Section 1. The following words and phrases as used in this chapter shall have the following meaning unless the context clearly requires otherwise:— ''Board'', the board of conciliation and arbitration established under section seven of chapter twenty-three. ''Commission'', the labor relations commission established under section nine O of chapter twenty-three. ''Cost items'', the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement which require an appropriation by a legislative body. ''Employee'' or ''public employee'', any person in the executive or judicial branch of a government unit employed by a public employer except elected officials, appointed officials, members of any board or commission, representatives of any public employer, including the heads, directors and executive and administrative officers of departments and agencies of any public employer, and other managerial employees or confidential employees, and members of the militia or national guard and employees of the commission, and officers and employees within the departments of the state secretary, state treasurer, state auditor and attorney general. Employees shall be designated as managerial employees only if they (a) participate to a substantial degree in formulating or determining policy, or (b) assist to a substantial degree in the preparation for or the conduct of collective bargaining on behalf of a public employer, or (c) have a substantial responsibility involving the exercise of independent judgment of an appellate responsibility not initially in effect in the administration of a collective bargaining agreement or in personnel administration. Employees shall be designated as confidential employees only if they directly assist and act in a confidential capacity to a person or persons otherwise excluded from coverage under this chapter. In the case of employees of the alcoholic beverage control commission, ''employer'' shall mean the state treasurer or his designee. ''Employee organization'', any lawful association, organization, federation, council, or labor union, the membership of which includes public employees, and assists its members to improve their wages, hours, and conditions of employment. ''Employer'' or ''public employer'', the commonwealth acting through the commissioner of administration, or any county, city, town, district, or other political subdivision acting through its chief executive officer, and any individual who is designated to represent one of these employers and act in its interest in dealing with public employees, but excluding authorities created pursuant to chapter one hundred and sixty-one A and those authorities included under the provisions of chapter seven hundred and sixty of the acts of nineteen hundred and sixty-two. In the case of school employees, the municipal employer shall be represented by the school committee or its designated representative or representatives. For this purpose, the chief executive officer of a city or town or his designee shall participate and vote as a member of the city or town school committee; provided, however, that if there is no town manager or town administrator in a town, the chairman of the board of selectmen or his designee shall so participate and vote. In the case of a regional school district, said chief executive officers or chairmen of boards of selectmen, as the case may be, of the member cities and towns shall, in accordance with regulations to be promulgated by the board of education, elect one of their number to represent them pursuant to the requirements of this section. In the case of employees of the system of public institutions of higher education, the employer shall mean the board of higher education or any individual who is designated to represent it and act in its interest in dealing with employees, except that the employer of employees of the University of Massachusetts shall be the board of trustees of the university or any individual who is designated to represent it and act in its interest in dealing with employees. In the case of judicial employees, the employer shall be the court administrator of the trial court or any individual who is designated by him to represent him or act in his interest in dealing with judicial employees. In the case of employees of the state lottery commission, employer shall mean the state lottery commission or its designee. In the case of employees of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, the employer shall mean the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. In the case of employees of the Suffolk county sheriff's department, employer shall mean the sheriff of Suffolk county or any individual who is designated by him to represent him or act in his interest in dealing with such employees. In the case of personal care attendants as defined in section 70 of chapter 118E, the employer shall mean the PCA quality home care workforce council or its designee as defined in section 71 of chapter 118E. In the case of employees of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, ''employer'' shall mean the Massachusetts Department of Transportation or any individual designated by the board of that department to represent it or act in its interest in dealing with employees. ''Incremental cost items'', the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement that require, in respect of any fiscal year, an appropriation by a legislative body that is greater than the appropriation so required in the preceding fiscal year; provided, however, that in respect of the first fiscal year or portion thereof during which an agreement has effect, ''incremental cost items'' shall mean the provisions of a collective agreement that require an appropriation by a legislative body of monies that are newly required by the employer to discharge the obligations arising under the terms of such agreement. ''Legislative body'', the general court in the case of the commonwealth or a county, the city council or town meeting in the case of a city, town or district, or any body which has the power of appropriation with respect to an employer as defined in this chapter. ''Professional employee'', any employee engaged in work (i) predominantly intellectual and varied in character as opposed to routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical work, (ii) involving the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in its performance, (iii) of such a character that the output produced or the result accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a given period of time, and (iv) requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study in an institution of higher learning or a hospital, as distinguished from a general academic education or from an apprenticeship or from training in the performance of routine mental, manual or physical processes. Professional employee shall include a detective, member of a detective bureau or police officer who is primarily engaged in investigative work in any city or town police department which employs more than four hundred people. ''Strike'', a public employee's refusal, in concerted action with others, to report for duty, or his wilful absence from his position, or his stoppage of work, or his abstinence in whole or in part from the performance of the duties of employment as established by an existing collective bargaining agreement or in a collective bargaining agreement expiring immediately preceding the alleged strike, or in the absence of any such agreement, by written personnel policies in effect at least one year prior to the alleged strike; provided that nothing herein shall limit or impair the right of any public employee to express or communicate a complaint or opinion on any matter related to conditions of employment. ''Written majority authorization'', writings signed and dated by employees in the form of authorization cards, petitions, or such other written evidence that the commission finds suitable, in which a majority of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit designates an employee organization as its representative for the purpose of collective bargaining and certifies the designation to be its free act and deed and given without consideration. Employee signatures shall be dated within the 12 months preceding the date on which the writings are proffered to establish majority and exclusive representative status within the meaning of section 4. Section 23. (a) In addition to the other provisions of this chapter, and in supplement thereto, standards of conduct, as hereinafter set forth, are hereby established for all state, county, and municipal employees. (b) No current officer or employee of a state, county or municipal agency shall knowingly, or with reason to know: (1) accept other employment involving compensation of substantial value, the responsibilities of which are inherently incompatible with the responsibilities of his public office; (2) (i) solicit or receive anything of substantial value for such officer or employee, which is not otherwise authorized by statute or regulation, for or because of the officer or employee's official position; or (ii) use or attempt to use such official position to secure for such officer, employee or others unwarranted privileges or exemptions which are of substantial value and which are not properly available to similarly situated individuals; (3) act in a manner which would cause a reasonable person, having knowledge of the relevant circumstances, to conclude that any person can improperly influence or unduly enjoy his favor in the performance of his official duties, or that he is likely to act or fail to act as a result of kinship, rank, position or undue influence of any party or person. It shall be unreasonable to so conclude if such officer or employee has disclosed in writing to his appointing authority or, if no appointing authority exists, discloses in a manner which is public in nature, the facts which would otherwise lead to such a conclusion; or (4) present a false or fraudulent claim to his employer for any payment or benefit of substantial value. (c) No current or former officer or employee of a state, county or municipal agency shall knowingly, or with reason to know: (1) accept employment or engage in any business or professional activity which will require him to disclose confidential information which he has gained by reason of his official position or authority; (2) improperly disclose materials or data within the exemptions to the definition of public records as defined by section seven of chapter four, and were acquired by him in the course of his official duties nor use such information to further his personal interest. (d) Any activity specifically exempted from any of the prohibitions in any other section of this chapter shall also be exempt from the provisions of this section. The state ethics commission, established by chapter two hundred and sixty-eight B, shall not enforce the provisions of this section with respect to any such exempted activity. (e) Where a current employee is found to have violated the provisions of this section, appropriate administrative action as is warranted may also be taken by the appropriate constitutional officer, by the head of a state, county or municipal agency. Nothing in this section shall preclude any such constitutional officer or head of such agency from establishing and enforcing additional standards of conduct. (f) The state ethics commission shall adopt regulations: (i) defining substantial value; provided, however, that substantial value shall not be less than $50; (ii) establishing exclusions for ceremonial privileges and exemptions; (iii) establishing exclusions for privileges and exemptions given solely because of family or friendship; and (iv) establishing additional exclusions for other situations that do not present a genuine risk of a conflict or the appearance of a conflict of interest. Section 18. As used in this section and sections 19 to 25, inclusive, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings: ''Deliberation'', an oral or written communication through any medium, including electronic mail, between