HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4271        FILED ON: 11/10/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3853

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Elizabeth A. Poirier

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to the form of representative town government in the town of North Attleborough.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4271        FILED ON: 11/10/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3853

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

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An Act relative to the form of representative town government in the town of North Attleborough.

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

Chapter 57 of the acts of 1976 is hereby amended by striking out section 11, as amended by chapter 88 of the acts of 1999, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 11. (a) For purposes of this section, the term "board" shall mean a board, commission, committee, council, authority or a group of individuals appointed or elected as enumerated in the by-laws of the town of North Attleborough.

(b) Subsection (c) shall apply only to votes passed at representative town meeting to enact a measure:

(i) Authorizing the expenditure of $75,000 or more as a special article appropriation, including a line item appropriation within an omnibus capital improvements article, but excluding the annual operating budget article passed at the annual town meeting;

(ii) Establishing a new board or office, or abolishing an old board or office, or merging 2 or more boards or offices;

(iii) Fixing the terms of office of town officers, where such term is optional;

(iv) Increasing or reducing the number of members of a board; or

(v) Adopting a new by-law, or amending an existing by-law.

(c)

A vote to enact a measure described in subsection (b) shall not be operative until the expiration of 10 days, excluding Saturdays, Sunday, and holidays, from the dissolution of the meeting.

If within said 10 days, a petition signed by not less than 30 registered voters from each precinct, totaling not less than 5 per cent of the registered voters of the town, containing their names and addresses, is filed with the board of selectmen asking that the question or questions involved in such a vote be submitted to the registered voters of the town at-large, then the board of selectmen, upon certification of the petition signatures, shall forthwith call a special election, for the sole purpose of presenting to the registered voters at-large the question or questions so involved.

The polls for such special election shall be opened at 8:00 a.m. and shall be closed not earlier than 8:00 p.m., and all votes upon any question so submitted shall be taken by ballot, and the check list shall be used in the same manner as in the election of town officers.

The question so submitted shall be determined by a majority vote of the registered voters of the town voting thereon, but no action of the representative town meeting shall be reversed unless at least 15 per cent of the registered voters voted in said election.

Each question so submitted shall be in the form of the following question which shall be placed upon the official ballot:

"Shall the town vote to approve the action of the representative town meeting whereby it was voted (insert: brief description of the substance of the vote and a tabulation of the vote if such vote was tabulated)?"

If the petition is not filed within 10 days, the vote of the representative town meeting shall become operative and effective. Absentee ballot shall be used at such election in accordance with chapter 54 of the General Laws.