LegalFix

Section 3 - Petition for Adoption and Revision of Charter; Filing; Objections

MA Gen L ch 43b § 3 (2019) (N/A)
Copy with citation
Copy as parenthetical citation

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.

LegalFix

Copyright ©2024 LegalFix. All rights reserved. LegalFix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law, and does not provide legal advice, services, or representation. The information on this website is an overview of the legal plans you can purchase—or that may be provided by your employer as an employee benefit or by your credit union or other membership group as a membership benefit.

LegalFix provides its members with easy access to affordable legal services through a network of independent law firms. LegalFix, its corporate entity, and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors do not provide legal advice, services, or representation—directly or indirectly.

The articles and information on the site are not legal advice and should not be relied upon—they are for information purposes only. You should become a LegalFix member to get legal services from one of our network law firms.

You should not disclose confidential or potentially incriminating information to LegalFix—you should only communicate such information to your network law firm.

The benefits and legal services described in the LegalFix legal plans are not always available in all states or with all plans. See the legal plan Benefit Overview and the more comprehensive legal plan contract during checkout for coverage details in your state.

Use of this website, the purchase of legal plans, and access to the LegalFix networks of law firms are subject to the LegalFix Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

We have updated our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Disclosures. By continuing to browse this site, you agree to our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Disclosures.
Section 3 - Petition for Adoption and Revision of Charter; Filing; Objections