or among a quorum of a public body on any public business within its jurisdiction; provided, however, that ''deliberation'' shall not include the distribution of a meeting agenda, scheduling information or distribution of other procedural meeting or the distribution of reports or documents that may be discussed at a meeting, provided that no opinion of a member is expressed. ''Emergency'', a sudden, generally unexpected occurrence or set of circumstances demanding immediate action. ''Executive session'', any part of a meeting of a public body closed to the public for deliberation of certain matters. ''Intentional violation'', an act or omission by a public body or a member thereof, in knowing violation of the open meeting law. ''Meeting'', a deliberation by a public body with respect to any matter within the body's jurisdiction; provided, however, ''meeting'' shall not include: (a) an on-site inspection of a project or program, so long as the members do not deliberate; (b) attendance by a quorum of a public body at a public or private gathering, including a conference or training program or a media, social or other event, so long as the members do not deliberate; (c) attendance by a quorum of a public body at a meeting of another public body that has complied with the notice requirements of the open meeting law, so long as the visiting members communicate only by open participation in the meeting on those matters under discussion by the host body and do not deliberate; (d) a meeting of a quasi-judicial board or commission held for the sole purpose of making a decision required in an adjudicatory proceeding brought before it; or (e) a session of a town meeting convened under section 9 of chapter 39 which would include the attendance by a quorum of a public body at any such session. ''Minutes'', the written report of a meeting created by a public body required by subsection (a) of section 22 and section 5A of chapter 66. ''Open meeting law'', sections 18 to 25, inclusive. ''Post notice'', to display conspicuously the written announcement of a meeting either in hard copy or electronic format. ''Preliminary screening'', the initial stage of screening applicants conducted by a committee or subcommittee of a public body solely for the purpose of providing to the public body a list of those applicants qualified for further consideration or interview. ''Public body'', a multiple-member board, commission, committee or subcommittee within the executive or legislative branch or within any county, district, city, region or town, however created, elected, appointed or otherwise constituted, established to serve a public purpose; provided, however, that the governing board of a local housing, redevelopment or other similar authority shall be deemed a local public body; provided, further, that the governing board or body of any other authority established by the general court to serve a public purpose in the commonwealth or any part thereof shall be deemed a state public body; provided, further, that ''public body'' shall not include the general court or the committees or recess commissions thereof, bodies of the judicial branch or bodies appointed by a constitutional officer solely for the purpose of advising a constitutional officer and shall not include the board of bank incorporation or the policyholders protective board; and provided further, that a subcommittee shall include any multiple-member body created to advise or make recommendations to a public body. ''Quorum'', a simple majority of the members of the public body, unless otherwise provided in a general or special law, executive order or other authorizing provision. none Section 2. There shall be in the executive office of education a department of early education and care, in this chapter called the department, which shall be the state agency responsible for compliance with early education and care services under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104–193), or any successor federal statute. The department shall be the state education agency for the purposes of early education and care services under federal law. The department shall seek, apply for and encourage the use of any federal funds for early education and care services, and shall facilitate the coordination of federal, state, and local policies concerning early education and care. The department shall be under the supervision and management of the commissioner of early education and care, in this chapter called the commissioner. The department shall:— (a) be the lead agency of the commonwealth for administering and providing early education and care programs and services to children; (b) provide early education and care programs and mental health consultation and other support services for children in the commonwealth through grants, contracting for those programs and services, and providing vouchers to participants, and promote the coordination of all such programs and services; (c) license or approve child care centers, school-aged child care programs, family child care homes and large family child care homes, family foster care which is not supervised and approved by a placement agency, placement agencies, group care facilities, or temporary shelter facilities; (d) develop and maintain a current consolidated waiting list for all subsidized early education and care programs, and services in the commonwealth; (e) establish and develop a schedule for revising: (1) a rate structure for voucher and contracted payments to providers of subsidized early education and care programs and services on behalf of low-income and other at-risk children; and (2) a sliding fee scale for participants in those programs. A public hearing under chapter 30A and the approval of the board shall be required before the establishment or revision of the rate structure and sliding fee scale; (f) manage and implement the Massachusetts universal pre-kindergarten program, established in section 13, that may be phased in over a period of time as determined by the board, and ensure the universal accessibility to the program by using the sliding fee scale developed for early education and care programs; (g) after a public hearing, adopt criteria including income eligibility requirements, for determining eligibility for an early education and care program or service, including the universal pre-kindergarten program under this chapter and develop a schedule for revising such criteria. Income eligibility requirements shall include a maximum allowable income for working families; (h) monitor and evaluate on an ongoing basis all early education and care programs and services, including program outcomes in meeting the developmental and educational needs of all children; (i) analyze and evaluate all budget requests for early education and care programs and services, including requests from secretaries, departments, agencies, or other offices within the commonwealth and make recommendations to the secretary of education, general court, appropriate secretaries, departments, agencies, or other offices regarding coordination and approval of those budget requests; (j) lease, purchase, hold and dispose of personal and real property it considers necessary to carry out this chapter; (k) seek to increase the availability of early education and care programs and services and encourage all providers of those programs and services to work together to create an array of options allowing families to select programs that fit with their schedules; (l) provide information and referral to persons seeking early education and care programs and services; (m) work in conjunction with the department of transitional assistance to obtain federal reimbursement under the federal Social Security Act for all participants in publicly-funded early education and care programs and services who are eligible; (n) promote the development of early education and care services for children by seeking and accepting federal grants as well as assisting other agencies of the commonwealth and local agencies to take full advantage of all federal funds available for those services; (o) provide technical assistance and consultation to providers and potential providers of early education and care services; (p) facilitate the development of the early education and care workforce, and, when appropriate, provide for training programs and professional development for persons offering early education and care programs and services; (q) establish and regularly update: (1) a comprehensive database of early childhood educators and providers, hereinafter referred to as the educator database, for the purpose of enhancing the workforce development system; and (2) a comprehensive database of children both waiting for and receiving early education and care services, in this chapter called the student database, that is compatible with relevant databases at the department of elementary and secondary education and the executive office of health and human services; and (r) collect and disseminate information to assist parents in nurturing their children's development and education. This information shall be made widely available in written form and accessible through the department's website, in English and other commonly spoken languages in the commonwealth. (s) plan for and address the unique needs of families with infants and toddlers, including providing parent education, early literacy services and meaningful opportunities for families not enrolled in early education and care to support their children's development. (t) subject to appropriation, provide consultation services and workforce development to meet the behavioral health needs of children in early education and care programs, giving preference to those services designed to prevent expulsions and suspensions. (u) subject to appropriation and notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, assure quality early education and care provided to children through family child care providers by working cooperatively with family child care providers to build upon the existing system and continuously improve the delivery of high quality early education and care services for eligible low income families through providers who have the requisite skills and training. Section 2. The department shall provide and administer a comprehensive child welfare program for children and families, including the following services:— (1) casework or counseling, including services to families, foster families or individuals; (2) protective services for children; (3) legal services for families, children or individuals who are clients of the department; (4) adoption services; (5) information and referral services; (6) foster family care for children and specialized foster family care for children with special needs; (7) residential care for children with special needs who are not suited for foster family care or specialized foster family care; (8) informal education and group activities; (9) training in parenthood and home management for parents, foster parents and prospective parents; (10) family services intended to prevent the need for foster care and services to children in foster care; (11) temporary residential programs providing counseling and supportive assistance for families in transition and their children who, because of domestic violence, homelessness, or other situations, require temporary shelter and assistance; (12) camping services; (13) information and referral services; (14) services for families and individuals in emergency and transitional housing; (15) comprehensive youth development services; (16) access to and coordination of medical, dental and mental health services for children in foster care whose families are receiving services from other state agencies; and (17) child care placements for children whose families have an open case with the department. Section 11. The board, after holding a public hearing, shall adopt, and develop a schedule for revising, program quality standards and requirements that any early education and care program or provider shall meet. The department shall develop separate but related standards