How I Voted: Joint Rules for FY26 Session

Making the Massachusetts Legislature More Accessible, Transparent, and Efficient

Bill: Joint Rules for the 2025–2026 Legislative Session

Date of Vote: June 26, 2025

What Problem Was This Measure Trying to Solve?

Many residents have expressed concerns that the legislative process can be difficult to follow, with limited public access to information about committee activity, bill progress, and legislative decision-making. Delays in committee action and procedural deadlines have also made it challenging for some legislation to advance efficiently through the legislative process.

Additionally, advances in technology and increased public engagement have created expectations for greater transparency, more accessible public participation, and clearer information about legislation being considered by the General Court.

These joint rules reforms were designed to make the legislative process more transparent, accessible, and efficient while providing additional opportunities for public involvement and improving how legislation moves through the Legislature.

What Does the Measure Do?

• Increases public notice requirements for legislative hearings from 72 hours to 10 days.

• Requires joint committees to post hearing schedules within three weeks of committee appointments.

• Requires committees to publish plain-language summaries of bills online before hearings.

• Makes committee attendance records publicly available on the General Court website.

• Requires publication of individual committee members’ votes on legislation.

• Allows members of the public to participate remotely in joint committee hearings.

• Requires written testimony procedures that make testimony more publicly accessible while protecting sensitive personal information.

• Allows House and Senate committee chairs to independently advance bills originating in their respective chambers after a joint hearing.

• Establishes deadlines requiring joint committees to report bills by the first Wednesday in December of the first year of the legislative session.

• Requires House committees to act on legislation within specified timeframes following hearings.

• Opens the first meeting of conference committees to the public.

• Requires at least 24 hours between the filing of a conference committee report and a legislative vote.

• Extends formal lawmaking authority later into the two-year legislative session for certain matters, including conference committee reports, appropriation bills, and gubernatorial amendments or vetoes.

• Requires a comprehensive review of the joint rules at the conclusion of the legislative session, including a public hearing and opportunity for public testimony.

How I Voted

I voted YES.

Why I Voted This Way

A strong democracy depends on a legislative process that is transparent, accessible, and responsive to the public. Residents deserve clear information about the bills being considered, opportunities to participate in hearings, and access to information about how legislative decisions are made.

These reforms increase public access by providing more advance notice of hearings, publishing bill summaries in plain language, making committee attendance and voting records publicly available, and expanding opportunities for public participation. The changes also improve legislative efficiency by establishing clearer deadlines and procedures that help legislation move through the process in a timely manner.

I supported these reforms because they strengthen transparency, encourage public engagement, improve accountability, and help ensure that the legislative process remains accessible to the people it serves. These changes represent meaningful steps toward a more open and effective Legislature for all Massachusetts residents.