SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2827
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
SENATE, June 21, 2024.
The committee on Municipalities and Regional Government to whom was referred the
message from Her Excellency the Governor recommending legislation to empower
municipalities and local governments (Senate, No. 2571) (insomuch as relates to Sections 1-17,
19-21, 23-25, 28-37, 76-84 and 87), report the accompanying bill (Senate, No. 2827).
For the committee,
Jacob R. Oliveira 1 of 14
FILED ON: 6/14/2024
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2827
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act empowering municipalities and local governments.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 3 of chapter 17 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022
2Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (d) and inserting in place thereof
3the following subsection:-
4 (d) Seven of the appointed members shall be non-providers: 1 of whom shall be
5appointed by the secretary of elder affairs; 1 of whom shall be appointed by the secretary of
6veterans' services; 1 of whom shall be appointed by the governor from a list of 3 nominated by
7Health Care For All, Inc.; 1 of whom shall be appointed by the governor from a list of 3
8nominated by the Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors, Inc.; 1 of whom shall be
9appointed by the governor from a list of 3 nominated by the Massachusetts Public Health
10Association; 1 of whom shall be appointed by the governor from a list of 3 nominated by the
11Massachusetts Community Health Worker Network; and 1 of whom shall be appointed by the
12governor from a list of 3 nominated by the Coalition for Local Public Health. Whenever an
13organization nominates a list of candidates for appointment by the governor under this 2 of 14
14subsection, the organization may nominate additional candidates if the governor declines to
15appoint any of those originally nominated.
16 SECTION 2 Chapter 30A, Section 21 is hereby amended in subsection (a) by deleting
17paragraph 8 and inserting in place thereof the following:-
18 8. To consider or interview applicants, including the preparation of interview questions
19for employment or appointment by a preliminary screening committee if the chair declares that
20an open meeting will have a detrimental effect in obtaining qualified applicants; provided,
21however that this clause shall not apply to any meeting, including meetings of a preliminary
22screening committee, to consider and interview applicants who have passed a prior preliminary
23screening; nothing in this section shall prohibit all members of a school committee, city council,
24town council, select board, or board of alderman from participating as members of the
25preliminary screening committee meeting in executive session for the purposes of this section.
26 SECTION 3. Section 1 of chapter 30B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
27Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 10 and 11, and in lines 134 and 135,
28the words “thirty-eight A1/2 to thirty-eight O, inclusive, of chapter seven” and inserting in place
29thereof, in each instance, the following words:- 44 to 57, inclusive, of chapter 7C.
30 SECTION 4. Subsection (b) of said section 1 of said chapter 30B, as so appearing, is
31hereby amended by striking out clause (5), as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the
32following clause:-
33 (5) a contract for the purchase of materials under specifications of the division of
34highways in the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and at prices established by the 3 of 14
35division, pursuant to advertising and bidding for such purpose, in connection with work to be
36performed under chapter 81 or chapter 90;
37 SECTION 5. Said section 1 of said chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby further
38amended by striking out, in line 109, as so appearing, the words “subclause (r)” and inserting in
39place thereof the following words:- subclause (s).
40 SECTION 6. Section 4 of chapter 30B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is amended
41by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
42 (a) Except as permitted pursuant to this section and section 7, for the procurement of a
43supply or service for a governmental body in the amount of $15,000 or greater, but not to exceed
44$100,000, a procurement officer shall seek written quotations from not fewer than 3 persons
45customarily providing the supply or service. The procurement officer shall record the: (i) names
46and addresses of all persons from whom quotations were sought; (ii) purchase description used
47for the procurement; (iii) names of the persons submitting quotations; and (iv) date and amount
48of each quotation. Such information shall be retained in the file required pursuant to section 3. A
49governmental body may require that any procurement for the governmental body in an amount of
50not more than $100,000 shall be subject to section 5 or section 6.
51 SECTION 7. Section 4 of chapter 30B of the General Laws, as so appearing, is further
52amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following:-
53 (c) A procurement in the amount of less than $15,000 shall be obtained through the
54exercise of sound business practices. 4 of 14
55 SECTION 8. Section 5 of said chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
56striking out, in lines 2 to 4, the words “$50,000 or, in the case of a municipal or regional school
57district, award of procurement contracts in the amount of more than $100,000,” and inserting in
58place thereof the following figure:- $100,000.
59 SECTION 9. Said section 5 of said chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby further
60amended by striking out, in lines 37 to 39, the words “on the COMMBUYS system administered
61by the operational services division” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- through
62additional means reasonably calculated to notify the public of the opportunity.
63 SECTION 10. Said section 5 of said chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby further
64amended by striking out, in lines 40 and 41, the words “$50,000, or, for a municipal or regional
65school district, more than”.
