HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4541        FILED ON: 8/24/2023

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4067

August 24, 2023

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives,

Pursuant to the provisions of Article II, Section 8, Paragraph 1, Clause (2) of the Amendments to the Constitution, as appearing in Article LXXXIX of said Amendments, I am filing for your consideration the attached legislation recommending ratification of the acts and proceedings taken by the Town of Princeton at its Annual Town Meeting held on June 20, 2023, entitled “An Act validating the actions taken at the Princeton annual town meeting.”

I am informed by the Town of Princeton’s Select Board that the Town conducted its most recent Annual Town Meeting on June 20, 2023.  A warrant for the meeting was duly posted in Princeton’s town hall, public library, and post office.  The warrant correctly identified the date of the meeting but inadvertently failed to set forth the meeting’s time and place.  Notwithstanding this error, the meeting was attended by 256 registered voters, a number in excess of the required quorum.  These voters approved a FY2024 town budget, approved certain general and zoning bylaws, and conducted other important town business. 

The clerical error in the warrant calls the acts and proceedings taken at the meeting, including the passage of the Town’s budget, into question.  To rectify this error, I urge the prompt passage of this special legislation to validate the actions taken at Princeton’s Annual Town Meeting.  

Respectfully Submitted,

Maura T. Healey,

Governor

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4067

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 validating the actions taken at the Princeton annual town meeting.

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 or by-law to the contrary,

all acts and proceedings taken by the town of Princeton at the annual town meeting held on June 20, 2023 and all actions taken pursuant thereto are hereby ratified, validated and confirmed to the same extent as if the warrant for the town meeting had been published in full compliance with law.

SECTION 2.  This act shall take effect upon its passage.