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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2863 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3342
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Danielle W. Gregoire
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to modernize municipal meetings, town meetings, and local elections.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Danielle W. Gregoire4th Middlesex1/16/2025Jacob R. OliveiraHampden, Hampshire and Worcester2/19/2025Michelle L. Badger1st Plymouth2/26/2025Homar Gómez2nd Hampshire2/26/2025Kristin E. Kassner2nd Essex2/26/2025Steven George Xiarhos5th Barnstable3/4/2025Brian M. Ashe2nd Hampden3/4/2025Kenneth P. Sweezey6th Plymouth3/6/2025Judith A. Garcia11th Suffolk3/11/2025 1 of 9
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2863 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3342
By Representative Gregoire of Marlborough, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3342)
of Danielle W. Gregoire and others relative to remote participation of municipal meetings, town
meetings, and local elections. State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
_______________
An Act to modernize municipal meetings, town meetings, and local elections.
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. For the purposes of this Act, the term “Select Board” shall have the same
2meaning as “Board of Selectmen” as that term is used in any general or special law or municipal
3charter.
4 SECTION 2. Chapter 30A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official
5Edition, is hereby amended by striking out paragraphs (d) and (e) of section 20 and renumbering
6the remaining paragraphs accordingly.
7 SECTION 3. Chapter 30A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official
8Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 20 the following section:-
9 SECTION 20A
10 (a) A public body may elect to allow remote participation by any member for any
11meeting of the public body. For the purposes of this section, the term remote participation means 2 of 9
12participation by a member of a public body by means other than physical presence, which may
13include, without limitation, participation by telephone, audio or video conferencing or any other
14technology that enables each member of the public body to be audible to all other members of
15the public body and the public.
16 (b) Members remotely participating in a meeting may vote, and shall be considered
17present and in attendance for all purposes, including for purposes of determining a quorum and
18for the purposes of section 23D of chapter 39.
19 (c) If a public body allows remote participation by its members for a meeting under
20subsection (a), it may also allow remote participation by members of the public and any party
21entitled or required to appear before it in accordance with the following requirements:
22 (i) A public body that elects to conduct its proceedings completely or partially through
23remote means in accordance with this section shall ensure public access to the deliberations of
24the public body for interested members of the public through adequate, alternative means. A
25public body shall offer its selected adequate, alternative means of public access to its
26proceedings without subscription, toll, or similar charge to the public.
27 (ii) Documents intended to be used for any such meeting shall be made available to
28members of the public body before or during the course of the meeting of the public body subject
29to any limitations as may be imposed by law.
30 (iii) If the opportunity for participation at a meeting of a public body by an individual or
31the public is a specific requirement of a particular general or special law or state regulation,
32charter, local ordinance or bylaw, any alternative means of public access shall provide for the
33required opportunity to participate; provided further however that this section shall not impose 3 of 9
34on any public body a general requirement to allow the public to speak, absent an applicable
35special law or charter, or to participate in the debate of the public body. A public body shall offer
36its selected alternative means of public access to virtual meetings without subscription, toll, or
37similar charge to the public.
38 (iv) If a member is participating remotely, all votes taken shall be recorded roll call votes.
39 (v) A municipal public body that for reasons of economic hardship is unable to provide
40adequate, alternative means of public access that will enable the public to follow the proceedings
41of the municipal public body may instead post on its municipal website a full and complete
42transcript, recording or other comprehensive record of the proceedings as soon as practicable
43upon conclusion of the proceedings.
44 (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the chief executive officer of a
45municipality may develop and adopt standards and guidelines regarding remote participation of
46public bodies of that municipality; provided however that a local commission on disability may
47adopt its own standards and guidelines for remote participation applicable to meetings of such
48local commission on disability only.
49 (e) State, county, and regional public bodies, and public bodies that are not otherwise a
50department or subdivision of a city or town, may adopt their own standards and guidelines for
51remote participation applicable to meetings of such public body.
