Mass. Senate approves appointment bill

The Massachusetts Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would allow Gov. Deval Patrick (D) to fill his state's vacant U.S. Senate seat by interim appointment.

The measure, passed 24-16, now heads back to both chambers for a routine procedural vote. If approved a second time, it would then head to the governor, whom lawmakers expect to sign the bill quickly.

The idea to revise state law and return Senate appointment power to the governor was first pitched by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) in the weeks before his death.

At the time, the idea received lukewarm political support, and Republicans in particular asserted it smacked of political opportunism — especially because Democrats stripped then-Gov. Mitt Romney (R) of that very ability in 2004 to ensure he could not fill Sen. John Kerry's (D-Mass.) seat in the event he won the White House.

The state's Democrats, however, eventually rallied together in support of the bill, which cleared the House easily last week.

Despite Tuesday's vote, it is still unclear when Patrick would name his interim appointee, much less whom he is considering for the post. At the very least, the governor has suggested that he would seek an assurance from his selection that he or she would not run in the state's special election. That contest will take place this January, with each party's primary scheduled to occur in December.