reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43 - City Charters › Section 131 - Division of City Into Districts; Time; Ordinance; District Description; Redistricting

Section 131. Within ninety days following receipt of an official notice which the city clerk shall send, within thirty days of the city election, to the city council notifying the said council that a new plan of city council organization or school committee organization, or both, has been approved by the voters, said council shall adopt an ordinance after public hearing providing for the division of the city into nine districts, or such other number of districts as may be specified in the question approved by the voters for the election of city council members or school committee members, as the case may be, by and from the voters of such districts at the next municipal election. In cities which adopt both a new plan of city council and a new plan of school committee organization the respective district lines shall be the same for both bodies. Each such district shall be compact and shall contain, as nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants, shall be composed of contiguous existing precincts, and shall be drawn with a view toward preserving the integrity of existing neighborhoods. Said districts shall continue in force until the next division of the city into wards required by section one of chapter fifty-four, at which time the city council shall divide the city into a number of wards equal to the number of said districts; and thereafter, upon the effective date of such wards for city primary, preliminary and general elections under said chapter fifty-four, such wards rather than districts shall be the units used for the election of those city council or school committee members who are not elected at large throughout the city. The city council shall adopt an ordinance providing for signature requirements for nomination papers for candidates for city council or school committee but in no event shall these requirements exceed two per cent of the vote cast in the preceding mayoral election in the respective district.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43 - City Charters › Section 132 - Failure of Timely Districting

Section 132. If, within the time prescribed by section one hundred and thirty-one, the city council shall fail to make a division of the city into districts as required by that section, the mayor of such city in any city having a mayor elected by the people, or the city clerk in any city having a council-manager form of government, shall propose a plan of districts in the required number to the local election district review commission, which shall approve the same with or without amendments as it deems appropriate and necessary to meet constitutional requirements, after a public hearing.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43 - City Charters › Section 133 - Date of Municipal Elections; Municipal Year

Section 133. After the adoption by any city of a plan of city council or school committee organization authorized by sections one hundred and twenty-nine to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, the dates of municipal elections, and the municipal year, of such city shall be governed by section fifteen.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43 - City Charters › Section 134 - Residence of District Members

Section 134. Every city councillor and school committee member who is elected to represent an individual district or ward shall have been an inhabitant of a place within the district or ward for which he is chosen for at least one year immediately preceding his election; and he shall cease to represent such district or ward when he shall cease to be an inhabitant thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43a - Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government › Section 1 - Adoption Authorized; Conditions

Section 1. Any town in which there has been constituted and established a form of representative town meeting government under a special statute, enacted in conformity with the provisions of the constitution of the commonwealth, may in substitution therefor adopt the standard form of representative town meeting government provided by sections three to twelve, inclusive.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43a - Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government › Section 2 - Adoption Procedure; Submission to Electorate

Section 2. Five per cent of the registered voters of any such town may, not less than ninety days before its annual town meeting, file with the selectmen a petition that there be submitted to the voters of the town the matter of the acceptance of such standard form of representative town meeting government. The selectmen shall thereupon direct the town clerk to cause to be printed on the official ballot used for the election of town officers at such meeting substantially the following question:
Shall the town adopt the standard form of representative town meeting government provided by chapter forty-three A of the General Laws?
If a majority of the votes cast thereon are in the affirmative such standard form shall thereupon become effective in such town, and the acceptance by the town of the special statute under which it was theretofore governed shall be deemed to be revoked by such vote; provided, that the town meeting members elected at such election or in office under the provisions of such special statute shall, except as otherwise provided therein, remain in office until the next annual town election.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43a - Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government › Section 3 - Organization

