Today the Senate Committee on Ways and Means released its version of “An Act Relative to the Reorganization of the Judicial System in the Commonwealth,” which contains major changes in the way our courts are managed, and substantial and needed reforms in the practices utilized to hire and promote Probation Department personnel and court officers.
The bill follows the November 2010 public release of the shocking report completed by Independent Counsel Paul Ware for the Supreme Judicial Court and repeated calls for reform by the Senate Republican Caucus. The bill does, in fact, contain some key elements of legislation proposed as recently as last month by Senate Republicans.
An order adopted today set a deadline of Wednesday at noon for amendments to the bill, which is scheduled to be debated in the Senate on Thursday beginning at 1 p.m.
A summary of the bill provided by the Senate Ways and Means Committee is posted below.
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