Politics & Government
State Legislature Approves Changes to Reading Home Rule Charter
Voters will decide on other changes.

Reading’s Home Rule Charter, which outlines the method of government for the town, is undergoing some changes.
Over the course of 15 months, a committee examined the existing charter, held public meetings and overall conducted a comprehensive review of the document. According to a post on the Town of Reading website, Special Town Meeting voters “overwhelmingly approved” changes to the charter during a January 2015 meeting.
A set of the approved changes required state approval as it involved topics such as state election law. Late last week, both chambers of the Massachusetts legislature approved the changes.
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“Many thanks to Senator Jason Lewis, Representative Bradley Jones and Representative James Dwyer for their efforts in helping to pass one of the first sets of bills during the current session,” rreads the post on the town website.
The remainder of the changes to the charter will now go before voters in the form of a ballot question in the April 7 election.
Find out what's happening in Readingfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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