Section 3. Upon the adoption as aforesaid of such standard form of representative town meeting government by a town, its selectmen shall forthwith divide the territory thereof into voting precincts, each of which shall be plainly designated and shall contain not less than four hundred registered voters. The precincts shall be so established as to consist of compact and contiguous territory to be bounded, as far as possible, by the center line of known streets and ways or by other well-defined limits. Their boundaries shall be reviewed, and, if need be, wholly or partly revised, by the selectmen in December, once in five years, or in December of any year when so directed by a vote of a representative town meeting held not later than November twentieth of that year. The foregoing provisions of this section shall not authorize any action contrary to the provisions of section nine A of chapter fifty-four.
The selectmen shall, within ten days after any establishment or revision of the precincts, file a report of their doings with the town clerk, the registrars of voters and the assessors, with a map or maps or description of the precincts and the names and residences of the registered voters therein. The selectmen shall also cause to be posted in the town hall a map or maps or description of the precincts as established or revised from time to time, with the names and residences of the registered voters therein; and they shall also cause to be posted in at least one public place in each precinct a map or description of that precinct, with the names and residences of the registered voters therein. The division of the town into voting precincts and any revision of such precincts shall take effect upon the date of the filing of the report thereof by the selectmen with the town clerk. Whenever the precincts are established or revised, the town clerk shall forthwith give written notice thereof to the state secretary, stating the number and designation of the precincts. Meetings of the registered voters of the several precincts for elections, for primaries, and for voting upon any question to be submitted to all the registered voters of the town, shall be held on the same day and at the same hour and at such place or places within the town as the selectmen shall in the warrant for such meeting direct. The provisions of chapters fifty to fifty-six, inclusive, relating to precinct voting at elections, so far as the same are not inconsistent with this chapter, shall apply to all elections and primaries in the town upon the establishment of voting precincts as hereinbefore provided.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43a - Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government › Section 4 - Town Meeting Members; Election; Terms of Office

Section 4. Other than the officers designated in the by-laws of the town as town meeting members at large, the representative town meeting membership shall in each precinct consist of the largest number divisible by three which will admit of a representation thereof in the approximate proportion which the number of inhabitants therein bears to the total number of inhabitants in the town, and which will cause the total elected membership to be as nearly two hundred and forty as may be.
The registered voters in every precinct shall, at the first annual town election held after the establishment of such precinct, and the registered voters of any precinct affected by any revision of precincts at the first annual town election following such revision, conformably to the laws relative to elections not inconsistent with this chapter, elect by ballot the number of registered voters in the precinct, other than the officers designated in the by-laws as town meeting members at large, provided for in the first sentence of this section, to be town meeting members of the town. The first third, in the order of votes received, of members so elected shall serve three years, the second third in such order shall serve two years, and the remaining third in such order shall serve one year, from the day of the annual town meeting; in case of a tie vote affecting the division into thirds, as aforesaid, the members elected from the precinct shall by ballot determine the same; and thereafter, except as is otherwise provided herein, at each annual town election the registered voters of each precinct shall, in like manner, elect, for the term of three years, one third of the number of elected town meeting members to which such precinct is entitled, and shall at such election fill for the unexpired term or terms any vacancy or vacancies then existing in the number of elected town meeting members in such precinct.
The terms of office of all elected town meeting members from every precinct revised as aforesaid shall cease upon the election as hereinbefore provided of their successors. The town clerk shall, after every election of town meeting members, forthwith notify each such member by mail of his election.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43a - Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government › Section 5 - Meetings; Quorum; Compensation of Members

Section 5. Any representative town meeting held under the provisions of this chapter, except as otherwise provided herein, shall be limited to the town meeting members elected under section four, together with such town meeting members at large as may be provided for by the by-laws of the town.
The town clerk shall notify the town meeting members of the time and place at which representative town meetings are to be held, the notices to be sent by mail at least seven days before the meeting. The town meeting members, as aforesaid, shall be the judges of the election and qualifications of their members. A majority of the town meeting members shall constitute a quorum for doing business; but a less number may organize temporarily and may adjourn from time to time, but no town meeting shall adjourn over the date of an election of town meeting members. All town meetings shall be public. The town meeting members as such shall receive no compensation. Subject to such conditions as may be determined from time to time by the members of the representative town meeting, any registered voter of the town who is not a town meeting member may speak at any representative town meeting, but shall not vote. A town meeting member may resign by filing a written resignation with the town clerk, and such resignation shall take effect on the date of such filing. A town meeting member who removes from the town shall cease to be a town meeting member, and a town meeting member who removes from the precinct from which he was elected to another precinct may serve only until the next annual town meeting.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43a - Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government › Section 6 - Nominations

