Continued Use of Conference Committees
There are many aspects of Massachusetts state government that allow the legislative process to work both efficiently and effectively. While most steps of the legislative process are known to the public, a bill does not become law simply. For the most divisive and complex legislation, a conference committee will be used to iron out legislative differences between chambers. As such, the conference committee stage of the legislative process is crucial, as it requires collaboration across parties and chambers in order to produce a consensus bill that will be able to reach the Governor’s desk. Our analysis of conference committees from the 2021-2022 legislative session reveals some interesting trends in regard to their usage, as well as the unbalanced appointment process of legislators.
It’s important to first understand what a conference committee is, and when exactly it is used in the legislative process. Following the joint committee stage, bills are presented to each individual chamber for floor debate, where in almost every case the legislation will be amended before being voted on. While joint committee chairs attempt to put forth a bill that a wide consensus will agree upon, the Senate and House frequently elect to make separate changes, sometimes creating two vastly different versions of the same bill. When this happens, the branch that first took up the bill will receive it again with the amendments from the other branch, where the legislators can either concur with the new amendments to the bill and vote it out favorably, or reject the newly amended version. When the amended bill is rejected, this is when a conference committee is established.
A conference committee consists of three legislators from each house (two from majority party, one from minority party) and aims to address differences through discussion. In almost every situation, the majority of a conference committee members are able to produce a conference report, which outlines the resolutions they reached in the form of a new version of the bill. This conference report is then sent to both respective branches of the legislature, where it can be accepted or denied, but not amended. If accepted by both branches, the bill will then move to the Governor’s desk, but if rejected, it will return to the conference committee, where the process of producing a report starts again. Taking all this into consideration, conference committees are clearly very important to furthering the life of many bills in the legislature, which is why the appointment of legislators is crucial.
Similar to the federal government, the appointment of special positions in the legislature falls upon the leaders in each house. Fortunately in Massachusetts, both the Senate President and Speaker of the House maintain a protocol of appointing the chairs of the joint committee where the bill originated, as they usually have most expertise on the bill itself. With one minority party legislator also required to serve the conference committee, this generally leaves only one seat for the Speaker and Senate President to actually appoint. Depending on the matter, the legislative leader may decide to appoint the bill’s sponsor or a legislator dedicated to the cause of the bill, but most often a vice chair of the original committee is appointed. For example, in the graphic above, Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, Rep Ann Margaret Ferrante, Sen. Michael Rodrigues and Sen. Cindy Friedman are all the chairs and vice chairs of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, which receives many of the bills that get sent to conference committees (see below).
The majority of bills this session that have already been in conference committees are related to expenditure, whether that be budget appropriations, state bonding, or ongoing COVID-19 local aid.
However, vice chairs are not always appointed by party leadership, and there is somewhat of an inconsistency as to what legislators can actually obtain these positions. A general trend we have found is that in both the House and Senate, only a small percentage of legislators actually are appointed to serve on conference committees. In the Senate, just 18 of 40 senators have served on a conference committee this session, and just 19% of representatives have in the House. Only a combined 17 legislators have served in this capacity more than once in the past two years. Party leadership seems to also prioritize experience, as none of those appointed to a conference committee had less than two previous terms served as a legislator (with the exception of Steven Xiarhos as a minority party representative). Additionally, only three non-white legislators held these roles, with zero seats being appointed in the Senate.
These trends, while worth noting, do not mean that the legislative leaders are deliberately trying to make these appointments exclusive. Taking into account that most chair appointments are those legislators with most experience, this would correlate to a similar pattern occurring with conference committee appointments. Conference committees are also only used for often important bills, and therefore are very issue-specific, meaning sometimes certain appointments are necessary for the best legislation to be produced. Having existed since 1645 in the Commonwealth, there are definitely ways by which conference committees can be improved, but this session they have proved an effective means for producing comprehensive bills.
Why is all this information about conference committees relevant now? As the legislative session is quickly coming to a close at the end of July, we are seeing a big push from legislators to get as many priorities passed as possible. In doing so, conference committees will be likely used in order to quickly get versions of bills that a majority in both branches can agree upon. Starting today, with the Cannabis Industry Conference Committee meeting, there is much happening at this stage of the legislative process.
Staying on top of all these conference committee meetings may seem difficult, but with the help of InstaTrac, it’s easy! Our MassTrac service includes coverage of every public conference committee meeting, live updates on all actions taken, and providing our clients with any new drafts of bills immediately when they come out! For more information or to see a demo of our services, please reach out to info@instatrac.com.
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