The House Just Voted Down Three Important Transparency Amendments. How Did Your Rep Vote?

From progressivemass.com:

Former Sierra Club lobbyist Phil Sego was once quoted as saying, “Don’t mistake what happens in [the Massachusetts State House] for democracy.” Our legislative process is deeply flawed and designed to avoid public accountability.

Yesterday, your representative had a chance to take the first step toward changing that. Amendments were introduced that would have required:

• Representatives be given a reasonable amount of time to read the final language of any bill they’re voting on
• Representatives be given a reasonable amount of time to read any amendment submitted on the floor that they’ll be voting on
• Hearing testimony (for/against) a bill and all votes taken in committee to be publicly available.

All three amendments were filed by progressive stalwart Rep. Jon Hecht (D-Watertown). We explained why they’re all so important here.

The first amendment would have ensured reps have at least 72 hours to read a bill before they have to vote on it. It failed 55-103. (Quick guide: To find out how your rep voted, look at the Y = yes, N = no, or X = absent to the left of their name).

See the full results here: https://www.progressivemass.com/house-transparency-2019