66 SECTION 11. Section 5 of said chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
67striking out, in lines 64 to 66, inclusive, as so appearing, the words “the provisions of section
68eleven A 1/2 of chapter thirty A, section nine G of chapter thirty-four or section twenty-three B
69of chapter thirty-nine” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- sections 18 to 25,
70inclusive, of chapter 30A.
71 SECTION 12. Section 6 of said chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
72striking out, in lines 2 and 3, the words “$50,000, or, a municipal or regional school district,
73more than $100,000” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $100,000.
74 SECTION 13. Section 6A of said chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
75striking out, in lines 2 and 3, the words “$50,000, or, a municipal or regional school district,
76more than $100,000,” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $100,000. 5 of 14
77 SECTION 14. Section 7 of said chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
78striking out, in lines 2 and 3, the words “$50,000, or, a municipal or regional school district,
79more than $100,000,” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $100,000.
80 SECTION 15. Section 16 of said chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
81striking out, in line 46, the words “forty J of chapter seven” and inserting in place thereof the
82following words:- 38 of chapter 7C.
83 SECTION 16. Section 18 of said chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
84striking out the definition of “Disadvantaged vendor” and inserting in place thereof the following
85definition:-
86 “Disadvantaged vendor”, a business beneficially owned by at least 1 minority person as
87provided in the definition of “Minority-owned business” in subsection (b) of section 6 of chapter
887C and any business beneficially owned by at least 1 woman as provided in the definition of
89“Women-owned business” in said subsection (b) of said section 6 of said chapter 7C.
90 SECTION 17. Said chapter 30B, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking
91out section 22 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-
92 Section 22. A public procurement unit may participate in, sponsor, conduct or administer
93a cooperative purchasing agreement for the procurement of supplies or services with public
94procurement units or external procurement activities in accordance with an agreement entered
95into between the participants. The public procurement unit conducting the procurement of
96supplies or services shall do so in a manner that constitutes a full and open competition. 6 of 14
97 Notwithstanding the provisions of any special or general law to the contrary, a public
98procurement unit that conducts a cooperative purchasing agreement pursuant to this section in a
99manner that constitutes full and open competition may award contracts to multiple offerors
100through a single request for proposals if the chief procurement officer for the awarding public
101unit determines that doing so is in the best interests of the parties to the cooperative purchasing
102agreement.
103 SECTION 18. Chapter 30B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official
104Edition, is hereby amended by striking out section 23 and inserting in place thereof the following
105section:-
106 Section 23. Notwithstanding section 39M of chapter 30, or any general or special law to
107the contrary, a governmental body may procure electric school buses and the installation of
108charging stations for said electric school buses, under this chapter. Said electric school buses and
109the installation of related charging stations may be procured separately or in one procurement.
110For the purposes of this section, if electric school buses and charging stations and their
111installation are procured in a single procurement, both shall be considered supplies; otherwise,
112electric school buses shall be considered supplies and charging stations and their installation
113shall be considered services.
114 A contract under this section shall only be awarded to a bidder: (i) possessing the skill,
115ability and integrity necessary for the faithful performance of the work; (ii) who shall certify, that
116it is able to furnish labor that can work in harmony with all other elements of labor employed or
117to be employed in the work; (iii) who shall certify that all employees to be employed at the
118worksite will have successfully completed a course in construction safety and health approved by 7 of 14
119the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration that is at least 10 hours in
120duration at the time the employee begins work and who shall furnish documentation of
121successful completion of said course with the first certified payroll report for each employee; and
122(iv) who obtains within 10 days of the notification of contract award the security by bond
123required under section 29 of chapter 149; provided, that for the purposes of this section, the term
124“security by bond” shall mean the bond of a surety company qualified to do business under the
125laws of the commonwealth and satisfactory to the awarding authority; provided further, that if
126there is more than 1 surety company, the surety companies shall be jointly and severally liable.
127Sections 26 through 27D of chapter 149 shall apply to any contract entered into under this
128section.
129 SECTION 19. Subsection (k) of section 20 of chapter 32B of the General Laws, as so
130appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 158, the words “governing boards” and
131inserting in place thereof the followings words:- governing body.
132 SECTION 20. Section 49 of said chapter 40, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
133adding the following sentence:- Nothing in this section shall preclude a town from providing any
134of the reports or information pursuant to this section in an electronic format, provided, however,
135that at least one physical copy shall be made available for public viewing during normal business
136hours at the town hall.
