By Bob Katzen

Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature’s job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers.

They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session.

During the week of May 12-16, the House met for a total of one hour and 56 minutes while the Senate met for a total of one hour and two minutes.

Mon. May 12 House 11:00 a.m. to 11:54 a.m.
Senate 11:15 a.m. to 11:24 a.m.

Tues. May 13 No House session.
No Senate session.

Wed. May 14 No House session.
No Senate session.

Thurs. May 15 House 11:03 a.m. to 12:05 p.m.
Senate 11:15 a.m. to 12:08 p.m.

Fri. May 16 No House session.
No Senate session.

Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com

Bob founded Beacon Hill Roll Call in 1975 and was inducted into the New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA) Hall of Fame in 2019.