BOSTON – Thursday, June 2025 — Today, Representative Mike Connolly joined his Cambridge and Somerville colleagues in the House to pass the Joint Rules, which govern the legislative process, joint committees, and interactions between the House and Senate. The first agreed-upon joint rules since 2019, these rules include long-sought reforms championed by Rep. Connolly to make the legislative process more accessible, efficient, and transparent.
“The Joint Rules package passed today is a milestone for a more open, responsive, and transparent state legislature," said Representative Connolly. "As someone who has spent years standing up for greater transparency on Beacon Hill, I am very proud of the many steps forward we are taking with today’s vote. Thank you to Leader Moran and Chair Galvin for their work in negotiating these reforms. And a big thank you to all of my constituents who have made their voices heard on the need for a more transparent state legislature.”
Summary of Key Reforms:
Joint Committee Reform: House and Senate members of joint committees will now vote only on bills filed in their respective chambers, following joint hearings. This change is intended to improve efficiency and accelerate the movement of legislation. Money bills filed in the Senate, constitutional amendments filed in the House, and matters not filed by a member of the General Court will continue to be voted on by all members of the relevant joint committee.
Public Hearing Notice: The required notice period for joint committee hearings will increase from 72 hours to 10 days, giving residents and stakeholders more time to prepare. Committees must also publish a schedule of hearing dates within three weeks of their formation.
Reporting Deadlines: To prevent legislative backlogs, joint committees will be required to report bills by the first Wednesday in December of the first year of the session, unless otherwise specified by branch rules. House Chairs must comply with House Rule 27, which requires that bills be reported no later than 60 days after their hearing. An optional 30-day extension may be applied at the discretion of the Chair. The prior deadline was the first Wednesday in February of the second year of the session.
Committee Votes: All joint committee votes will be recorded and posted publicly on the General Court website.
Committee Participation: Members of the public and legislators will be permitted to participate remotely in joint committee hearings, unless prohibited by the rules of their respective branch. Attendance of joint committee members will be taken and made available on the General Court website.
Conference Committees: The first meeting of each conference committee will be open to the public and the press. Conference committee reports must be made available at least 24 hours before they are voted on by the Legislature. If a report is filed after 8:00 p.m., it may not be voted on until the second calendar day following its filing.
Bill Summaries: Joint committees will be required to publish a summary of each bill on the General Court website prior to its hearing.
Public Testimony: Written testimony submitted to joint committees must be made publicly available, except in cases where the testimony contains sensitive personal information, obscene content, or information that may pose a risk to the health, wellness, or safety of the testifier or others.
Joint Rules Review: At the end of each two-year session, the Joint Committee on Rules will conduct a comprehensive review of the joint rules. This review will include a public hearing and the opportunity for testimony from the public and interested stakeholders.
Formal Sessions After July 31: The Legislature will be permitted to hold formal sessions after July 31 in the second year of the legislative session for the following purposes: acting on conference committee reports formed by July 31, considering appropriation bills filed after July 31, and addressing gubernatorial vetoes or amendments.
In addition to the joint rules approved today, the House and the Senate approved their own chamber’s rules in February to govern their internal operations.