52 SECTION 4. Within ninety (90) days of the effective date of this act, the attorney general
53shall develop best practices for remote participation of public bodies in furtherance of the
54foregoing Section 3 of this act provided, however, that such proposed best practices guidelines
55shall not take effect until a public hearing, for which at least 2 weeks notice is provided and such 4 of 9
56proposed guidelines are made available to the public, is held 2 weeks has passed since that public
57hearing.
58 SECTION 5. Chapter 39 of the general laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is
59hereby amended by inserting after Section 10A the following two sections:
60 SECTION 10B.
61 (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law, charter provision or bylaw to the
62contrary, a select board may vote, prior to the date nomination papers must be submitted to the
63town clerk under the provisions of section 7 of chapter 53 of the general laws, to delay the date
64of an annual election to a date no earlier than 64 days from the vote to postpone and no later than
65June 30 of that fiscal year.
66 (b) Notwithstanding any general or special law, charter provision or bylaw to the
67contrary, a select board may, during any weather-related, public safety or public health
68emergency declared by the chief executive officer of the town or the governor, and for the 5 days
69after such emergency has terminated, postpone a properly posted caucus or election to an initial
70date certain. If the nature of the emergency precludes identification of an initial date certain or
71renders the initial date inconvenient or impossible, the select board shall meet expeditiously, in
72accordance with chapter 30A of the general laws, and after consultation with the town clerk, to
73vote on a date certain.
74 (c) (i) If an election is postponed hereunder, all of the deadlines applicable to and all of
75materials prepared for and submitted in connection with the original election shall be used at
76such postponed election; provided, however, that if an election is postponed for less than 7 days,
77early voting by mail and absentee ballots properly received prior to the close of polls on the date 5 of 9
78of the postponed election shall be treated as if they were timely received. If a scheduled election
79is postponed for more than 7 days from the original date, any such election shall be held no
80earlier than 15 days from the date of the postponement to accommodate additional voter
81registration, early voting by mail and absentee voting by the otherwise applicable statutory
82deadlines.
83 (ii) Except as set forth herein, all provisions of election law applicable to the original
84election shall apply to such postponed election in the same manner.
85 (iii) Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 30A or other state or local law to the
86contrary, a meeting to vote on a postponement may be held by remote participation of some or
87all of the members, and such public body shall endeavor, to the maximum event possible, to
88comply with all other provisions of sections 18 to 25 of chapter 30A. If the public body is not
89able to comply with the provisions of said chapter 30A, it shall hold a properly posted meeting
90within one week following at which an item substantially similar to the following shall appear on
91the agenda: “Review action taken at (date) (time) meeting of (name of board) and adopt minutes
92from such meeting to be included with the minutes of this meeting”.
93 (d) Notice of postponement shall be prepared by the town clerk and printed in a legible,
94easily understandable format with the date, time and place of the rescheduled caucus or election,
95the reason for the postponement, and the date and time of the select board vote for postponement.
96To the extent practicable, notice shall be posted in the manner in which that municipality
97provides notice of meetings pursuant to chapter 30A, whether on the municipal website or in a
98manner conspicuously visible to the public at all hours in or on the municipal building in which
99the clerk’s office is located. The town clerk shall forthwith send a copy of the notice to the 6 of 9
100offices of the attorney general and secretary of the commonwealth, and may use any other form
101of communication to notify the voters of the postponement, including but not limited to
102electronic, broadcast or print media.
103 SECTION 10C.
104 (a) In a town having a representative or open town meeting form of government, the town
105moderator may, in consultation with the select board and local public safety or public health
106officials, call for any town meeting to be held through remote participation or a hybrid of in-
107person and remote participation, including, but not limited to, by means of a video or telephone
108conferencing platform. If a town does not have a moderator, the select board may call for any
109town meeting to be held through remote participation or a hybrid of in-person and remote
110participation in accordance with this paragraph.
