Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the election commission of the city of Cambridge, at least ten days before any election at which a question shall be submitted solely to the voters of the city of Cambridge pursuant to any section of the General Laws including, but without limitation, section twenty-one C of chapter fifty-nine, shall cause to be printed and sent to each residence of one or more voters whose name appears on the latest voting list for said city the full text of such question, a fair and concise summary of such question prepared by the election commission of said city of Cambridge, and arguments for and against such question as provided in section two.

SECTION 2. The election commission of the city of Cambridge shall cause to be printed and sent, in the manner provided in section one, arguments for and against each question submitted solely to the voters of the city of Cambridge pursuant to any general law including, but without limitation, section twenty-one C of chapter fifty-nine. No argument shall contain more than two hundred and fifty words. Said election commission shall seek such arguments from the principal proponents and opponents of each such question and such arguments shall be filed with said election commission within such time as said election commission shall designate in a written notice to the principal proponents and opponents, at least fourteen days from the date of such written notice. For the purposes of this section, the principal proponents and opponents of any such question shall be those persons determined by said election commission to be best able to present the arguments for and against such question. The principal proponents of any such question may include the first ten signers or a majority of the first ten signers of the petition initiating the placement of such question on the ballot. In determining the principal proponents and opponents of any such question, said election commission shall contact each political committee, as defined in section one of chapter fifty-five of the General Laws, to influence the outcome of the vote on such question and whose statement of organization is on file with the election commission of the city of Cambridge. If no argument is received by said election commission within the time allowed by this section, said election commission shall prepare such argument. All arguments filed with or prepared by said election commission pursuant to this section shall be open to public inspection at the office of the election commission and at the office of the clerk of said city of Cambridge.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage.