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 …
Government Reform
children and families, election laws, ethics rules, insider jobs, pensions & benefits, structure and operations, transparency
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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Election Laws
In January, the Senate passed an election laws bill. The bill is currently in conference committee with the House. The Senate bill included essentially all of the proposals that have been floated recently to improve voter participation. Currently I’m receiving emails in the following form: Massachusetts election system has become outdated. I’m writing today to …
MBTA Pension Transparency
Back in 2008, I became aware and concerned that the MBTA Retirement Fund is not subject to the same transparency rules that apply to state agencies. My understanding of this issue has greatly evolved over the past few months: While I have undiminished passion for transparency, I have to admit that the Retirement Fund is …