General Laws of Massachusetts - Chapter 39 Municipal Government
- Massachusetts General Laws - Allocation of powers - Chapter 39, Section 1
Section 1. Except as otherwise provided by law, city councils shall have the powers of towns; boards of aldermen shall have the powers, perform the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Presiding officer of board of aldermen; voting rights - Chapter 39, Section 2
If the mayor acts as presiding officer of the board of aldermen, he shall not vote in meetings of said board nor in conventions of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Elections of city officers by municipal bodies; manner of voting - Chapter 39, Section 3
No election of a city officer by a municipal body or board shall be valid unless made by a viva voce vote, each member present...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Mayor to sign every ordinance; veto power; effect - Chapter 39, Section 4
Every ordinance, order, resolution or vote requiring the concurrence of the board of aldermen and of the common council, except the question of a convention...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Performance of mayoralty duties during vacancy - Chapter 39, Section 5
Except as otherwise provided by city charters, upon the death, resignation or absence of the mayor, or his inability to perform the duties of his...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Election warrants; issuance; acceptance of provisions of section - Chapter 39, Section 6
If, at or after the time for the mayor and aldermen to enter upon the performance of their duties, it appears that the mayor or...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Municipal salaries; increases and decreases; procedure - Chapter 39, Section 6A
Notwithstanding the provisions of any city charter to the contrary, the mayor and the members of the city council, or other legislative body of a...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Holding other offices - Chapter 39, Section 7
The mayor or an alderman or a member of the common council of a city which adopts this section or has adopted corresponding provisions of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Compatibility of offices - Chapter 39, Section 8
No member of the city council shall, during the term for which he was chosen, either by appointment or by election of the city council...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Removal of officers; procedure; exception - Chapter 39, Section 8A
Unless otherwise provided in any general law or in any special law relating to a city, any officer or official appointed or elected by the...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Annual meeting; other meetings; election of officers; times; adjournment; holidays - Chapter 39, Section 9
Except as otherwise provided by special law or a charter adopted or revised or amended under Sections two, three, or four of Article LXXXIX of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Election of officers and other matters determined by ballot; meetings; time and place; warrants - Chapter 39, Section 9A
Except as otherwise provided by special law or a charter adopted or revised or amended under Sections two, three or four of Article LXXXIX of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Warrant; issuance; contents - Chapter 39, Section 10
Every town meeting or town election, except as hereinafter provided, shall be called in pursuance of a warrant, under the hands of the selectmen, notice...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Persons authorized to call meetings upon resignation of selectmen - Chapter 39, Section 11
If a majority of the selectmen or any less number shall vacate their offices, or if the full number shall fail to be elected or...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Persons authorized to call meetings upon refusal of selectmen - Chapter 39, Section 12
If the selectmen unreasonably refuse to call a town meeting, a justice of the peace, upon written application of one hundred registered voters or of...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Quorum; application of section - Chapter 39, Section 13
Towns may prescribe by by-law the number of voters necessary to constitute a quorum at town meetings; provided, that a number less than a quorum...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Moderators; election; tenure; vacancies; assistant moderators - Chapter 39, Section 14
At every town meeting when moderators are not elected for the term of one or three years, a moderator shall first be elected. The election...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Moderators; powers and duties - Chapter 39, Section 15
The moderator shall preside and regulate the proceedings, decide all questions of order, and make public declaration of all votes, and may administer in open...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Appropriation, advisory or finance committees; appointment; tenure; powers and duties - Chapter 39, Section 16
Every town whose valuation for the purpose of apportioning the state tax exceeds one million dollars shall, and any other town may, by by-law provide...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Powers of moderator; preservation of order - Chapter 39, Section 17
No person shall address a town meeting without leave of the moderator, and all persons shall, at the request of the moderator, be silent. If...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Duties of moderators; reception of votes - Chapter 39, Section 18
The moderator shall receive the vote of any person whose name is on the voting list or who presents a proper certificate from the registrars...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1934, 39, Sec. 1 - Chapter 39, Section 19
Repealed, 1934, 39, Sec.
- Massachusetts General Laws - Precinct voting - Chapter 39, Section 20
Towns divided into voting precincts may, for their annual town election, establish precinct voting for all town officers to be chosen thereat, by accepting this...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Canvass of returns - Chapter 39, Section 21
The town clerk and the board of registrars, upon receipt of the returns from the several precincts, shall forthwith canvass the same, and immediately declare...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 1974, 8, Sec. 4 - Chapter 39, Section 22 23
Repealed, 1974, 8, Sec.
- Massachusetts General Laws - Repealed, 2009, 28, Sec. 20 - Chapter 39, Section 23A to 23C
Repealed, 2009, 28, Sec.
- Massachusetts General Laws - Adjudicatory hearings; attendance by municipal board, committee and commission members; voting disqualification - Chapter 39, Section 23D
(a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, upon municipal acceptance of this section for 1 or more types of adjudicatory hearings, a...
- Massachusetts General Laws - Application of chapter - Chapter 39, Section 24
The provisions of this chapter shall be in force only so far as they are not inconsistent with the express provisions of any general or...
Last modified: September 11, 2015