Senate adopts amendment and passes Medford city charter bill to engrossment

The Massachusetts Senate on a voice vote adopted an amendment to and passed a House bill to establish a charter for the city of Medford, advancing the measure to engrossment. The bill (House No. 4263) was taken from the orders of the day and read for a third time.

Senator Jalen, the senator from Middlesex, offered an amendment and “moves to amend the bill by striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting in its place the text contained in Senate document number 2597,” which the clerk then read. The amendment was adopted by voice vote and the bill, as amended, was passed to be engrossed.

The measure was considered after the Senate suspended joint rule 12 and other rules to allow immediate consideration. The rules suspensions were approved by voice votes. The clerk recorded adoption of the amendment and the subsequent passage to engrossment.

The action means the bill, as amended, moves to the next formal stage of the legislative process (engrossment) for final preparation before further consideration. No roll-call vote numbers or individual yes/no tallies were recorded in the transcript; the chair noted the voice votes and that “the ayes have it.”

Background: The Senate took up the Medford charter bill from the House calendar under unanimous-consent procedures after suspending applicable rules. The clerk identified the measure as House No. 4263 and the Senate document referenced for the substitute text as 2597. The transcript did not provide the amendment text or a detailed summary of substantive changes made by the amendment.

Next steps: The bill was passed to be engrossed and, per standard procedure, will proceed through whatever next steps remain in the legislative process for enactment or further consideration.