Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H3299 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 368 FILED ON: 1/8/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3299
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Antonio F. D. Cabral
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act to modernize participation in public meetings.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Antonio F. D. Cabral13th Bristol1/8/2025Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/30/2025Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester1/30/2025Erika Uyterhoeven27th Middlesex1/30/2025David Paul Linsky5th Middlesex2/6/2025Patrick Joseph Kearney4th Plymouth2/6/2025Kristin E. Kassner2nd Essex2/6/2025Susannah M. Whipps2nd Franklin2/6/2025Patrick M. O'ConnorFirst Plymouth and Norfolk2/6/2025Christopher Richard Flanagan1st Barnstable2/6/2025Carmine Lawrence Gentile13th Middlesex2/12/2025William F. MacGregor10th Suffolk2/12/2025Michelle L. Badger1st Plymouth2/12/2025James C. Arena-DeRosa8th Middlesex2/12/2025Christopher Hendricks11th Bristol2/24/2025Marjorie C. Decker25th Middlesex2/24/2025Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk2/24/2025Patricia A. Duffy5th Hampden2/24/2025 2 of 2
16	16	Leigh Davis3rd Berkshire2/24/2025Tara T. Hong18th Middlesex2/24/2025Rodney M. Elliott16th Middlesex2/24/2025James Arciero2nd Middlesex2/24/2025Kevin G. Honan17th Suffolk2/26/2025Homar Gómez2nd Hampshire2/26/2025Bruce E. TarrFirst Essex and Middlesex3/3/2025John H. Rogers12th Norfolk3/3/2025Jennifer Balinsky Armini8th Essex3/3/2025Manny Cruz7th Essex3/5/2025Daniel M. Donahue16th Worcester3/5/2025Adrian C. Madaro1st Suffolk3/5/2025Adrianne Pusateri Ramos14th Essex3/7/2025Michael O. MooreSecond Worcester3/7/2025John Francis Moran9th Suffolk3/7/2025Bradley H. Jones, Jr.20th Middlesex3/11/2025Danillo A. Sena37th Middlesex3/11/2025 1 of 8
17	17	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 368 FILED ON: 1/8/2025
18	18	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3299
19	19	By Representative Cabral of New Bedford, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3299) of
20	20	Antonio F. D. Cabral and others relative to participation in public meetings. State
21	21	Administration and Regulatory Oversight.
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
25	25	(2025-2026)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act to modernize participation in public meetings.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1. Section 18 of chapter 30A of the General Laws, as appearing in 2022
31	31	2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “meeting”, in line 9, the
32	32	3following word:- information.
33	33	4 SECTION 2. Section 18 of said chapter 30A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended
34	34	5by inserting at the end thereof the following:-
35	35	6 “Remote access,” access through the internet, video conferencing or other video
36	36	7technology that allows the public to view and, when permitted or required, participate in a
37	37	8meeting of a public body remotely from a location other than the meeting location.
38	38	9 “Remote participation,” participation by a member of a public body in a meeting of that
39	39	10public body through internet, video conferencing or other video technology remotely from a
40	40	11location other than the meeting location. 2 of 8
41	41	12 SECTION 3. Chapter 30A is hereby amended by striking out section 20 and inserting in
42	42	13place thereof the following section:
43	43	14 Section 20 (a) Except as provided in section 21, all meetings of a public body shall be
44	44	15physically open, and remotely accessible, to the public.
45	45	16 (b) Except in an emergency, in addition to any notice otherwise required by law, a public
46	46	17body shall post notice of every meeting at least 48 hours prior to the meeting, excluding
47	47	18Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. In an emergency, a public body shall post notice as soon
48	48	19as reasonably possible prior to the meeting. Notice shall be printed in a legible, easily
49	49	20understandable format and shall contain the date, time and place of the meeting and a listing of
50	50	21topics that the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed at the meeting.
