Best bet
Citizen's guide to town meetings, Secretary of the Commonwealth, 2024.
"This booklet outlines the forms and procedures used in Massachusetts Town Meetings." Includes procedures and frequently asked questions such as who may speak, types of town meetings and other topics.
Massachusetts laws
Massachusetts Constitution, Amendment LXXXIX
Draws the distinction between cities and towns, and allows for home-rule charters.
MGL c. 39 Municipal government
MGL c. 43A Standard form of representative town meeting government
Selected cases
Barron v. Kolenda, 491 Mass. 408 (2023)
A town's rule for public participation at meetings (a rule requiring that all comments be respectful, polite, and free of rude or personal attacks) violates people's rights.
- Massachusetts protects the right to be ‘rude’ in town meetings
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law provides a good synopsis of the case.
Rules of procedure
Most Massachusetts town meetings use one or both of the following:
Robert's 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 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
Web sources
About town meeting, Lexington.
An explanation of how a representative town meeting works in one town.
Information about the town meeting process, Concord.
An introduction to the open town meeting process in one town.
Massachusetts Moderators Association
Provides information for both moderators and the general public, including informational videos and downloadable materials.
Updated guidance on holding meetings pursuant to the Act Extending Certain COVID-19 Measures, Mass. Attorney General, regarding St. 2023, c. 2, which extended the temporary provisions regarding remote and hybrid meetings in COVID-19 Order #1 to March 31, 2025.
Examples of guides to citizens' petitions for town meetings
Contact
Online
| Last updated: | April 2, 2025 |
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