Section 6. Nomination of candidates for town meeting members to be elected under this chapter shall be made by nomination papers, which shall show clearly whether he has been a former town meeting member, and, if an elected incumbent of such office, that he is a candidate for re-election and shall bear no other political designation. Such papers shall be signed by not less than ten voters of the precinct in which the candidate resides, shall be filed with the town clerk at least ten days before the election or, in towns which have accepted section one hundred and three A of chapter fifty-four, within the time provided by section ten of chapter fifty-three. They shall be submitted to the registrars of voters and shall be certified in the manner provided in section seven of said chapter fifty-three; provided, however, that any town meeting member, including any town meeting member in office under the provisions of a special statute under which such town is operating immediately prior to the taking effect therein of the standard form of representative town meeting government provided by this chapter, may become a candidate for election by giving written notice thereof to the town clerk not later than twenty-one days prior to the last day and hour for filing nomination papers. If a town meeting member is a candidate for re-election, the words ''Candidate for Re-election'' shall be printed against his name as it appears on the ballot for the election of town officers; provided, that if a town meeting member who has been chosen by the remaining members from the precinct to fill a vacancy under the provisions of section nine is a candidate for election, the words ''Candidate for Re-election'' shall not be printed against his name as it appears on the ballot. No nomination papers shall be valid in respect to any candidate whose written acceptance is not thereon or attached thereto when filed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43a - Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government › Section 7 - Action on Articles in Warrant for Town Meeting

Section 7. The articles in the warrant for every town meeting, so far as they relate to the election of the moderator, town officers and town meeting members, and as herein provided, to referenda, and all matters to be acted upon and determined by ballot, shall be so acted upon and determined by the registered voters of the town in their respective precincts. All other articles in the warrant for any town meeting shall be acted upon and determined exclusively by town meeting members at a meeting to be held at such time and place as shall be set forth by the selectmen in the warrant for the meeting, subject to the referendum provided for by section ten.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43a - Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government › Section 8 - Moderator; Tenure; Duties; Vacancies

Section 8. A moderator shall be elected by ballot at the annual town meeting when his term of office expires, for the term of one or three years, and shall serve as moderator of all town meetings, except as otherwise provided by law, until a successor is elected and qualified. Nominations for and election of a moderator shall be as in the case of other elective town officers, and any vacancy in the office may be filled by the town meeting members at a meeting held for that purpose. If a moderator is absent, a moderator pro tempore may be elected by the town meeting members.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43a - Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government › Section 9 - Town Meeting Members; Vacancies

Section 9. Any vacancy in the full number of town meeting members from any precinct, whether arising from a failure of the registered voters thereof to elect, or from any other cause, may be filled, until the next annual election, by the remaining members of the precinct from among the registered voters thereof. Upon petition therefor, signed by not less than ten town meeting members from the precinct, notice of any vacancy shall promptly be given by the town clerk to the remaining members from the precinct in which the vacancy or vacancies exist, and he shall call a special meeting of such members for the purpose of filling such vacancy or vacancies. He shall cause to be mailed to every such member, not less than five days before the time set for the meeting, a notice specifying the object, time and place of the meeting. At the said meeting a majority of the members from such precinct shall constitute a quorum, and they shall elect from their own number a chairman and a clerk. The choice to fill any vacancy shall be by ballot, and a majority of the votes cast shall be required for a choice. The chairman and clerk shall count the ballots and shall make a certificate of the choice and forthwith file the same with the town clerk, together with a written acceptance by the member or members so chosen, who shall thereupon be deemed elected and qualified as a town meeting member of members, subject to the right of all the town meeting members to judge of the election and qualifications of the members as set forth in section five.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43a - Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government › Section 10 - Enactments at Town Meetings; Restrictions