111 (b) A notice of decision to hold town meeting through remote participation or a hybrid of
112in-person and remote participation shall be prepared by the moderator and printed in a legible,
113easily understandable format and shall contain: (i) the moderator’s determination and request to
114hold a town meeting through remote participation or a hybrid of in-person and remote
115participation in accordance with this section; (ii) the video or telephone conferencing platform
116the moderator has determined to use to hold the town meeting; (iii) confirmation that the
117moderator has consulted with the local disability commission or coordinator for federal
118Americans with Disabilities Act compliance; (iv) confirmation that the moderator has consulted
119with the select board; and (v) a certification by the moderator that: (A) the moderator has tested
120the video or telephone conferencing platform; and (B) the platform satisfactorily enables the
121remote portion of the town meeting to be conducted in substantially the same manner as if the 7 of 9
122meeting occurred in person at a physical location and in accordance with the operational and
123functional requirements set forth in this section.
124 (c) A video or telephone conference platform used by a town meeting for remote
125participation under this section shall, at minimum:
126 (i) strictly limit voting at an open, remote, or hybrid town meeting to only those
127confirmed by the town clerk to be eligible to vote at that meeting, Each person deemed eligible
128to vote shall be provided with appropriate physical or technological participation credentials
129designed to allow remote participation of all eligible voters while also establishing regularity in
130administration, minimizing inaccurate results and creating and maintaining a virtual and physical
131environment free from fraud;
132 (ii) enable the moderator, voters, representative town meeting members, town officials
133and any other interested members of the public to identify and hear the moderator and each voter
134or other speaker recognized by the moderator, whether remotely or in person;
135 (iii) if applicable, determine whether a quorum is present;
136 (iv) a voter, town meeting member, town official or other individual authorized to
137participate in the meeting to request recognition by the moderator without prior authorization,
138consistent with any town meeting rules established by bylaw, charter or special act. To the extent
139technologically feasible, the request shall be visible or audible to the town meeting and the
140public in real time and upon review of the recording of the town meeting proceedings, preserved
141according to subsection (h); 8 of 9
142 (v) the moderator to determine when a remote or in person voter wishes to be recognized
143to speak, make a motion, raise a point of order or object to a request for unanimous consent;
144 (vi) the moderator to recognize a remote or in person voter, town official or other
145individual to speak and to enable that person to speak;
146 (vii) in the case of a representative town meeting, the ability to conduct a roll call vote;
147 (viii) any interested members of the public to access the meeting remotely for purposes of
148witnessing the deliberations and actions taken at the town meeting, subject to the provisions of
149any municipal charter; and
150 (ix) the town meeting to be recorded.
151 (d) (i) Registered voters, other than representatives elected or appointed in accordance
152with applicable state or local law, seeking to participate remotely in a representative town
153meeting shall, not less than 48 hours in advance, submit to the town moderator a request to
154participate in the meeting. Upon receipt of the request and verification of the requester’s voter
155registration status, the designated official shall provide appropriate physical or technological
156participation credentials; nothing herein shall be construed to require greater participation by
157voters or non-town meeting members than required by any applicable general or special law or
158municipal charter.
159 (ii) Eligible registered voters seeking to participate remotely in an open town meeting
160shall be provided with instructions, no later than 48 hours in advance, as to how to access
161appropriate physical or technological participation credentials; provided, however that the 9 of 9
162inability to comply with this subparagraph shall require that the meeting be delayed until a
163quorum is reached or 30 minutes has passed, whichever occurs sooner.
164 (e) Prior to taking up any business at a remote or hybrid town meeting, and following the
165determination of a quorum, if applicable, the meeting shall vote on whether to commence the
166business of the meeting using remote or hybrid access. If the town meeting votes to continue,
167then the town meeting shall proceed to hold a remote or hybrid meeting to address the articles in
168the warrant. If the town meeting votes not to conduct the town meeting by remote or hybrid
169means, then the town meeting shall be adjourned, without further action, to the date, time and
170place specified in the notice or warrant or to such other time, date and place as may be approved
171by town meeting.
172 (f) Votes taken by a roll call vote at a remote or hybrid representative town meeting shall
173be recorded and kept with the minutes of the town meeting.
174 (g) A remote or hybrid town meeting shall be recorded and the recording shall be
175preserved and made publicly available on the town’s website for at least 90 days after the
176dissolution of said town meeting and until the official minutes of the meeting have been prepared
177by the town clerk.