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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3167 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 815 |
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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 | | Mark J. Cusack, (BY REQUEST) |
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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 town committee elections and membership. |
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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:Gene John CassBraintree, Massachusetts1/16/2025 1 of 2 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3167 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 815 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Cusack of Braintree (by request), a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. |
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| 19 | 19 | | 815) of Gene John Cass relative to town committee elections and membership. Election Laws. |
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| 20 | 20 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 21 | 21 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 673 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 22 | 22 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 23 | 23 | | _______________ |
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| 24 | 24 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 26 | 26 | | _______________ |
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| 27 | 27 | | An Act relative to town committee elections and membership. |
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| 28 | 28 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 29 | 29 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 30 | 30 | | 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 52 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section |
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| 31 | 31 | | 22, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:- |
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| 32 | 32 | | 3 Section 2. Each political party shall, in every ward and town, elect at the biennial state |
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| 33 | 33 | | 4elections and presidential primaries a ward or town committee from among the members of the |
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| 34 | 34 | | 5party who either have enrolled on or before the ninetieth day prior to the last day for filing |
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| 35 | 35 | | 6nomination papers for such committees with the state secretary, or are newly registered voters in |
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| 36 | 36 | | 7their city or town enrolled in that political party and have not been enrolled in another political |
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| 37 | 37 | | 8party during the year preceding such last day for filing nomination papers. Ward and town |
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| 38 | 38 | | 9committee members shall hold office for a period of two years ending on the thirtieth day |
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| 39 | 39 | | 10following the day on which the biennial state elections or presidential primaries are next held and 2 of 2 |
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| 40 | 40 | | 11until their successors shall have organized. If any member changes his residence from the ward |
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| 41 | 41 | | 12or town in which he was elected during the said two years, he shall cease to be a member at the |
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| 42 | 42 | | 13end of the calendar year during which said residence is changed. If any member, whether elected |
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| 43 | 43 | | 14or chosen to fill a vacancy, cancels or changes his party enrollment he shall forthwith cease to be |
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| 44 | 44 | | 15a member of said committee. |
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| 45 | 45 | | 16 For the purposes of this chapter, notwithstanding the fact that ward lines in a city have |
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| 46 | 46 | | 17been redistricted subsequent to a biennial state elections or presidential primary, members of |
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| 47 | 47 | | 18ward committees elected from wards in existence at the time of a biennial state elections or |
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| 48 | 48 | | 19presidential primary shall continue to represent said wards until their successors shall have been |
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| 49 | 49 | | 20elected and organized under the redistricted ward lines at the biennial state elections or |
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| 50 | 50 | | 21presidential primary the next following said redistricting. |
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| 51 | 51 | | 22 SECTION 2. Chapter 52 is hereby amended by striking out section 9, as so appearing, |
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| 52 | 52 | | 23and inserting in place thereof the following section:- |
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| 53 | 53 | | 24 Section 9. Ward and town committees, respectively, shall not limit the number of |
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| 54 | 54 | | 25members of ward and town committees to be elected at the biennial state elections and |
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| 55 | 55 | | 26presidential primaries, as long as the number is not less than three for each ward and each town. |
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| 56 | 56 | | 27Notice of the number of committee members to be elected shall be given by the ward or town |
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| 57 | 57 | | 28committee, as the case may be, to the state secretary on or before August first of the year |
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| 58 | 58 | | 29preceding the year in which said persons are to be elected. In case a ward or town committee |
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| 59 | 59 | | 30fails to fix the number of members of a ward or town committee or to give such notice, the |
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| 60 | 60 | | 31number of members of such ward or town committee to be elected shall be the number of |
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| 61 | 61 | | 32members last so fixed or assigned. |
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