for children in the following developmental stages: infant and toddler, pre-school, early elementary and older school-age; and for additional developmental stages that the department may determine relevant based on research and best practices. These standards and requirements shall incorporate essential elements of high-quality early education and care that promote healthy, cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional and physical outcomes, and school readiness based on curriculum frameworks. Standards and requirements shall build upon the licensure regulations promulgated under section 8. (a) The standards for all developmental stages and any succeeding developmental stages adopted by the department shall be incorporated into a single document and linked by a common philosophy and consistent goals and guiding principles. This document shall also include the policy developed jointly with the department and board of elementary and secondary education required under section 13 to ensure smooth transitions between infant and toddler programs, preschool and kindergarten. The standards shall be regularly updated to reflect applicable research and best practices. The board shall submit standards and requirements, or revisions of them, to the joint committee on education and the house and senate committees on ways and means at least 60 days before adoption. The joint committee on education shall review and comment on the rules and regulations during that time period. (b) The board shall include, in its adoption and revision of program quality standards, a specific focus on the unique requirements and needs of preschool-aged children including, but not limited to, rigorous guidelines for preschool learning experiences. Every early education and care program or provider shall be required to meet these standards in order to participate in the Massachusetts universal pre-kindergarten program, established in section 13. (c) The department, with approval of the board, shall develop a consistent set of learning standards for all preschool programs in the commonwealth, to be included in the program quality standards. The standards shall be consistent with the curriculum frameworks developed by the department of elementary and secondary education, shall be research-based and shall be updated regularly to reflect best practices in the field of early education and care. The standards shall guarantee, at a minimum, that every program participating in the Massachusetts universal pre-kindergarten program shall include consultation and intervention services for children at risk for expulsion. (d) With the approval of the board, the department shall develop and establish a schedule for revising a comprehensive set of developmental benchmarks which may be incorporated into the quality standards, and which may be used by all early education and care programs in measuring children's developmental progress utilizing the healthy, cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional and physical outcomes for developing the quality standards. In developing the benchmarks, the department shall collaborate with pediatricians, child psychologists, and researchers within the field of child development and developmental psychology, in order to ensure that the document reflects best practices in the field and the most recent evidence provided by science relative to early childhood development. Section 19. (a) When designing or acquiring an electronic record keeping system or database, records access officers shall, consistent with section 17 of chapter 110G, consult with their chief executive officer, chief administrative officer or the Massachusetts office of information technology pursuant to chapter 7D to ensure, to the extent feasible, that the system or database is capable of providing data in a commonly available electronic, machine readable format. Such database designs or acquisitions shall allow for, to the extent feasible, information storage and retrieval methods that permit the segregation and retrieval of public records and redacting of exempt information in order to provide maximum public access. No agency or municipality shall enter into a contract for the storage of electronic records containing public records if the contract prevents or unduly restricts the records access officer from providing the public records in accordance with this chapter. (b) Every agency shall provide on a searchable website electronic copies, accessible in a commonly available electronic format, of the following types of records, provided that any agency may withhold any record or portion thereof in accordance with state or federal law: (i) final opinions, decisions, orders, or votes from agency proceedings; (ii) annual reports; (iii) notices of regulations proposed under chapter 30A; (iv) notices of hearings; (v) winning bids for public contracts; (vi) awards of federal, state and municipal government grants; (vii) minutes of open meetings; (viii) agency budgets; and (ix) any public record information of significant interest that the agency deems appropriate to post. Section 10. The grant percentage for approved school projects shall be calculated based on the following formula, but no grant percentage shall be greater than 80 per cent. (a) The percentage the commonwealth shall pay towards an approved school facilities project shall be determined by the following formula: Base Percentage (A) |m+ Community Income Factor (B1) |m+ Community Property Wealth Factor (B2) |m+ Community Poverty Factor (B3) |m+ Incentive Percentage (C). (A) Base Percentage = 31 percentage points. (B) Ability to pay percentage points (income/wealth factor) is determined as follows: (1) Community Income Factor = per capita income, as determined by the department of revenue, for a municipality as a per cent of the statewide average per capita income. The Community Income Factor is then determined by using the chart below. Income (2) Community Property Wealth Factor = Equalized property valuation per capita as determined by the department of revenue, for the municipality as a per cent of the statewide average equalized property valuation per capita. The Community Property Wealth Factor is then determined by using the chart below. (3) Community Poverty Factor = Proportion of low income students, as determined by federal eligibility for free or reduced price lunch, for the district as a per cent of the statewide average proportion of low income students. The Community Poverty Factor is then determined by using the chart below. (C) Incentive percentage points may be awarded by the authority. Incentive percentage points granted, if any, shall be in the sole discretion of the authority. The authority may issue regulations delineating the type and amounts of any such incentive percentage points; provided, however, that no individual category of incentive points shall exceed 6 additional points; and provided further, that no district shall receive more than 18 incentive percentage points. Such incentive points may be awarded for a district's use of efficient construction delivery methods; regionalization with other districts; superior maintenance practices of a district; energy efficient and sustainable design and construction; major renovation rather than building new construction; the use of model schools as adopted by the authority; and other incentives as determined by the board of the authority in order to encourage the most cost-effective and quality construction. (b) In the case of regional school districts, B1 and B2 shall be determined by calculating the relationship to the statewide average for each municipality of the regional district as stated in this section. For purposes of this computation, each member city's and town's share of the total cost shall be determined by multiplying the total approved cost by the percentage of district or county capital costs that would be apportioned to such city or town in accordance with the applicable regional school district agreement or law for capital costs incurred in the fiscal year in which the grant is approved. The amount of the total capital costs apportioned to a member city or town in any fiscal year on account of an approved school project of a regional school or county, determined in accordance with the applicable regional school district agreement or law, shall be reduced by an amount equal to the amount of the grant payable on account of such project in such fiscal year multiplied by a fraction the numerator of which is the city's or town's reimbursement percentage, determined as aforesaid, multiplied by the percentage of capital costs apportioned to the city or town for such fiscal year in accordance with the applicable regional school district agreement or law, and the denominator of which is the sum of the percentages so derived as the numerators for all of the member cities and towns. In the case of independent agricultural and technical schools, B1 and B2 shall be determined by calculating the relationship to the statewide average for each municipality of the school as stated in this section. A weighted average will then be determined for these municipalities, weighted as compared to the number of students attending the school from each member municipality, which will be used to determine the final B1 and B2 factors. (c) For approved school projects in districts which have a racial desegregation plan approved by the board of education not later than June 30, 2000, the reimbursement percentage shall be the sum of: (a) the percentage calculated pursuant to subsections (a) and (b); and (b) for projects designated as approved school projects on or before June 30, 2006, 10 percentage points, or, for projects designated as approved school projects on or before June 30, 2012, 5 percentage points. Only new project applications which present clear and convincing evidence that the proposed school building project will promote the objectives of achieving racial balance expressed in sections 37C and 37D of chapter 71 for the students attending the new, renovated, or repaired school will be eligible for the added percentage points. The total reimbursement percentage shall in no circumstances exceed the maximum grant percentage under the first paragraph of this section. Section 77. The voter on receiving his ballot shall, without leaving the enclosed space, retire alone to one of the marking compartments and shall, except in the case of voting for presidential electors or groups of candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, and except as provided in section thirty-three E, prepare his ballot by marking a cross (X) in the square at the right of the name of each candidate for whom he intends to vote or by inserting the name and residence of such candidate in the space provided therefor; and, upon a question submitted to the vote of the people, by making a cross in the square at the right of the answer which he intends to give. Section 1. As used in this chapter and elsewhere in the general laws, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words shall have the following meanings: (a) ''administrator'', chief administrative officer of a county correctional facility; (b) ''commissioner'', the commissioner of correction; (c) ''committed offender'', a person convicted of a crime and committed, under sentence, to a correctional facility; (d) ''correctional facility'', any building, enclosure, space or structure used for the custody, control and rehabilitation of committed offenders and of such other persons as may be placed in custody therein in accordance with law; (e) ''correctional institution'', correctional facility; (f) ''county correctional facility'', any correctional facility owned, operated, administered or subject to the control of a county of the commonwealth; (g) ''department'', the department of correction; (h) ''gainful employment'', employment within or without any correctional facility including but not limited to labor for the operation and maintenance of any correctional facility; (i) ''inmate'', a committed offender or such other person as is placed in custody in a correctional