Amendment #380 to H4000

Community Mediation Municipal Study

Representatives Peake of Provincetown, DiNatale of Fitchburg, Turner of Dennis, Ehrlich of Marblehead, Toomey of Cambridge, Scibak of South Hadley, Andrews of Orange, Ferguson of Holden, Madden of Nantucket, Pignatelli of Lenox, Dwyer of Woburn, Walsh of Framingham, Gregoire of Marlborough, Zlotnik of Gardner, Ferrante of Gloucester, Garlick of Needham, Peisch of Wellesley, Livingstone of Boston, Sannicandro of Ashland, Gobi of Spencer, Gifford of Wareham, Farley-Bouvier of Pittsfield, Mark of Peru, Benson of Lunenburg and Rosa of Leominster move to amend the bill by adding the following section:

Section XX. The Massachusetts office of public collaboration at the University of Massachusetts Boston shall conduct a study of current local and regional needs for conflict resolution and collaborative infrastructure in the Commonwealth. The study shall include but not be limited to: (a) a literature review of research and publications on the utilization by local governments of public policy dispute resolution and other collaborative processes to address complex, contentious public issues; (b) a municipal needs assessment involving select Massachusetts local government representatives, representatives of regional planning associations and municipal associations to examine the challenges faced by Massachusetts local governments; (c) investigation of existing state infrastructure that can support municipal conflict resolution and collaborative problem-solving; (d) investigation of programmatic approaches in other states for deployment and funding of community dispute resolution and public engagement and benchmarking effective programs and models for potential replication; (e) preliminary design of an evidence-based policy framework for state and private investment and provision of grants, technical resources and capacity-building services to local governments; (f) recommendations for the infrastructure and resources needed to oversee and administer such a technical assistance grant program and recommendations for implementation and timeframes. The study shall be completed and submitted to the joint committee on municipalities and regional government, and the executive office for administration and finance not later than January 1, 2015.