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| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 467 FILED ON: 1/13/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2099 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | James B. Eldridge |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act to provide sunlight to state government. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and WorcesterPatricia D. JehlenSecond Middlesex2/11/2025Mike Connolly26th Middlesex2/11/2025Erika Uyterhoeven27th Middlesex2/11/2025Chynah Tyler7th Suffolk2/27/2025John F. KeenanNorfolk and Plymouth2/27/2025 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 467 FILED ON: 1/13/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2099 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Mr. Eldridge, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 2099) of James B. Eldridge, |
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| 19 | 19 | | Patricia D. Jehlen, Mike Connolly, Erika Uyterhoeven and other members of the General Court |
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| 20 | 20 | | for legislation to provide sunlight to state government. Rules of the two branches, acting |
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| 21 | 21 | | concurrently. |
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| 22 | 22 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 23 | 23 | | SEE SENATE, NO. 1963 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 24 | 24 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 28 | 28 | | _______________ |
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| 29 | 29 | | An Act to provide sunlight to state government. |
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| 30 | 30 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 31 | 31 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 32 | 32 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 35 of chapter 3 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 |
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| 33 | 33 | | 2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “court”, in line 2, the following |
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| 34 | 34 | | 3words:- 2 weeks before the hearing |
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| 35 | 35 | | 4 SECTION 2. Said section 35 of said chapter 3, as so appearing, is hereby further |
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| 36 | 36 | | 5amended by adding the following 4 paragraphs:- |
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| 37 | 37 | | 6 If public testimony is being solicited, the legislative committee’s agenda shall include an |
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| 38 | 38 | | 7electronic mail address and physical mail address for the submission of testimony. The senate |
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| 39 | 39 | | 8and house clerk shall publish such information on the official website of the general court. 2 of 2 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 9 Said public testimony received by the legislative committee that is readily capable of |
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| 41 | 41 | | 10being reproduced shall be made available to the public upon request; provided, however, that the |
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| 42 | 42 | | 11legislative committee may redact public testimony that includes sensitive personal information or |
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| 43 | 43 | | 12information that may jeopardize the health, wellness or safety of an individual. |
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| 44 | 44 | | 13 If the legislative committee solicits expert testimony, the legislative committee shall |
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| 45 | 45 | | 14make reasonable efforts to promote the diversity of expert witness panels. For purposes of this |
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| 46 | 46 | | 15section and section 35A, a legislative committee shall mean a joint committee, a committee |
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| 47 | 47 | | 16consisting exclusively of senate or house members or a special commission that is chaired by a |
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| 48 | 48 | | 17member of the general court. |
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| 49 | 49 | | 18 SECTION 3. Chapter 3 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section |
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| 50 | 50 | | 1935 the following section:- |
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| 51 | 51 | | 20 Section 35A. The senate and house clerks shall post all recorded votes of each member of |
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| 52 | 52 | | 21a legislative committee on the website of the general court as soon as practicable but no later |
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| 53 | 53 | | 22than 48 hours of the vote being taken; provided, however, that in the 2 weeks before the |
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| 54 | 54 | | 23conclusion of all formal business of the first annual session of the general court or the 2 weeks |
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| 55 | 55 | | 24before the conclusion of the second annual session of the general court the clerk shall post all |
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| 56 | 56 | | 25recorded votes as soon as practicable. |
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| 57 | 57 | | 26 SECTION 4. Subclause 26 of section 7 of chapter 4 of the General Laws, as appearing in |
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| 58 | 58 | | 27the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the figure “32,” in line 157, the |
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| 59 | 59 | | 28following words:- or office of the governor |
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| 60 | 60 | | 29 SECTION 5. Section 4 shall apply to records of the office of the governor created or |
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| 61 | 61 | | 30received after noon on January 5, 2026. |
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