facility in accordance with law; (j) ''institution'', facility; (k) ''penal institution'', correctional facility; (l) ''prison'', correctional facility; (m) ''prisoner'', a committed offender and such other person as is placed in custody in a correctional facility in accordance with law; (n) ''state correctional facility'', any correctional facility owned, operated, administered or subject to the control of the department of correction, including but not limited to: Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Cedar Junction; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Norfolk; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Concord; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Framingham; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Bridgewater; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Plymouth; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Warwick; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Monroe; (o) ''state prison'', any prison owned, operated, administered or subject to the control of the department of correction including, but not limited to: Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Cedar Junction; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Norfolk; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Concord; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Framingham; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Bridgewater; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Plymouth; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Warwick; and Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Monroe; (p) ''superintendent'', the chief administrative officer of a state correctional facility. Section 1. The following words and phrases as used in this chapter shall have the following meaning unless the context clearly requires otherwise:— ''Board'', the board of conciliation and arbitration established under section seven of chapter twenty-three. ''Commission'', the labor relations commission established under section nine O of chapter twenty-three. ''Cost items'', the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement which require an appropriation by a legislative body. ''Employee'' or ''public employee'', any person in the executive or judicial branch of a government unit employed by a public employer except elected officials, appointed officials, members of any board or commission, representatives of any public employer, including the heads, directors and executive and administrative officers of departments and agencies of any public employer, and other managerial employees or confidential employees, and members of the militia or national guard and employees of the commission, and officers and employees within the departments of the state secretary, state treasurer, state auditor and attorney general. Employees shall be designated as managerial employees only if they (a) participate to a substantial degree in formulating or determining policy, or (b) assist to a substantial degree in the preparation for or the conduct of collective bargaining on behalf of a public employer, or (c) have a substantial responsibility involving the exercise of independent judgment of an appellate responsibility not initially in effect in the administration of a collective bargaining agreement or in personnel administration. Employees shall be designated as confidential employees only if they directly assist and act in a confidential capacity to a person or persons otherwise excluded from coverage under this chapter. In the case of employees of the alcoholic beverage control commission, ''employer'' shall mean the state treasurer or his designee. ''Employee organization'', any lawful association, organization, federation, council, or labor union, the membership of which includes public employees, and assists its members to improve their wages, hours, and conditions of employment. ''Employer'' or ''public employer'', the commonwealth acting through the commissioner of administration, or any county, city, town, district, or other political subdivision acting through its chief executive officer, and any individual who is designated to represent one of these employers and act in its interest in dealing with public employees, but excluding authorities created pursuant to chapter one hundred and sixty-one A and those authorities included under the provisions of chapter seven hundred and sixty of the acts of nineteen hundred and sixty-two. In the case of school employees, the municipal employer shall be represented by the school committee or its designated representative or representatives. For this purpose, the chief executive officer of a city or town or his designee shall participate and vote as a member of the city or town school committee; provided, however, that if there is no town manager or town administrator in a town, the chairman of the board of selectmen or his designee shall so participate and vote. In the case of a regional school district, said chief executive officers or chairmen of boards of selectmen, as the case may be, of the member cities and towns shall, in accordance with regulations to be promulgated by the board of education, elect one of their number to represent them pursuant to the requirements of this section. In the case of employees of the system of public institutions of higher education, the employer shall mean the board of higher education or any individual who is designated to represent it and act in its interest in dealing with employees, except that the employer of employees of the University of Massachusetts shall be the board of trustees of the university or any individual who is designated to represent it and act in its interest in dealing with employees. In the case of judicial employees, the employer shall be the court administrator of the trial court or any individual who is designated by him to represent him or act in his interest in dealing with judicial employees. In the case of employees of the state lottery commission, employer shall mean the state lottery commission or its designee. In the case of employees of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, the employer shall mean the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. In the case of employees of the Suffolk county sheriff's department, employer shall mean the sheriff of Suffolk county or any individual who is designated by him to represent him or act in his interest in dealing with such employees. In the case of personal care attendants as defined in section 70 of chapter 118E, the employer shall mean the PCA quality home care workforce council or its designee as defined in section 71 of chapter 118E. In the case of employees of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, ''employer'' shall mean the Massachusetts Department of Transportation or any individual designated by the board of that department to represent it or act in its interest in dealing with employees. ''Incremental cost items'', the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement that require, in respect of any fiscal year, an appropriation by a legislative body that is greater than the appropriation so required in the preceding fiscal year; provided, however, that in respect of the first fiscal year or portion thereof during which an agreement has effect, ''incremental cost items'' shall mean the provisions of a collective agreement that require an appropriation by a legislative body of monies that are newly required by the employer to discharge the obligations arising under the terms of such agreement. ''Legislative body'', the general court in the case of the commonwealth or a county, the city council or town meeting in the case of a city, town or district, or any body which has the power of appropriation with respect to an employer as defined in this chapter. ''Professional employee'', any employee engaged in work (i) predominantly intellectual and varied in character as opposed to routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical work, (ii) involving the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment in its performance, (iii) of such a character that the output produced or the result accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a given period of time, and (iv) requiring knowledge of an advanced type in a field of science or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction and study in an institution of higher learning or a hospital, as distinguished from a general academic education or from an apprenticeship or from training in the performance of routine mental, manual or physical processes. Professional employee shall include a detective, member of a detective bureau or police officer who is primarily engaged in investigative work in any city or town police department which employs more than four hundred people. ''Strike'', a public employee's refusal, in concerted action with others, to report for duty, or his wilful absence from his position, or his stoppage of work, or his abstinence in whole or in part from the performance of the duties of employment as established by an existing collective bargaining agreement or in a collective bargaining agreement expiring immediately preceding the alleged strike, or in the absence of any such agreement, by written personnel policies in effect at least one year prior to the alleged strike; provided that nothing herein shall limit or impair the right of any public employee to express or communicate a complaint or opinion on any matter related to conditions of employment. ''Written majority authorization'', writings signed and dated by employees in the form of authorization cards, petitions, or such other written evidence that the commission finds suitable, in which a majority of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit designates an employee organization as its representative for the purpose of collective bargaining and certifies the designation to be its free act and deed and given without consideration. Employee signatures shall be dated within the 12 months preceding the date on which the writings are proffered to establish majority and exclusive representative status within the meaning of section 4. Section 23. (a) In addition to the other provisions of this chapter, and in supplement thereto, standards of conduct, as hereinafter set forth, are hereby established for all state, county, and municipal employees. (b) No current officer or employee of a state, county or municipal agency shall knowingly, or with reason to know: (1) accept other employment involving compensation of substantial value, the responsibilities of which are inherently incompatible with the responsibilities of his public office; (2) (i) solicit or receive anything of substantial value for such officer or employee, which is not otherwise authorized by statute or regulation, for or because of the officer or employee's official position; or (ii) use or attempt to use such official position to secure for such officer, employee or others unwarranted privileges or exemptions which are of substantial value and which are not properly available to similarly situated individuals; (3) act in a manner which would cause a reasonable person, having knowledge of the relevant circumstances, to conclude that any person can improperly influence or unduly enjoy his favor in the performance of his official duties, or that he is likely to act or fail to act as a result of kinship, rank, position or undue influence of any party or person. It shall be unreasonable to so conclude if such officer or employee has disclosed in writing to his appointing authority or, if no appointing authority exists, discloses in a manner which is public in nature, the facts which would otherwise lead to such a conclusion; or (4) present a false or fraudulent claim to his employer for any payment or benefit of substantial value. (c) No current or former officer or employee of a state, county or municipal agency shall knowingly, or with reason to know: (1) accept employment or engage in any business or professional activity which will require him to disclose confidential information which he has gained by reason of his official position or authority; (2) improperly disclose materials or data within the exemptions to the definition of public records as defined by section seven of chapter four, and were acquired by him in the course of his official duties nor use such information to further his personal interest. (d) Any activity specifically exempted from any of the prohibitions in any other section of this chapter shall also be exempt from the provisions of this section. The state ethics commission, established by chapter two hundred and sixty-eight B, shall not enforce the provisions of this section with respect to any such exempted activity. (e) Where a current employee is found to have violated the provisions of this section, appropriate administrative action as is warranted may also be taken by the appropriate constitutional officer, by the head of a state, county or municipal agency. Nothing in this section shall preclude any such constitutional officer or head of such agency from establishing and enforcing additional standards of conduct. (f) The state ethics commission shall adopt regulations: (i) defining substantial value; provided, however, that substantial value shall not be less than $50; (ii) establishing exclusions for ceremonial privileges and exemptions; (iii) establishing exclusions for privileges and exemptions given solely because of family or friendship; and (iv) establishing additional exclusions for other situations that do not present a genuine risk of a conflict or the appearance of a conflict of interest. Section 7. In construing statutes the following words shall have the meanings herein given, unless a contrary intention clearly appears: First, ''Aldermen'', ''board of aldermen'', ''mayor and aldermen'', ''city council'' or ''mayor'' shall, in a city which has no such body or officer, mean the board or officer having like powers or duties. Second, ''Annual meeting'', when applied to towns, shall mean the annual meeting required by law to be held in the month of February, March or April. Second A, ''Appointing authority'', when used in connection with the operation of municipal governments shall include the mayor of a city and the board of selectmen of a town unless some other local office is designated as the appointing authority under the provisions of a local charter. Third, ''Assessor'' shall include any person chosen or appointed in accordance with law to perform the duties of an assessor. Third A, ''Board of selectmen'', when used in connection with the operation of municipal governments shall include any other local office which is performing the duties of a board of selectmen, in whole or in part, under the provisions of a local charter. [There is no clause Fourth.] Fifth, ''Charter'', when used in connection with the operation of city and town government shall include a written instrument adopted, amended or revised pursuant to the provisions of chapter forty-three B which establishes and defines the structure of city and town government for a particular community and which may create local offices, and distribute powers, duties and responsibilities among local offices and which may establish and define certain procedures to be followed by the city or town government. Special laws enacted by the general court applicable only to one city or town shall be deemed to have the force of a charter and may be amended, repealed and revised in accordance with the provisions of chapter forty-three B unless any such special law contains a specific prohibition against such action. Fifth A, ''Chief administrative officer'', when used in connection with the operation of municipal governments, shall include the mayor of a city and the board of selectmen in a town unless some other local office is designated to be the chief administrative officer under the provisions of a local charter. Fifth B, ''Chief executive officer'', when used in connection with the operation of municipal governments shall include the mayor in a city and the board of selectmen in a town unless some other municipal office is designated to be the chief executive officer under the provisions of a local charter. Sixth, ''City solicitor'' shall include the head of the legal department of a city or town. Sixth A, ''Coterminous'', shall mean, when applied to the term of office of a person appointed by the governor, the period from the date of appointment and qualification to the end of the term of said governor; provided that such person shall serve until his successor is appointed and qualified; and provided, further, that the governor may remove such person at any time, subject however to the condition that if such person receives notice of the termination of his appointment he shall have the right, at his request, to a hearing within thirty days from receipt of such notice at which hearing the governor shall show cause for such removal, and that during the period following receipt of such notice and until final determination said person shall receive his usual compensation but shall be deemed suspended from his office. Seventh, ''District'', when applied to courts or the justices or other officials thereof, shall include municipal. Eighth, ''Dukes'', ''Dukes county'' or ''county of Dukes'' shall mean the county of Dukes county. Ninth, ''Fiscal year'', when used with reference to any of the offices, departments, boards, commissions, institutions or undertakings of the commonwealth, shall mean the year beginning with July first and ending with the following June thirtieth. [Clause Tenth effective until August 10, 2023. For text effective August 10, 2023, see below.] Tenth, ''Illegal gaming'', a banking or percentage game played with cards, dice, tiles, dominoes, or an electronic, electrical or mechanical device or machine for money, property, checks, credit or any representative of value, but excluding: (i) a lottery game conducted by the state lottery commission under sections 24, 24A and 27 of chapter 10; (ii) a game conducted under chapter 23K; (iii) sports wagering conducted under chapter 23N; (iv) pari-mutuel wagering on horse races under chapters 128A and 128C and greyhound races under said chapter 128C; (v) a game of bingo conducted under chapter 271; (vi) charitable gaming conducted under said chapter 271; and (vii) a fantasy contest conducted under section 11M1/2. [Clause Tenth as amended by 2022, 173, Sec. 2 effective August 10, 2023. See 2022, 173, Sec. 27. For text effective until August 10, 2023, see above.] Tenth, ''Illegal gaming'', a banking or percentage game played with cards, dice, tiles, dominoes, or an electronic, electrical or mechanical device or machine for money, property, checks, credit or any representative of value, but excluding: (i) a lottery game conducted by the state lottery commission under sections 24, 24A and 27 of chapter 10; (ii) a game conducted under chapter 23K; (iii) sports wagering conducted under chapter 23N; (iv) pari-mutuel wagering on horse races under chapters 128A and 128C; (v) a game of bingo conducted under chapter 271; and (vi) charitable gaming conducted under said chapter 271. Eleventh, ''Grantor'' may include every person from or by whom a freehold estate or interest passes in or by any deed; and ''grantee'' may include every person to whom such estate or interest so passes. Twelfth, ''Highway'', ''townway'', ''public way'' or ''way'' shall include a bridge which is a part thereof. Thirteenth, ''In books'', when used relative to the records of cities and towns, shall not prohibit the making of such records on separate leaves, if such leaves are bound in a permanent book upon the completion of a sufficient number of them to make an ordinary volume. Fourteenth, ''Inhabitant'' may mean a resident in any city or town. [There is no clause Fifteenth.] Sixteenth, ''Issue'', as applied to the descent of estates, shall include all the lawful lineal descendants of the ancestor. Seventeenth, ''Land'', ''lands'' and ''real estate'' shall include lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein; and ''recorded'', as applied to plans, deeds or other instruments affecting land, shall, as affecting registered land, mean filed and registered. Eighteenth, ''Legal holiday'' shall include January first, June nineteenth, July fourth, November eleventh, and Christmas Day, or the day following when any of said days occurs on Sunday, and the third Monday in January, the third Monday in February, the third Monday in April, the last Monday in May, the first Monday in September, the second Monday in October, and Thanksgiving Day. ''Legal holiday'' shall also include, with respect to Suffolk county only, Evacuation Day, on March seventeenth, and Bunker Hill Day, on June seventeenth, or the day following when said days occur on Sunday; provided, however, that all state and municipal agencies, authorities, quasi-public entities or other offices located in Suffolk county shall be open for business and appropriately staffed on Evacuation Day, on March seventeenth, and Bunker Hill Day, on June seventeenth, and that section forty-five of chapter one hundred and forty-nine shall not apply to Evacuation Day, on March seventeenth, and Bunker Hill Day, on June seventeenth, or the day following when said days occur on Sunday. Eighteenth A, ''Commemoration day'' shall include March fifteenth, in honor of Peter Francisco day, May twentieth, in honor of General Marquis de Lafayette and May twenty-ninth, in honor of the birthday of President John F. Kennedy. The governor shall issue a proclamation in connection with each such commemoration day. Eighteenth B, ''Legislative body'', when used in connection with the operation of municipal governments shall include that agency of the municipal government which is empowered to enact ordinances or by-laws, adopt an annual budget and other spending authorizations, loan orders, bond authorizations and other financial matters and whether styled a city council, board of aldermen, town council, town meeting or by any other title. Nineteenth, ''Month'' shall mean a calendar month, except that, when used in a statute providing for punishment by imprisonment, one ''month'' or a multiple thereof shall mean a period of thirty days or the corresponding multiple thereof; and ''year'', a calendar year. Nineteenth A, ''Municipality'' shall mean a city or town. Twentieth, ''Net indebtedness'' shall mean the indebtedness of a county, city, town or district, omitting debts created for supplying the inhabitants with water and other debts exempted from the operation of the law limiting their indebtedness, and deducting the amount of sinking funds available for the payment of the indebtedness included. Twenty-first, ''Oath'' shall include affirmation in cases where by law an affirmation may be substituted for an oath. Twenty-second, ''Ordinance'', as applied to cities, shall be synonymous with by-law. Twenty-third, ''Person'' or ''whoever'' shall include corporations, societies, associations and partnerships. Twenty-fourth, ''Place'' may mean a city or town. Twenty-fifth, ''Preceding'' or ''following'', used with reference to any section of the statutes, shall mean the section last preceding or next following, unless some other section is expressly designated in such reference. Twenty-sixth, ''Public records'' shall mean all books, papers, maps, photographs, recorded tapes, financial statements, statistical tabulations, or other documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any agency, executive office, department, board, commission, bureau, division or authority of the commonwealth, or of any political subdivision thereof, or of any authority established by the general court to serve a public purpose, or any person, corporation, association, partnership or other legal entity which receives or expends public funds for the payment or administration of pensions for any current or former employees of the commonwealth or any political subdivision as defined in section 1 of chapter 32, unless such materials or data fall within the following exemptions in that they are: (a) specifically or by necessary implication exempted from disclosure by statute; (b) related solely