MASSACHUSETTS - BEACON HILL ROLL CALL

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http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/local/ci_19472498
BEACON HILL ROLL CALL Perfect attendance for local senators Sentinel & Enterprise Posted: 12/05/2011 06:29:26 AM EST
By Bob Katzen
THE HOUSE AND SENATE. There were no roll call votes in the House or Senate last week.
Beacon Hill Roll Call reports local senators' final roll call attendance records for the 2011 session. Additional roll calls will not take place until January 2012.
The Senate held 136 roll call votes in 2011. Beacon Hill Roll Call tabulates the number of roll calls on which each senator was present and voting and then calculates that number as a percentage of the total roll call votes held. That percentage is the number referred to as the roll call attendance record.
Only 16 of the Senate's 40 members have 100 percent roll call attendance records.
The worst roll call attendance record belongs to Sen. Michael Rush, D-Boston, who missed 132 roll calls (2.9 percent roll call attendance record) while on active duty with the U.S. Navy in Iraq.
The second worst roll call attendance record belongs to Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, who missed 40 roll calls (73.5 percent attendance) because of his treatment for skin cancer with which he was diagnosed in September.
Rounding out the top five worst are Sens. Frederick Berry, D-Peabody, who missed 27 roll calls (80.1 percent attendance); Sonia Chang-Diaz, D-Boston, who missed 21 roll calls (84.5 percent attendance); and Thomas Kennedy, D-Brockton, who missed 14 roll calls (89.7 percent attendance).
LOCAL SENATORS' FINAL 2011 ROLL CALL ATTENDANCE RECORDS: Here is the percentage of roll
call votes for which the senator was present and voting. The number in parentheses represents the number of roll calls that the senator missed. Sen. Stephen Brewer: 100 percent (0)
Sen. James Eldridge: 100 percent (0)
Sen. Jennifer Flanagan: 100 percent (0)
ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL
REPEAL CASINO BILL: A new group, Repeal the Casino Deal, filed the petition and 10 signatures necessary to begin the long referendum process to attempt to repeal the recent casino bill signed into law by Gov. Deval Patrick, by putting it on the 2012 ballot for voters to decide. The measure allows three casinos and one slot parlor in the Bay State.
The petition now goes to Attorney General Martha Coakley to see if it qualifies for the 2012 ballot. The law includes appropriation of money, something the state constitution excludes from the referendum process to repeal a law. It is possible Coakley will not certify the petition. The repeal group accused the drafters of the law of inserting language making "incidental appropriations to the governor, the attorney general and the non-existent Gaming Commission to position the bill as an 'appropriation' that is excluded from the referendum process."
If it is certified, proponents then have roughly 80 days to collect 34,456 signatures in order to get the question on the ballot.
SEPTEMBER PRIMARY ELECTIONS: The date of the September state primary was changed three weeks ago by the Legislature and Gov. Patrick from September 18 to September 6 to avoid a conflict with the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah that falls on September 16-18. The governor now wants to move the date again to avoid a conflict with the acceptance speech on September 6 by President Barack Obama on the final evening of the Democratic National Nominating Convention in Charlotte. Patrick has not proposed a specific new date.
Meanwhile, Woburn City Clerk William Campbell, former president of the Massachusetts City Clerks Association, has proposed changing the date of both the state primary and the March 6 presidential preference primary to June 5. He says the move would save the state and local communities an estimated $8 million by not having to pay workers and other expenses for work on two different election days. He noted it would also ensure the state complies with the MOVE Act, which requires absentee ballots to be mailed to voters, including members of the military overseas, 45 days before a general election.
Opponents say the date is just too early and would result in legislative candidates for re-election beginning to collect signatures and campaigning in just a few weeks, less than a year into their term.
MOTORCYCLE HELMETS: The Transportation Committee held a hearing on a bill repealing the current state law requiring all motorcycle drivers and passengers to wear helmets. The proposal would require only drivers and passengers under 21 to wear them (S 1726).
Supporters said adults should have the power to make their own choices and that people ride more "aware" without helmets. They noted thousands of Massachusetts bikers choose to ride in neighboring New England states on weekends and spend million of dollars there that should be spent in the Bay State.
Opponents said motorcycle crashes cause deaths and some of the most serious and costly brain injuries in the Bay State. They noted wearing helmets reduces head injury by 70 percent.
A second proposal would require drivers and passengers under 21 to wear helmets but exempt passengers between 18 and 20 from the law if they have completed an approved motorcycle rider education course (H 2642).
OTHER MOTORCYCLE BILLS: The Transportation Committee's agenda also included legislation that would limit the noise level of motorcycles and impose up to a six-month license suspension and/or $250 fine on violators (H 952); prohibit cities and towns from banning the use of motorcycles on any public street (H 895); prohibit a child younger than 5 or weighing 40 pounds or less years from riding as a passenger on a motorcycle doing more than 30 miles per hour (H 947); and making it illegal for a car driver to interfere with or disrupt a group of two or more motorcycles by passing through or interrupting the group (H 948).
APPROVE CHANGES IN PENSION SYSTEM (S 2018): Gov. Patrick signed into law a bill making changes in the pension and retirement systems for employees of the state and cities and towns. The proposal reduces pensions by raising the minimum retirement age for most public employees from 55 to 60 and changing the formula on which they are based.
Other provisions include prorating the retirement allowance of future employees who serve in more than one group by taking into account the number of years of service in each group; allowing only employees who serve at least one year in a group by the end of their career to retire from that group; and establishing a minimum pension of $15,000 for workers who have spent 25 years in state government. Currently, many retirees are struggling with annual pensions of $12,000 to $13,000.
DIMASI OFF TO JAIL: Former House Speaker Sal DiMasi began serving his eight-year prison sentence at a Kentucky federal prison. DiMasi was convicted of receiving $57,000 in illegal payments from Cognos, a Canadian software company that he helped land nearly $20 million in state contracts.
HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK'S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature's job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. During the week of Nov. 28-Dec. 2, the House met for a total of 20 minutes while the Senate met for a total of 38 minutes.
Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com.
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