NOTICE: - While reasonable efforts have been made to assure the accuracy of the data herein, this is an UNCORRECTED proof of the Joint Session Calendar. It is published to provide information in a timely manner, but has not been proofread for accuracy.

CALENDAR

OF THE

JOINT SESSION OF THE TWO HOUSES

FOR

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2009

[At one o’clock P.M.]  

[AND FOR SUBSEQUENT SESSIONS IF ORDERED.]

[CONCURRENTLY ASSIGNED FOR CONSIDERATION.]

[CONTINUATION OF RECESSED SESSION OF MAY 13, 2009.]

[All amendments to be offered should be drafted so that the line numbers correspond with the line numbers in the printed Convention Calendar and not with the printed proposals.]

1.     On the following proposal (see Senate, No. 22), the committee on Election Laws has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought NOT to pass.  [Kennedy-Moran.] (Senator Brown and Representatives Frost of Auburn and Jones of North Reading dissent.)
      [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]
      [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution establishing an independent redistricting commission.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

                  SECTION 1. ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT

2

Article CI of the Articles of Amendment to the Constitution of the
3

Commonwealth is hereby annulled, and the following is adopted in place

4

thereof:

5

      Article CI

6

The House of Representatives shall consist of one hundred and

7

sixty members, each of whom shall be elected from one representative

8

district.   Every representative shall have been an inhabitant of the district

9

for which he or she is chosen for at least one year at least immediately

10

preceding his or her election and shall cease to represent such district

11

when he or she shall cease to be an inhabitant of the Commonwealth,

12

provided, however, that for the first redistricting following the adoption of

13

this article, the General Court may suspend the residency requirement of

14

this section.

15

      SECTION 2.  The Senate shall consist of forty members, each of

16

whom shall be elected from one senatorial district.   Every senator shall

17

have been an inhabitant of the Commonwealth for at least five years

18

immediately preceding his or her election and shall be an inhabitant of the

19

district for which he or she has been selected at the time of his or her

20

election and shall cease to represent such senatorial district when he or she

21

shall cease to be an inhabitant of the Commonwealth.

22

      SECTION 3. The manner of calling and conducting the elections for

23

the choice of representatives, senators, and councillors, and of ascertaining

24

their election, shall be prescribed by law.

25

      SECTION 4. The federal census shall be the basis for determining the

26

representative, senatorial, and governor ’s council districts for the ten-year

27

period beginning with the first Wednesday of the third January following

28

the commencement of the taking of said census.  

29

      SECTION 5.    In the year after each census is commenced, and only in

30

that year, an Independent Redistricting Commission ( “Commission”) shall

31

be convened and shall divide the Commonwealth into one hundred and

32

sixty representative districts, forty senatorial districts, and eight councillor

33

districts. All districts shall comprise contiguous territory, shall be equal in

34

population to the extent required by law, and shall comply with federal

35

constitutional and statutory requirements.   No district shall be drawn for

36

the purpose or with the effect of diluting the voting strength of any group

37

based on race, ethnicity or language minority status, or for the purpose of

38

augmenting or diluting the voting strength of a political party, or any

39

individual.   In drawing district lines, the Commission shall not consider

40

residential address, party affiliation, or partisan voting history of any

41

individual or groups of individuals, except to the extent necessary to avoid

42

dilution of voting strength based on race, ethnicity or language minority

43

status.   In addition, to the maximum extent possible, district boundaries

44

shall be drawn so as to: (1)   maintain the unity of well-defined municipal

45

neighborhoods; (2) observe municipal boundaries; (3)   establish senatorial

46

districts that follow representative district boundaries; (4) establish

47

councillor districts that follow representative district boundaries and (5)

48

promote geographic compactness of districts.   If it is not possible to draw

49

district boundaries that fully comply with these criteria while also

50

complying with the mandatory requirements set forth herein, then they

51

shall be drawn to optimize the criteria in the order of priority set forth

52

hereinabove.   The Commission shall also consider communities of interest

53

in determining which cities, towns, or neighborhoods thereof to aggregate

54

into a single district.

55

      SECTION 6.   The Commission shall consist of seven member

56

commissioners.   On or before January 15 of the year following the

57

commencement of the federal census, the following offices shall each

58

appoint one member of the Commission: the Governor of the

59

Commonwealth, who shall appoint a dean or professor of law or political

60

science or government at an institution of higher learning in the

61

Commonwealth; the Attorney General of the Commonwealth, who shall

62

appoint a retired justice who resides in the Commonwealth; and the

63

Secretary of the Commonwealth, who shall appoint an expert in civil

64

rights law who is a resident of the Commonwealth.  

65

      By the same date, the House Speaker, the House Minority Leader, the

66

Senate President, and the Senate Minority Leader shall each nominate

67

three individuals.    The appointees chosen by the Governor, Attorney

68

General, and Secretary of the Commonwealth shall then select one of the

69

three nominees named by each said official.

70

      If nominations or appointments are not made by January 15 of such

71

year, the office   responsible for making the appointment or nominations

72

shall forfeit its rights under this section and the remaining direct

73

appointees shall then make an appointment to fill the vacancy.

74

      Nominations and appointments shall reflect the geographic, racial,

75

ethnic, gender, and age diversity of the Commonwealth to the maximum

76

extent feasible and shall be selected on the basis of civic involvement and

77

knowledge of redistricting policy, civil rights, political science,

78

demographics or statistics, election expertise, voting rights, community

79

organizing, or law.   No person nominated or appointed to the Commission,

80

in the five years preceding such nomination or appointment, shall have

81

held Congressional, state legislative or statewide elective office, or shall

82

have served as mayor or city councillor of a city in the Commonwealth,

83

governor ’s councillor, or shall have been elected to a state or federal party

84

committee; or shall be a current employee, agent or family member of any

85

of the above; or, in the two years preceding such nomination or

86

appointment, shall have been a legislative agent.   The Commissioners

87

shall agree: (1) not to stand for election to the General Court, Congress, or

88

the Governor ’s Council until districts are redrawn following the next

89

census; (2) to apply the provisions of this article in an honest, independent,

90

and impartial fashion; and (3) to act at all times so as to uphold public

91

confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process.  

92

      SECTION 7.  The Commission shall be convened no later than

93

February 15 of the year following the commencement of the decennial

94

census.   The Commission shall disband only upon final adoption and

95

exhaustion of judicial review of challenges to representative, councillor,

96

and senatorial districts.

97

      SECTION 8.   The Commission shall hire staff and may retain experts

98

to assist it in the performance of its duties.   The Commission shall

99

establish rules governing its operation and procedures.   Commissioners

100

may receive compensation for actual time spent on Commission duties and

101

shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses.   The budget of

102

the Commonwealth shall provide adequate funding for the operation of the

103

Commission.

104

      SECTION 9.   A member of the Commission or an appointing authority

105

may petition the Supreme Judicial Court to remove a commissioner on the

106

grounds of neglect, misconduct, or inability to perform the duties of a

107

commissioner.   A vacancy so created shall be filled by the office which

108

appointed the removed commissioner or by the nomination and selection

109

process set forth in Section 6, as applicable.

110

      SECTION 10.  All meetings of the Commission shall be open to the

111

public, consistent with the laws of the Commonwealth concerning open

112

meetings as of the date of the adoption of this Article.   All documents

113

produced by or for the Commission shall be public.   The Commission

114

shall hold public hearings in at least five geographically disbursed

115

counties.   The public shall be afforded the opportunity to submit proposed

116

maps for consideration by the Commission and the Commission shall

117

make map-making software available for public use.   The Commission

118

shall take all steps necessary to ensure that the public can exercise its right

119

to review and comment on proposed district maps before they are

120

approved and shall publish all preliminary and final plans in publicly

121

accessible forums that are free of charge and that ensure wide public

122

distribution.   Proposed districts shall be presented in both graphic and

123

narrative form.

124

      SECTION 11. Within one hundred and twenty days of the completion

125

of the decennial census, the Commission shall prepare and publish for

126

public comment a preliminary plan for representative, councillor, and

127

senatorial districts.   The public shall have a three-week period to comment

128

on the preliminary district plan.   The Commission may revise the

129

preliminary district plan in response to public comment and shall submit

130

the revised plan to the General Court, which shall vote on the revised plan.  

131

If the plan is rejected, then the Commission shall prepare, publish, revise,

132

and submit a second-round preliminary district plan in the same manner as

133

the first.   Following the period for public comment, the Commission shall

134

submit the revised plan to the General Court for a vote.   If the General

135

Court votes to reject the second-round plan, then the Commission shall

136

prepare, publish, revise, and submit a third-round preliminary district plan,

137

in the same manner as the first.   If the General Court rejects the third-

138

round plan, then the Commission shall prepare, publish, and revise a

139

fourth-round plan in the same manner.   The plan, so revised, shall become

140

law without submission to or approval by the General Court.

141

      With respect to each plan the Commission submits to the General Court

142

for a vote, the vote must be taken within two weeks of submission.   No

143

amendments to the plan as submitted may be made.   If the plan is

144

approved by a majority of the members of the House and Senate present

145

and voting or if no vote is taken within the two-week period, then the plan

146

as submitted shall become law.

147

      SECTION 12.  Original jurisdiction is hereby vested in the Supreme

148

Judicial Court upon the petition of any voter of the Commonwealth for

149

judicial relief relative to the establishment of the representative,

150

councillor, and senatorial districts.   The General Court may by law limit

151

the time within which judicial proceedings may be instituted to challenge

152

any redistricting map.

2.    On the following proposal (see Senate, No. 23), the committee on the Judiciary has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought to pass.  [Creem-O’Flaherty.] (Representative Evangelidis of Holden dissents.)
      [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]
      [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution relative to the subject matter of initiative petitions.  

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

      Section 2 of Part II, “Initiative Petitions,” of Article XLVIII of the

2

Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth is hereby amended

3

by inserting in the first sentence of the third paragraph after the words

4

“shall be the subject of an initiative or referendum petition” the following

5

words: “The rights to freedom, equality, and civil liberties; the right of

6

each individual to be protected by society in the enjoyment of life, Liberty

7

and property, according to standing laws ”.


3.    On the following proposal (see Senate, No. 24), the committee on the Judiciary has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought NOT to pass.  [Creem-O’Flaherty.]
      [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]
      [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution providing for the abolition of  the Governor’s Council.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

      ART. Section 1. Article IV of section I of chapter I of Part the Second

2

of the Constitution is hereby amended by striking out the words “with the

3

advice and consent of the council ”.

4

      Section 2. Article II of section II of said chapter I is hereby amended by

5

striking out in the first paragraph the words “and councillors” and the

6

words “councillors and” wherever they appear in the third paragraph.

7

      Section 3. Article III of section II of said chapter I is hereby amended

8

by striking out the words “with five of the council”.

9

      Section 4. Article XI of section III of said chapter I is hereby amended

10

by striking out the words “and council,” and the word “council,” wherever

11

they appear.

12

      Section 5. Article IV of section I of chapter II of the Second Part of the

13

Constitution is hereby annulled.

14

      Section 6. Article V of said section I of said chapter II is hereby

15

amended by striking out the words “with advice of the council”.

16

      Section 7. Article VI of said section I of said chapter II is hereby

17

amended by striking out the words “with advice of the council”.

18

      Section 8. Article VIII of said section I of said chapter II is hereby

19

annulled and the following article is adopted in place thereof: —

20

      Article VIII. The power of pardoning offences, except such as persons

21

may be convicted of before the senate by an impeachment of the house,

22

shall be in the governor; provided, that if the offence is a felony the

23

General Court shall have the power to prescribe the terms and conditions

24

upon which a pardon may be granted; but no charter of pardon, granted by

25

the [governor] before conviction, shall avail the party pleading the same,

26

notwithstanding any general or particular expressions contained therein,

27

descriptive of the offence or offences intended to be pardoned.   The

28

Governor shall annually communicate to the General Court the name of

29

each person pardoned, the crime and date of conviction, and the date of

30

the pardon.