to internal personnel rules and practices of the government unit, provided however, that such records shall be withheld only to the extent that proper performance of necessary governmental functions requires such withholding; (c) personnel and medical files or information and any other materials or data relating to a specifically named individual, the disclosure of which may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; provided, however, that this subclause shall not apply to records related to a law enforcement misconduct investigation. (d) inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters relating to policy positions being developed by the agency; but this subclause shall not apply to reasonably completed factual studies or reports on which the development of such policy positions has been or may be based; (e) notebooks and other materials prepared by an employee of the commonwealth which are personal to him and not maintained as part of the files of the governmental unit; (f) investigatory materials necessarily compiled out of the public view by law enforcement or other investigatory officials the disclosure of which materials would probably so prejudice the possibility of effective law enforcement that such disclosure would not be in the public interest; (g) trade secrets or commercial or financial information voluntarily provided to an agency for use in developing governmental policy and upon a promise of confidentiality; but this subclause shall not apply to information submitted as required by law or as a condition of receiving a governmental contract or other benefit; (h) proposals and bids to enter into any contract or agreement until the time for the opening of bids in the case of proposals or bids to be opened publicly, and until the time for the receipt of bids or proposals has expired in all other cases; and inter-agency or intra-agency communications made in connection with an evaluation process for reviewing bids or proposals, prior to a decision to enter into negotiations with or to award a contract to, a particular person; (i) appraisals of real property acquired or to be acquired until (1) a final agreement is entered into; or (2) any litigation relative to such appraisal has been terminated; or (3) the time within which to commence such litigation has expired; (j) the names and addresses of any persons contained in, or referred to in, any applications for any licenses to carry or possess firearms issued pursuant to chapter one hundred and forty or any firearms identification cards issued pursuant to said chapter one hundred and forty and the names and addresses on sales or transfers of any firearms, rifles, shotguns, or machine guns or ammunition therefor, as defined in said chapter one hundred and forty and the names and addresses on said licenses or cards; [There is no subclause (k).] (l) questions and answers, scoring keys and sheets and other materials used to develop, administer or score a test, examination or assessment instrument; provided, however, that such materials are intended to be used for another test, examination or assessment instrument; (m) contracts for hospital or related health care services between (i) any hospital, clinic or other health care facility operated by a unit of state, county or municipal government and (ii) a health maintenance organization arrangement approved under chapter one hundred and seventy-six I, a nonprofit hospital service corporation or medical service corporation organized pursuant to chapter one hundred and seventy-six A and chapter one hundred and seventy-six B, respectively, a health insurance corporation licensed under chapter one hundred and seventy-five or any legal entity that is self insured and provides health care benefits to its employees. (n) records, including, but not limited to, blueprints, plans, policies, procedures and schematic drawings, which relate to internal layout and structural elements, security measures, emergency preparedness, threat or vulnerability assessments, or any other records relating to the security or safety of persons or buildings, structures, facilities, utilities, transportation, cyber security or other infrastructure located within the commonwealth, the disclosure of which, in the reasonable judgment of the record custodian, subject to review by the supervisor of public records under subsection (c) of section 10 of chapter 66, is likely to jeopardize public safety or cyber security. (o) the home address, personal email address and home telephone number of an employee of the judicial branch, an unelected employee of the general court, an agency, executive office, department, board, commission, bureau, division or authority of the commonwealth, or of a political subdivision thereof or of an authority established by the general court to serve a public purpose, in the custody of a government agency which maintains records identifying persons as falling within those categories; provided that the information may be disclosed to an employee organization under chapter 150E, a nonprofit organization for retired public employees under chapter 180, or a criminal justice agency as defined in section 167 of chapter 6. (p) the name, home address, personal email address and home telephone number of a family member of a commonwealth employee, contained in a record in the custody of a government agency which maintains records identifying persons as falling within the categories listed in subclause (o). (q) Adoption contact information and indices therefore of the adoption contact registry established by section 31 of chapter 46. (r) Information and records acquired under chapter 18C by the office of the child advocate. (s) trade secrets or confidential, competitively-sensitive or other proprietary information provided in the course of activities conducted by a governmental body as an energy supplier under a license granted by the department of public utilities pursuant to section 1F of chapter 164, in the course of activities conducted as a municipal aggregator under section 134 of said chapter 164 or in the course of activities conducted by a cooperative consisting of governmental entities organized pursuant to section 136 of said chapter 164, when such governmental body, municipal aggregator or cooperative determines that such disclosure will adversely affect its ability to conduct business in relation to other entities making, selling or distributing electric power and energy; provided, however, that this subclause shall not exempt a public entity from disclosure required of a private entity so licensed. (t) statements filed under section 20C of chapter 32. (u) trade secrets or other proprietary information of the University of Massachusetts, including trade secrets or proprietary information provided to the University by research sponsors or private concerns. (v) records disclosed to the health policy commission under subsections (b) and (e) of section 8A of chapter 6D. Any person denied access to public records may pursue the remedy provided for in section 10A of chapter sixty-six. Twenty-seventh, ''Salary'' shall mean annual salary. Twenty-eighth, ''Savings banks'' shall include institutions for savings. [There is no clause Twenty-ninth.] Thirtieth, ''Spendthrift'' shall mean a person who is liable to be put under guardianship on account of excessive drinking, gaming, idleness or debauchery. Thirty-first, ''State'', when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories; and the words ''United States'' shall include said district and territories. Thirty-second, ''State auditor'' and ''state secretary'' shall mean respectively the auditor of the commonwealth and the secretary of the commonwealth. ''State treasurer'' or ''treasurer of the commonwealth'' shall mean the treasurer and receiver general as used in the constitution of the commonwealth, and shall have the same meaning in all contracts, instruments, securities and other documents. Thirty-third, ''Swear'' shall include affirm in cases in which an affirmation may be substituted for an oath. When applied to public officers who are required by the constitution to take oaths therein prescribed, it shall refer to those oaths; and when applied to any other officer it shall mean sworn to the faithful performance of his official duties. Thirty-fourth, ''Town'', when applied to towns or officers or employees thereof, shall include city. Thirty-fifth, ''Valuation'', as applied to a town, shall mean the valuation of such town as determined by the last preceding apportionment made for the purposes of the state tax. Thirty-sixth, ''Water district'' shall include water supply district. Thirty-seventh, ''Will'' shall include codicils. Thirty-eighth, ''Written'' and ''in writing'' shall include printing, engraving, lithographing and any other mode of representing words and letters; but if the written signature of a person is required by law, it shall always be his own handwriting or, if he is unable to write, his mark. Thirty-ninth, ''Annual election'', as applied to municipal elections in cities holding such elections biennially, shall mean biennial election. Fortieth, ''Surety'' or ''Sureties'', when used with reference to a fidelity bond of an officer or employee of a county, city, town or district, shall mean a surety company authorized to transact business in the commonwealth. Forty-first, ''Population'', when used in connection with the number of inhabitants of a county, city, town or district, shall mean the population as determined by the last preceding national census. [There is no clause Forty-second.] Forty-third, ''Veteran'' shall mean (1) any person, (a) whose last discharge or release from his wartime service as defined herein, was under honorable conditions and who (b) served in the army, navy, marine corps, coast guard, or air force of the United States, or on full time national guard duty under Titles 10 or 32 of the United States Code or under sections 38, 40 and 41 of chapter 33 for not less than 90 days active service, at least 1 day of which was for wartime service; provided, however, than any person who so served in wartime and was awarded a service-connected disability or a Purple Heart, or who died in such service under conditions other than dishonorable, shall be deemed to be a veteran notwithstanding his failure to complete 90 days of active service; (2) a member of the American Merchant Marine who served in armed conflict between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946, and who has received honorable discharges from the United States Coast Guard, Army, or Navy; (3) any person (a) whose last discharge from active service was under honorable conditions, and who (b) served in the army, navy, marine corps, coast guard, or air force of the United States for not less than 180 days active service; provided, however, that any person who so served and was awarded a service-connected disability or who died in such service under conditions other than dishonorable, shall be deemed to be a veteran notwithstanding his failure to complete 180 days of active service. ''Wartime service'' shall mean service performed by a ''Spanish War veteran'', a ''World War I veteran'', a ''World War II veteran'', a ''Korean veteran'', a ''Vietnam veteran'', a ''Lebanese peace keeping force veteran'', a ''Grenada rescue mission veteran'', a ''Panamanian intervention force veteran'', a ''Persian Gulf veteran'', or a member of the ''WAAC'' as defined in this clause during any of the periods of time described herein or for which such medals described below are awarded. ''Spanish War veteran'' shall mean any veteran who performed such wartime service between February fifteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight and July fourth, nineteen hundred and two. ''World War I veteran'' shall mean any veteran who (a) performed such wartime service between April sixth, nineteen hundred and seventeen and November eleventh, nineteen hundred and eighteen, or (b) has been awarded the World War I Victory Medal, or (c) performed such service between March twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and seventeen and August