Governor Baker Signs Lynnfield Home Rule Petition

Governor Charlie Baker has approved changes to the Lynnfield Town Charter establishing gender-neutral language when referring to the town’s local governing body.

The home rule petition, which was filed on behalf of the town by House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading) and Senator Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn), was signed into law on January 13 as Chapter 343 of the Acts of 2020. In addition to replacing all references to the Board of Selectmen with the term “Select Board,” it also substitutes the word “Chair” for “Chairman” throughout the town charter.

Selectman Christopher Barrett had identified the charter change as one of his top three priorities when he was installed as the chairman of the Lynnfield Board of Selectmen on June 17, 2020. A formal request to petition the Legislature to amend the charter was placed on the October 17, 2020 Special Town Meeting warrant as Article 3, and was approved.

“Today, the Town of Lynnfield joins a growing number of communities across the state that have taken a stand in favor of promoting more inclusion in local government by removing all gender-specific references from its town charter,” said Representative Jones. “Senator Crighton and I were happy to work together on Lynnfield’s behalf to move the Home Rule Petition through the legislative process and secure the changes the town was seeking.”

“I applaud the people of Lynnfield for making inclusion a priority in their recent Town Meeting,” said Senator Crighton. “It was great to work with Representative Jones, local officials, and constituents to get this bill passed into law.”