After hours of bipartisan debate on amendments, the Massachusetts State Senate passed its rules package on Thursday, Feb. 13. The final vote was 39-0.
Every other year, the Massachusetts State Senate and House of Representatives pass rules governing their respective chambers. In a joint conference committee, designees from both chambers work to “reconcile,” or negotiate a joint rules package to govern joint committees and other legislative initiatives.
State Sen. Robyn Kennedy, a Democrat who represents six central Massachusetts communities, serves on the Senate’s Temporary Committee on Rules that negotiates the chamber’s rules package. Kennedy noted that proposals in the 2025–26 package mimic those from previous years. The committee proposed, and successfully implemented in previous sessions, that all Senate committee votes be made public and that testimony to Senate-only committees be posted online.
“I think the Senate has taken great strides to become more transparent,” Kennedy said in an interview with The Beacon.
Senators proposed that the legislature-wide rules require all joint committee votes, testimony in front of joint committees, and bill summaries be made publicly available. The Senate committee also proposed that the first meeting of the joint conference committee be held in public—it typically is a closed-door hearing.
Joint Rule 10 Day is the deadline by which all bills must be “reported favorably” out of a committee for a vote or designated for further debate within a committee.
“One of the things we know is folks often question and have concerns with the timing it takes for us to move legislation,” Kennedy said. “We moved [Joint Rule 10 Day] up to December of the first year of session, which would give us the entirety of the second year for bills to be sent to the House or the Senate.”
Kennedy pointed out that last session, a joint rules package was not agreed upon between the House and Senate.
“That was the one conference report that never got completed [last session],” Kennedy said. “We reli[ed] on the last rules agreed upon by the joint [conference] committee.”
These rules proposals come while State Auditor Diana DiZoglio seeks to audit the state legislature. A state ballot question giving DiZoglio’s office such authority passed, with 72% of Massachusetts residents voting in favor.
While an in-depth audit has yet to be completed, DiZoglio’s office conducted a performance audit of the legislature and released its findings in an October 2024 report. Among the recommendations were to complete independent financial audits in a more timely manner, improve the legislature’s website, and consider re-establishing a Legislative Review Bureau to improve the body’s policies and procedures on a more routine basis.
While Kennedy does not oppose a financial audit of the legislature being conducted, she has concerns of governmental overreach.
“What I do have concerns about is setting a precedent that a separate branch of government would provide recommendations and oversight in the business of the legislature,” Kennedy said. “With three branches of government, we serve as checks and balances, but we don’t serve as oversight or overreach into how another branch does their business.”
While DiZoglio is part of the executive branch meant to serve as a check on the legislature, Kennedy believes some of DiZoglio’s objectives represent overreach into legislative business.
“I don’t mean by business as secretive,” Kennedy continued, “I mean, [the] business of how we function.”
Through an audit, DiZoglio would look into processes like how legislative leadership makes committee assignments at the beginning of each session. Kennedy has concerns about whether such an audit is constitutional, again citing potential executive overreach.
“It’s certainly been portrayed and perceived as us trying to obstruct [DiZoglio’s] ability to audit,” Kennedy said. “But again, I think it’s more about a real concern of one branch of government overreaching into another branch.”
The House is set to release its rules and proposals for a joint package within the coming weeks. Following a House vote, members from both chambers will convene a conference committee in hopes of finalizing a joint package.
