Bill > S2101

This bill amends Chapter 3 of Massachusetts general laws by establishing new procedural requirements for joint standing committees in the state legislature. Specifically, within 4 weeks of being appointed in the first annual session, each joint standing committee must develop and adopt formal rules of procedure, which require joint agreement between the House and Senate chairs of the committee. These rules must be filed with both the Senate and House Clerks and made publicly accessible on the official General Court website. The bill also stipulates that joint committees can only initiate member polls with unanimous agreement from their House and Senate chairs, and must generally report matters back to the branch of origin, unless the chairs specifically agree otherwise. This legislation aims to increase transparency, standardize committee operations, and ensure collaborative decision-making between the two legislative chambers in joint committees.

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S2101