State House News Service 

By Elisabeth J. Beardsley

June 16--Without discussion or dissent, the Judiciary Committee today sent about 450 of the 600-plus bills on its agenda into legislative studies, including controversial proposals on abortion and gay marriage.

At an afternoon executive session that featured the chairmen rattling off bill numbers at the speed of auctioneers, the bills sent to study included topics such as criminal records, sexual harassment, juvenile offenders, sex offender treatment, child custody, restraining orders, frivolous lawsuits, malpractice actions and trade secrets.  The bills spanned five hearings.

Although study orders usually serve as legislative graveyards, Senate Chairman Robert Creedon, Jr. (D-Brockton) said the committee truly wants more time to consider some issues.  "A study to me is a study," he said. "I look at them all."

The bills banning partial birth abortion and prohibiting gay marriage fall into the category of situations where there's a "huge cry to do something," Creedon said.  When legislation gets rushed through on those grounds, it often ends up with flaws, he said.

"I don't like to see things like that happen," Creedon said.  "I'm willing to stay here 365 days, 24 hours a day to do the right thing, and the study vehicle lets us do that.  I think with those (abortion and gay marriage), especially, it makes sense to study them.  I want to take a good look at both."

Between 6,000 and 8,000 bills are filed every session and only about 400 become law, noted committee member Rep. John Locke (R-Wellesley), who said the "en masse" study orders are the only reasonable way to deal with the sheer volume.  It's a more efficient disposal method than reporting them out unfavorably, he added.

"This is the process," Locke said.  "Where else are they going to go?  All ought-not-to-passes?  Then they're all on the calendar.  Then you have 160 members moving to substitute.  And the net result is the same.  You're talking apples to apples, one graveyard to another."

Creedon said there's "no question" that today's mass dumping of bills into study was a result of the looming June 23 bill reporting deadline, also known as "Joint Rule 10 Day."   He lamented the legislative reforms that set the strict reporting date.  "The deadline's too early," he said.  "The legislative process should be a slow, deliberative process."

Besides one exec on Feb. 11 to report out adoption legislation that was under the gun of a federal deadline, today was the committee's first stab at disposing of this session's bills.  Another exec is scheduled for June 22 to report out the remaining 150 or so.