Product Description

Recent updates:

• Update: February 2020

  Dear Subscriber:

  Thank you for updating your reference library with the 2020 Supplement to Massachusetts Municipal Law. This latest version brings updated resources within your immediate reach—for fast, accurate, and practical answers to your questions.

  Highlights from the many developments reflected in this supplement include

  • a new chapter addressing the zoning implications of the state's recently enacted laws on marijuana sale and use;

  • information on the number of cities and towns in Massachusetts and on selected local election practices;

  • amendments to the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct, with particular attention to Rule 1.7 (addressing conflicts arising from multiple representation) and Rule 4.2 (addressing attorneys' communications with officials and employees);

  • the Supreme Court's assessment of the free appropriate public education (FAPE) standard in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District RE-1;

  • guidance from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on what constitutes a "prevailing party" for purposes of recovering attorney fees in special education disputes;

  • amendments to the rules governing bidding and selection of designers for public construction contracts;

  • information on municipalities' imposition of taxes, fees, and charges—including local option excises on room occupancy, aviation fuel, meals, and retail sales of marijuana for adult use—as well as borrowing practices;

  • extensive developments in the case law affecting actions against municipalities for civil rights violations;

  • important changes in Massachusetts environmental regulations;

  • an expanded discussion of amended state public records statutes, addressing the role of the records access officer, distinguishing between the duties of agencies and municipalities, and defining the scope of applicable exemptions;

  • restrictions on political activity by municipal employees;

  • guidance on compliance with the open meeting law; and

  • standards for protecting data containing personal information.

  We trust you will find this latest version of Massachusetts Municipal Law an invaluable resource for your busy practice.

  Cordially,

  John M. Lawlor, Esq., MCLE Publications Attorney

• Update: December 2015

  Dear Subscriber:

  Thank you for choosing to keep up-to-date with municipal law and practice by purchasing this 2015 edition of Massachusetts Municipal Law. Inside, you will find hundreds of interesting updates, including the following:

  • Collective Bargaining See Chapter 9 for extended discussion and recent case law pertaining to the procedural aspects of collective bargaining as they affect municipalities. The chapter includes discussion of clarification and amendment petitions and self-determination or add-on elections. Six decisions from 2014 have been added to the chapter.

  • Liquor Licensing See Chapter 15 for new information on appeals of decisions of the local licensing authority to suspend or revoke an entertainment license, and the effect of a grant of stay of enforcement.

  • Telecommunications and Wireless See Chapter 18 for reports on several major recent developments in federal telecommunications law and regulation as they impact municipal officials and others. That chapter also contains interesting updates on the topic of net neutrality.

  • Massachusetts False Claims Act See Chapter 31 for new perspectives on recent developments in the legislative history of the Massachusetts False Claims Act.

  • Criminal Offender Records Law (CORI) A new Chapter (Chapter 34) has been added to your volume, to provide you with a briefing on municipal employers' responsibilities with regard to CORI law in Massachusetts.

  We at MCLE trust that you will find this information useful in your municipal law practice, and valuable in keeping your law library current.

  Cordially,

  Maryanne G. Jensen, Esq., MCLE Director of Publications

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