31

      Section 9. Article IX of said section I of said chapter II is hereby

32

amended by striking out the word “council” and inserting in place thereof

33

the following word:- senate.

34

      Section 10. Article XI of said section I of said chapter II is hereby

35

amended by striking out the words “,with the advice and consent of the

36

council, ”.

37

      Section 11. Article II of section II of said chapter II is hereby annulled.

38

      Section 12. Articles I to V, inclusive, of section III of said chapter II are

39

hereby annulled.

40

      Section 13. Article II of section IV of said chapter II is hereby amended

41

by striking out the words “and council”.

42

      Section 14. Article I of chapter III of Part the Second of the

43

Constitution is hereby amended by striking out the words “, with the

44

consent of the council, ”, the first time they appear.

45

      Section 15.  Said article I of said chapter III is hereby further amended

46

by striking out the word “council”, the second time it appears, and

47

inserting in place thereof the following word:- senate.

48

      Section 16. Article II of said chapter III is hereby amended by striking

49

out the words “or the council”.

50

      Section 17. Article V of said chapter III is hereby annulled.

51

      Section 18. Article I of chapter VI of Part the Second of the

52

Constitution is hereby amended by striking out the last paragraph and

53

inserting in place thereof the following paragraph: — And the said oaths or

54

affirmations shall be taken and subscribed by the governor and lieutenant

55

governor , before the president of the senate, in the presence of the two

56

houses of assembly; and by senators and representatives first elected under

57

this constitution, before the president and five of the council of the former

58

constitution; and forever afterwards before the governor for the time

59

being; and by the residue of the officers aforesaid, before such persons and

60

in such manner as from time to time shall be prescribed by the legislature.

61

      Section 19. Article II of said chapter VI is hereby amended by striking

62

out in the second paragraph the words “or the governor and council”.

63

      Section 20. Said article II of said chapter VI is hereby further amended

64

by striking out the fourth paragraph.

65

      Section 21. Said article II of said chapter VI is hereby further amended

66

by striking out the words “with the advice and consent of the council”.

67

      Section 22. Article VII of the Amendments to the Constitution is

68

hereby amended by striking out the word “councillors,”.

69

      Section 23. Article VIII of said Amendments is hereby amended by

70

striking out the words “,lieutenant governor, or councillor” and inserting

71

in place thereof the words: — or lieutenant governor.

72

      Section 24. Article XIII of said Amendments is hereby amended by

73

striking out in the last sentence the words “or in the executive council”.

74

      Section 25. Article XVI of said Amendments is hereby annulled and the

75

following article is adopted in place thereof: —

76

      Article XVI. That there may be no delay in the organization of the

77

government on the first Wednesday of January, the governor shall, as soon

78

as may be, examine the returned copies of the records for the election of

79

governor and lieutenant governor; and ten days before the said first

80

Wednesday in January he shall issue his summons to such persons as

81

appear to be chosen, to attend on that day to be qualified accordingly; and

82

the secretary shall lay the returns before the senate and house of

83

representatives on the said first Wednesday in January, to be by them

84

examined; and in the case of the election of either of said officers, the

85

choice shall be by them declared and published; but in case there shall be

86

no election of either of said officers, the legislature shall proceed to fill

87

such vacancies in the manner provided in the Constitution for the choice

88

of such officers.

89

      Section 26. Article XVII of said Amendments is hereby amended by

90

striking out the words “with the advice and consent of the council”.

91

      Section 27. Article XXV of said Amendments is hereby annulled.

92

      Section 28. Article XXXVII of said Amendments is hereby amended by

93

striking out the words “,with consent of the council”.

94

      Section 29. The first sentence of section 1 of article LXIV, as appearing

95

in article LXXX, of said Amendments is hereby amended by striking out

96

the words “councillors”.

97

      Section 30. Said section 1 of said article LXIV, as so appearing, is

98

hereby further amended by striking out the sixth sentence.

99

      Section 31. The first sentence of section 2 of article CI, as appearing in

100

section 2 of article CXIX, of said Amendments is hereby amended by

101

striking out the words “and also the councillor districts”.

102

      Section 32. The last sentence of said section 2 of said article CI is

103

hereby amended by striking out the words “and councillors”.

104

      Section 33. Section 3 of said article CI is hereby amended by striking

105

out the word “, councillor”.

106

      Section 34. All of the provisions of the constitution and amendments

107

inconsistent with the provisions of these Amendments are hereby

108

annulled.

109

      Section 35. The provisions of this law will take effect on the 7th day of

110

January, 2015.


4.    On the following proposal (see Senate, No. 25), the committee on the Judiciary has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought NOT to pass.  [Creem-O’Flaherty.]

     [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]

     [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution relative to the election of judges.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

      Pt. 2, c. 3, Article I of the Constitution is hereby amended as follows:

2

      “Article I. The tenure that all commissioned officers shall by law have

3

in their office, shall be expressed in their respective commissions. All

4

judicial officers, duly appointed, commissioned and sworn, shall hold their

5

offices for a period of six years. After the expiration of the initial six year

6

term, the judicial officer, if he or she so chooses, shall have his or her

7

name placed upon the ballot, in the County where they have been seated

8

for the majority of six years, for a vote of affirmation. If the judicial

9

officer chooses not to place his/her name upon the ballot his/her term shall

10

immediately end and he or she can not be considered for appointment to

11

any judicial position. If the judicial officer ’s name is placed upon the

12

ballot and receives a majority vote of all votes cast he or she shall be

13

reappointed for an additional six year period. If the judicial officer fails to

14

receive a majority vote he or she shall not be eligible for reappointment to

15

any judicial position. Should the judicial officer receive a vote of

16

affirmation he or she will be eligible for a reappointment in like manner

17

every six years thereafter. Provided however, the Governor, with consent

18

of the Council, may after due notice and hearing retire them because of

19

advanced age or mental or physical disability; and provided further, that

20

upon attaining seventy years of age said judges shall be retired. Such

21

retirement shall be subject to any provisions made by law as to pensions or

22

allowances payable to such officers upon their voluntary retirement.

