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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 246 FILED ON: 1/7/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2272 |
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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 | | Carmine Lawrence Gentile and David Paul Linsky |
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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 authorizing remote participation at town meetings in the town of Wayland. |
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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:Carmine Lawrence Gentile13th Middlesex1/7/2025David Paul Linsky5th Middlesex1/7/2025James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/19/2025 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 246 FILED ON: 1/7/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2272 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representatives Gentile of Sudbury and Linsky of Natick, a petition (accompanied by bill, |
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| 19 | 19 | | House, No. 2272) of Carmine Lawrence Gentile, David Paul Linsky and James B. Eldridge (by |
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| 20 | 20 | | vote of the town) that the town of Wayland be authorized to hold annual and special hybrid town |
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| 21 | 21 | | meetings. Municipalities and Regional Government. [Local Approval Received.] |
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| 22 | 22 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 23 | 23 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 2053 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 24 | 24 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 27 | 27 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 28 | 28 | | _______________ |
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| 29 | 29 | | An Act authorizing remote participation at town meetings in the town of Wayland. |
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| 30 | 30 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 31 | 31 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 32 | 32 | | 1 SECTION 1. Notwithstanding chapter 39 of the General Laws, or any general or special |
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| 33 | 33 | | 2law or charter provision to the contrary, the town of Wayland may hold annual and special town |
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| 34 | 34 | | 3meetings with voters located in a common, physical location, fully remote or partially remote, to |
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| 35 | 35 | | 4be known as a hybrid town meeting. |
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| 36 | 36 | | 5 SECTION 2. Any town meeting held remotely or in hybrid form in accordance with this |
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| 37 | 37 | | 6act shall be recorded and the recording shall be made available for public viewing on the town’s |
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| 38 | 38 | | 7website for no fewer than 30 days following the conclusion of the meeting. The recording shall |
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| 39 | 39 | | 8also be a permanent record of the town, subject to disclosure upon request. 2 of 2 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 9 SECTION 3. All actions taken at a remote or hybrid town meeting held in accordance |
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| 41 | 41 | | 10with this act shall be ratified, validated and confirmed to the same extent as if the town meeting |
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| 42 | 42 | | 11had been conducted entirely in person. |
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| 43 | 43 | | 12 SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon its passage. |
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