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

 

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2007

 

[At one o'clock P.M.]

 

[And for Subsequent Sessions if Ordered.]

 

__________________________

 

[Concurrently Assigned for Consideration.]

 

[CONTINUATION OF RECESSED SESSION OF MAY 9, 2007.]

 

[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. 2220) (introduced into the General Court by the initiative petition of Raymond L. Flynn and others) having received, in joint session, the affirmative votes of not less than one-fourth of all members elected [see House, No. 4617 of 2005], has been referred in accordance with Article XLVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution, to the present General Court.

            [After the proposal has been read, the question is on again agreeing to the amendment.]

            [Vote required: – The affirmative votes of not less than one-fourth of all the members elected – 50 minimum.]

            [Under the provisions of Article XLVIII, Part IV (under THE INITIATIVE), Sections 3 and 4, of the Amendments of the Constitution, a Proposal for an Initiative Amendment “shall be voted upon in the form in which it is introduced, unless such amendment is amended by a vote of three-fourths of the members voting thereon in joint session;” and the “affirmative votes of not less than one-fourth of all members elected” are necessary to agree to the amendment.]

 

Proposal for an Initiative Amendment to the Constitution to define marriage.

 

    Not less than one-fourth 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 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

     When recognizing marriages entered into after the adoption of

2

this amendment by the people, the Commonwealth and its

3

political subdivisions shall define marriage only as the union of

4

one man and one woman.

 

 

             2. On the following proposal (see Senate, No. 2221) (introduced into the General Court at the request of Ross J. Rajotte), having received, in joint session, the affirmative votes of a majority of all the members elected to the preceding General Court [see Senate, No. 9, amended of 2005], has been referred in accordance with Article XLVIII of the Amendments to the Constitution, to the present General Court.

            [After the proposal has been read, the question is on again agreeing to the amendment.]

[Vote required: - Majority of members elected to the General Court – minimum number 101.]

 

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 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 appear-

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

5

for 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.

 

           

3. On the following proposal (see Senate, No. 20), the committee on Education has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought NOT to pass. [Antonioni-Haddad.]

[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 changing Artile XLVI of the Constitution.

 

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 General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

 

1

     SECTION 1.   Article XLVI of the Articles of Amendment to the

2

Constitution of the Commonwealth is hereby amended by adding the

3

following sentence to the end of section 2:-

4

     In addition, nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent

5

the Commonwealth from making grants-in-aid to students or parents or

6

guardians of students attending private primary and secondary schools

7

and nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the Commonwealth

8

from providing tax deductions or tax credits for educational expenses,

9

including tuition, textbooks, and transportation incurred by taxpayers

10

whose dependents attend public or private primary and secondary

11

schools.

 

 

4. On the following proposal (see Senate, No. 21), the committee on Election Laws has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought NOT to pass. [Augustus-Bradley.] (Senator Spilka and Representatives Atsalis of Barnstable and Rogeness of Longmeadow 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 increasing the term of the General Court from two to four year.

 

            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 General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

 

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

 

1

      Article LXIV of the Amendments to the Constitution amended by

2

Article LXXX and Article LXXII Amendments, is hereby annulled, and

3

the following is adopted in place thereof: -SECTION 1. Article LXIV.

4

The Governor, lieutenant governor, secretary, treasurer and receiver-

5

general, attorney general, auditor, senators, and representatives shall be

6

elected quadrennially, and counselors shall be elected biennially. The

7

terms the governor and lieutenant-governor shall begin at noon Thursday

8

next following the first Wednesday in January succeeding their election

9

and shall end at noon on the Thursday following the first Wednesday in

10

January in the fifth year following their election. If the governor-elect

11

shall have died before the qualification of the lieutenant-governor-elect,

12

the lieutenant- governor- elect upon qualification shall become governor.

13

If both the governor-elect and the lieutenant-governor-elect shall have

14

died, both said offices shall be deemed vacant and the provi­sions of

15

Article LV of the Amendments to the Constitution shall apply. The

16

terms of the secretary, treasurer and receiver-general, attorney-general,

17

and auditor shall begin with the third Wednesday in January succeeding

18

their election and shall extend to the third Wednesday in January in the

19

fifth year following their election and until their successors are chosen

20

and qualified. The terms of the councilors shall begin at noon on the

21

Thursday next following the first Wednesday in January succeeding their

22

election and shall end at noon on the Thursday next following the first

23

Wednesday in January in the third year following their election. The

24

terms of the senators and representatives shall begin with the first

25

Wednesday in January suc­ceeding their election and shall extend to the

26

first Wednesday in January in the fifth year following their election and

27

until their successors are chosen and qualified.

28

      SECTION 2. The general court shall assemble every year on the first

29

Wednesday in January.