Section 10. A vote passed at any representative town meeting authorizing the expenditure of twenty thousand dollars or more as a special appropriation, or establishing a new board or office or abolishing an old board or office or merging two or more boards or offices, or fixing the term of office of town officers, where such term is optional, or increasing or reducing the number of members of a board, or adopting a new by-law, or amending an existing by-law, shall not be operative until after the expiration of seven days, exclusive of Sundays and holidays, from the dissolution of the meeting. If, within said seven days, a petition, signed by not less than three per cent of the registered voters of the town, containing their names and addresses as they appear on the list of registered voters, is filed with the selectmen asking that the question or questions involved in such a vote be submitted to the registered voters of the town at large, then the selectmen, after the expiration of five days, shall forthwith call a special meeting for the sole purpose of presenting to the registered voters at large the question or questions so involved. The polls shall be opened at two o'clock in the afternoon and shall be closed not earlier than eight o'clock in the evening, and all votes upon any questions so submitted shall be taken by ballot, and the check list shall be used in the several precinct meetings in the same manner as in the election of town officers. The questions so submitted shall be determined by a majority vote of the registered voters of the town voting thereon, but no action of the representative town meeting shall be reversed unless at least twenty per cent of the registered voters shall so vote. Each question so submitted shall be in the form of the following question, which shall be placed upon the official ballot:—''Shall the town vote to approve the action of the representative town meeting whereby it was voted (brief description of the substance of the vote and by what vote thereon if such vote was tabulated)?'' If such petition is not filed within said period of seven days, the vote of the representative town meeting shall become operative and effective upon the expiration of said period. Absent voter ballots shall be used at such election in accordance with the provisions of chapter fifty-four.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43a - Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government › Section 11 - Authority of Town After Acceptance of Chapter; Effect of Actions Taken

Section 11. The town, after the acceptance of this chapter, shall continue to have the capacity to act through and to be bound by its town meeting members, who shall, when convened from time to time as herein provided, constitute representative town meetings; and the representative town meetings shall exercise exclusively, so far as will conform to the provisions of this chapter, all powers vested in the municipal corporation. Action in conformity with all provisions of law now or hereafter applicable to the transaction of town affairs in town meeting, shall, when taken by any representative town meeting in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, have the same force and effect as if such action had been taken in a town meeting open to all the voters of the town as organized and conducted before the establishment in said town of representative town meeting government.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43a - Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government › Section 12 - General Meetings Authorized; Limitations of Chapter

Section 12. This chapter shall not abridge the right of the inhabitants of the town to hold general meetings, as secured to them by the constitution of this commonwealth; nor shall this chapter confer upon any representative town meeting in any town the power finally to commit the town to any measure affecting its municipal existence or substantially changing its form of government without action thereon by the voters of the town at large, using the ballot and the check list therefor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43b - Home Rule Procedures › Section 1 - Short Title; Definitions

Section 1. This chapter may be cited as the ''Home Rule Procedures Act.'' As used in this chapter, the terms ''board of registrars of voters'', ''city council'', and ''board of selectmen'' shall include any local authority of different designation performing like duties.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43b - Home Rule Procedures › Section 3 - Petition for Adoption and Revision of Charter; Filing; Objections

Section 3. The adoption of a charter for any city or town under sections two and three of Article LXXXIX of the Amendments to the Constitution and the revision of any charter so adopted shall be initiated by filing with the board of registrars of voters of the city or town a petition signed by at least fifteen per cent of the number of registered voters residing in said city or town at the preceding state election. Such petition may consist of a number of separate sheets, but each sheet shall be in substantially the form prescribed therefor in section fifteen and shall be signed and completed in accordance with the instructions contained therein. The city or town clerk shall furnish forms for such petition to any registered voter of the city or town requesting the same. Within ten days from such filing, the board shall check each name to be certified by it on the petition, shall certify thereon the number of signatures so checked which are names of registered voters in the city or town, and shall report the results to the city council or board of selectmen, as the case may be, by filing its report with the city or town clerk. Only names so checked shall be deemed to be names of registered voters for purposes of such petition. The board need not certify more than one hundred and forty per cent of the number of names required to file a petition, and names not certified in the first instance shall not thereafter be certified on the same petition.
The sheets constituting a petition need not be filed at the same time. For the purposes of this section and of section three of said Article LXXXIX, such a petition shall be deemed to be filed whenever the persons responsible for its filing notify the board in writing that the filing is complete. Before receiving such notice, the board may, but shall not be required to, certify signatures on the sheets of the petition already filed.
Objections to the sufficiency and validity of the signatures on any such petition as certified by the board of registrars of voters shall be made in the same manner as provided by section seven of chapter fifty-five B, within two working days after the filing of the aforementioned certification report by the board.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43b - Home Rule Procedures › Section 4 - Order of Governing Body for Submission of Question of Adoption or Revision of Charter; Nomination and Election of Charter Commission

