Hearing DetailsJoint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government

Event Details

Status:: Completed
Event Date:: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Start Time:: 1:00 PM
Location:: B-1 and Virtual
Event Description: Animals, Governance, Enforcement, and Personnel, Administration and Finance, Home Rules

The Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government will hold a hybrid public hearing to accept written and oral testimony on the below-listed legislation. This hearing will be chaired by Senate Chair Becca Rausch. Please be advised that the docket is subject to change by agreement of the Chairs.

Persons seeking to provide oral testimony, whether in person or remotely, are asked to pre-register by 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 9, 2025, using this online form: https://forms.office.com/g/XzKWtJXPMY. Persons seeking to testify remotely must pre-register by the stated deadline; further instructions on how to participate will be provided after registration. Oral testimony is limited to 3 minutes per person. Oral testimony from panels comprised of four (4) or more individuals is limited to 10 minutes total, to be distributed at the discretion of the panelists. Individuals and panels may testify only once, and testimony may cover multiple bills; all testimony must be completed within the stated time limits.

Written testimony does not require pre-registration and may be submitted via email to: jointcommittee.municipalities&regionalgovernment@malegislature.gov. Written testimony should be submitted not later than two (2) weeks following the hearing date.

All above-listed matters filed in the House are required to be reported on by August 9, 2025, subject to extensions consistent with House Rule 27.

The public is invited to participate in this hybrid hearing, which will be livestreamed on the General Court website: https://malegislature.gov/. Hearings will be recorded and posted publicly on the Committee page: https://malegislature.gov/Committees/Detail/J10/Hearings.

At the discretion of the Chairs and per committee rules, written testimony received by the committee will be made publicly available. The committee may limit availability or redact testimony that includes sensitive personal information, information about minors, or information that may jeopardize the health, wellness, or safety of the testifier or others.

The Committee strongly prefers that written testimony be submitted by email, as specified above. If email submission is not possible, written testimony may be submitted in hard copy to:

Senator Becca Rausch, Chair

Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government

State House Room 215

Boston, MA 02133

Questions regarding the hearing, legislation, or reasonable accommodations to ensure people with disabilities can participate fully in the committee process may be directed to Madelein McCormick with Chair Rausch at Madelein.McCormick@masenate.gov or 617-722-1555, or Geoff Richelew with Chair Lewis at Geoffrey.Richelew@mahouse.gov.
If you have Accessibility needs, click here.

Item Name	Start Time	Duration	Webcast
Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government	6/10/2025 1:00 PM	02:39:52

Animals, Governance, Enforcement, and Personnel, Administration and Finance, Home Rules 1:00pm - 5:00pm

