Paul Wilson asks about a $500,000 state budget item for athletic fields in Senate President Murray’s district that she sponsored after a failed Prop. 2 1/2 vote by local voters.
Government Reform
children and families, election laws, ethics rules, insider jobs, pensions & benefits, structure and operations, transparency
Is NEMLEC subject to public records law?
Robin Whitworth asks: What are your thoughts on NEMLEC’s contention they are not subject to MA open record laws?
Early voter registration
Sorry to hear that Governor Patrick will, or has, approved the bill regarding early voter registration. Registering to vote at an earlier age than a person is permitted to vote is kind of like having a pre-high school graduation ceremony and prom at age 14 or 15. When the real thing comes along, ho-hum, what …
Election Law Reform
The committee working to resolve the differences between the House and Senate on election legislation reported out a compromise bill last week. We approved the report unanimously in the Senate. The bill will come back for final enactment next week. Here are the main elements of what was reported out: A new mechanism to allow …
Local officials regulate dogs and kennels.
Because Belmont has been considering a new animal control law, I’ve been receiving some state law questions. State law vests authority for regulation of animals with local officials. General Laws, Chapter 140, sections 136A through 172 defines local authority over both kennels and individual dogs. Here are a few relevant sections. Section 136A defines terms, …
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Remote Participation for Disability Commissions
Last week the Senate passed legislation, which I sponsored, to allow disability commissions to authorize remote participation by their members. This required a modification to the open meeting law. The text of the bill was modified by the Committee on State Administration before passage by the Senate. The key language appears below: A local commission …
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