Section 4. Within thirty days of receipt of certification by the board of registrars of voters that a petition contains sufficient valid signatures, the city council or board of selectmen shall by order provide for submitting the question of adopting or revising a charter to the voters of the city or town, and for the election of a charter commission, at the first regular city election, or at the first annual or biennial town meeting for the election of town officers, held on or after the sixtieth day following the adoption of the order. Said order shall also provide for the nomination of charter commission members, who shall be nominated in accordance with this chapter. Said order shall not require the concurrence of the mayor in a city and shall not be subject to referendum. If an order of the city council or board of selectmen under this section has not been adopted within the thirty days specified above, the question of adopting or revising a charter shall be submitted to the voters and charter commission members shall be elected at the first regular city election, or at the first annual or biennial town meeting for the election of town officers, held on or after the ninetieth day after receipt by the city council or board of selectmen of certification provided for in the first sentence of this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43b - Home Rule Procedures › Section 5 - Charter Commission; Procedure for Nomination and Election of Members

Section 5. The signatures of the following number of registered voters shall be required to nominate charter commission members in cities or towns having the following number of inhabitants: two hundred such signatures if one hundred thousand or more inhabitants, one hundred such signatures if fifty thousand or more but less than one hundred thousand inhabitants, fifty such signatures if twelve thousand or more but less than fifty thousand inhabitants, twenty-five such signatures if six thousand or more but less than twelve thousand inhabitants and ten such signatures if less than six thousand inhabitants.
The last day for filing certified nomination papers for members of a charter commission with the city or town clerk shall be the thirty-fifth day preceding the date for their election. The manner of signing and the time for presenting nomination papers for certification to the board of registrars of voters, and the manner of and time for certifying the same, shall be governed by section seven of chapter fifty-three. Such nomination papers shall contain information with respect to candidates, except that no party or political designation shall be used, and shall be filed with the city or town clerk by a responsible person and accompanied by the candidate's acceptance, all as provided by and subject to the provisions of sections eight and nine of chapter fifty-three applicable to the nomination of officers for such city or town. Objections to the sufficiency and validity of the signatures on any nomination paper as certified by the board of registrars of voters shall be made and disposed of in the manner provided by sections eleven and twelve of chapter fifty-three, or by special law applicable to the city or town.
Upon application made by any city or town clerk, the state secretary shall provide him with blank forms for the nomination of charter commission members in such city or town. The city and town clerks shall supply such forms only to candidates or to persons authorized in writing by a candidate to obtain said forms in his behalf. One copy of a voting list shall be furnished to each candidate by the city or town clerk upon request. Except as provided in this section, the provisions of sections one to twelve, inclusive, and section seventeen of chapter fifty-three shall not apply to the nomination of charter commission members.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43b - Home Rule Procedures › Section 6 - Charter Commission; Number of Members; Election

