AN ACT CHANGING THE POSITION OF TREASURER IN THE COUNTY OF DUKES COUNTY TO AN APPOINTED POSITION.
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 section 1 of chapter 35 of the General Laws, section 160 of chapter 54 of the General Laws or any other general or special law, to the contrary, the county treasurer for the county of Dukes County shall be appointed and may be removed, for cause, after the opportunity for a hearing, by the county commissioners of the county of Dukes County. The treasurer shall have all the powers and duties and be subject to the liabilities and penalties imposed by law on county treasurers. The commissioners may establish an employment contract with the treasurer for salary, fringe benefits and other conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, severance pay, reimbursement for expenses incurred in the performance of the duties of office, liability insurance and conditions of discipline, termination, dismissal, reappointment, performance standards and leave.
SECTION 2. Upon the effective date of this act, the elected office of county treasurer of the county of Dukes County shall be abolished. The current elected treasurer shall continue in that position and perform the duties thereof until the expiration of the term for which the treasurer was elected or if the treasurer sooner vacates the office after which the county commissioners of the county of Dukes County shall appoint a treasurer pursuant to section 1.
SECTION 3. No contracts or liabilities in force on the effective date of this act shall be affected by the abolition of the elected office of county treasurer. The appointed county treasurer position established under section 1 shall, in all respects, be the lawful successor of the elected office so abolished. All records, property and equipment of the offices of the elected county treasurer shall be transferred to the office of the appointed county treasurer.
SECTION 4. (a) This act shall not take effect until its passage and approval by the voters of the county of Dukes County at the 2020 state election. At said election the votes shall be taken in answer to the following question, which shall be placed on the official ballot by the state secretary in the following form:-
“Shall the county vote to have its elected county treasurer of the county of Dukes County become an appointed county treasurer of the county of Dukes County?” Yes____ No____.
A fair, concise summary of the question, as provided for in section 5 shall appear below the question.
(b) If a majority of votes cast in answer to said question are in the affirmative, said office shall become appointed pursuant to this act.
SECTION 5. Not later than 60 days before the 2020 state election, the county commissioners of the county of Dukes County shall prepare and submit to the state secretary a fair, concise summary of this act to appear with the question in section 4.
SECTION 5A. Section 5 shall take effect upon passage of this act.
SECTION 6. If there is a duly elected county treasurer at the 2020 state election, this act shall not take effect until the expiration of the term for which the treasurer was elected or if the treasurer sooner vacates the office.
Approved, August 28, 2020.