51	51	22 (c) For meetings of a local public body, notice shall be filed with the municipal clerk and
52	52	23posted to the municipal website by the municipal clerk and may be posted in a manner
53	53	24conspicuously visible to the public at all hours in or on the municipal building in which the
54	54	25clerk’s office is located. For meetings of a regional or district public body, notice shall be filed
55	55	26and posted in each city or town within the region or district in the manner prescribed for local
56	56	27public bodies and notice shall be posted on the regional or district public body’s website. For
57	57	28meetings of a regional school district, the secretary of the regional school district committee shall
58	58	29be considered to be its clerk and shall file notice with the clerk of each city or town within the
59	59	30district and the clerk of such each city or town shall post the notice in the manner prescribed for
60	60	31local public bodies, and notice shall be posted on the regional school district’s website. For
61	61	32meetings of a county public body, notice shall be filed in the office of the county commissioners
62	62	33for the county and shall be posted on the county public body’s website, and notice may be posted 3 of 8
63	63	34in a manner conspicuously visible to the public at all hours in the places as the county
64	64	35commissioners shall designate for the purpose.
65	65	36 For meetings of a state public body, notice shall be filed with the attorney general by
66	66	37posting on a website under the procedures established for this purpose and a duplicate copy of
67	67	38the notice shall be filed with the regulations division in the state secretary’s office and notice
68	68	39shall be posted on the state public body’s website, or the website of its parent agency.
69	69	40 The chair of a public body may petition the attorney general for the use of an alternative
70	70	41method of notice where the use of a website is unduly burdensome or presents a hardship to the
71	71	42public body or regional school district. The attorney general may prescribe or approve alternative
72	72	43methods of notice where the attorney general determines that the use of a website is unduly
73	73	44burdensome or presents a hardship and the alternative methods will afford effective notice to the
74	74	45public.
75	75	46 (d) (1) All public bodies shall provide for remote access and remote participation at every
76	76	47meeting.
77	77	48 (2) Members of a public body participating physically or participating remotely in a
78	78	49meeting shall participate in the same manner for the duration of that meeting. A public body,
79	79	50other than a local commission on disability, shall have at least one-third of its members
80	80	51physically present at all meetings and members participating remotely may vote, count towards
81	81	52the quorum, and shall not be deemed absent for the purposes of section 23D of chapter 39. The
82	82	53chair of a local commission on disability or, in the chair’s absence, the person authorized to chair
83	83	54the meeting of a local commission on disability, shall be physically present at the meeting
84	84	55location. 4 of 8
85	85	56 (3) Members of a state public body participating physically or participating remotely in a
86	86	57meeting shall participate in the same manner for the duration of that meeting. A state public body
87	87	58shall have at least one of its members physically present at all meetings and members
88	88	59participating remotely may vote, count towards the quorum, and shall not be deemed absent for
89	89	60the purposes of section 23D of chapter 39. All meetings of a state public body shall be video
90	90	61recorded with access to the recording posted on the website of the public body within 10
91	91	62business days after the meeting.
92	92	63 (4) Remote access allowing the public to view or participate in the deliberations of a
93	93	64public body shall be available without any paid subscription, toll, or similar charge. All public
94	94	65bodies shall ensure remote access to meetings is accessible to persons with disabilities and
95	95	66provided in such a manner as to ensure equal opportunity to such persons. Public bodies shall
96	96	67include captioning, which may be provided through automatic speech recognition technology, or
97	97	68other reasonable accommodations if needed, consistent with the American Disabilities Act and
98	98	69chapter 151B to persons with disabilities remotely accessing the meeting.
99	99	70 (6) All public bodies shall ensure that remote participation by members is accessible to
100	100	71members with disabilities and provided in such a manner as to ensure equal opportunity to such
101	101	72members. Public bodies shall include captioning, which may be provided through automatic
102	102	73speech recognition technology, or other reasonable accommodations if needed, consistent with
103	103	74the American Disabilities Act and chapter 151B to persons with disabilities participating
104	104	75remotely.
105	105	76 (e) After notifying the chair of the public body, any person may make a video or audio
106	106	77recording of an open session of a meeting of a public body, or may transmit the meeting through 5 of 8
107	107	78any medium, subject to reasonable requirements of the chair as to the number, placement and
108	108	79operation of equipment used so as not to interfere with the conduct of the meeting. At the
109	109	80beginning of the meeting, the chair shall inform other attendees of any recordings.
110	110	81 (f) No person shall address a meeting of a public body without permission of the chair,
111	111	82and all persons shall, at the request of the chair, be silent. No person shall disrupt the proceedings
112	112	83of a meeting of a public body. If, after clear warning from the chair, a person continues to disrupt
113	113	84the proceedings, the chair may order the person to withdraw from the meeting and if the person
114	114	85does not withdraw, the chair may authorize a constable or other officer to remove the person
115	115	86from the meeting.