Section 6. A charter commission shall consist of nine registered voters of the city or town elected at large and by official ballot, without party or political designation, at an election held in accordance with this chapter. The names of the candidates nominated in accordance with section five shall be placed on such ballot in alphabetical order, preceded by an instruction to the effect that a voter may vote for not more than nine persons as charter commission members whether or not he favors the election of a charter commission. The question of electing a commission to adopt or revise the charter shall be placed on such ballot in the form prescribed by the constitution.
If a majority of the votes cast upon the question of adopting or revising the charter is in the affirmative, the nine candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected.
[ Third paragraph effective until May 30, 2023. For text effective May 30, 2023, see below.]
If a majority of the votes cast upon the question is in the affirmative, the city or town clerk shall notify the director of housing and community development of such affirmative vote and said director shall notify such commission of the dates for submission of their reports and the available date or dates that such report can be placed on its ballots.
[ Third paragraph as amended by 2023, 7, Secs. 200 and 201 effective May 30, 2023. See 2023, 7, Sec. 298. For text effective until May 30, 2023, see above.]
If a majority of the votes cast upon the question is in the affirmative, the city or town clerk shall notify the secretary of housing and livable communities of such affirmative vote and said secretary shall notify such commission of the dates for submission of their reports and the available date or dates that such report can be placed on its ballots.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43b - Home Rule Procedures › Section 7 - Charter Commission; Organization; Compensation and Expenses of Members

Section 7. The city or town clerk within ten days of the election shall notify the nine candidates elected to the charter commission of the initial charter commission meeting. At such initial meeting a charter commission shall promptly organize by the election from any of its members a chairman, a vice chairman and a clerk and shall file a notice of such organization with the city or town clerk. A charter commission shall continue to exist until thirty days after the election at which its charter adoption or revisions proposal, if any, is required to be submitted to the voters under this chapter or until thirty days after submission to the city council or town meeting of a final report recommending no new charter or revision. If any member dies, resigns or ceases to be a registered voter of the city or town, or if a failure to elect or any other vacancy occurs, it shall be filled by the election of any registered voter of the city or town by vote of a majority of the remaining members. The commission may continue to act notwithstanding the existence of any vacancy. Members shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed from the commission's account for expenses lawfully incurred by them in the performance of their duties.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43b - Home Rule Procedures › Section 12 - Charter and Charter Amendments and Revisions; Deposit of Certificates; Judicial Notice; Reprints for Distribution

[ Second paragraph effective until May 30, 2023. For text effective May 30, 2023, see below.]
Section 12. Certificates in quadruplicate shall be prepared setting forth any charter that has been adopted or revised and any charter amendments approved and shall be signed by the city or town clerk. One such certificate shall be deposited in the office of the state secretary and shall be kept under the custody of the archivist of the commonwealth, one shall be deposited in the office of the director of housing and community development, one shall be deposited in the office of the attorney general and the other shall be recorded in the records of the city or town and deposited in its archives. All courts may take judicial notice of charters and charter amendments of cities and towns.
[ Second paragraph as amended by 2023, 7, Sec. 204 effective May 30, 2023. See 2023, 7, Sec. 298. For text effective until May 30, 2023, see above.]
Certificates in quadruplicate shall be prepared setting forth any charter that has been adopted or revised and any charter amendments approved and shall be signed by the city or town clerk. One such certificate shall be deposited in the office of the state secretary and shall be kept under the custody of the archivist of the commonwealth, one shall be deposited in the office of the executive office of housing and livable communities, one shall be deposited in the office of the attorney general and the other shall be recorded in the records of the city or town and deposited in its archives. All courts may take judicial notice of charters and charter amendments of cities and towns.
The city council of each city, and the board of selectmen of each town, shall, at intervals of not greater than ten years, cause the charter of said city or town as revised or amended to be reprinted for distribution to such registered voters of said city or town as may apply therefor at the office of the city or town clerk. Acts of the general court which are included in such charter may be referred to by appropriate subject headings and statutory citations instead of being set forth at length. Copies of said document may be sold at a price not to exceed the cost of paper, printing and binding thereof, plus mailing charges if any, as determined by said clerk.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43b - Home Rule Procedures › Section 12a - Resubmission of Charter Which Failed of Approval

Section 12A. A charter submitted to the voters in accordance with the provisions of this chapter which has failed of approval at a city or town election, but which has received the affirmative votes of not less than thirty-five per cent of those voting on the question, shall be considered an optional charter for such city or town. Upon the petition of ten per cent of the registered voters of such city or town, said optional charter shall be once resubmitted to the voters at a regular city or town election held no later than the second year following the original submission of such charter to the voters. The city council in a city, the town council in a town having a town council, and in every other town the board of selectmen, shall cause any changes to be made in dates in the charter as originally submitted to the voters which are necessary to ensure the orderly implementation of the optional charter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43b - Home Rule Procedures › Section 13 - Exercise of Powers and Functions by Municipalities

