Hearing Details Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government

Event Details

Status:: Completed
Event Date:: Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Start Time:: 10:00 AM
Location:: A-1 and Virtual
Event Description: Local matters

The public is invited to participate in this hybrid hearing, which will be live-streamed on the General Court website, https://malegislature.gov. Hearings will be recorded and posted publicly on the Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government page which is accessible at [https://malegislature.gov/Committees/Detail/J10].

Those wishing to testify remotely must pre-register by clicking on this link before 3:00 PM on Tuesday, July 21. All those wishing to testify in person may sign up on the day of the hearing but are encouraged to sign up ahead of time using the link above. Once registered, those planning to testify remotely will receive an email with a Microsoft Teams link and instructions prior to the start of the hearing. The presiding chair may limit the time allotted for oral testimony based upon the number of participants and bills on the agenda.

Written testimony is encouraged and will continue to be accepted after the hearing until the relevant bill is acted upon. Such testimony may be submitted via email to muni.committee@malegislature.gov or physically mailed to the committee:

Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis, House Chair

Sen. Becca Rausch, Senate Chair

Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government

Massachusetts State House

Attn: Geoff Richelew

24 Beacon Street, Room 450

Boston, MA 02133

The committee respectfully asks that individuals use only one method to submit testimony. Please provide the bill number in the subject line of the email, as well as your name, address, phone number and organization, if any, and address your comments to both House Chair Jack Patrick Lewis and Senate Chair Rebecca Rausch.

At the discretion of the chairs and per committee rules, written testimony received by the committee will be made publicly available by request. 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.

This hearing will be chaired by House Chair Jack Patrick Lewis. Questions regarding the hearing, legislation, or reasonable accommodations to ensure people with disabilities can participate fully in the committee process may be directed to Geoff Richelew with Chair Lewis at Geoff.Richelew@mahouse.gov or 617-722-2582, or Clay Spivey with Chair Rausch at Clayton.Spivey@masenate.gov or (617) 722-1555.
If you have Accessibility needs, submit an accessibility services request.

Videos
Item Name	Start Time	Duration	Webcast
Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government - 7-22-2026.mp4	7/22/2026 10:00 AM	00:21:27

Local matters 10:00am - 10:25am

Hearing Agenda
Bill	Bill Title	Sponsor
H.5485	An Act authorizing the town of Wayland Select Board to grant permission to use land for green burials	David Paul Linsky
H.5486	An Act allowing 'print free' digital legal notices for the town of Wayland	David Paul Linsky
H.5497	An Act amending the town charter for the town of Plymouth	Michelle L. Badger
H.5512	An Act allowing print-free digital legal notices in the town of Shrewsbury	Hannah Kane
H.5524	An Act relative to the membership of the Conservation Commission in the town of Chatham	Hadley Luddy
H.5544	An Act establishing an amendment to Bridgewater Town Charter Article VIII, Section 8-2 Citizen Referendum Petition Timeframe	Dennis C. Gallagher
H.5545	An Act establishing an amendment to Bridgewater Town Charter: Article IV, Section 4-1 Town Manager term of office	Dennis C. Gallagher
H.5564	An Act amending the charter of the town of Bellingham to allow the Director of Finance to serve as the Town Accountant	Michael J. Soter
H.5571	An Act amending the town meeting act for the town of Danvers	Sally P. Kerans
S.3118	An Act providing for the filling of a vacancy on the Groton-Dunstable School Committee	Vanna Howard
S.3138	An Act authorizing the town of Medfield to utilize alternative methods for notice of public hearings	Rebecca L. Rausch
S.3144	An Act authorizing the town of Bourne to convey a right-of-way and easement	Dylan A. Fernandes
S.3147	An Act to amend the town charter of Ipswich	Bruce E. Tarr

Present (8)

Jack Patrick Lewis (HOU)

Michael S. Chaisson (HOU)

Carmine Lawrence Gentile (HOU)

Homar Gómez (HOU)

Kristin E. Kassner (HOU)

Lindsay N. Sabadosa (HOU)

Joshua Tarsky (HOU)

Richard G. Wells, Jr. (HOU)

Absent (3)

Mike Connolly (HOU)
*

Samantha Montaño (HOU)
*

Norman J. Orrall (HOU)
*

Documents
	Document
	H.5485 Summary_Linsky_Wayland use land for green burials.pdf
	H.5486 Summary_Linsky-Eldridge_Wayland print-free digital legal notices.pdf
	H.5497 Summary_Badger-LaNatra_Plymouth charter change.pdf
	H.5512 Summary_Kane-Moore_Shrewsbury digital legal notices.pdf
	H.5524_Summary_Luddy-Cyr_Chatham Conservation Commission membership.pdf
	H.5544 Summary_Gallagher_Bridgewater charter_citizen referendum.pdf
	H.5545 Summary_Gallagher_Bridgewater charter_town manager term.pdf
	H.5564 Summary_Soter_Bellingham charter director of finance.pdf
	H.5571 Summary_Soter-Lovely_Danvers town meeting act.pdf

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Hearing Details Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government

Local matters 10:00am - 10:25am

Hearing Details Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government

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