137 SECTION 21. Said chapter 40, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the
138following section:-
139 Section 70. Cities, towns and districts shall report a known cybersecurity incident, as
140defined through regulation by the secretary of technology services and security, to the 8 of 14
141commonwealth security operations center, in a manner prescribed by the executive office of
142technology services and security. Reporting shall take place as soon as practicable, but no later
143than at the conclusion of the risk assessment process. Reports shall not include any information
144that would jeopardize attorney-client privilege nor any information that would have a
145demonstrated impact on the defense and management of any liability claims, including litigation
146or demand for damages. Nothing in this section shall satisfy a city, town or district’s reporting
147requirements under chapter 93H. The executive office of technology services and security shall
148promulgate regulations to implement this section.
149 SECTION 22. Section 9 of chapter 40A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
150Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking the eleventh paragraph.
151 SECTION 23. Section 1B of chapter 41 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
152amended by adding the following paragraph:-
153 In any town that accepts this paragraph, the positions of appointed town treasurer and
154appointed collector of taxes shall be combined into 1 position and become an appointed position
155in the manner provided in this section. Any incumbent of such office serving at the time of
156acceptance shall continue to hold said office and to perform the duties thereof until the expiration
157of the term for which said individual was appointed or until said individual otherwise vacates
158such office.
159 SECTION 24. Section 23A of said chapter 41, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
160striking out, in line 3, the words “one or three” and inserting in place thereof the following
161words:- not less than 1 year but not more than 5. 9 of 14
162 SECTION 25. Section 81A of chapter 41 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
163Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the first paragraph the following
164paragraph:-
165 Zoning ordinances or by-laws may provide for associate members of a planning board.
166One associate member may be authorized when the planning board consists of five members,
167and two associate members may be authorized when the planning board consists of more than
168five members. A city or town which establishes the position of associate member shall determine
169the procedure for filling such position. If provision for filling the position of associate member
170has been made, in the case of absence, inability to act, conflict of interest on the part of any
171member of the planning board, or in the event of a vacancy on the board the chairman of the
172planning board may designate an associate member to sit on the board for the purposes of acting
173on any matter under its jurisdiction including but not limited to this chapter, chapter 40A or
174under its home rule powers.
175 SECTION 26. Section 7 of chapter 44 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022
176Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “land”, in line 21, the following
177words:- , improvement to real estate or waterways.
178 SECTION 27. Said section 7 of said chapter 44, as so appearing, is hereby further
179amended by inserting after the word “years”, in line 22, the following words:- and be owned or
180leased by the city or town or on property owned or leased by the city or town.
181 SECTION 28. Said section 7 of said chapter 44, as so appearing, is hereby further
182amended by inserting after the word “land”, in line 23, the following words:- , improvement to
183real estate or waterways. 10 of 14
184 SECTION 29. Said section 7 of said chapter 44, as so appearing, is hereby further
185amended by adding the following paragraph:-
186 Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section and section 16 of chapter 71,
187indebtedness for constructing and reconstructing a school facility for the education of school
188children shall be payable not to exceed 40 years.
189 SECTION 30. Section 21A of said chapter 44, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
190inserting after the word “town”, in line 2, the following words:- , the school committee of a
191regional school district.
192 SECTION 31. Said section 21A of said chapter 44, as so appearing, is hereby further
193amended by inserting after the word “town”, in line 4, the following words:- , regional school
194district.
195 SECTION 32. Said section 21A of said chapter 44, as so appearing, is hereby further
196amended by inserting after the word “town”, in line 69, the following words:- , the school
197committee of a regional school district.
198 SECTION 33. Section 31 of said chapter 44, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
199inserting the following paragraph:-
200 Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, section 23 of chapter 59, or any
201other general or special law to the contrary, a city or town may amortize over the subsequent
202three fiscal years, in equal installments or more rapidly, the amount of its current fiscal year
203major disaster related deficit. The local appropriating authority as defined in section 21C of said
204chapter 59 shall adopt a deficit amortization schedule in accordance with the preceding sentence 11 of 14
205before setting the municipality’s next fiscal year tax rate. The commissioner of revenue may
206issue guidelines or instructions for reporting the amortization of deficits authorized by this
207paragraph.
208 SECTION 34. The seventh paragraph of section 32 of said chapter 44, as so appearing, is
209hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- The amounts in the continuing appropriation
210budget shall, without further action by the council, become an appropriation and be available for
211the purposes specified; provided that the purposes contained therein shall not include any item or
212undertaking not considered in the prior fiscal year.