23

      The Clerk Magistrate in the County where a judicial officer’s name is

24

placed upon the ballot, shall publish the judicial officer ’s sentencing and

25

bail setting record on all F.B.I. Part I offenses for the previous six years in

26

all County newspapers, on public access television channels within said

27

County and post in all county courthouses. This shall be published a

28

minimum of three weeks prior to the judicial officer ’s name being placed

29

on the ballot.

30

      Immediately upon ratification of this amendment to the Massachusetts

31

Constitution, all judicial officers who are presently judges shall have their

32

names placed on the ballot in the County where they are presently seated

33

at the first statewide election for a vote of affirmation.”


5.    On the following proposal (see Senate, No. 27), the committee on the Judiciary has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought NOT to pass.  [Creem-O’Flaherty.]

     [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]

     [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the constitution eliminating the Governor’s Council.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

      ART. ____.  Section 1.   Article IV of section I of chapter I of Part the

2

Second of the Constitution is hereby amended by striking out the words

3

“with the advice and consent of the council”.

4

      Section 2.  Article II of section II of said chapter I is hereby amended

5

by striking out in the first paragraph the words “and councilors” and the

6

words “councilors and” wherever they appear in the third paragraph.

7

      Section 3.  Article III of section II of said chapter I is hereby amended

8

by striking out the words “with five of the council”.

9

      Section 4.  Article XI of section III of said chapter I is hereby amended

10

by striking out the words “and council,” and the word “council,” wherever

11

they appear.

12

      Section 5.  Article IV of section I of chapter II of Part the Second of the

13

Constitution is hereby annulled.

14

      Section 6.  Article V of said section I of said chapter II is hereby

15

amended by striking out the words “with advice of the council”.

16

      Section 7.  Article VI of said section I of said chapter II is hereby

17

amended by striking out the words “with advice of the council”.

18

      Section 8.  Article VIII of said section I of said chapter II is hereby

19

annulled and the following article is adopted in place thereof:

20

      Article VIII.  The power of pardoning offences, except such as persons

21

may be convicted of before the senate by an impeachment of the house,

22

shall be in the governor; provide, that if the offence is a felony the General

23

Court shall have the power to prescribe the terms and conditions upon

24

which a pardon may be granted; but no charter of pardon, granted by the

25

before conviction, shall avail the party pleading the same, notwithstanding

26

any general or particular expressions contained therein, descriptive of the

27

offence or offences intended to be pardoned.   The governor shall annually

28

communicate to the General Court the name of each person pardoned, the

29

crime and date of conviction, and the date of the pardon.

30

      Section 9.  Article IX of said section I of said chapter II is hereby

31

amended by striking out the word “council” and inserting in place thereof

32

the following word:- senate.

33

      Section 10.  Article XI of said section I of said chapter II is hereby

34

amended by striking out the words ”, with the advice and consent of the

35

council, ”.

36

      Section 11.  Article II of section II of said chapter II is hereby annulled.

37

      Section 12.  Articles I to V, inclusive, of section III of said chapter II

38

are hereby annulled.

39

      Section 13.  Article II of section IV of said chapter II is hereby

40

amended by striking out the words, “and council”.

41

      Section 14.  Article I of chapter III of Part the Second of the

42

Constitution is hereby amended by striking out the words ”, with the

43

consent of the council, ”, the first time they appear.

44

      Section 15.  Said article I of said chapter III is hereby further amended

45

by striking out the word “council” the second time it appears, and

46

inserting in pace thereof the following word:-   senate.

47

      Section 16.  Article II of said chapter III is hereby amended by striking

48

out the words “or the council”.

49

      Section 17.  Article V of said chapter III is hereby annulled.

50

      Section 18.  Article I of chapter VI of Part the Second of the

51

Constitution is hereby amended by striking out the last paragraph and

52

inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

53

      And the said oaths or affirmation shall be taken and subscribed by the

54

governor and the lieutenant governor, before the president of the senate, in

55

the presence of the two houses of assembly; and by senators and

56

representatives first elected under this constitution, before the president

57

and five of the council of the former constitution, and forever afterwards

58

before the governor for the time being; and by the residue of the officers

59

aforesaid, before such persons and in such manner as from time to time

60

shall be prescribed by the legislature.

61

      Section 19.  Article II of said chapter VI is hereby amended by striking

62

out in the second paragraph the words “or the governor and council”.

63

      Section 20.  Said article II of said chapter VI is hereby further amended

64

by striking out the fourth paragraph.

65

      Section 21.  Said article II of said chapter IV is hereby further amended

66

by striking out the words “with the advice and consent of the council”.

67

      Section 22.  Article VII of the Amendments to the Constitution is

68

hereby amended by striking out the word “councilors”.

69

      Section 23.  Article VIII of said Amendments is hereby amended by

70

striking out the words “, lieutenant governor, or councilor” and inserting

71

in place thereof the words:-   or lieutenant governor.

72

      Section 24.  Article XIII of said Amendments is hereby amended by

73

striking out in the last sentence the words “or in the executive council”.

74

      Section 25.  Article XVI of said Amendments is hereby annulled and

75

the following article is adopted in place thereof:-

76

      Article XVI.  That there may be no delay in the organization of the

77

government on the first Wednesday of January, the governor shall, as soon

78

as may be, examine the returned copies of the records for the election of

79

governor and lieutenant governor; and ten day before the said first

80

Wednesday in January he shall issue his summons to such persons as

81

appear to be chosen, to attend on that day to be qualified accordingly; and

82

the secretary shall lay the returns before the senate and house of

83

representatives on the said first Wednesday in January, to be by them

84

examined; and in the case of the election of either of said officers, the

85

choice shall be   by them declared and published; but in case there shall be

86

no election of either of said officers, the legislature shall proceed to fill

87

such vacancies in the manner provided in the Constitution for the choice

88

of such officers.

89

      Section 26.  Article XVII of said Amendments is hereby amended by

90

striking out the words “with the advice and consent of the council”.

91

      Section 27.  Article XXV of said Amendments is hereby annulled.

92

      Section 28.  Article XXXVII of said Amendments is hereby amended

93

by striking out the words ”, with consent of the council”.

