HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2181        FILED ON: 1/17/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 675

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Bradley H. Jones, Jr.

_________________

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 permanent funding for early voting.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Bradley H. Jones, Jr.

20th Middlesex

1/17/2019

Bradford Hill

4th Essex

1/24/2019

Elizabeth A. Poirier

14th Bristol

1/17/2019

Susan Williams Gifford

2nd Plymouth

1/17/2019

Paul K. Frost

7th Worcester

1/30/2019

Todd M. Smola

1st Hampden

1/31/2019

Timothy R. Whelan

1st Barnstable

1/28/2019

Randy Hunt

5th Barnstable

1/28/2019

David F. DeCoste

5th Plymouth

1/28/2019

William L. Crocker, Jr.

2nd Barnstable

1/28/2019

Stephan Hay

3rd Worcester

1/29/2019

Angelo L. D'Emilia

8th Plymouth

1/29/2019

Steven S. Howitt

4th Bristol

1/30/2019

Kimberly N. Ferguson

1st Worcester

1/31/2019

David K. Muradian, Jr.

9th Worcester

2/1/2019

Hannah Kane

11th Worcester

2/1/2019

Bruce E. Tarr

First Essex and Middlesex

2/1/2019


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2181        FILED ON: 1/17/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 675

By Mr. Jones of North Reading, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 675) of Bradley H. Jones, Jr., and others for legislation to provide funding to cities and towns to defray the mandated costs imposed under early voting.  Election Laws.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

_______________

 

An Act relative to permanent funding for early voting.

 

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 25B of chapter 54 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after subsection (q) the following subsection:-

(r) the commonwealth shall pay to each city and town an amount sufficient to defray the mandated costs imposed on the city or town under the provisions of this section, including additional personnel hired for staffing to conduct early voting, hourly municipal staff working outside their normal business hours to staff the mandated early voting polling location, overtime for hourly municipal staff working beyond regular hours to setup or take down early voting polling locations, overtime for hourly municipal staff working beyond regular hours to input data into the secretary of state’s Voter Registration Information System, the cost of supplies needed to implement early voting. In every year not later than September 15th, the state auditor shall determine and deliver to the state secretary a statement of the incremental costs attributed to this section and estimated to be incurred by each city and town in the next fiscal year. The state secretary shall include in his budget recommendations for such fiscal year a request for an appropriation in an amount equal to such estimated costs, and shall distribute to each city or town its share of any such appropriated funds not more than 30 days prior to the date upon which said costs shall be incurred by the city or town. Funds so distributed to each city or town shall be deposited in the general fund of the city or town and shall be expended without further appropriation by the city or town to meet the costs incurred by it under the provisions of this section.