213 SECTION 35. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there shall be a
214special commission to investigate and study the use of so-called double poles. The commission
215shall consider identifying how many double poles exist and the length of time each has been in
216place, the reason why such double poles have been in place for such time, and the process and
217timeline by which existing utility poles are removed following the transfer of attached services to
218a new pole. The commission shall also consider and may make recommendations on how best to
219enforce the provisions of Section 34B of Chapter 164 of the General Laws concerning the timely
220removal of double poles, investigate how to address barriers to remove such poles, investigate
221increasing utilization, improving functionality of attachment management systems (e.g., the
222National Joint Utilities Notification System (NJUNS), and identifying solutions to resolve
223communication issues among all parties, unlicensed attachments on utility poles and
224requirements that providers promptly register such attachments, the legal liability and potential
225use of indemnification agreements to facilitate the removal of abandoned attachments, whether
226or not certain costs may be recovered from ratepayers, and the promulgation of regulations by 12 of 14
227the Department of Public Utilities and Department of Telecommunications and Cable to
228effectively regulate double utility poles.
229 The commission shall consist of 17 members: 1 of whom shall be the secretary of
230administration and finance, or the secretary’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the chair of the
231department of public utilities, or the chair's designee; 1 of whom shall be the commissioner of
232the department of telecommunications and cable, or the commissioner’s designee; 1 of whom
233shall be a representative of a municipal light board of commissioners or their designee; the house
234and senate chairs of the joint committee on municipalities and regional government; 2 members
235of the house of representatives, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader; 2 members
236of the senate, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader; 3 municipal officials selected
237by the governor, 1 utility pole owner; 1 utility pole attacher; the executive director of the
238Massachusetts Municipal Association or their designee; and 1 private citizen, appointed by the
239governor, who shall serve as chair of the commission and shall not be an employee of any
240electric or telecommunications utility operating in the commonwealth.
241 The commission shall file a report of its recommendations and proposed legislation, if
242any, with the clerks of the house and senate, the chairs of the house and senate committee on
243ways and means and the chairs of the joint committee on municipalities and regional government
244not later than June 30, 2026.
245 SECTION 36. Section 17 of chapter 268A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is
246hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-
247 This section shall not prevent a municipal employee from receiving or requesting
248compensation from, or acting as an agent or attorney for, the employee’s municipality and one or 13 of 14
249more other governmental units, as defined by section 4A of chapter 40, in connection with an
250intermunicipal agreement under said section 4A of said chapter 40; provided that the employee is
251acting within the scope of the employee’s duties under the intermunicipal agreement.
252 SECTION 37. Notwithstanding section 20 of chapter 44 of the General Laws, or any
253other general or special law to the contrary, a community who reserved or used a debt excluded
254premium for capital shall account for said premium on the debt excluded borrowing without
255adjustment to the debt exclusion.
256 SECTION 38. Notwithstanding section 53 of chapter 44 of the General Laws or any other
257general or special law to the contrary, any city or town may, upon the approval of the chief
258executive officer, establish in the treasury a separate revenue account into which shall be
259deposited the monies received pursuant to section 25B of chapter 54 of the General Laws and
260chapter 111 of the acts of 2014. Said special account shall be established by the municipal
261treasurer in the municipal treasury and shall be kept separate and apart from other monies.
262Monies in any special account shall be expended at the direction of the chief executive officer
263without further appropriation only for the purposes for which the monies were received.
264 SECTION 39. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there shall be a
265special commission to investigate and study retiree healthcare and other non-pension benefits.
266The commission shall consider the range of benefits that are or should be provided as well as the
267current and anticipated future cost of providing them. The commission shall consider and may
268make recommendations on how best to divide the costs between the commonwealth and its
269employees and between the commonwealth’s municipalities and their employees. Upon 14 of 14
270appropriation of sufficient funds, the commission shall engage professional advisors as needed to
271accomplish its purposes.
272 The commission shall consist of 12 members: 1 of whom shall be the secretary of
273administration and finance, or the secretary’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the treasurer, or the
274treasurer’s designee; 1 of whom shall be the executive director of the group insurance
275commission, or the director’s designee; 1 of whom shall be a private citizen, appointed by the
276governor, who shall serve as chair of the commission and shall not be a member of any of the
277105 contributory retirement systems; 2 of whom shall be members of the house of
278representatives, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader; 2 of whom shall be
279members of the senate, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the minority leader; 1 of whom shall be
280selected by the governor from a list of 3 candidates submitted by the president of the
281Massachusetts AFL-CIO; 2 of whom shall be members of the Massachusetts Municipal
282Association, 1 of whom shall represent a rural community; and 1 of whom shall be a member of
283the Retired State, County and Municipal Employees Association of Massachusetts.
284 The commission shall file a report of its recommendations and proposed legislation, if
285any, with the clerks of the house and senate, the chairs of the house and senate committee on
286ways and means and the chairs of the joint committee on public service not later than June 30,
2872025.
288 SECTION 40. Section 23 of chapter 30B of the General Laws, as inserted by section 18
289of this act, is hereby repealed.
290 SECTION 41. Section 40 shall take effect on June 30, 2029.