HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4348        FILED ON: 5/19/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3872

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Daniel J. Ryan

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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 district city council election in the city of Boston.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4348        FILED ON: 5/19/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3872

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act relative to district city council election in the city of Boston.

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 any general or special law to the contrary, in the year two thousand and twenty-three, for the office of District City Councilor in the City of Boston, the last hour and day for making application of nomination papers at the Boston Election Department shall be 5PM on June 13, 2023; the last hour and day for filing said nomination papers shall be 5PM on June 23, 2023; the last hour and day for Commissioners to complete certification of signatures shall be 5PM on July 7, 2023; the last hour and day for filing withdrawals or objections to nominations of candidates or permissible substitutions shall be 5PM on July 13, 2023.

SECTION 2. The date of the regular preliminary municipal election in the City of Boston shall remain September 12, 2023, and the date of the regular municipal final election in the City of Boston shall remain November 7, 2023.

SECTION 3. For the office of City Councilor At Large in the City of Boston, all deadlines for making application and distribution and filing and certification of nomination papers and for objections to nominations of candidates or withdrawals or permissible substitutions of candidates shall remain as dictated by the Charter of the City of Boston and the election calendar approved by the City of Boston Board of Elections on March 6, 2023 and shall not be altered by this legislation.

SECTION 4. Any valid signatures gathered for nomination papers and submitted to the Boston Elections Department for review by candidates for District City Councilor prior to any subsequent approval of new Boston City Council districts for the year two thousand and twenty-three shall be eligible for purposes of certification of candidacy under the new district lines, insofar as the signature is of a person who is a registered voter within either the new district or the district in which the candidate was initially running pursuant to the now-enjoined November 2, 2022 map, and provided that the candidate in question shall have been an inhabitant of a place within the new district for at least one year immediately preceding the date of the municipal election.

SECTION 5.  If this act does not take effect until after the dates of any action taken in accordance with the preceding sections 1 and 4, the actions of the City of Boston Mayor, City Council and Elections Department to alter requirements or dates related to the 2023 biennial municipal election shall be ratified, validated, and confirmed as if this act had been in place prior thereto.

SECTION 6. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Boston Elections Commission shall have the authority to add or change any dates relating to the preliminary Municipal Election to be held in the City of Boston on September 12th, 2023 as they deem necessary for the orderly administration of the election only after approval of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Such changes must be proposed and published at least 72 weekday hours before any scheduled meeting at which a vote will be taken and sent to any affected person, by posting on the Boston Elections Commission website and by whatever other means they deem appropriate. Any approved changes shall be sent to any affected person, posted on the Boston Election Department website and distributed by whatever other means the Commission deems appropriate.

SECTION 7. Effective Date. The provisions of this act shall take effect upon passage.