Section 13. Any city or town may, by the adoption, amendment or repeal of local ordinances or by-laws, exercise any power or function which the general court has power to confer upon it, which is not inconsistent with the constitution or laws enacted by the general court in conformity with powers reserved to the general court by section 8 of Article LXXXIX of the Amendments to the Constitution and which is not denied, either expressly or by clear implication, to the city or town by its charter. Whenever appropriations, appointments, orders, regulations or other legislative or executive actions within the scope of any such ordinance or by-law are necessary in the exercise of any power or function authorized by such ordinance or by-law, any such actions which are to be taken by a city council or town meeting may be taken by ordinance, by-law, resolution, order or vote, and any such actions which are to be taken by executive officers may be taken in any appropriate manner, subject, however, as to both such categories, to all provisions of the ordinance or by-law in question, the city or town charter, and other applicable law. Any requirement that an ordinance or by-law be entitled as such, or that it contain the word ''ordained,'' ''enacted'' or words of similar import shall not affect the validity of any action which is required to be taken by ordinance or by-law. Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit any city or town, by ordinance or by-law, to exercise any power or function which is inconsistent with any general law enacted by the general court before November eighth, nineteen hundred and sixty-six which applies alike to all cities, or to all towns, or to all cities and towns, or to a class of not fewer than two. No exercise of a power or function denied to the city or town, expressly or by clear implication, by special laws having the force of a charter under section nine of said Article, and no change in the composition, mode of election or appointment, or terms of office of the legislative body, the mayor or city manager or the board of selectmen or town manager, may be accomplished by by-law or ordinance. Such special laws may be made inapplicable, and such changes may be accomplished, only under procedures for the adoption, revision or amendment of a charter under this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43b - Home Rule Procedures › Section 14 - Enforcement of This Chapter; Declaratory Relief; Judicial Review

Section 14. (1) The superior court shall, upon petition of ten or more registered voters or of the attorney general, have jurisdiction in equity to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
(2) The provisions of chapter two hundred and thirty-one A applicable to municipal by-laws or ordinances shall apply to charters, charter revisions, charter amendments, by-laws and ordinances of a city or town adopted under this chapter. In addition, a petition for declaratory relief under chapter two hundred and thirty-one A may be brought on behalf of the public by the attorney general or, by leave of the court, by ten or more registered voters of the city or town. In the case of a petition brought by ten registered voters, the attorney general shall be served with notice of the preliminary petition for leave, and may intervene as a party at any stage of the proceedings; and the petitioners shall be liable for, but may in the court's discretion also be awarded, costs, which may include reasonable counsel fees.
(3) Judicial review to determine the validity of the procedures whereby any charter is adopted, revised or amended may be had by petition of ten or more registered voters of the city or town brought within thirty days after the election at which such charter, revision, or amendment is approved. If no such petition is filed within such period, compliance with all the procedures required by this act and the validity of the manner in which such charter, revision or amendment was approved shall be conclusively presumed. No charter adoption, revision or amendment shall be deemed invalid on account of any procedural error or omission unless it is shown that the error or omission materially and substantially affected such adoption, revision or amendment.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43b - Home Rule Procedures › Section 15 - Petitions for Adoption or Revision of Charter or Suggestion of Charter Amendment; Form

