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H 3299

Immigration

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Thomas Beach and 5 co-sponsors

Massachusetts opens public meetings to remote access and participation for all bodies, with 48-hour notice and remote members allowed to vote and count toward quorum.

Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Edgerton
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Bill Summary · H 3299

Summary — H.3299 (2025): An Act to modernize participation in public meetings

Status & Sponsor
- House Docket No.: 3299
- Filed: January 8, 2025; Introduced/1st reading: January 14, 2025
- Principal sponsor: Rep. Antonio F. D. Cabral (New Bedford) with many co-petitioners listed.
- Referred: Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight (2/27/2025).
- Hearing(s) scheduled: October 14, 2025 (per docket entries).
- Related: replaces HD 368.

Purpose
- To update Massachusetts’ open meeting law (chapter 30A) to require and standardize remote access and remote participation in public meetings and to modernize notice and posting requirements so the public can view and participate more easily.

Key provisions and changes
- Definitions (amends section 18 of chapter 30A)
- Adds “information” after “meeting” and defines two new terms:
- “Remote access”: public viewing (and, when allowed, participating) through internet/video conferencing or other video technology from a location other than the meeting location.
- “Remote participation”: participation by a public body member via internet/video technology from a remote location.

  • Substantive rewrite of section 20 (chapter 30A)
    • Meetings must be physically open and remotely accessible to the public (except as provided in sec. 21).
    • Notice requirements:
    • Standard: post notice at least 48 hours prior to the meeting, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays (shorter emergency notice permitted “as soon as reasonably possible”).
    • Notices must be legible, understandable, and include date, time, place, and topics the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed.
    • Posting and filing by body type:
    • Local public bodies: file with municipal clerk and post to municipal website; may also post conspicuously at municipal building.
    • Regional/district bodies: file/post in each city/town per local rules and post on regional/district website.
    • Regional school districts: secretary files with each municipal clerk; notices posted per local rules and on district website.
    • County public bodies: file with county commissioners’ office and post on the county public body’s website; county commissioners may designate other conspicuous posting locations.
    • State public bodies: post via procedures established with the Attorney General, file duplicate copy with the Regulations Division in the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office, and post on the body’s or parent agency’s website.
    • Attorney General may approve alternative notice methods if website use is unduly burdensome.
    • Remote access & participation requirements:
    • All public bodies must provide remote access and remote participation at every meeting.
    • Members (whether physically present or remote) must participate in the same manner for the meeting’s duration.
    • Except for local commissions on disability, at least one-third of a public body’s members must be physically present for each meeting.
    • Members participating remotely may vote, count toward quorum, and are not deemed absent for purposes of G.L. c.39, §23D (attendance rules). For local commissions on disability the chair (or authorized presiding person) must be physically present.
    • (The bill text in the provided version is truncated after the state public body provisions; additional state-specific rules may be contained in omitted text.)

Who is affected
- Public bodies across Massachusetts: municipal boards and committees, regional/district bodies, regional school district committees, county public bodies, and state public bodies.
- Elected and appointed public-body members: new requirements for presence composition and permitted remote voting.
- Municipal clerks, regional secretaries, county commissioners, and the Attorney General’s office: new notice and filing responsibilities and authority to approve alternatives.
- The public and community stakeholders: expanded ability to view and (where permitted) participate remotely in meetings.

Potential impacts
- Increased public access and convenience via mandated hybrid (physical + remote) meeting capability.
- Administrative and technology costs for local, regional, county, and state bodies to provide reliable remote access and meet posting requirements.
- Clarifies that remote participants can vote and count toward quorum (likely to reduce formal absences but also change dynamics of in-person oversight).
- Legal compliance implications: bodies must follow the new posting, filing, and remote-access rules or risk Open Meeting Law violations.
- Attorney General oversight role for approving alternative notice methods where website posting is impracticable.

Notes and irregularities in the provided text
- The supplied bill text includes unrelated material from a South Carolina “Citizenship Verification Act.” That South Carolina text is not part of H.3299 (Massachusetts) and appears to be an insertion from another jurisdiction — it should be treated as extraneous.
- The bill text available in the packet is truncated in places (notably the remainder of the state public body provisions). Final scope and any additional state-specific requirements should be confirmed from the full printed bill as enrolled or from committee files.

Next steps to watch
- Committee hearings (noted for 10/14/2025) and any committee reports or amendments.
- Full text release of the truncated portions and any amendments that address technology standards, accessibility (e.g., ADA requirements), recordkeeping, or enforcement provisions.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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