fifth, nineteen hundred and seventeen, as a Massachusetts National Guardsman. ''World War II veteran'' shall mean any veteran who performed such wartime service between September 16, 1940 and July 25, 1947, and was awarded a World War II Victory Medal, except that for the purposes of chapter 31 it shall mean all active service between the dates of September 16, 1940 and June 25, 1950. ''Korean veteran'' shall mean any veteran who performed such wartime service between June twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and fifty and January thirty-first, nineteen hundred and fifty-five, both dates inclusive, and any person who has received the Korea Defense Service Medal as established in the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2003. ''Korean emergency'' shall mean the period between June twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and fifty and January thirty-first, nineteen hundred and fifty-five, both dates inclusive. ''Vietnam veteran'' shall mean (1) any person who performed such wartime service during the period commencing August fifth, nineteen hundred and sixty-four and ending on May seventh, nineteen hundred and seventy-five, both dates inclusive, or (2) any person who served at least one hundred and eighty days of active service in the armed forces of the United States during the period between February first, nineteen hundred and fifty-five and August fourth, nineteen hundred and sixty-four; provided, however, that for the purposes of the application of the provisions of chapter thirty-one, it shall also include all active service between the dates May seventh, nineteen hundred and seventy-five and June fourth, nineteen hundred and seventy-six; and provided, further, that any such person who served in said armed forces during said period and was awarded a service-connected disability or a Purple Heart, or who died in said service under conditions other than dishonorable, shall be deemed to be a veteran notwithstanding his failure to complete one hundred and eighty days of active service. ''Lebanese peace keeping force veteran'' shall mean any person who performed such wartime service and received a campaign medal for such service during the period commencing August twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and eighty-two and ending when the President of the United States shall have withdrawn armed forces from the country of Lebanon. ''Grenada rescue mission veteran'' shall mean any person who performed such wartime service and received a campaign medal for such service during the period commencing October twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and eighty-three to December fifteenth, nineteen hundred and eighty-three, inclusive. ''Panamanian intervention force veteran'' shall mean any person who performed such wartime service and received a campaign medal for such service during the period commencing December twentieth, nineteen hundred and eighty-nine and ending January thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety. ''Persian Gulf veteran'' shall mean any person who performed such wartime service during the period commencing August second, nineteen hundred and ninety and ending on a date to be determined by presidential proclamation or executive order and concurrent resolution of the Congress of the United States. ''WAAC'' shall mean any woman who was discharged and so served in any corps or unit of the United States established for the purpose of enabling women to serve with, or as auxiliary to, the armed forces of the United States and such woman shall be deemed to be a veteran. None of the following shall be deemed to be a ''veteran'': (a) Any person who at the time of entering into the armed forces of the United States had declared his intention to become a subject or citizen of the United States and withdrew his intention under the provisions of the act of Congress approved July ninth, nineteen hundred and eighteen. (b) Any person who was discharged from the said armed forces on his own application or solicitation by reason of his being an enemy alien. (c) Any person who has been proved guilty of wilful desertion. (d) Any person whose only service in the armed forces of the United States consists of his service as a member of the coast guard auxiliary or as a temporary member of the coast guard reserve, or both. (e) Any person whose last discharge or release from the armed forces is dishonorable. ''Armed forces'' shall include army, navy, marine corps, air force and coast guard. ''Active service in the armed forces'', as used in this clause shall not include active duty for training in the army national guard or air national guard or active duty for training as a reservist in the armed forces of the United States. Forty-fourth, ''Registered mail'', when used with reference to the sending of notice or of any article having no intrinsic value shall include certified mail. Forty-fifth, ''Pledge'', ''Mortgage'', ''Conditional Sale'', ''Lien'', ''Assignment'' and like terms, when used in referring to a security interest in personal property shall include a corresponding type of security interest under chapter one hundred and six of the General Laws, the Uniform Commercial Code. Forty-sixth, ''Forester'', ''state forester'' and ''state fire warden'' shall mean the commissioner of environmental management or his designee. Forty-seventh, ''Fire fighter'', ''fireman'' or ''permanent member of a fire department'', shall include the chief or other uniformed officer performing similar duties, however entitled, and all other fire officers of a fire department, including, without limitation, any permanent crash crewman, crash boatman, fire controlman or assistant fire controlman employed at the General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport, members of the 104th fighter wing fire department, members of the Devens fire department established pursuant to chapter 498 of the acts of 1993 or members of the Massachusetts military reservation fire department. Forty-eighth, ''Minor'' shall mean any person under eighteen years of age. Forty-ninth, ''Full age'' shall mean eighteen years of age or older. Fiftieth, ''Adult'' shall mean any person who has attained the age of eighteen. Fifty-first, ''Age of majority'' shall mean eighteen years of age. Fifty-second, ''Superior court'' shall mean the superior court department of the trial court, or a session thereof for holding court. Fifty-third, ''Land court'' shall mean the land court department of the trial court, or a session thereof for holding court. Fifty-fourth, ''Probate court'', ''court of insolvency'' or ''probate and insolvency court'' shall mean a division of the probate and family court department of the trial court, or a session thereof for holding court. Fifty-fifth, ''Housing court'' shall mean a division of the housing court department of the trial court, or a session thereof for holding court. Fifty-sixth, ''District court'' or ''municipal court'' shall mean a division of the district court department of the trial court, or a session thereof for holding court, except that when the context means something to the contrary, said words shall include the Boston municipal court department. Fifty-seventh, ''Municipal court of the city of Boston'' shall mean the Boston municipal court department of the trial court, or a session thereof for holding court. Fifty-eighth, ''Juvenile court'' shall mean a division of the juvenile court department of the trial court, or a session thereof for holding court. Fifty-ninth, ''Gender identity'' shall mean a person's gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the person's physiology or assigned sex at birth. Gender-related identity may be shown by providing evidence including, but not limited to, medical history, care or treatment of the gender-related identity, consistent and uniform assertion of the gender-related identity or any other evidence that the gender-related identity is sincerely held as part of a person's core identity; provided, however, that gender-related identity shall not be asserted for any improper purpose. Sixtieth, ''Age of criminal majority'' shall mean the age of 18. Sixty-first, ''Offense-based tracking number'' shall mean a unique number assigned by a criminal justice agency, as defined in section 167 of chapter 6, for an arrest or charge; provided, however, that any such designation shall conform to the policies of the department of state police and the department of criminal justice information services. Sixty-second, ''Race'', as applied to a prohibition on discrimination based on race, shall include traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture, hair type, hair length and protective hairstyles. Sixty-third, ''Protective hairstyle'', shall include, but not be limited to, braids, locks, twists, Bantu knots, hair coverings and other formations. Section 7. In construing statutes the following words shall have the meanings herein given, unless a contrary intention clearly appears: First, ''Aldermen'', ''board of aldermen'', ''mayor and aldermen'', ''city council'' or ''mayor'' shall, in a city which has no such body or officer, mean the board or officer having like powers or duties. Second, ''Annual meeting'', when applied to towns, shall mean the annual meeting required by law to be held in the month of February, March or April. Second A, ''Appointing authority'', when used in connection with the operation of municipal governments shall include the mayor of a city and the board of selectmen of a town unless some other local office is designated as the appointing authority under the provisions of a local charter. Third, ''Assessor'' shall include any person chosen or appointed in accordance with law to perform the duties of an assessor. Third A, ''Board of selectmen'', when used in connection with the operation of municipal governments shall include any other local office which is performing the duties of a board of selectmen, in whole or in part, under the provisions of a local charter. [There is no clause Fourth.] Fifth, ''Charter'', when used in connection with the operation of city and town government shall include a written instrument adopted, amended or revised pursuant to the provisions of chapter forty-three B which establishes and defines the structure of city and town government for a particular community and which may create local offices, and distribute powers, duties and responsibilities among local offices and which may establish and define certain procedures to be followed by the city or town government. Special laws enacted by the general court applicable only to one city or town shall be deemed to have the force of a charter and may be amended, repealed and revised in accordance with the provisions of chapter forty-three B unless any such special law contains a specific prohibition against such action. Fifth A, ''Chief administrative officer'', when used in connection with the operation of municipal governments, shall include the mayor of a city and the board of selectmen in a town unless some other local office is designated to be the chief administrative officer under the provisions of a local charter. Fifth B, ''Chief executive officer'', when used in connection with the operation of municipal governments shall include the mayor in a city and the board of selectmen in a town unless some other municipal office is designated to be the chief executive officer under the provisions of a local charter. Sixth, ''City solicitor'' shall include the head of the legal department of a city or town. Sixth A, ''Coterminous'', shall mean, when applied to the term of office of a person appointed by the governor, the period from the date of appointment and qualification to the end of the term of said governor; provided that such person shall serve until his successor is appointed and qualified; and provided, further, that the governor may remove such person at any time, subject however to the condition that if such person receives notice of the termination of his appointment he shall have the right, at his request, to a hearing within thirty days from receipt of such notice at which hearing