94

      Section 29.  The first sentence of section I of article LXIV, as

95

appearing in article LXXX, of said Amendments is hereby amended by

96

striking out the words “councilors”.

97

      Section 30.  Said section 1 of said article LXIV, as so appearing, is

98

hereby further amended by striking out the sixth sentence.

99

      Section 31.  The first sentence of section 2 of article CI, as appearing in

100

section 2 of article CXIX, of said Amendments is hereby amended by

101

striking out the words “and also the councilor districts”.

102

      Section 32.  The last sentence of section 2 of said article CI is hereby

103

amended by striking out the words “and councilors”.

104

      Section 33.  The last sentence of said section 2 of said article CI is

105

hereby amended by striking out the word “,councilor”.

106

      Section 34.  All of the provisions of the constitution and amendments

107

inconsistent with the provisions of these Amendments are hereby

108

annulled.

 

6.    On the following proposal (see House, No. 535), the committee on Election Laws has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought NOT to pass.  [Kennedy-Moran.] (Senator Brown and Representatives Frost of Auburn and Jones of North Reading dissent.)

           [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]

     [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution establishing an independent redistricting commission and criteria for redistricting for state House of Representatives, Senate, and Councilor districts.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

      Article CI of the Articles of Amendment to the Constitution of the

2

Commonwealth is hereby annulled, and the following is adopted in place

3

thereof:--

4

Article CI

5

      SECTION 1. The house of representatives shall consist of 160

6

members, each of whom shall be elected from one representative district.  

7

Every representative shall have been an inhabitant of the district for which

8

election and shall cease to represent such district when he shall ceases to

9

be an inhabitant of the commonwealth; provided, however, that for the

10

first redistricting following the adoption of this article, the general court

11

may suspend the residency requirement of this section.

12

      SECTION 2.  The senate shall consist of 40 members, each of whom

13

shall be elected from one senatorial district.   Every senator shall have been

14

an inhabitant of the commonwealth for at least five years immediately

15

preceding his election and shall be an inhabitant of the district for which

16

he has been selected at the time of his election and shall cease to represent

17

such senatorial district when he ceases to be an inhabitant of the

18

commonwealth.

19

      SECTION 3. The manner of calling and conducting the elections for

20

the choice of representatives, senators, and councilors, and of ascertaining

21

their election, shall be prescribed by law.

22

      SECTION 4. The federal census shall be the basis for determining the

23

representative, senatorial, and governor ’s council districts for the ten year

24

period beginning with the first Wednesday of the third January following

25

the commencement of the taking of said census.  

26

      SECTION 5. In the year after each census is commenced, and only in

27

that year, an independent redistricting commission, herein referred to as

28

the commission, shall be convened and shall divide the commonwealth

29

into 160 representative districts, 40 senatorial districts, and eight councilor

30

districts. All districts shall comprise contiguous territory, shall be equal in

31

population to the extent required by law, and shall comply with federal

32

constitutional and statutory requirements.   No district shall be drawn for

33

the purpose or with the effect of diluting the voting strength of any group

34

based on race, ethnicity or language minority status, or for the purpose of

35

augmenting or diluting the voting strength of a political party, or any

36

individual.   In drawing district lines, the commission shall not consider

37

residential address, party affiliation, or partisan voting history of any

38

individual or groups of individuals, except to the extent necessary to avoid

39

dilution of voting strength based on race, ethnicity or language minority

40

status.   In addition, to the maximum extent possible, district boundaries

41

shall be drawn so as to: (1)   maintain the unity of well-defined municipal

42

neighborhoods; (2) observe municipal boundaries; (3)   establish senatorial

43

districts that follow representative district boundaries; (4) establish

44

councilor districts that follow representative district boundaries and (5)

45

promote geographic compactness of districts.   If it is not possible to draw

46

district boundaries that fully comply with these criteria while also

47

complying with the mandatory requirements set forth herein, then districts

48

shall be drawn to optimize the criteria in the order of priority set forth

49

hereinabove.   The commission shall also consider communities of interest

50

in determining which cities, towns, or neighborhoods thereof to aggregate

51

into a single district.

52

      SECTION 6.   (a) The commission shall consist of seven member

53

commissioners.   On or before January 15 of the year following the

54

commencement of the federal census, the following offices shall each

55

appoint one member of the commission: the governor of the

56

commonwealth, who shall appoint a dean or professor of law or political

57

science or government at an institution of higher learning in the

58

commonwealth; the attorney general of the commonwealth, who shall

59

appoint a retired justice who resides in the commonwealth; and the

60

secretary of the commonwealth, who shall appoint an expert in civil rights

61

law who is a resident of the commonwealth.  

62

      (b) By the same date, the house speaker, the house minority leader, the

63

senate president, and the senate minority leader shall each nominate three

64

individuals.    The appointees chosen by the governor, attorney general,

65

and secretary of the commonwealth shall then select one of the three

66

nominees named by each said official.

67

      (c) If nominations or appointments are not made by January 15 of such

68

year, the office responsible for making the appointment or nominations

69

shall forfeit its rights under this section and the remaining direct

70

appointees shall then make an appointment to fill the vacancy.

71

Nominations and appointments shall reflect the geographic, racial, ethnic,

72

gender, and age diversity of the commonwealth to the maximum extent

73

feasible and shall be selected on the basis of civic involvement and

74

knowledge of redistricting policy, civil rights, political science,

75

demographics or statistics, election expertise, voting rights, community

76

organizing, or law.   No person nominated or appointed to the commission,

77

in the five years preceding such nomination or appointment, shall have

78

held Congressional, state legislative or statewide elective office, or shall

79

have served as mayor or city councilor of a city in the commonwealth,

80

governor ’s councilor, or shall have been elected to a state or federal party

81

committee; or shall be a current employee, agent or family member of any

82

of the above; or, in the two years preceding such nomination or

83

appointment, shall have been a legislative agent.   The commissioners shall

84

agree: (1) not to stand for election to the general court, congress, or the

85

governor ’s council until districts are redrawn following the next census;

86

(2) to apply the provisions of this article in an honest, independent, and

87

impartial fashion; and (3) to act at all times so as to uphold public

88

confidence in the integrity of the redistricting process.  

