Practice Resources
January 2012
From left to right: Michele Randazzo, chair and Edward Pikula, vice chair of the Public Law Section.
Note from Public Law Leadership
Happy New Year from the Public Law Section Council.
This newsletter contains information about CLE programs,
meetings, hot legal developments and other section news.
Please contact either of us at
[e-mail jstevens] if you have comments or suggestions for the
newsletter, or wish to post a notice.
Michele Randazzo, chair
Edward Pikula, vice chair
Public Law Section Council
For your information
New Open Meeting Law regulations; New legislation; Land Court dockets now available
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New Open Meeting Law Regulations
The attorney general has issued
amendments to the regulations governing the Open Meeting Law, 940
CMR 29.00 that allow members of public bodies to participate
remotely in meetings in certain circumstances. These regulations
went into effect on Nov. 11, 2011. Under the regulations, public
bodies may not participate remotely in meetings until remote
participation has been adopted by the public body; or in the case
of local public bodies, by the chief executive officer, as defined
in M.G.L. c. 4, § 7. See 940 CMR 29.10(2) at amendments to Open Meeting Law.
In addition, the attorney general is
holding a public hearing and seeking comments on another amendment
to those regulations. The proposed amendment to 940 CMR 29.10(2)
would define the term "knowing or knowingly" in order to clarify
the standard for a finding by the Office of the Attorney General of
intentional violation of the Open Meeting Law. The proposed
amendment and further information can be found here.
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New Legislation
By now, everyone has heard of the
legislation signed by Gov. Deval Patrick shortly before
Thanksgiving on:
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Land Court dockets now
available
- Land Court dockets are now available online. Click here to
access.
Upcoming Public Law Section Council meeting
All section members are invited to attend the Public Law Section
Council on Thursday, Feb. 2 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the MBA,
20 West St., Boston.
Topics and/or guest speakers will be announced and posted on the
Public Law web calendar. Section members are
also encouraged to network and discuss pending issues from
legislation, statutes, resolutions, cases and reports and are urged
to alert the section/division council of any legislation, statutes,
resolutions, cases and reports which might require our attention.
Click here to contact the Public Law Section Council.
If you have any questions, please contact MBA Sections
Administrator
Jean Stevens or MBA Bar Services Liaison Pat Plasse.
Photograph by
Marc D'Antonio
The Nov. 17 "Where'd the Money Go? Fraud, Waste and Abuse Issues in the Public Sector" program.
Public Law MBA On Demand program
The following education program is
available for the Public Law section members at a reduced rate via
MBA On Demand.
Where'd the Money Go?
Fraud, Waste and Abuse Issues in the Public Sector
An engaged audience attended this Nov. 17, 2011 informative
session featuring Suzanne M. Bump, Esq., state auditor, and David
E. Sullivan, Esq., general counsel, Executive Office for
Administration and Finance. Attendees learned about the
commonwealth's "open checkbook," the auditor's priorities in
investigating allegations of fraud, waste and abuse, including
legislative initiatives to aid the auditor's office in this
regard.
The program is available for purchase
through MBA On Demand and can be watched
from the comfort of your home or office.
Put your name out there
The goal of section councils is to offer members opportunities
for professional growth and development through participation in
section activities. One opportunity available to section members is
publishing articles which are of interest to fellow practitioners.
The MBA provides several forums for articles by section members -
Lawyers Journal and the Massachusetts Law Review.
If you are interested in writing an article for any of these
publications or if you have seen articles which you think may be of
interest to other Public Law Section members, please contact Jean Stevens at for more information regarding
this opportunity.
The MBA is on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
Join the conversation today
The Massachusetts Bar Association now has a presence on three
social networking platforms, including Facebook, launched in October 2010, LinkedIn, launched in January 2010, and Twitter,
launched in July 2009. All three social media platforms feature
information about the MBA including CLE, events and news.
As an MBA member, we encourage you to both post items of
interest to you, and the greater legal community, on these pages
and comment on items already posted.