30

      SECTION 3. The first election to which this article shall apply shall

31

be held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in the

32

year two thousand and two, and thereafter elec­tions for the choice of

33

governor, lieutenant-governor, auditor, secretary, treasurer and receiver-

34

general, attorney-general, auditor, senators, and representatives shall be

35

held quadrennially on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in

36

November and elections for the choice of councilors shall be held

37

biennially on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November.

 

 

5. 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. [Augustus-Bradley.] (Senators Augustus, Spilka and Brown and Representatives Rogeness of Longmeadow, Frost of Auburn and Eldridge of Acton 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, Senate, and Councillor 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 General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:


ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

 

1

      Article CI of the Articles of Amendments to the Constitution of the

2

Commonwealth is hereby annulled, and the following is adopted in

3

place thereof:

4

      Article CI.  The House of Representatives shall consist

5

of one hundred and sixty members, each of whom shall be elected from

6

one representative district.  Every representative shall have been an

7

inhabitant of the district for which he or she is chosen for at least one

8

year at least immediately preceding his or her election and shall cease

9

to represent such district when he or she shall cease to be an inhabitant

10

of the Commonwealth, provided, however, that for the first redistricting

11

following the adoption of this article, the General Court may suspend

12

the residency requirement of this section.

13

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

14

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

15

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

16

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

17

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

18

her election and shall cease to represent such senatorial district when he

19

or she shall cease to be an inhabitant of the Commonwealth.

20

      SECTION 3. The manner of calling and conducting the elections

21

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

22

ascertaining their election, shall be prescribed by law.

23

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

24

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

25

ten-year period beginning with the first Wednesday of the third January

26

following the commencement of the taking of said census. 

27

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

28

in that year, an Independent Redistricting Commission

29

(“Commission”) shall be convened and shall divide the Commonwealth

30

into one hundred and sixty representative districts, forty senatorial

31

districts, and eight councillor districts. All districts shall comprise

32

contiguous territory, shall be equal in population to the extent required

33

by law, and shall comply with federal constitutional and statutory

34

requirements.  No district shall be drawn for the purpose or with the

35

effect of diluting the voting strength of any group based on race,

36

ethnicity or language minority status, or for the purpose of augmenting

37

or diluting the voting strength of a political party, or any individual.  In

38

drawing district lines, the Commission shall not consider residential

39

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

40

groups of individuals, except to the extent necessary to avoid dilution

41

of voting strength based on race, ethnicity or language minority status. 

42

In addition, to the maximum extent possible, district boundaries shall

43

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

44

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

45

senatorial districts that follow representative district boundaries; (4)

46

establish councillor districts that follow representative district

47

boundaries and (5) promote geographic compactness of districts.  If it is

48

not possible to draw district boundaries that fully comply with these

49

criteria while also complying with the mandatory requirements set forth

50

herein, then they shall be drawn to optimize the criteria in the order of

51

priority set forth hereinabove.  The Commission shall also consider

52

communities of interest in determining which cities, towns, or

53

neighborhoods thereof to aggregate into a single district.

54

      SECTION 6.   The Commission shall consist of seven member  

55

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

56

commencement of the federal census, the following offices shall each

57

appoint one member of the Commission: the Governor of the

58

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

59

political science or government at an institution of higher learning in

60

Commonwealth; the Attorney General of the Commonwealth, who

61

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

62

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

63

civil rights law who is a resident of the Commonwealth. 

64

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

65

the Senate President, and the Senate Minority Leader shall each

66

nominate three individuals. The appointees chosen by the Governor,

67

Attorney General, and Secretary of the Commonwealth shall then select

68

one of the three nominees named by each said official.

69

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

70

year, the office  responsible for making the appointment or nominations

71

shall forfeit its rights under this section and the remaining direct

72

appointees shall then make an appointment to fill the vacancy.

73

      Nominations and appointments shall reflect the geographic, racial, 

74

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

75

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

76

involvement and knowledge of redistricting policy, civil rights,

77

political science, demographics or statistics, election expertise, voting

78

rights, community organizing, or law.  No person nominated or

79

appointed to the Commission, in the five years preceding such

80

nomination or appointment, shall have held Congressional, state

81

legislative or statewide elective office, or shall have served as mayor or

82

city councillor of a city in the Commonwealth, governor’s councillor

83

or shall have been elected to a state or federal party committee; or shall

84

be a current employee, agent or family member of any of the above;

85

or, in the two years preceding such nomination or appointment, shall

86

have been a legislative agent.  The Commissioners shall agree: (1) not

87

to stand for election to the General Court, Congress, or the Governor’s

88

Council until districts are redrawn following the next census; (2) to

89

apply the provisions of this article in an honest, independent, and

90

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,

96

councillor, and senatorial districts.

97

      SECTION 8.   The Commission shall hire staff and may retain

98

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

99

shall establish rules governing its operation and procedures. 