89

      SECTION 7.  The commission shall be convened no later than

90

February 15 of the year following the commencement of the decennial

91

census.   The commission shall disband only upon final adoption and

92

exhaustion of judicial review of challenges to representative, councilor,

93

and senatorial districts.

94

      SECTION 8.   The commission shall hire staff and may retain experts

95

to assist it in the performance of its duties.   The commission shall establish

96

rules governing its operation and procedures.   Commissioners may receive

97

compensation for actual time spent on commission duties and shall be

98

reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses.   The budget of the

99

commonwealth shall provide adequate funding for the operation of the

100

commission.

101

      SECTION 9.   A member of the commission or an appointing authority

102

may petition the supreme judicial court to remove a commissioner on the

103

grounds of neglect, misconduct, or inability to perform the duties of a

104

commissioner.   A vacancy so created shall be filled by the office which

105

appointed the removed commissioner or by the nomination and selection

106

process set forth in section 6, as applicable.

107

      SECTION 10.  All meetings of the commission shall be open to the

108

public, consistent with the laws of the commonwealth concerning open

109

meetings as of the date of the adoption of this Article.   All documents

110

produced by or for the commission shall be public.   The commission shall

111

hold public hearings in at least five geographically disbursed counties.  

112

The public shall be afforded the opportunity to submit proposed maps for

113

consideration by the commission and the commission shall make map-

114

making software available for public use.   The commission shall take all

115

steps necessary to ensure that the public can exercise its right to review

116

and comment on proposed district maps before they are approved and

117

shall publish all preliminary and final plans in publicly accessible forums

118

that are free of charge and that ensure wide public distribution.   Proposed

119

districts shall be presented in both graphic and narrative form.

120

      SECTION 11. (a) Within 120 days of the completion of the decennial

121

census, the commission shall prepare and publish for public comment a

122

preliminary plan for representative, councilor, and senatorial districts.   The

123

public shall have a three-week period to comment on the preliminary

124

district plan.   The commission may revise the preliminary district plan in

125

response to public comment and shall submit the revised plan to the

126

general court, which shall vote on the revised plan.   If the plan is rejected,

127

the commission shall prepare, publish, revise, and submit a second-round

128

preliminary district plan in the same manner as the first.   Following the

129

period for public comment, the commission shall submit the revised plan

130

to the general court for a vote.   If the general court votes to reject the

131

second-round plan, the commission shall prepare, publish, revise, and

132

submit a third-round preliminary district plan, in the same manner as the

133

first.   If the general court rejects the third-round plan, then the commission

134

shall prepare, publish, and revise a fourth-round plan in the same manner.  

135

The plan, so revised, shall become law without submission to or approval

136

by the general court.

137

      (b) With respect to each plan the commission submits to the general

138

court for a vote, the vote must be taken within two weeks of submission.  

139

No amendments to the plan as submitted may be made.   If the plan is

140

approved by a majority of the members of the house of representatives and

141

the senate present and voting or if no vote is taken within the two-week

142

period, then the plan as submitted shall become law.

143

      SECTION 12.  Original jurisdiction is hereby vested in the supreme

144

judicial court upon the petition of any voter of the commonwealth for

145

judicial relief relative to the establishment of the representative, councilor,

146

and senatorial districts.   The general court may by law limit the time

147

within which judicial proceedings may be instituted to challenge any

148

redistricting map.

 

7.    On the following proposal (see House, No. 561), the committee on Election Laws has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought to pass.  [Kennedy-Moran.]

     [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]

     [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution authorizing the General Court to provide for absentee voting by any voter.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]: 

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

      Article __ . Article XLV of the Amendments to the Constitution, as

2

appearing in Article CV of the Amendments, is hereby annulled and the

3

following is adopted in place thereof:-

4

      Article XLV. The general court shall have power to provide by law for

5

voting, in the choice of any officer to be elected or upon any question

6

submitted at an election, by any qualified voter of the commonwealth by

7

absentee ballot.


8.    On the following proposal (see House, No. 588), the committee on Election Laws has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought to pass.  [Kennedy-Moran.]

     [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]

     [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution authorizing the General Court to provide for absentee voting by any voter.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

      Article  . Article XLV of the Amendments to Constitution, as appearing

2

in Article CV of the Amendments, is hereby annulled and the following is

3

adopted in place thereof:-

4

      Article XLV. The general court shall have power to provide by law for

5

voting, in the choice of any officer to be elected or upon any question

6

submitted at an election, by any qualified voter of the commonwealth by

7

absentee ballot.


9.    On the following proposal (see House, No. 650), the committee on Election Laws has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought NOT to pass, the time within which the said committee was required to report having expired.

     [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]

     [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution relative to a vacancy in the office of Governor and Lieutenant-Governor.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

      Section II of chapter II of Part the Second of the Constitution of the

2

Commonwealth is hereby amended by striking out Article III and inserting

3

in place thereof the following two articles: —

4

      Article III . Whenever the chair of the governor shall be vacant, by

5

reason of his death, resignation or removal, the lieutenant governor shall

6

become governor. Whenever the chair of the governor shall be vacant by

7

reason of his absence from the commonwealth, or otherwise, except for

8

his death, resignation or removal, the lieutenant governor for the time

9

being, shall, during such vacancy, perform all the duties incumbent upon

10

the governor, and shall have and exercise all the powers and authorities,

11

which by this constitution the governor is vested with, when personally

12

present.

13

      Article IV. Whenever the office of lieutenant governor shall become

14

vacant, the governor shall nominate a lieutenant governor who shall take

15

office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both the house of

16

representatives and the senate.    


10.  On the following proposal (see House, No. 1455), the committee on the Judiciary has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought to pass.  [Creem-O’Flaherty.]

     [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]

     [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution prohibiting eminent domain takings for the purpose of economic development.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

      The taking of land or interests therein by eminent domain for private

2

commercial or economic development is hereby declared not to be a

3

public use of the commonwealth under the first paragraph of Article X of

4

Part the First of the Constitution.


