Bill S.2129

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2228 FILED ON: 8/6/2009

SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2129

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act relative to recall in the town of Middlefield.

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. A holder of an elected office in the town of Middlefield may be recalled therefrom by the registered voters of the town as herein provided in this act.

SECTION 2. Any fifty (50) registered voters of the town of Middlefield may file with the town clerk a recall affidavit, using either a blank recall affidavit as prepared by the town clerk or an affidavit substantially similar thereto, containing the name and position of the officer whose recall is sought and a statement of the grounds for the recall. Upon certification of the required signatures, the clerk shall forthwith deliver to the first named voter on the affidavit copies of petition blanks addressed to the board of selectmen demanding the recall, copies of which printed forms the clerk shall keep available. The blanks shall be issued by the clerk with the signature and official seal of the clerk attached thereto. They shall be dated, shall contain the names of the first 50 registered voters whose names appear on the recall affidavit, the name and position of the person whose recall is sought and the grounds of recall such as as stated in the affidavit and shall demand the election of a successor to the office. A copy of the petition shall be entered in a record book to be kept in the office of the clerk. The recall petition shall be returned and filed with the clerk within thirty (30) days after the filling of the affidavit and shall have been signed by at least twenty-five (25) percent of the registered voters of the town as of the date the affidavit was filed with the clerk. To every signature shall be added the place of residence of the signer, giving the street and number, if any. The said recall petition shall be submitted to the Town Clerk by 12:00 p.m. on the Saturday preceding the day which it must be filed. The clerk shall, within 72 hours of receipt thereof, submit the petition to the registrars of voters in the town, and the registrars shall forthwith certify thereon the number of signatures which are the names of registered voters of the town.

SECTION 3. If the petition shall be found and certified by the town clerk to be sufficient, the clerk shall submit the same with his certification to the board of selectmen without delay. The board of selectmen shall forthwith give written notice of the receipt of the certificate, either by hand or by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the officer sought to be recalled. If the officer does not resign within 5 days after receipt of the notice, the board of selectmen shall forthwith order an election to be held on a date fixed by them not less than sixty-four days and not more than seventy days after the date of the Town Clerk’s certificate; but if any other town election is scheduled to occur within 100 days after the date of certificate, the board shall postpone the holding of the recall election to the date of the other election, and the question of recall shall appear on the ballot at the other election. If a vacancy occurs in the office after the recall election has been ordered, the election shall nevertheless proceed as provided in this section.

SECTION 3.5. If in accordance with Section 3 the petition is certified, written notice to said officer is provided and no resignation is received, and selectmen order an election to be held; the officer may file with the Town Clerk within fourteen (14) days of receipt of notification an argument, in any, against such petition. No argument shall contain more than 500 words. All affidavits, petitions and arguments filed with the Town Clerk under this act shall be open to public inspection at the office of the Town Clerk of said town within ten (10) days of recall election.

SECTION 4. Any officer sought to be removed may be a candidate to succeed himself and, unless the officer requests otherwise in writing, the town clerk shall place his name on the ballot without nomination. The nomination of other candidates, the publication of the warrant for the recall election and the conduct of the same shall all be in accordance with the provisions of law relating to elections, unless otherwise provided in this act.

SECTION 5. The incumbent shall continue to perform the duties of the office until the recall election. If not recalled, the incumbent shall remain in office for the remainder of the unexpired term, subject to recall as before, except as provided in section 7. If recalled, the incumbent shall be deemed removed. If the successor fails to qualify within 10 days after receiving notification of his election, the office shall be deemed vacant.

SECTION 6. Ballots used in a recall election shall submit the following propositions in the order indicated:

For the recall of (name of officer)

Against the recall of (name of officer)

Immediately at the right of each proposition there shall be a square in which the voter, by making a cross mark (x), may vote for either of the propositions. Under the propositions shall appear the word “Candidates” and the directions to voters required by section 42 of Chapter 54 of the General Laws and, beneath this, the names of candidates nominated as hereinbefore provided. If a majority of the vast cast upon the question of recall is in the affirmative, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected. If a majority of votes cast upon the question of recall is in the negative, the ballots cast for candidates to fill the potential vacancy shall not be counted.

SECTION 7. No recall petition shall be filed against an officer within (6) months after the officer takes office, nor in the last six (6) months of the term, nor in the case of an officer subjected to a recall election and not recalled thereby, until at least six (6) months after the election at which the recall was submitted to the voters of the town has elapsed.

SECTION 8. No person who has been recalled from an office or who has resigned from office while proceedings were pending against him shall be appointed to any town office within one (1) year after the recall or resignation.