, sensitive and emotional issues and policies. Let right reason and a right conscience and Your traditional precepts help us to select the correct legislative options at all times. May we as a people and a Commonwealth, promote legislation which builds stable, safe and responsible communities.

At the request of the Chair (Mr. Donato), the members, guests and employees joined with him in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

The following resolutions (filed with the Clerk) were referred, under Rule 85, to the committee on Rules:

Resolutions (filed by Mr. Connolly of Everett) congratulating the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School on receiving the official status as a certified “Core Knowledge School”; and

Resolutions (filed by Mr. O’Brien of Kingston) congratulating Michael S. Tura on receiving the Eagle Award of the Boy Scouts of America;

Mr. Miceli of Wilmington, for the committee on Rules, reported, in each instance, that the resolutions ought to be adopted. Under suspension of the rules, in each instance, on motion of Mr. Connolly, the resolutions (reported by the committee on Bills in the Third Reading to be correctly drawn) were considered forthwith; and they were adopted.

Petitions severally were presented and referred as follows:

By Mr. Hall of Westford, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 4336) of Geoffrey D. Hall, Thomas A. Golden, Jr., David M. Nangle, Cory Atkins and Susan C. Fargo (by vote of the town) relative to certain school construction projects in the town of Chelmsford. To the committee on Education, Arts and Humanities.

By Mr. Kennedy of Brockton, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 4337) of Thomas P. Kennedy, Christine E. Canavan, Geraldine Creedon and Robert S. Creedon, Jr. (with the approval of the mayor and city council) for legislation to authorize the use of the term “veteran” on ballots for public office in the city of Brockton. To the committee on Election Laws.

By Mr. Knuuttila of Gardner, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 4338) of Brian Knuuttila and Stephen M. Brewer (by vote of the town) relative to the establishment of a capital investment fund in the town of Winchendon; and

By Mr. Turkington of Falmouth, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 4339) of Eric Turkington (by vote of the town) that the town of Edgartown be authorized to enter into a certain lease of town-owned land for the development of affordable rental housing;

Severally to the committee on Local Affairs and Regional Government.

By Mr. Hill of Ipswich, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 4340) of Bradford Hill and Bruce E. Tarr (by vote of the town) that the town of Hamilton be authorized to provide group health insurance coverage. To the committee on Public Service.

By the same member, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 4341) of Bradford Hill and Bruce E. Tarr (by vote of the town) relative to tax deferral agreements in the town of Hamilton. To the committee on Taxation.

Severally sent to the Senate for concurrence.

Petitions severally were presented and referred as follows:

By Mr. Casey of Winchester, petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Paul C. Casey, Vincent P. Ciampa, Kathi-Anne Reinstein and Edward G. Connolly relative to the protection against identity theft.

By Mr. Fallon of Malden, petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Christopher G. Fallon, Philip Travis, Anthony J. Verga, Edward G. Connolly, Patricia A. Haddad and Joyce A. Spiliotis for legislation to further regulate telecommunication services and electronic mail messaging.

By Ms. Gifford of Wareham (by request), petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of John E. Duffy that school committees be prohibited from assessing students the cost of transportation to schools attended by such students.

By Mr. Kulik of Worthington, petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Stephen Kulik and other members of the General Court for legislation to authorize certain educational payroll deductions by employees of the University of Massachusetts.

By the same member, petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Stephen Kulik, Daniel E. Bosley, Christopher J. Donelan and Shaun P. Kelly relative to the reorganization of Franklin County.

By Mr. Naughton of Clinton, petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Harold P. Naughton, Jr., for legislation to establish a sick leave bank for Christopher Lavele, an employee of the Department of Correction.

By Mrs. Parente of Milford, petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Marie J. Parente that the Registrar of Motor Vehicles be authorized to issue distinctive motor vehicle registration plates for retired police officers.

By Mr. Patrick of Falmouth, petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Matthew C. Patrick, Jeffrey Davis Perry, Therese Murray, Susan Williams Gifford and Eric Turkington (by vote of the town) for legislation to provide reimbursement by the Commonwealth to the town of Bourne for certain school expenses.

By Mr. Scaccia of Boston, petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) of Angelo M. Scaccia relative to fines imposed for illegally parked motor vehicles in the cities and towns of the Commonwealth.

Severally, under Rule 24, to the committee on Rules.

The House Bill authorizing the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to grant an easement in a certain parcel of land in the town of Grafton (House, No. 263) came from the Senate passed to be engrossed, in concurrence, with amendments in section 1, in line 2, striking out the word “shall” (as inserted by the House committee on Bills in the Third Reading) and inserting in place thereof the word “may”, in lines 8 and 9, striking out the words “an easement” and inserting in place thereof the words “a non-exclusive easement”, in line 13, inserting after the word “public” the word “currently”, in line 27, inserting after the word “easement” the word “area” and in line 29, inserting after the word “University” (as printed) the words “and the easement shall be subject to such reasonable conditions as the commissioner shall deem necessary to protect the value of the commonwealth’s adjacent property”; and striking out section 5.

Under suspension of Rule 35, on motion of Mr. Speliotis of Danvers, the amendments (reported by the committee on Bills in the Third Reading to be correctly drawn) were considered forthwith; and they were adopted, in concurrence.

A petition of Brian P. Lees and Mary S. Rogeness (by vote of the town) for legislation to exempt the position of chief of police in the town of East Longmeadow from the civil service law, came from the Senate referred, under suspension of Joint Rule 12, to the committee on Public Service.

The House then concurred with the Senate in the suspension of said rule; and the petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 2163) was referred, in concurrence, to the committee on Public Service.

By Mr. Koutoujian of Waltham, for the committee on Health Care, asking to be discharged from further consideration of the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1289) of Martin J. Walsh relative to adjudicatory hearings of the Board of Registration in Medicine,— and recommending that the same be referred to the Senate committee on Ways and Means. Under Rule 42, the report was considered forthwith; and it was accepted, insomuch as relates to the discharge of the committee. Sent to the Senate for concurrence.

By Mr. Kujawski of Webster, for the committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling, asking to be discharged from further consideration

Of the Bill further regulating the opening of retail stores on Sundays (House, No. 296);

Of the Bill relative to farmstand labor (House, No. 496);

Of the Bill concerning fair motor vehicle rentals (House, No. 2566); and

Of the Bill relative to a limited liability company (House, No. 3925);

And recommending that the same severally be referred to the committee on Rules; and

Of the Bill relative to the construction of an elementary school in the town of Sunderland (House, No. 4152),— and recommending that the same be referred to the committee on Ways and Means.

Under Rule 42, the reports severally were considered forthwith; and they were accepted.

By Ms. St. Fleur of Boston, for the committee on Education, Arts and Humanities, asking to be discharged from further consideration of the Bill further regulating the open meeting law (House, No. 2158),— and recommending that the same be referred to the committee on Public Service. Under Rule 42, the report was considered forthwith; and it was accepted. Sent to the Senate for concurrence.

By Mr. Toomey of Cambridge, for the committee on Public Safety, asking to be discharged from further consideration of the petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 4235) of Douglas W. Petersen (by vote of the town) relative to authorizing the town of Marblehead to establish fines for certain parking violations,— and recommending that the same be referred to the committee on Local Affairs and Regional Government. Under Rule 42, the report was considered forthwith; and it was accepted. Sent to the Senate for concurrence.

By Mr. Kujawski of Webster, for the committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling, that the Senate Bill relative to the issuance of certain bonds by the city of Revere (Senate, No. 2057) [Local Approval Received] be scheduled for consideration by the House.

Under suspension of the rules, on motion of Mr. Rushing of Boston, the bill was read a second time forthwith; and it was ordered to a third reading.

By Mr. Koutoujian of Waltham, for the committee on Health Care, on Senate, No. 565 and House, Nos. 1282, 1664 and 2600, a Bill ensuring quality patient care and safe registered nurse staffing (House, No. 1282).

By the same member, for the same committee, on a petition, a Bill establishing an Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis registry (House, No. 1859).

By the same member, for the same committee, on a petition, a Bill establishing a spinal cord injury trust fund (House, No. 2434).

By the same member, for the same committee, on Senate, No. 661 and House, No. 2603, a Bill providing for the registration of naturopathic doctors (House, No. 2603).

By Mrs. Owens-Hicks of Boston, for the committee on Local Affairs and Regional Government, on a petition, a Bill relative to the abolition of Suffolk County (House, No. 4060).

Severally read; and referred, under Rule 33, to the committee on Ways and Means.

By Mr. Quinn of Dartmouth, for the committee on Banks and Banking, on a petition, a Bill making the deposit of public monies uniform (House, No. 1424, changed in section 1, in line 12, by inserting after the word “council” the words “; provided further, that such deposits shall be made only in those institutions that maintain insurance sufficient to insure the entire amount of such deposits”).

By Ms. St. Fleur of Boston, for the committee on Education, Arts and Humanities, on a petition, a Bill requiring school districts to develop a certain health program (House, No. 509).

By the same member, for the same committee, on Senate, Nos. 231 and 297 and House, Nos. 3311 and 3638, a Bill relative to third party payments (House, No. 3311).

Severally read; and referred, under Rule 33, to the committee on Local Affairs and Regional Government on the part of the House.

The engrossed Bill relative to the tax laws of the Commonwealth (see Senate, No. 2149, amended), having been certified by the Clerk to be rightly and truly prepared for final passage, was considered, the question being on adopting the emergency preamble.

A separate vote was taken, as required by the provisions of Article XLVIII (as amended by Article LXVII) of the Amendments to the Constitution; and the preamble was adopted, by a vote of 7 to 0. Sent to the Senate for concurrence.

Subsequently, the Senate having concurred in adoption of the emergency preamble, the bill (which originated in the Senate) was passed to be enacted; and it was signed by the acting Speaker and sent to the Senate.

Authorizing the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority to grant access to its sewer system to a certain property in the town of Hingham (Senate, No. 1221); and

Authorizing the town of Weymouth to grant access to its sewer system and to assess charges therefor (Senate, No. 2148) (its title having been changed by the committee on Bills in the Third Reading);

Severally reported by said committee to be correctly drawn, were read a third time; and they were passed to be engrossed, in concurrence.

On motion of Mr. Finneran of Boston,—

Ordered, That when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet on Wednesday next at eleven o’clock A.M.

At seventeen minutes after eleven o’clock A.M., on motion of Mr. Demakis of Boston (Mr. Donato of Medford being in the Chair) the House adjourned, to meet on Wednesday next at eleven o’clock A.M., in an Informal Session.