100

Commissioners may receive compensation for actual time spent on

101

Commission duties and shall be reimbursed for reasonable and

102

necessary expenses.  The budget of the Commonwealth shall provide

103

adequate funding for the operation of the Commission.

104

      SECTION 9.   A member of the Commission or an appointing

105

authority may petition the Supreme Judicial Court to remove a com-

106

missioner on the grounds of neglect, misconduct, or inability to per-

107

form the duties of a commissioner.  A vacancy so created shall be filled

108

by the office which appointed the removed commissioner or by the

109

nomination and selection 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

116

proposed maps for consideration by the Commission and the

117

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

118

The Commission shall take all steps necessary to ensure that the public

119

can exercise its right to review and comment on proposed district maps

120

before they are approved and shall publish all preliminary and final

121

plans in publicly accessible forums that are free of charge and that

122

ensure wide public distribution.  Proposed districts shall be presented in

123

both graphic and narrative form.

124

      SECTION 11. Within one hundred and twenty days of the

125

completion of the decennial census, the Commission shall prepare and

126

publish for or public comment a preliminary plan for representative,

127

councilor, and senatorial districts.  The public shall have a three-week

128

period to comment on the preliminary district plan.  The Commission

129

may revise the preliminary district plan in response to public comment

130

and shall submit the revised plan to the General Court, which shall vote

131

on the revised plan.  If the plan is rejected, then the Commission shall

132

prepare, publish, revise, and submit a second-round preliminary district

133

plan in the same manner as the first.  Following the period for public

134

comment, the Commission shall submit the revised plan to the General

135

Court for a vote.  If the General Court votes to reject the second-round

136

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

137

third-round preliminary district plan, in the same manner as the first.  If

138

the General Court rejects the third-round plan, then the Commission  

139

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

140

manner. The plan so revised, shall become law without submission to

141

or approval by the General Court.

142

      With respect to each plan the Commission submits to the General

143

Court for a vote, the vote must be taken within two weeks of

144

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

145

the plan is approved by a majority of the members of the House and

146

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

147

period, then the plan as submitted shall become law.

148

      SECTION 12.  Original jurisdiction is hereby vested in the

149

Supreme Judicial Court upon the petition of any voter of the

150

Commonwealth for judicial relief relative to the establishment of the

151

representative, councillor, and senatorial districts.  The General Court

152

may by law limit the time within which judicial proceedings may be

153

instituted to challenge any redistricting map.

 

 

6. On the following proposal (see Senate, No. 23), the committee on Election Laws has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought to pass. [Augustus-Bradley.] (Senator Creedon 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 emergency appointments of elected officials.

 

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 General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:

 

ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

 

1

 SECTION 1.  The Constitution of the Commonwealth is hereby  

2  

amended by striking out Article LXXXIII of the Amendments to the

3

Constitution, and  inserting in place thereof the following Article of Amendment:-

4

      Article LXXXIII. The general court shall have full power and

5

authority to provide for prompt and temporary succession to the powers

6

and duties of public offices, of whatever nature and whether filled by

7

election or appointment, the incumbents of which may become

8

unavailable for carrying on the powers and duties of such offices in

9

periods of emergency resulting from disaster caused by enemy or

10

terrorist attack, and to adopt such other measures as may be necessary

11

and proper for insuring continuity of the government of the

12

commonwealth and the governments of its political subdivisions; except

13

that,  notwithstanding Article XXX of Part the First, if more than 1/3 of

14

the senate or more than 1/3 of the house membership is vacant as a result

15

of enemy or terrorist attack, the General Court shall fill the vacancies by

16

appointment, and in making the appointments it shall fill each vacancy

17

with a person who is a resident of the district where the vacancy

18

occurred and is of the same political party as the person who held the

19

office at the time the vacancy occurred.  A person so appointed shall

20

serve until a successor is elected and qualified in accordance with the

21

provisions for filling vacancies in the general court.



7. On the following proposal (see Senate, No. 25), the committee on Election Laws has reported, in accordance with Joint Rule 23, recommending that the amendment ought NOT to pass. [Augustus-Bradley.] (Senator Brown and Representatives Rogeness of Longmeadow and Frost of Auburn 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 relative to Constitutional Officers.

 

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 General Court and approved by the people at the state election next following]:


ARTICLE OF AMENDMENT.

 

1

     SECTION 1.  Article LXIV of the Amendments to the Constitution

2

is hereby amended by inserting after section 3 the following new

3

section:-

4

     SECTION 4.  Upon a vacancy in the office of the secretary,

5

treasurer and receiver-general, attorney general and auditor by reason

6

of death, resignation or removal, such vacancy shall be filled by an

7

election called by the Governor within six months of said vacancy,

8

unless the vacancy occurs between January 1 and seventy days prior to

9

the state primary, in which case the election shall be held at the

10

regularly scheduled biennial election.  Prior to the election to fill said

11