Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Legislative hearings have wrapped up on the sweeping “municipal modernization” bill filed by Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito in December.
Five different legislative committees heard testimony from the MMA and municipal officials and other stakeholders over the past several weeks. The next step will be for the legislation to be reassembled into a single package for votes in the House and Senate.
The MMA has asked city and town officials to contact local legislators to press for enactment of a single comprehensive bill before the end of the legislative session in July.
The governor’s bill (H. 3905) features dozens of welcome reforms related to procurement, municipal finance, human resources, economic development and the general administration of local government. The goal identified by the governor is to update and repeal obsolete state laws, promote independence at the local level, streamline state oversight, and provide municipalities with greater flexibility and day-to-day decision-making powers.
The governor’s bill includes more than 200 provisions. Some of the key reforms include:
• Giving cities and towns control over the number of liquor licenses that can be issued to restaurants and bars
• Enacting unemployment insurance reforms to prevent some school employees and others from collecting unemployment payments during school vacations
• Allowing cities and towns to decide whether to exempt positions from Civil Service
• Increasing procurement thresholds to eliminate unnecessary red tape and delays for simple purchases
• Certifying the full and fair value of property every five years instead of three
• Replacing many of the mandatory paid classified ads for zoning and other notices with electronic postings as allowed in the open meeting law
• Giving municipalities the ability to levy fines to enforce the requirement that utilities remove double poles within 90 days
• Allowing cities and towns a first option to purchase tax-exempt property
The bill was written based on suggestions made by local officials on ways to make running local government more efficient and less costly, and to return “home rule” authority to cities and towns where it makes sense. The bill includes a number of proposals from the MMA’s legislative package.