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BOSTON (State House News Service) - The architect of a gun law reform bill at the center of tensions between the House and Senate said after a pair of private House meetings that he has "no idea" when the legislation might get to the House floor for a vote.
After two days of closed-door meetings where all 160 members of the House had the chance to ask questions about the 141-page bill that seeks to reform red flag laws and right-to-carry provisions, Rep. Michael Day, who wrote the omnibus gun reform bill, said it is "urgent to move quickly" because "we're losing people on a daily basis" to gun violence.
"The longer we sit on this bill I think the less service we're doing to our constituents," he said.
But the bill stands at an impasse amidst a procedural dispute between the chambers, and even if that hurdle is overcome there has been no indication top Democrats in the House and Senate are ready to quickly rally around a single gun bill.
The House voted to send the Day bill to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary -- where Day serves as the chair. The Senate sent the bill to the Joint Committee on Public Safety, saying that is the avenue gun bills usually take.
Unless one of the chambers budges, the bill will not anytime soon go through the typical public hearing process, where residents can give direct feedback to lawmakers.
Asked by reporters Tuesday if he would be open to voting on a bill that has not had a public hearing, Day responded, "We've done that in the past."
"We've all taken votes on those types of bills in the past. I vote on anything that's on the House floor," Day said.
The House has an informal session scheduled for Wednesday -- a departure from their usual Monday and Thursday meetings -- which could signal that representatives are hoping to tee up legislation ahead of a future session. Day said he hadn't "heard any indication" that the House is moving the gun bill Wednesday.
If the House wants to vote on the bill without coming to an agreement with the Senate over the committee assignment -- which Day called "a dispute between the chambers" -- representatives could use other legislative processes to circumnavigate the joint committee hearings.
"I think there are a bunch of options that legislators use all the time to move legislation forward, and what those options are for this particular piece of legislation remains to be seen," Day said.
Asked about finding an agreement with the Senate, Day said, "I haven't had any discussions at this stage."
In early July, Day's office reserved hearing rooms for July 20 and July 21, in hopes that the Judiciary Committee could hold its hearing on the gun bill. Hearings require 72 hours notice, so no committee will be able to hold a public hearing on the legislation this week.
On the Senate side, Majority Leader Cynthia Creem, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security Walter Timilty and Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary Jamie Eldridge released a statement last Friday saying they were "committed to holding a public hearing on all gun safety matters as soon as next week."
The statement specified that senators are looking to hold a hearing before the Public Safety Committee.
"The Legislature has a duty to our residents to ensure that we have a fair and open process for considering gun safety legislation. The Senate remains committed to holding a public hearing on all gun safety matters as soon as next week in the Public Safety Committee. We must honor the many, many voices who have played a role in helping to craft the 47 gun bills currently referred to the committee, and ensure that all voices are heard before any decisions are made," the statement said.
It continued, "We believe that the best way to ensure that our gun safety laws are comprehensive, thoughtful, and thoroughly vetted is to first allow for a full and open public hearing process that will lead to stronger laws to hold those who engage in crime accountable. We hope that the House will agree with us and join us in holding a hearing on all gun safety legislation next week."
Despite the senators' statement and the hearing rooms that Day reserved, neither committee will be able to hold a hearing to listen to the public's opinions on gun law reform this week.
Written by Sam Drysdale/SHNS
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