11.  On the following proposal (see House, No. 1700), the committee on the Judiciary has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought to pass.  [Creem-O’Flaherty.]

     [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]

     [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution prohibiting eminent domain.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

      The People of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts hereby declare it

2

necessary and expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the

3

following Article of Amendment: -

4

      With just compensation paid, private property may be taken only when

5

necessary for the possession, occupation, and enjoyment of land by the

6

public at large, or by public agencies. Except for the privately owned

7

public utilities or common carries, private property shall not be taken for

8

private commercial enterprise, for economic development, or for any other

9

private use, except with the consent of the owner. Property shall not be

10

taken from one owner and transferred to another, on the grounds that the

11

public will benefit from a more profitable private use. Whenever an

12

attempt is made to take property for a use alleged to be public, the

13

question whether the contemplated use is truly public shall be a judicial

14

question, and determined as such without regard to any legislative

15

assertion that the use is public.


12.  On the following proposal (see House, No. 1779), the committee on the Judiciary has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought to pass.  [Creem-O’Flaherty.]

     [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]

     [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution relative to eminent domain takings.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

      Article X of Part the First of the Constitution is hereby amended by

2

adding at the end thereof, the following:

3

      The taking of real estate or of any interest therein by right of eminent

4

domain under this chapter or Chapter 80A shall be effected only when

5

necessary for the possession, occupation, and enjoyment of land by the

6

public at large or by public agencies and shall not be effected for the

7

purpose of commercial enterprise, private economic development, or any

8

private use of the property.   Property shall not be taken from one owner

9

and transferred to another on the grounds that the public will benefit from

10

a more profitable use.   Whenever an attempt is made to take property for a

11

use alleged to be public, the question whether the contemplated use is

12

truly public shall be a judicial question and determined as such without

13

regard to any legislative assertion that the use is public.  In the event that

14

property taken pursuant to this chapter or Chapter 80A is not used for the

15

purpose for which it was taken within five (5) years of the taking, the

16

governmental authority that took the property must offer to sell the

17

property to the owner from whom it was acquired, or his or her known or

18

ascertainable heirs or assigns, at the price which was paid for the property

19

or for the fair market value of the property at the time of the sale,

20

whichever is less, and if the offer is not accepted within 180 days from the

21

date it is made, the property may be sold to any other person, but only at

22

public sale after legal notice is given.


13.  On the following proposal (see House, No. 2952), the committees  On Rules of the two branches, acting concurrently have reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought NOT to pass, the time within which the said committees were required to report having expired.

           [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]

     [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution repealing automatic increases in compensation for members of the General Court.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

      Article CXVIII of the Articles of Amendment to the Constitution is

2

hereby annulled.


14.  On the following proposal (see House, No. 3406), the committees  on Ways and Means, acting jointly have reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought NOT to pass, the time within which the said committees were required to report having expired.
 

     [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]

       [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution providing for a two year budget process for the Commonwealth.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

      Section 2 of Article LXIII of the Articles of Amendment to the

2

Constitution of the Commonwealth, as most recently amended by Article

3

CXII of the Articles of Amendment to the Constitution, is hereby annulled

4

and the following is adopted in place thereof:--

5

      Section 2. The Budget. - Within three weeks after the convening of the

6

general court the governor shall recommend to the general court a budget

7

which shall contain a statement of all proposed expenditures of the

8

commonwealth for the next two fiscal years, including those already

9

authorized by law, and of all taxes, revenues, loans and other means by

10

which such expenditures shall be defrayed. In the first year of the term of

11

office of a governor who has not served in the preceding year said

12

governor shall recommend such budget within eight weeks after the

13

convening of the general court. The budget shall be arranged in such form

14

as the general court may by law prescribe, or, in default thereof, as the

15

governor shall determine. For the purpose of preparing his budget, the

16

governor shall have the power to require any board, commission, officer

17

or department to furnish him with any information which he may deem

18

necessary.


15.  On the following proposal (see House, No. 3407), the committees  on Ways and Means, acting jointly have reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought NOT to pass, the time within which the said committees were required to report having expired.
 

     [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]
 

     [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution limiting expenditure growth.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

      Section 3 of Article LXIII of the Articles of Amendment to the

2

Constitution of the Commonwealth is hereby annulled and the following is

3

adopted in place thereof:--

4

      Section 3. The General Appropriation Bill. - All appropriations based

5

upon the budget to be paid from taxes or revenues shall be incorporated in

6

a single bill which shall be called the general appropriation bill. The

7

general court may increase, decrease, add or omit items in the budget,

8

except that, the percentage growth in aggregate expenditures in the budget

9

for any fiscal year, over the previous fiscal year ’s budget, shall not be

10

more than the percentage growth rate of inflation for the same fiscal year

11

time period plus the percentage growth rate of the Commonwealth ’s

12

population for the same fiscal year time period. Such percentage growth

13

rate of inflation shall be determined by the United States Bureau of Labor

14

Statistics Consumer Price Index for Boston-Brockton-Nashua, all items,

15

all urban consumers, not seasonally adjusted, or its successor index. Such

16

percentage growth rate of the Commonwealth ’s population shall be

17

determined by the United States Census Bureau. The general court may

18

provide for its salaries, mileage, and expenses and for necessary

19

expenditures in anticipation of appropriations, but before final action on

20

the general appropriation bill it shall not enact any other appropriation bill

21

except on recommendation of the governor. The governor may at any time

22

recommend to the general court supplementary budgets which shall be

23

subject to the same procedures as the original budget.    


| 16.  On the following proposal (see House, No. 3411), the committee on Election Laws has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought NOT to pass.  [Kennedy-Moran.]

     [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]

     [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution relative to home rule.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

1

      SECTION 1. Section 3 of Article LXXXIX of the Amendments to the

2

Constitution is hereby amended by striking out, in the first sentence, the

3

word “fifteen” and inserting in place thereof the following:-

4

“five”.


17.  On the following proposal (see House, No. 3537), the committee on the Judiciary has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought to pass.  [Creem-O’Flaherty.] (Representative Evangelidis of Holden dissents.)

