Massachusetts S 18: Proposed Senate Rules recommended by the temporary committee on Rules to be adopted as the permanent rules of the Senate for 2019-2020

Bill Text

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 18 
Senate, March 7, 2019 – Text of the Senate Rules adopted as the permanent rules of the Senate 
for 2019-2020. 
 
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
 
_______________
 
In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court 
(2019-2020) 
_______________
 
RULES OF THE SENATE 
 
THE PRESIDENT. 
1. The President shall take the chair at the hour to which the Senate stands adjourned, shall call 
the members to order, and, on the appearance of a quorum, shall proceed to business. [1831; 1888.] 
1A. Every formal session of the Senate shall open with a recitation of the “Pledge of Allegiance 
to the Flag”. At the discretion of the President, in order to mark an occasion of particular 
significance, a Senate session or component thereof may include a moment of silence, prayer or 
other expression of personal belief. [1989; 2015.] 
2. The President shall preserve order and decorum, may speak to points of order in preference to 
other members, and shall decide all questions of order subject to an appeal to the Senate. The 
President shall rise to put a question, or to address the Senate, but may read sitting. [1817; between 
1821 and 1826; 1831; 1888.] 
3. The President may vote on all questions. [1826.] 
4. The President may appoint a member to perform the duties of the chair for a period not 
exceeding 3 days at any one time. [1831; 1862; 1865; 1888; 1971.] 
4A. The Senate President shall be elected by roll call vote on the Senate floor. This rule shall not 
be suspended except by a vote of four-fifths of the members present and voting thereon. Rule 63 
shall not apply to this case and no other rule shall supersede the requirement of four-fifths vote to 
suspend this rule. [1993; 2002, 2019.] 
4B. The Senate President, Majority Leader and the Minority Leader shall, upon declaration of 
candidacy for any other state or federal elective office, relinquish said position. [2003; 2015.] 

5.  In case of a vacancy in the office of President, or in case the President, or the member 
appointed by the President to perform the duties of the chair, is absent at the hour to which the 
Senate stands adjourned, the longest continuously serving, and in the event that two or more 
members equally qualify as longest continuously serving, then the eldest among those members 
shall call the Senate to order, and shall preside until a President, or Acting President, is elected 
by ballot or by roll call vote as the Senate shall by majority vote determine, and such election 
shall be the first business in order. [1831; 1885; 1888; 1971; 1985; 2003; 2013; 2017.] 
5A. In case of extreme emergency, the President of the Senate may for a period not exceeding 2 
days, in conformity with Article 6, Section II, Chapter 1 of the Constitution, cause a session of 
the Senate to be cancelled. Each member of the Senate insofar as is practicable shall be notified 
of such action. The President may also declare a session informal in nature, with prior notice 
given. Notice of such action shall be printed in the Journal of the Senate by the Clerk of the 
Senate and the printing of a calendar shall be suspended with reference to an informal session 
under this rule. Matters considered in an informal session shall have either received a public 
hearing or other disposition by a committee of relevant subject matter jurisdiction. 
In the case of an informal session, only reports of committees and matters not giving rise to 
formal motion or debate shall be considered. No motion or order of business shall lose its 
precedence but shall be carried over until the next formal session. [1971; 1973.] 
5B. [Omitted in 2011.] 
5C. Upon a vacancy in the Senate, with the exception of any vacancy that occurs after April 1 in 
an even-numbered year, a date for a special election shall be scheduled by the President of the 
Senate within 20 days after the vacancy occurs and the proposed date of the special election shall 
then be put before the members of the Senate for a vote. [2011, 2019.] 
 
CLERK. 
6. The Clerk shall keep a journal of the proceedings of the Senate, and shall cause the same to be 
presented daily. The Clerk shall, in the journal, make note of all questions of order, and enter at 
length the decisions thereon. The Clerk shall insert in an appendix to the journal the rules of the 
Senate and the joint rules of the two branches. During informal sessions, each Senator shall have 
the opportunity to read into the journal, or cause to be printed in the journal, a ceremonial speech 
not to exceed 650 words, provided an electronic copy of the remarks is supplied to the Clerk. 
[1882; 1888; 2015.] 
7. The Clerk, with the approval and direction of the President and the Committee on Rules, shall 
prepare and cause to be presented each day a calendar of matters in order for consideration. The 
calendar for a session shall be available to the members and the public at least 2 calendar days 
prior to the st