| 1 | 1 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4663 FILED ON: 11/1/2023 |
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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4157 |
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| 3 | 3 | | OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR |
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| 4 | 4 | | COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS |
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| 5 | 5 | | STATE HOUSE · BOSTON, MA 02133 |
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| 6 | 6 | | (617) 725-4000 |
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| 7 | 7 | | MAURA T. HEALEY |
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| 8 | 8 | | GOVERNOR |
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| 9 | 9 | | KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL |
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| 10 | 10 | | LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR |
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| 11 | 11 | | November 1, 2023 |
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| 12 | 12 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives, |
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| 13 | 13 | | Pursuant to the provisions of Article II, Section 8, Paragraph 1, Clause (2) of the |
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| 14 | 14 | | Amendments to the Constitution, as appearing in Article LXXXIX of said Amendments, I am |
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| 15 | 15 | | filing for your consideration the attached legislation entitled “An Act Validating the Results of |
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| 16 | 16 | | the Annual Election Held in the Town of Deerfield on May 2, 2022.” |
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| 17 | 17 | | I am filing this special legislation at the request of the Town of Deerfield’s Selectboard. |
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| 18 | 18 | | The legislation ratifies all acts and proceedings taken by the Town at its annual town |
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| 19 | 19 | | election held on May 2, 2022. The ratification serves to resolve any question that might arise |
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| 20 | 20 | | from the fact that the warrant for the election inadvertently omitted the text of a Proposition 2 ½ |
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| 21 | 21 | | ballot question which passed by a wide margin. Through that ballot question, the voters of |
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| 22 | 22 | | Deerfield approved a debt exclusion for a $3 million bond to pay for costs of upgrading the |
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| 23 | 23 | | South Deerfield Wastewater Treatment Facility. Major upgrades to that facility are already |
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| 24 | 24 | | underway, and the bond is intended to support the second phase of what is anticipated to be a |
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| 25 | 25 | | four-phase project. |
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| 26 | 26 | | Although the warrant for the election inadvertently omitted the text of the ballot question, |
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| 27 | 27 | | the full text of the question was properly printed on the ballot and posted at least 7 days prior to |
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| 28 | 28 | | the election. Timely ratification of the results of the election is necessary to permit the Town to |
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| 29 | 29 | | proceed with issuing the bond and continuing with this important public works project. I |
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| 30 | 30 | | therefore urge your prompt consideration of this bill. |
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| 31 | 31 | | Respectfully submitted, |
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| 32 | 32 | | |
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| 33 | 33 | | Maura T. Healey |
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| 34 | 34 | | Governor 1 of 1 |
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| 35 | 35 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4157 |
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| 36 | 36 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 37 | 37 | | _______________ |
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| 38 | 38 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 39 | 39 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 40 | 40 | | _______________ |
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| 41 | 41 | | An Act validating the results of the annual election held in the town of Deerfield on May 2, |
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| 42 | 42 | | 2022. |
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| 43 | 43 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 44 | 44 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 45 | 45 | | 1 SECTION 1. Notwithstanding any general or special law or town bylaw or charter |
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| 46 | 46 | | 2provision to the contrary, all acts and proceedings taken by the town of Deerfield at the annual |
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| 47 | 47 | | 3town election held on May 2, 2022, and all actions taken pursuant thereto, are hereby ratified, |
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| 48 | 48 | | 4validated and confirmed to the same extent as if the town had complied with all statutory |
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| 49 | 49 | | 5requirements for posting a warrant for the meeting. |
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| 50 | 50 | | 6 SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage. |
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