House Rules Debate: Malia's Transparency Amendment Adopted

BREAKING: This evening, I’m very grateful to the House of Representatives for adopting my amendment #34 to the House Rules, which addresses a transparency gap on our public-facing MA Legislature website.

Currently, according to House Rule 13A, the text of all bills introduced and admitted for consideration in the House must be made available to all members electronically, and to the public via the Internet. The amendment makes clear that dockets must also be made available online to the public.

Based on my bill filing and co-sponsorship-request experience over the last few weeks, it became clear to me, my staff, my constituency and many advocates that it would be a much easier process if everyone can see the dockets on the MA Legislature’s website, instead of having to ask someone with access to LAWS to look up the docket to learn if a member has or has not signed on as a cosponsor to a legislative petition.

It’s a minor, clarifying fix to a distinct issue that I believe will go a long way in helping us ALL work smarter, not harder.