Section 15. (a) A petition for the adoption or revision of a charter shall conform with the requirements of subsection (c) and shall have a sentence in substantially the following form at the top of each page:
Each of the undersigned requests that the (city) (town) of . . . . . . revise its present charter or adopt a new charter, and each of the undersigned certifies that he is a registered voter of said (city) (town) whose residence addresses at the times set forth below were as shown below, and that he has not signed this petition more than once.
(b) A petition suggesting a charter amendment under section ten shall conform with the requirements of subsection (c) and shall have a sentence in substantially the following form at the top of each page:
Each of the undersigned requests that the (city council) (town meeting) propose the charter amendment(s) attached hereto to the voters of the (city) (town) of . . . . . ., and each of the undersigned certifies that he is a registered voter of said (city) (town) whose residence addresses at the times set forth below were as shown below, and that he has not signed this petition more than once.
(c) The state secretary shall prescribe the form of all petitions under this chapter. Section seven of chapter fifty-three shall apply to all such petitions. No petition shall contain or be accompanied by any indication of party or political designation.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43b - Home Rule Procedures › Section 16 - Paper or Document Required to Be Filed or Submitted; Presumptions

[ Text of section effective until May 30, 2023. For text effective May 30, 2023, see below.]
Section 16. Any paper or document which is required by this chapter to be filed with or submitted to the city or town clerk or a city council or a board of selectmen shall be deemed to be so filed or submitted when it is delivered to the city or town clerk or to his office. Any paper or document which is required by this chapter to be filed with or submitted to a board of registrars of voters shall be deemed to be so filed or submitted when it is delivered to the office of the board or, if the board maintains no office, to the office of the city or town clerk. Any paper or document which is required by this chapter to be filed with or submitted to the attorney general shall be deemed to be so filed or submitted when it is delivered to the attorney general or to his office. Any paper or document which is required by this chapter to be filed with or submitted to the department of housing and community development shall be deemed to be so filed or submitted when it is delivered to said department. Any paper or document which is required by this chapter to be filed with or submitted to the state secretary shall be deemed to be so filed or submitted when it is delivered to the state secretary or to his office.
Chapter 43B: Section 16. Paper or document required to be filed or submitted; presumptions
[ Text of section as amended by 2023, 7, Sec. 205 effective May 30, 2023. See 2023, 7, Sec. 298. For text effective until May 30, 2023, see above.]
Section 16. Any paper or document which is required by this chapter to be filed with or submitted to the city or town clerk or a city council or a board of selectmen shall be deemed to be so filed or submitted when it is delivered to the city or town clerk or to his office. Any paper or document which is required by this chapter to be filed with or submitted to a board of registrars of voters shall be deemed to be so filed or submitted when it is delivered to the office of the board or, if the board maintains no office, to the office of the city or town clerk. Any paper or document which is required by this chapter to be filed with or submitted to the attorney general shall be deemed to be so filed or submitted when it is delivered to the attorney general or to his office. Any paper or document which is required by this chapter to be filed with or submitted to the executive office of housing and livable communities shall be deemed to be so filed or submitted when an electronic copy thereof is transmitted to said executive office. Any paper or document which is required by this chapter to be filed with or submitted to the state secretary shall be deemed to be so filed or submitted when it is delivered to the state secretary or to his office.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43b - Home Rule Procedures › Section 17 - Election Laws; Applicable and Conflicting Provisions

Section 17. The provisions of chapters fifty to fifty-seven, inclusive, applicable to city or town elections shall apply to the proceedings governed by this chapter so far as apt, but the provisions of sections fifty-five to fifty-eight, inclusive, of chapter fifty-four shall not be deemed to apply, and the provisions of this chapter shall prevail where they are in conflict with any applicable provisions of said chapters fifty to fifty-seven, inclusive.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts › Chapter 43b - Home Rule Procedures › Section 18 - Method of Electing Officers

Section 18. Any city or town having a charter under chapter forty-three or forty-three A or a method of electing officers under chapter fifty-four A may change the same in accordance with the procedures for the adoption or amendment of a charter prescribed by this chapter. Except as may be permitted by any general or special law enacted after November eighth, nineteen hundred and sixty-six, no city or town shall adopt or change charters or change its method of electing officers under said chapters forty-three, forty-three A or fifty-four A or under any special laws in effect on such date, including without limitation chapters four hundred and fifty-two of the acts of nineteen hundred and forty-eight, six hundred and sixty-one of the acts of nineteen hundred and forty-nine and one hundred and fifty-two of the acts of nineteen hundred and fifty-four, as amended, and the procedures set forth in this chapter shall be exclusive.