Massachusetts Law About Town Meetings
Best Bet
Citizen's Guide to Town Meetings, Secretary of the Commonwealth. "This booklet outlines the forms and procedures used in Massachusetts Town Meetings."
Massachusetts Laws
Massachusetts Constitution, Amendment LXXXIX. Draws the distinction between cities and towns, and allows for home-rule charters.
MGL c.39 Municipal Government: City Government and Town Meetings
MGL c.43A Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government
Rules of Procedure
Most Massachusetts town meetings use one or both of the following:
Roberts Rules of Order
- Official site with ordering information as well as frequently asked questions about the rules
- 1915 edition online, Bartleby
- Print source from our law libraries
- Roberts Rules of Order in Plain English (print) "Abbreviated essential parliamentary rules condensed from Robert's Rules of order newly revised."
- Roberts Rules of Order in the Courts (print) provides citations to court cases about the rules
Town Meeting Time
- Mass. Moderators Association, ordering information
- Print source from our law libraries
Other Web Sources
Cities and Towns, a site from the state that allows you to find the website for your town. Many towns have their own guides to town meeting on their sites.
Massachusetts Government, Encyclopedia Britannica. Provides a short history of the introduction and evolution of town meetings.
Organizing an Annual Town Meeting Campaign in Massachusetts, Northeast Organic Farming Association. Brief description of the steps required to put an article on the town warrant and get out the vote.
Town Meeting, Answers.com. An explanation of how town meetings work throughout New England.
About Town Meeting, Lexington. A nice explanation of how a representative town meeting works in one town.
A Guide to Town Meeting, Ayer. An introduction to the open town meeting process in one town.