Lexington, MA​

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Lexington has had a representative town meeting since 1929.  In June 2020, temporary authorization was granted for remote participation due to COVID-19.  This authorization expired in July 2022.  In the Annual Town Meeting on 3/28/2022,  ATM-34 was passed, which  authorized the Select Board to petition the Massachusetts General Court for legislation to allow electronic remote participation at  House Bill H.668 (website) was submitted (1/9/2023), authorizing Lexington to allow remote participation in its representative town meetings.  On 2/12/2024 in the House, the reporting date was extended to Tuesday March 19, 2024, “pending concurrence”.  On 2/29/2024, the Senate concurred.  

 

On April 8, 2024, in the state House, the bill was "reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling.

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In the Special Town Meeting on 4/11/2022, the town of Lexington also voted to amend its bylaws to explicitly allow remote participation (STM-3, Authorize And Ratify Remote Town Meetings). However, a look at the bylaws Chapter 118 Section 18 (Quorum) does not include the amendment. 

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Lexington's explanation of why it wanted to pass both ATM-34 and STM-3 is here.