Bill	Bill Title	Sponsor
H.2243	An Act relative to legal advertisements and public notices	James C. Arena-DeRosa
H.2245	An Act relative to puppy mills	Bruce J. Ayers
H.2247	An Act relative to further increasing the fines for cruelty to animals, and establishing a fund dedicated to improvements for local animal shelters	Bruce J. Ayers
H.2253	An Act relative to updating animal health inspections	Daniel Cahill
H.2256	An Act to protect pets	Mark J. Cusack
H.2265	An Act providing for pre-service training for members of local boards and commissions	Christopher Richard Flanagan
H.2299	An Act regarding land use board training	Kristin E. Kassner
H.2300	An Act relative to local option for associate members of planning boards	Kristin E. Kassner
H.2322	An Act to update the public shade tree law	Steven Owens
H.2323	An Act relative to local journalism	Alice Hanlon Peisch
H.2324	An Act providing for the establishment of sustainable water resource funds	Edward R. Philips
H.2333	An Act establishing a municipal building assistance program and building authority	Margaret R. Scarsdale
H.2336	An Act relative to assessor certificates	Thomas M. Stanley
H.2337	An Act relative to additional inspectors; inspector engaging in plumbing or gas fitting work	Alyson M. Sullivan-Almeida
H.2342	An Act relative to dangerous dogs	Mark D. Sylvia
H.4056	An Act relative to the Lanesborough Select Board	John Barrett, III
H.4057	An Act to authorize the mayor of the city of Haverhill to submit special legislation to increase the membership of the board of health from three members to five members	Andres X. Vargas
H.4134	An Act establishing the city of Cambridge employment and job training trust	Marjorie C. Decker
H.4135	An Act amending the town manager act of Arlington relative to the appointment and management of the town clerk	Sean Garballey
H.4136	An Act relative to stabilization funds in the town of Leicester	David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf
H.4137	An Act authorizing the town to establish a millennium fund of the Wayland Free Public Library	David Paul Linsky
H.4138	An Act allowing “print-free” digital legal notices for the town of Wellesley	Alice Hanlon Peisch
H.4139	An Act authorizing the town of Wellesley to dissolve its Housing Development Corporation	Alice Hanlon Peisch
H.4140	An Act relative to non-civil service public safety personnel in the town of Wellesley	Alice Hanlon Peisch
H.4146	An Act establishing a charter for the city of Medford	Paul J. Donato
S.1190	An Act enhancing the issuance of citations for cruel conditions for animals	Mark C. Montigny
S.1424	An Act relative to civil service adoption	Michael D. Brady
S.1426	An Act relative to damages from defective public ways	William N. Brownsberger
S.1427	An Act prohibiting municipal bans of face coverings for protective or medical use	William N. Brownsberger
S.1428	An Act relative to historic districts and commissions	Joanne M. Comerford
S.1429	An Act to update the public shade tree law	Cynthia Stone Creem
S.1432	An Act providing for pre-service training for members of local boards and commissions	Julian Cyr
S.1443	An Act providing for the establishment of sustainable water resource funds	James B. Eldridge
S.1452	An Act establishing a Municipal Building Assistance Program and Building Authority	Edward J. Kennedy
S.1456	An Act relative to voting on regional planning board proposed regional agreements	Paul W. Mark
S.1457	An Act to preserve the eternal bonds between people and their animals	Mark C. Montigny
S.1458	An Act relative to updating animal health inspections	Mark C. Montigny
S.1459	An Act relative to dangerous dogs	Mark C. Montigny
S.1460	An Act relative to improving enforcement for tethering violations	Mark C. Montigny
S.1471	An Act empowering municipalities and improving efficiency	Rebecca L. Rausch
S.1472	An Act relative to EMS leave without loss of pay	Michael F. Rush
S.2517	An Act dissolving the North Carver water district	Kelly A. Dooner

Present (9)

Jack Patrick Lewis (HOU)

Michael S. Chaisson (HOU)

Mike Connolly (HOU)

Homar Gómez (HOU)

Kristin E. Kassner (HOU)

Norman J. Orrall (HOU)

Lindsay N. Sabadosa (HOU)

Joshua Tarsky (HOU)

Richard G. Wells, Jr. (HOU)

Absent (2)

Carmine Lawrence Gentile (HOU) *

Samantha Montaño (HOU) *

	Document
	H.2245 Summary_Ayers_Relative to puppy mills
	H.2247 Summary_Ayers_Increase fines for cruelty to animals-establish fund
	H.2253-S.1458_summary_Cahill-Montigny_Update animal health inspections
	H.2256_summary_Cusack-an act to protect pets
	H.2265-S.1432_summary_Flanagan-Cyr_Pre-service training for local board members
	H.2299 Summary_Kassner_Regarding mandatory land use board training
	H.2300 Summary_Kassner-local option associate members planning boards
	H.2322-S.1429 Summary_Owens-Sangiolo-Creem_Update the public shade tree law
	H.2323 Summary_Peisch_Relative to access to local journalism
	H.2324-S.1443 Summary_Philips and Eldridge_Providing for the establishment of sustainable water resource funds
	H.2333-S.1452 Summary_Scarsdale Kennedy_Establishing municipal building assistance program and building authority
	H.2336 Summary_Stanley_Relative to assessor certificates
	H.2337 Summary_Sullivan-Almeida_Plumbing or gas fitting work inspectors
	H.2342-S.1459 Summary_Silvia-Montigny_Relative to dangerous dogs
	H.4056 summary - Barrett - Lanesborough select board membership
	H.4057 Summary_Vargas_Haverhill increase board of health membership
	H.4134_Summary_Decker_Cambridge_Job_Training_Trust
	H.4135_Summary_Garballey_Arlington-Relative_To_Town_Clerk
	H.4136 Summary_LeBoeuf_Leicester relative to stabilization funds
	H.4137_Summary_Linsky_Wayland_Library_Trust
	H.4138 Summary_Peisch_Wellesley digital legal notices
	H.4139 Summary_Peisch_Wellesley dissolve housing dev corp
	H.4140 Summary_Peisch_Wellesley non-civil service public safety personnel
	H.4146 Summary_Donato_Medford charter changes
	H.2243 Summary_Arena-DeRosa_legal ads and public notices

Hearing DetailsJoint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government

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