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H5412 • 2025

An Act relative to the charter and the town clerk in the town of Falmouth

An Act relative to the charter and the town clerk in the town of Falmouth

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Walsh, Thomas P.
Last action
2026-05-07
Official status
Read; and placed in the Orders of the Day for the next session
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act relative to the charter and the town clerk in the town of Falmouth

An Act relative to the charter and the town clerk in the town of Falmouth Substituted by the House, on motion of Mr.

What This Bill Does

  • An Act relative to the charter and the town clerk in the town of Falmouth Substituted by the House, on motion of Mr.
  • Walsh of Peabody, for a bill with the same title (House, No.
  • 5107) [Local Approval Received].
  • May 4, 2026.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-07 Senate

    Read; and placed in the Orders of the Day for the next session

  2. 2026-05-04 House

    Substituted for H5107

  3. 2026-05-04 House

    Passed to be engrossed

Official Summary Text

An Act relative to the charter and the town clerk in the town of Falmouth
Substituted by the House, on motion of Mr. Walsh of Peabody, for a bill with the same title (House, No. 5107) [Local Approval Received]. May 4, 2026.

Current Bill Text

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Bill H.5412

SECTION 1. Section C4-1 of article IV of the charter of the town of Falmouth, which is on file in the office of the archivist of the commonwealth, as provided in section 12 of chapter 43B of the General Laws, is hereby amended by striking out paragraph A and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

A. Following the adoption of this Charter the only officer to be elected shall be a Moderator.

SECTION 2. Said article IV of said charter is hereby further amended by striking out section C4-3 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

§ C4-3. Town Clerk.

The Town Clerk shall keep the official records of the Town, record vital statistics, issue licenses and shall be the Clerk of the Board of Registrars. The Clerk shall have the powers and duties of Town Clerks, as provided by General Laws, this Charter, bylaw and vote of the Town Meeting.

SECTION 3. The first sentence of paragraph A of section C5-4 of article V of said charter is hereby amended by inserting after the word “Personnel” the following words:- , a Town Clerk.

SECTION 4. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the office of town clerk in the town of Falmouth shall be appointed by the town manager subject to the approval of the town select board, in accordance with other appointments made by the town manager under the charter of the town of Falmouth. The town clerk shall have all the powers, perform all the duties and be subject to the liability and penalties conferred and imposed by law on town clerks. The town clerk shall enjoy and be subject to all benefits, including salary, fringe benefits and other conditions of employment, as the existing town clerk and the position of town clerk shall be placed on the town of Falmouth technical administrative and management full time non-union salary table accordingly.

SECTION 5. Notwithstanding section 4, the position of elected town clerk in the town of Falmouth shall be abolished upon the effective date of this act and the term of the elected incumbent terminated; provided, however, that the elected incumbent shall then become the first appointed town clerk and shall serve in that capacity for a period of time equivalent to the remainder of the elected term or sooner in the case of resignation, retirement or removal. Thereafter, appointments to the position of town clerk shall be made by the town manager, subject to the approval of the town select board under section 4.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

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