Mandate Determinations - 2022 Five Year Report

An overview of Mandate Determinations released during the report period.

Overview

Among the most important duties of the Division of Local Mandates is advising the Auditor on decisions related to unfunded mandate petitions. The requirements for what constitutes a mandate have been refined since the passage of Proposition 2 ½ through actions of the Supreme Judicial Court and the Legislature. The following determinations show a range of issues and what may and may not constitute a mandate, even when laws require additional expenditure by municipalities.¹⁶

Early Voting Law (M.G.L. 54, § 25B and 950 C.M.R. 47.00 et seq.) Issued: February 2017

In the fall of 2016, the City of Woburn and the Town of Oxford sent DLM petitions related to the implementation of the Early Voting Law in the 2016 general election.¹⁷ In response to those petitions, DLM surveyed local election officials on the cost of implementing the law.¹⁸ DLM found some aspects of the law to be a mandate, such as the expense of establishing a location for early voting with sufficient staffing and privacy.¹⁹ DLM also found some aspects of the law did not involve a mandate that required state support because they were incidental administrative expenses, such as the advertisement of early voting hours and locations in newspapers, or an ongoing requirement to administer elections that precluded including salaried staff costs in the mandate.²⁰ As a result of the determination, DLM certified early voting expenses for the 2016 presidential election, the 2018 general election, and the 2020 presidential primary election.²¹ When vote-by-mail and in-person early voting opportunities were expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic, DLM captured additional expenses for the 2020 election season for the state primary and general election.²²

 

Figure 2 — Early Voting Funding, 2016 to 2020²³

	State Reimbursement
2016 General Election	$1,063,978.14
2018 General Election	$1,144,156.22
2020 Presidential Primary	$  727,169.37
2020 State Primary and General Election	$2,702,365.86
TOTAL:	$5,637,669.59

 

Additional Resources

Financial Impact of Early Voting in the City of Woburn and the Town of Oxford

Educator Evaluations (M.G.L. c. 71, § 38) Issued: October 2017

DLM received a petition from the Framingham School Committee, indicating that legal requirements for educator evaluations have imposed a significant financial burden on the Framingham Public School system.²⁴ DLM determined that these evaluations were not an unfunded mandate that required state support, as they are exempt from the Local Mandate Law under the Education Reform Act of 1993 as well as Article 115 to the Massachusetts Constitution.²⁵ Recognizing that there are substantial costs for the required evaluation process, the determination highlighted that the Commonwealth has a commitment to reimburse school districts for expenses associated with evaluations since 1985.²⁶

Additional Resources

Financial Impacts of Educator Evaluations on the Framingham Public Schools

Work-Related Injury Presumptions for Firefighters (St. 2018, c. 148) Issued: February 2019

DLM received a petition from the Town of Halifax, indicating that amendments to work-related injury benefits for firefighters, particularly changes to the types of cancers presumed to be sustained in the line of duty and paid leave determinations, will increase pension, wage, and medical expenses for municipalities.²⁷ DLM determined that, although the changes to work-related injury presumptions have the potential to increase costs for the treatment of cancer in firefighters, the amendments are not an unfunded mandate that required state support.²⁸ Laws governing benefits and conditions of municipal employment are exempt from the Local Mandate Law under Article 115 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution.²⁹

Additional Resources

The Financial Impacts of Work-Related Injury Presumptions for Firefighters under Chapter 148 of the Acts of 2018 on Halifax

16. Note: Additional mandate determinations dating back to 2006 can be accessed online. See also Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor, Division of Local Mandates. (2020). All Local Mandate Determinations. https://www.mass.gov/lists/all-local-mandate-determinations

17. M.G.L. 54, § 25B and 950 C.M.R. 47.00 et seq.; Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor, Division of Local Mandates. (2017, February 14). Financial Impact of Early Voting in the City of Woburn and the Town of Oxford. https://www.mass.gov/decision/financial-impact-of-early-voting-in-the-city-of-woburn-and-the-town-of-oxford

18. Id.

19. Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor, Division of Local Mandates. (2017, February 14). Financial Impact of Early Voting in the City of Woburn and the Town of Oxford. https://www.mass.gov/decision/financial-impact-of-early-voting-in-the-city-of-woburn-and-the-town-of-oxford

20 Id.

21. St. 2017, c. 110; Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor. (2018, January 8). Certification of Mandated Early Voting Costs in the 2016 Election. https://www.mass.gov/decision/certification-of-mandated-early-voting-costs-in-the-2016-election; Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor, Division of Local Mandates. (2021). Election Mandate Determinations and Certifications. https://www.mass.gov/lists/election-mandate-determinations-and-certifications

22. Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor, Division of Local Mandates. (2021, March 3). Auditor Bump Asks Municipalities to Report Spending Related to 2020 Elections. https://www.mass.gov/news/auditor-bump-asks-municipalities-to-report-spending-related-to-2020-elections

23. Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor, Division of Local Mandates. (2021). Election Mandate Determinations and Certifications. https://www.mass.gov/lists/election-mandate-determinations-and-certifications

24. M.G.L. c. 71, § 38; Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor. (2017, October 17). Financial Impacts of Educator Evaluations on the Framingham Public Schools. https://www.mass.gov/decision/financial-impacts-of-educator-evaluations-on-the-framingham-public-schools.

25. Id.; St. 1993, c. 71, § 67; art. 115 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution.

26. St. 1985, c. 188, § 14.

27. St.2018, c. 148, amending M.G.L. c. 32, § 94B and M.G.L. c. 41, § 111F; Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor. (2019, February 6). The Financial Impacts of Work-Related Injury Presumptions for Firefighters under Chapter 148 of the Acts of 2018 on Halifax. https://www.mass.gov/decision/the-financial-impacts-of-work-related-injury-presumptions-for-firefighters-under-chapter.

28. Id.

29. Id.; Art. 115 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution.