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. Section 2 of chapter 45 of the acts of 1933 is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph, as most recently amended by section 1 of chapter 416 of the acts of 2000, and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

The voters of each precinct in the town of South Hadley shall elect by ballot from residents of the precinct an equal number of town meeting members, other than the offices designated in section 3 as town meeting members ex officiis, resulting in a total of 120 registered voters to be elected from all the precincts. In the next ensuing election after a change in any precinct pursuant to the second paragraph, elections for all 120 offices shall be held and the first 1/3 in order of votes received of members elected at the annual election in each precinct shall serve until the 1/3 succeeding annual election, the second 1/3 in the order of votes received at the election shall serve until the second succeeding annual election, and the remaining 1/3 in the order of votes received at the election shall serve until the first succeeding annual election; and thereafter except as herein provided at each annual election the voters of each precinct in the town shall in like manner, elect as town meeting members 1/3 of the precinct's allotted number of town meeting members for the term of 3 years, and shall, at those elections, fill for the unexpired term or terms of any vacancies then existing in the number of town meeting members in the precinct.

SECTION 2. Notwithstanding any other general or special law or by-law to the contrary, the acts and proceedings taken by the town of South Hadley at the special town meetings held on October 30, 2001, May 11, 2002, June 11, 2002, December 3, 2002, May 10, 2003, October 28, 2003 and February 17, 2004 and the annual town meeting held on May 11, 2002 and May 10, 2003 and the elections of April 1, 2002 and April 7, 2003 and all actions taken pursuant thereto, are hereby ratified, validated and confirmed.

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