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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 140 FILED ON: 1/10/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 718 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Adam Scanlon |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to early voting cost reimbursements. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Adam Scanlon14th Bristol1/10/2023Joseph D. McKenna18th Worcester1/11/2023Jeffrey Rosario Turco19th Suffolk1/20/2023Kelly W. Pease4th Hampden1/25/2023Steven Ultrino33rd Middlesex1/30/2023 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 140 FILED ON: 1/10/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 718 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Scanlon of North Attleborough, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. |
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| 19 | 19 | | 718) of Adam Scanlon and others relative to early voting cost reimbursements for cities and |
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| 20 | 20 | | towns. Election Laws. |
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| 21 | 21 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 22 | 22 | | _______________ |
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| 23 | 23 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | An Act relative to early voting cost reimbursements. |
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| 27 | 27 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 28 | 28 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 29 | 29 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 25B of chapter 54 of the General Laws is hereby amended by |
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| 30 | 30 | | 2inserting after subsection (q) the following subsection: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 3 (r) the commonwealth shall pay to each city and town an amount sufficient to defray the |
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| 32 | 32 | | 4mandated costs imposed on the city or town under the provisions of this section, including |
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| 33 | 33 | | 5additional personnel hired to staff the mandated early voting polling location, hourly municipal |
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| 34 | 34 | | 6staff working outside their normal business hours to staff the mandated early voting polling |
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| 35 | 35 | | 7location, overtime for hourly municipal staff working beyond regular hours to setup or take |
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| 36 | 36 | | 8down early voting polling locations, overtime for hourly municipal staff working beyond regular |
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| 37 | 37 | | 9hours to input data into the secretary of state’s Voter Registration Information System, the cost |
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| 38 | 38 | | 10of voting booths, and the cost of privacy screens. In every year not later than September |
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| 39 | 39 | | 11fifteenth, the state auditor shall determine and deliver to the state secretary a statement of the |
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| 40 | 40 | | 12incremental costs attributed to this section and estimated to be incurred by each city and town in 2 of 2 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 13the next fiscal year. The state secretary shall include in his budget recommendations for such |
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| 42 | 42 | | 14fiscal year a request for an appropriation in an amount equal to such estimated costs, and shall |
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| 43 | 43 | | 15distribute to each city or town its share of any such appropriated funds not more than thirty days |
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| 44 | 44 | | 16prior to the date upon which said costs shall be incurred by the city or town. Funds so distributed |
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| 45 | 45 | | 17to each city or town shall be deposited in the general fund of the city or town and shall be |
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| 46 | 46 | | 18expended without further appropriation by the city or town to meet the costs incurred by it under |
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| 47 | 47 | | 19the provisions of this act. |
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