     [Question on ordering the proposal to a third reading – after the proposal is twice read in succession.]

     [Vote required: - Majority of members present and voting.]

Proposal for a legislative amendment to the Constitution relative to the subject matter of initiative petitions.

A majority of all the members elected to the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint session, hereby declares it to be expedient to alter the Constitution by the adoption of the following Article of Amendment, to the end that it may become a part of the Constitution [if similarly agreed to in a joint session of the next General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

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      Section 2 of Part II, “Initiative Petitions,” of Article XLVIII of the

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Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth is hereby amended

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by inserting in the first sentence of the third paragraph after the words

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“shall be the subject of an initiative or referendum petition” the following

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words: “The rights to freedom and equality; the right of each individual to

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be protected by society in the enjoyment of life, Liberty and property,

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according to standing laws. ”


SPECIAL RULES WITH REFERENCE TO THE CONSIDERATION, IN JOINT SESSION, OF PROPOSALS FOR AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.

[Adopted by the Senate and the House of Representatives as the rules for the joint session to be held September 30, 2009 and for any subsequent joint sessions which may be held.]
     [See Amendments to the Constitution, Art. XLVIII, the Initiative, Part V, and Art. LXXXI (pp. 106 and 125 of the Manual for 2007-2008); and also Joint Rules No. 23, 24, 25 and 26.]

     Rule A. After a Proposal for an Initiative Amendment has been read, the question shall then be on agreeing to the Amendment; whereupon it shall be open to debate and any motion provided for in special Rule F.

     Rule A1. A proposal for a legislative amendment which has received the affirmative votes of a majority of all the members elected to the preceding General Court shall be read; whereupon it shall be open to debate, but may not be amended, and the question shall then be on agreeing to the amendment. A proposal for a legislative amendment which has not previously been agreed to in joint session of the two houses shall be read twice in immediate succession; and the question shall be on ordering it to a third reading, whereupon it shall be open to debate and amendment.

     Rule B. If it is ordered to a third reading, the proposal shall be read and considered at such subsequent joint session or joint sessions as may be agreed upon by the two houses or called by the Governor, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

     This rule may be suspended by a vote of four-fifths of the members of the joint session, present and voting thereon, in which case the proposal shall forthwith be read a third time; provided, however, that a motion to suspend the rule shall not be in order unless the committees on Bills in the Third Reading of the two houses, acting jointly, have examined the proposal and reported thereon in accordance with the provisions of Rule C.

     Rule C. Before the proposal is read a third time, it shall be examined by committees on the Bills in the Third Reading of the two houses, acting jointly, and reported on by them in the manner provided in the standing rules of the Senate and of the House; provided, however, that a motion directing the committees on Bills in the Third Reading of the two houses, acting jointly, to report on a proposal which was ordered to a third reading at a prior joint session shall require a two-thirds vote of the members of the joint session present and voting thereon.

     Rule D. After the third reading of the proposal, the question shall be on agreeing to the Amendment, whereupon it shall be open for debate or any motion provided for in special Rule F.
 

     Rule E. If a Proposal for an Initiative Amendment is amended, before the question is taken on agreeing to the Proposal, it shall be examined by the committees on Bills in the Third Reading of the two houses, acting jointly, and reported on by them in the manner provided in the standing rules of the Senate and of the House.

     Rule E1. Proposals which have not previously been agreed to in joint session and which are amended subsequently to their being ordered to a third reading, unless the amendment was reported by the committees on Bills in the Third Reading of the two houses, acting jointly, shall be referred forthwith to said committees and reported on by them in the manner provided in the standing rules of the Senate and of the House.

     Rule F. When the main question is under debate the President shall receive no motion that does not relate to the same, except the motion to adjourn or some other motion which has precedence by express rule or because it is privileged in its nature; and he shall receive no motion relating to the same except:

     For the previous question;

     To close debate at a specified time;

     To postpone until the two houses meet again in joint session;

     To commit (or recommit), with or without instructions, to a special committee of the joint session composed of members of both houses;

 
     To amend (excepting during consideration by the second  successive General Court);

 
     Which several motions shall have precedence in the order here arranged.

 
     No motion to reconsider a vote on a main question shall be  entertained unless made on the same day on which the vote was taken; and if moved, shall be considered at the time it is made.

     Rule G. The sense of the joint session shall be taken by the yeas and nays whenever required by thirty-five of the members present.


     Whenever the yeas and nays have been ordered, the names of the Senators shall be called first, in alphabetical order; and the yea and nay vote of the House membership shall be determined in accordance with the House rules, excepting that those members of the House who have not been recorded in the usual manner as provided under the rules of the House may be recorded on a yea and nay list after the electric voting machine has been closed and before the final vote has been announced.

     A pair with any member who is absent with a committee by authority of either or both houses may be announced, and shall be recorded, in the following manner:

     If, before the question is taken, a member states that he has paired with another member who is absent with a committee by authority of the Senate or House, and how each would vote upon the pending question, the fact shall be entered in the Journals immediately after the record of the yeas and nays, and such member shall be excused from voting, but shall be included with the members voting for the purposes of a quorum; provided, however, nothing in this rule shall be construed as to permit pairing by a member on a question involving a required vote of two-thirds, three-fourths, four-fifths or a majority of a specified number of votes.

    

      Rule H. It shall not be in order for the two houses to go into a Committee of the Whole when in joint session.

     Rule I. If the two houses are in joint session ten minutes before the hour of meeting of either branch, the President shall declare an adjournment.

     Rule J. The rules of the House of Representatives, including the last paragraph of House Rule 81, shall govern the proceedings in the joint sessions in all cases to which they are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with the provisions of Article XLVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution, or with these rules or amendments thereof, or with Joint Rules Nos. 23, 24, 25 and 26.

     Rule K. It shall be in order to recess the convention from time to time upon a majority vote of said convention.

     Rule L. Except as is otherwise provided in Rule B, Rules A to L, inclusive, may be altered, suspended or rescinded by concurrent votes of two-thirds of the members of each branch present and voting thereon in their respective branches.