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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1821 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 879 |
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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 | | Tommy Vitolo |
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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 to preserve local decision making during an emergency. |
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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:Tommy Vitolo15th Norfolk1/15/2025 1 of 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1821 FILED ON: 1/15/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 879 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Vitolo of Brookline, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 879) of |
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| 19 | 19 | | Tommy Vitolo for legislation to authorize cities and towns to postpone town meetings due to |
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| 20 | 20 | | certain short-term emergencies. Election Laws. |
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| 21 | 21 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 22 | 22 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 729 OF 2023-2024.] |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act to preserve local decision making during an emergency. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 Chapter 30A of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 20 the |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2following 3 sections:- |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3 Section 20A: (a) A town may postpone any town meeting for up to 14 calendar days, |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4with the approval of the moderator, provided that a short-term emergency prevents the meeting |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5from taking place at the scheduled place and time. |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6 (b) The moderator shall provide notice of the rescheduled town meeting, in a manner |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7consistent with the notice provisions for a regularly scheduled town meeting, not less than 48 |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8hours before the rescheduled meeting will take place. 2 of 3 |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9 (c) All actions taken pursuant to this section are hereby ratified, validated and confirmed |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10to the same extent as if the town meeting had been conducted in accordance with all other |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11applicable laws, charter provisions, ordinances and by-laws. |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12 Section 20B: (a) In an emergency that is expected to last more than 14 days, a town may |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13request approval from the attorney general’s office to hold a town meeting according to the rules |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14established in section 20 of chapter 20 of the acts of 2021. The chair of the select board or board |
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| 45 | 45 | | 15of selectmen, along with the moderator, shall submit a written request to the attorney general’s |
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| 46 | 46 | | 16office requesting to meet according to said section 20 of chapter 20 of the acts of 2021, |
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| 47 | 47 | | 17explaining the nature of the emergency and how long they anticipate the emergency will last. |
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| 48 | 48 | | 18 (b) Provided that the attorney general’s office provides the town with written approval to |
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| 49 | 49 | | 19meet according to said section 20 of chapter 20 of the acts of 2021 for a specified length of time, |
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| 50 | 50 | | 20all actions taken pursuant to this section are hereby ratified, validated and confirmed to the same |
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| 51 | 51 | | 21extent as if the town meeting had been conducted in accordance with all other applicable laws, |
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| 52 | 52 | | 22charter provisions, ordinances and by-laws. |
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| 53 | 53 | | 23 Section 20C. (a) In an emergency that is expected to last more than 14 days, a town may |
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| 54 | 54 | | 24request approval from the attorney general’s office to hold public meetings and hearings |
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| 55 | 55 | | 25according to the rules established in section 20 of chapter 20 of the acts of 2021. The chair of the |
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| 56 | 56 | | 26select board or board of selectmen, or mayor, shall submit a written request to the attorney |
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| 57 | 57 | | 27general’s office requesting that public meetings be held according to section 20 of chapter 20 of |
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| 58 | 58 | | 28the acts of 2021, explaining the nature of the emergency and how long they anticipate the |
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| 59 | 59 | | 29emergency will last. 3 of 3 |
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| 60 | 60 | | 30 (b) Provided that the attorney general’s office provides the town with written approval to |
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| 61 | 61 | | 31meet according to section 20 of chapter 20 of the acts of 2021 for a specified length of time, all |
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| 62 | 62 | | 32actions taken pursuant to this section are hereby ratified, validated and confirmed to the same |
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| 63 | 63 | | 33extent as if the town meeting had been conducted in accordance with all other applicable laws, |
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| 64 | 64 | | 34charter provisions, ordinances and by-laws. |
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