As we know, Senator Jamie Eldridge was leading the charge to improve the miserable ethics bill released from committee.
Via a comment from the Governor posted here last night, we know that Senator Eldridge was not alone (emphasis mine):
Thank you for your efforts
I want to thank Senator Eldridge, along with his colleagues Senators Morrissey, Montigny, Chang-Diaz and Downing, for their efforts to strengthen the ethics bill during yesterday’s debate. The Senate ethics legislation is a good step forward, particularly in regards to campaign finance reform, which is an important and worthy addition to what we filed. However, some parts of the Senate’s bill appear to weaken the enforcement power of the ethics commission, and I wish the Senate had gone further in strengthening other aspects of our existing ethics and lobbying laws. So, we look ahead now to working with Senator Eldridge, Senator Morrissey and House / Senate conference committee members to produce a final bill that places Massachusetts at the forefront of ethics, lobbying and campaign finance regulation.
by: Governor Deval Patrick @ Fri May 15, 2009 at 22:12:58 PM EDT
Thanks to the Governor for stopping by — note, in particular, his support for the campaign finance provisions in the Senate’s bill (despite the Globe’s efforts to spin those provisions as a slap at the Gov). And many thanks to the Senators he mentions for their efforts to steer the ship in the right direction.
Could someone please post the list of the conference committee members for this bill?
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p>As there are differences between the House bill regarding ethics and the Senate bill regarding ethics, a third bill, which differs from either the House or Senate bill.
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p>Contacting the members of the Conference Committee with concerns and suggested language can be very effective. So, once again, does anyone know WHO these legislators ARE?
JOINT COMMITTEE ON STATE ADMINISTRATION AND REGULATORY OVERSIGHT
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p>Link to the committee list
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p>Joyce of Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth – Chair
O’Leary of Cape and Islands – Vice-Chair
Fargo of Third Middlesex
Galluccio of Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex
Donnelly of Forth Middlesex
Tisei of Middlesex and Essex
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p>Walsh of Lynn – Chair
Gobi of Spencer – Vice-Chair
Tobin of Quincy
Creedon of Brockton
Fallon of Malden
Spiliotis of Peabody
Turner of Dennis
Conroy of Wayland
Hecht of Watertown
Frost of Auburn
Perry of Sandwich
The conference committee on the Ethics Bill will have 2-6 legislators, some from the House and some from the Senate just to work out a compromise on this one issue. It may or may not have the House and Senate heads of the joint committee you list, and may or may not have the Speaker or Sen President or special designees – so thanks but this is not the info I am looking for.
3 from the House named by the Speaker, and 3 from the Senate, named by the Senate President will prob be named early next week. The process requires that the Senate send it’s version to the House who have a choice to accept it or formally reject the Senate version and send it back insisting on it’s own version. And when (and if) the Senate rejects the House version the Senate president names the 3 conference members and the Speaker names 3 conference members.
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p>Traditionally, conference committee members appointed include the Chair of the Committee who initially recommended the bill to the floor, another member of the majority party, not necessarily from the Committee, and a member of the minority party nominated by the Minority Leaders.
A number of Repub Amendments that would have strengthened the bill voted down by Dems. Repubs also supported Eldridge on his.