Beacon Hill Roll Call.

Beacon Hill Roll Call, by Bob Katzen, this week examines the voting records of local senators on Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick's vetoes of items in the $28.22 billion fiscal year 2009 budget.

There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week.

The Senate in 2008 voted on 72 of Patrick's budget vetoes that reduced state spending and made other changes in the version of the budget approved by the Legislature. A two-thirds vote is required to override a gubernatorial veto.

The 40-person membership of the Senate, prior to the recent resignations of Sens. James Marzilli and Dianne Wilkerson, included 35 Democrats and only five Republicans. The governor needed the support of 15 senators to sustain a veto when all 40 senators voted - and fewer votes if some members were absent. Patrick fell far short of that goal.

Six votes were the most he received on any veto. The Senate easily overrode all 72 vetoes including seven that were overridden unanimously.

The vetoes had virtually no support from the chamber's 35 Democratic senators. Only six Democrats voted with Patrick to sustain any vetoes while 28 voted to override all 72 vetoes. Senate President Therese Murray followed Senate tradition and did not vote on any of the roll calls.

The Democrat who gave Patrick the most support was Sen. Frederick Berry (D-Peabody), who supported him on seven vetoes. Wilkerson sided with Patrick twice. The governor received support on one veto from four senators including Sens. Gale Candaras (D-Wilbraham), Robert O'Leary (D-Cummaquid), James Timilty (D-Walpole) and Pamela Resor (D-Acton).

It was mostly Republicans who voted with the Democratic governor to sustain the vetoes. The GOP member who voted with the governor to sustain the most vetoes was Republican Minority Leader Richard Tisei (R-Wakefield) who supported him 55 times (76.3 percent). Following him were the chamber's other four Republicans including Sens. Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth) 51 times (70.8 percent); Scott Brown (R-Wrentham) 42 times (58.3 percent) and Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) and Michael Knapik (R-Westfield) both 40 times (55.5 percent).

Number and percentage of times local senators supported Patrick

Here is how local senators voted in support of Patrick on the 72 budget vetoes.

The percentage next to the senator's name represents the percentage of times the senator supported Patrick.

Sen. Robert Antonioni ... 0 percent

Sen. Harriette Chandler ... 0 percent

ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL

Several pieces of legislation have been approved by both the House and the Senate, but have not yet received final approval in either branch. Time is running out on these proposals, but proponents are hopeful the measures will be approved and sent to the governor for his signature prior to the end of the 2009 legislative session in early January.

Sex offenders (S 2849) - This measure was approved by the Senate on July 28 and the House on Oct. 9. It would prohibit convicted sex offenders from driving a school bus by broadening a current law that prohibits anyone convicted of committing an unnatural act, rape or sodomy from driving a school bus.

The legislation also requires all school bus drivers to complete a basic course in first aid that includes training on how to use an epinephrine auto injector. Epinephrine is an injection that is often used to counteract allergic reactions to food.

Supporters say broadening the prohibition would make children safer from all sex offenders. They argued the bill is merely an extension of current laws that require criminal background checks and prohibit specific offenders from holding specific jobs.

Opponents say the bill is well-intentioned, but creates a slippery slope which would result in proposals to ban sex offenders from other jobs involving children and eventually all jobs.

Ban animal fights (H 1527) - This measure was approved by the House on Oct. 2 and the Senate on Oct. 16. It would increase the penalty for being present at an animal fight from a fine of up to $250 and/or 30 days in jail to a fine of up to $1,000 and/or five years in jail.

Emergency vehicles (H 5120) - The House and Senate have not yet agreed on a version of the "Move Over" bill establishing requirements for motorists who are approaching an emergency vehicle. The House version, approved on July 29 and the Senate version passed on Oct. 27 are both aimed at saving lives and preventing injuries.

The key difference is the House version requires drivers to reduce their speed to a minimum of 25 mph below the posted speed limit when they spot an emergency vehicle flashing its lights on the side of a highway and imposes up to a $100 on drivers who do not follow the new law. Neither provision is in the broader Senate version of the measure.

Ban chain link basketball nets (S 1419) - This measure was approved by the Senate on July 28 and the House on Oct. 30. It would ban chain link metal basketball nets in public parks, playgrounds and recreation centers.

Supporters of the ban say metal nets are dangerous and point to the injuries sustained by a young Walpole girl who seriously injured her hand on an open chain link while playing basketball. Companies that sell these metal nets say they are sturdier than nylon ones and discourage vandals from stealing them.

Restrict idling vehicles on school grounds (S 2628) - This measure was approved by the Senate on April 10 and the House on Oct. 23. It would require the Registry of Motor Vehicles to adopt regulations restricting operators of school buses and automobiles from idling their vehicles on school grounds. The regulations would include establishing the length of time a driver on school grounds is permitted to idle an engine.

How Long Was Last Week's Session?

Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week.

Many legislators say 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 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 Nov. 24 to 28, the House met for a total of two hours and 33 minutes while the Senate met for a total of 16 minutes.

Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at [e-mail].