116	116	87 (g) Within 2 weeks of qualification for office, all persons serving on a public body shall
117	117	88certify, on a form prescribed by the attorney general, the receipt of a copy of the open meeting
118	118	89law, regulations promulgated under section 25 and a copy of the educational materials prepared
119	119	90by the attorney general explaining the open meeting law and its application under section 19.
120	120	91Unless otherwise directed or approved by the attorney general, the appointing authority, city or
121	121	92town clerk or the executive director or other appropriate administrator of a state or regional body,
122	122	93or their designees, shall obtain certification from each person upon entering service and shall
123	123	94retain it subject to the applicable records retention schedule where the body maintains its official
124	124	95records. The certification shall be evidence that the member of a public body has read and
125	125	96understands the requirements of the open meeting law and the consequences of violating it.
126	126	97 SECTION 4. Section 22 of chapter 30A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
127	127	98amended by striking subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsections:- 6 of 8
128	128	99 (a) A public body shall create and maintain accurate minutes of all meetings, including
129	129	100executive sessions, setting forth the date, time and place, the members present or absent, a
130	130	101summary of the discussions on each subject, a list of documents and other exhibits used at the
131	131	102meeting, the decisions made, and the actions taken at each meeting, including the record of all
132	132	103votes. Minutes of all meetings, including executive sessions, shall be created, and approved by
133	133	104the following meeting or within 30 days, whichever is later, unless the public body can show
134	134	105good cause for further delay.
135	135	106 SECTION 5. Section 22 of said chapter 30A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended
136	136	107by striking subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following:-
137	137	108 (c) The minutes of an open session, if they exist and whether approved or in draft form,
138	138	109shall be made available upon request to any person within 10 business days. A public body may,
139	139	110within 10 business days, refer the requester to the public body’s website where the requested
140	140	111minutes, whether approved or in draft form, may be found. Within 10 business days of approval,
141	141	112minutes of an open session shall be posted to the public body’s website.
142	142	113
143	143	114 SECTION 6. Said Section 22 of said chapter 30A, as so appearing, is hereby further
144	144	115amended by inserting after the word “meeting”, in line 60, the following words:-
145	145	116 Within 10 business days of a determination that continued non-disclosure of executive
146	146	117session minutes is no longer warranted, such executive session minutes shall be posted to the
147	147	118public body’s website. 7 of 8
148	148	119 SECTION 7. Said section 22 of said chapter 30A, as so appearing, is hereby further
149	149	120amended by inserting after the word “review”, in line 69, the following words:-
150	150	121 A public body may, within 10 business days, refer the requester to the public body’s
151	151	122website where the requested minutes may be found if all requested minutes have been released to
152	152	123the public.
153	153	124
154	154	125 SECTION 8. Section 23 of said chapter 30A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
155	155	126inserting after the word “violation”, in line 34, the following words: or a civil penalty of not
156	156	127more than $200 against any member of a public body for a third or subsequent knowing
157	157	128violation. A civil penalty against an individual member of a public body shall not be
158	158	129reimbursable with public funds.
159	159	130 SECTION 9. Subsection (c) of said section 23 of said Chapter 30A, as so appearing, is
160	160	131hereby further amended by striking out the seventh clause and inserting in place thereof the
161	161	132following clauses:- (7) issue a private education letter to a member of a public body; (8)
162	162	133reprimand a member of a public body; provided, however, that no member of a public body shall
163	163	134be reprimanded unless the attorney general has issued a private education letter to said member
164	164	135within the past twelve months; or; (9) prescribe other appropriate action.
165	165	136 SECTION 10. Subsection (f) of said section 23 of said Chapter 30A, as so appearing, is
166	166	137hereby further amended by inserting at the end thereof the following paragraph:- 8 of 8
167	167	138 The remedy created hereby is not exclusive but shall be in addition to every other
168	168	139available remedy. In an action brought by 3 or more registered voters, such order of notice may
169	169	140also require the public body to reimburse said voters reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs.
170	170	141 SECTION 11. Sections 1 through 10 of this act shall take effect on April 1, 2025.