the governor shall show cause for such removal, and that during the period following receipt of such notice and until final determination said person shall receive his usual compensation but shall be deemed suspended from his office. Seventh, ''District'', when applied to courts or the justices or other officials thereof, shall include municipal. Eighth, ''Dukes'', ''Dukes county'' or ''county of Dukes'' shall mean the county of Dukes county. Ninth, ''Fiscal year'', when used with reference to any of the offices, departments, boards, commissions, institutions or undertakings of the commonwealth, shall mean the year beginning with July first and ending with the following June thirtieth. [Clause Tenth effective until August 10, 2023. For text effective August 10, 2023, see below.] Tenth, ''Illegal gaming'', a banking or percentage game played with cards, dice, tiles, dominoes, or an electronic, electrical or mechanical device or machine for money, property, checks, credit or any representative of value, but excluding: (i) a lottery game conducted by the state lottery commission under sections 24, 24A and 27 of chapter 10; (ii) a game conducted under chapter 23K; (iii) sports wagering conducted under chapter 23N; (iv) pari-mutuel wagering on horse races under chapters 128A and 128C and greyhound races under said chapter 128C; (v) a game of bingo conducted under chapter 271; (vi) charitable gaming conducted under said chapter 271; and (vii) a fantasy contest conducted under section 11M1/2. [Clause Tenth as amended by 2022, 173, Sec. 2 effective August 10, 2023. See 2022, 173, Sec. 27. For text effective until August 10, 2023, see above.] Tenth, ''Illegal gaming'', a banking or percentage game played with cards, dice, tiles, dominoes, or an electronic, electrical or mechanical device or machine for money, property, checks, credit or any representative of value, but excluding: (i) a lottery game conducted by the state lottery commission under sections 24, 24A and 27 of chapter 10; (ii) a game conducted under chapter 23K; (iii) sports wagering conducted under chapter 23N; (iv) pari-mutuel wagering on horse races under chapters 128A and 128C; (v) a game of bingo conducted under chapter 271; and (vi) charitable gaming conducted under said chapter 271. Eleventh, ''Grantor'' may include every person from or by whom a freehold estate or interest passes in or by any deed; and ''grantee'' may include every person to whom such estate or interest so passes. Twelfth, ''Highway'', ''townway'', ''public way'' or ''way'' shall include a bridge which is a part thereof. Thirteenth, ''In books'', when used relative to the records of cities and towns, shall not prohibit the making of such records on separate leaves, if such leaves are bound in a permanent book upon the completion of a sufficient number of them to make an ordinary volume. Fourteenth, ''Inhabitant'' may mean a resident in any city or town. [There is no clause Fifteenth.] Sixteenth, ''Issue'', as applied to the descent of estates, shall include all the lawful lineal descendants of the ancestor. Seventeenth, ''Land'', ''lands'' and ''real estate'' shall include lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein; and ''recorded'', as applied to plans, deeds or other instruments affecting land, shall, as affecting registered land, mean filed and registered. Eighteenth, ''Legal holiday'' shall include January first, June nineteenth, July fourth, November eleventh, and Christmas Day, or the day following when any of said days occurs on Sunday, and the third Monday in January, the third Monday in February, the third Monday in April, the last Monday in May, the first Monday in September, the second Monday in October, and Thanksgiving Day. ''Legal holiday'' shall also include, with respect to Suffolk county only, Evacuation Day, on March seventeenth, and Bunker Hill Day, on June seventeenth, or the day following when said days occur on Sunday; provided, however, that all state and municipal agencies, authorities, quasi-public entities or other offices located in Suffolk county shall be open for business and appropriately staffed on Evacuation Day, on March seventeenth, and Bunker Hill Day, on June seventeenth, and that section forty-five of chapter one hundred and forty-nine shall not apply to Evacuation Day, on March seventeenth, and Bunker Hill Day, on June seventeenth, or the day following when said days occur on Sunday. Eighteenth A, ''Commemoration day'' shall include March fifteenth, in honor of Peter Francisco day, May twentieth, in honor of General Marquis de Lafayette and May twenty-ninth, in honor of the birthday of President John F. Kennedy. The governor shall issue a proclamation in connection with each such commemoration day. Eighteenth B, ''Legislative body'', when used in connection with the operation of municipal governments shall include that agency of the municipal government which is empowered to enact ordinances or by-laws, adopt an annual budget and other spending authorizations, loan orders, bond authorizations and other financial matters and whether styled a city council, board of aldermen, town council, town meeting or by any other title. Nineteenth, ''Month'' shall mean a calendar month, except that, when used in a statute providing for punishment by imprisonment, one ''month'' or a multiple thereof shall mean a period of thirty days or the corresponding multiple thereof; and ''year'', a calendar year. Nineteenth A, ''Municipality'' shall mean a city or town. Twentieth, ''Net indebtedness'' shall mean the indebtedness of a county, city, town or district, omitting debts created for supplying the inhabitants with water and other debts exempted from the operation of the law limiting their indebtedness, and deducting the amount of sinking funds available for the payment of the indebtedness included. Twenty-first, ''Oath'' shall include affirmation in cases where by law an affirmation may be substituted for an oath. Twenty-second, ''Ordinance'', as applied to cities, shall be synonymous with by-law. Twenty-third, ''Person'' or ''whoever'' shall include corporations, societies, associations and partnerships. Twenty-fourth, ''Place'' may mean a city or town. Twenty-fifth, ''Preceding'' or ''following'', used with reference to any section of the statutes, shall mean the section last preceding or next following, unless some other section is expressly designated in such reference. Twenty-sixth, ''Public records'' shall mean all books, papers, maps, photographs, recorded tapes, financial statements, statistical tabulations, or other documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any agency, executive office, department, board, commission, bureau, division or authority of the commonwealth, or of any political subdivision thereof, or of any authority established by the general court to serve a public purpose, or any person, corporation, association, partnership or other legal entity which receives or expends public funds for the payment or administration of pensions for any current or former employees of the commonwealth or any political subdivision as defined in section 1 of chapter 32, unless such materials or data fall within the following exemptions in that they are: (a) specifically or by necessary implication exempted from disclosure by statute; (b) related solely to internal personnel rules and practices of the government unit, provided however, that such records shall be withheld only to the extent that proper performance of necessary governmental functions requires such withholding; (c) personnel and medical files or information and any other materials or data relating to a specifically named individual, the disclosure of which may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; provided, however, that this subclause shall not apply to records related to a law enforcement misconduct investigation. (d) inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters relating to policy positions being developed by the agency; but this subclause shall not apply to reasonably completed factual studies or reports on which the development of such policy positions has been or may be based; (e) notebooks and other materials prepared by an employee of the commonwealth which are personal to him and not maintained as part of the files of the governmental unit; (f) investigatory materials necessarily compiled out of the public view by law enforcement or other investigatory officials the disclosure of which materials would probably so prejudice the possibility of effective law enforcement that such disclosure would not be in the public interest; (g) trade secrets or commercial or financial information voluntarily provided to an agency for use in developing governmental policy and upon a promise of confidentiality; but this subclause shall not apply to information submitted as required by law or as a condition of receiving a governmental contract or other benefit; (h) proposals and bids to enter into any contract or agreement until the time for the opening of bids in the case of proposals or bids to be opened publicly, and until the time for the receipt of bids or proposals has expired in all other cases; and inter-agency or intra-agency communications made in connection with an evaluation process for reviewing bids or proposals, prior to a decision to enter into negotiations with or to award a contract to, a particular person; (i) appraisals of real property acquired or to be acquired until (1) a final agreement is entered into; or (2) any litigation relative to such appraisal has been terminated; or (3) the time within which to commence such litigation has expired; (j) the names and addresses of any persons contained in, or referred to in, any applications for any licenses to carry or possess firearms issued pursuant to chapter one hundred and forty or any firearms identification cards issued pursuant to said chapter one hundred and forty and the names and addresses on sales or transfers of any firearms, rifles, shotguns, or machine guns or ammunition therefor, as defined in said chapter one hundred and forty and the names and addresses on said licenses or cards; [There is no subclause (k).] (l) questions and answers, scoring keys and sheets and other materials used to develop, administer or score a test, examination or assessment instrument; provided, however, that such materials are intended to be used for another test, examination or assessment instrument; (m) contracts for hospital or related health care services between (i) any hospital, clinic or other health care facility operated by a unit of state, county or municipal government and (ii) a health maintenance organization arrangement approved under chapter one hundred and seventy-six I, a nonprofit hospital service corporation or medical service corporation organized pursuant to chapter one hundred and seventy-six A and chapter one hundred and seventy-six B, respectively, a health insurance corporation licensed under chapter one hundred and seventy-five or any legal entity that is self insured and provides health care benefits to its employees. (n) records, including, but not limited to, blueprints, plans, policies, procedures and schematic drawings, which relate to internal layout and structural elements, security measures, emergency preparedness, threat or vulnerability assessments, or any other records relating to the security or safety of persons or buildings, structures, facilities, utilities, transportation, cyber security or other infrastructure located within the commonwealth, the disclosure of which, in the reasonable judgment of the record custodian, subject to review by the supervisor of public records under subsection (c) of section 10 of chapter 66, is likely to jeopardize public safety or cyber security. (o) the home address, personal email address and home telephone number of an employee of the judicial branch, an unelected employee of the general court, an agency, executive office, department, board, commission, bureau, division or authority of the commonwealth, or of a political subdivision thereof or of an authority established by the general court to serve a public purpose, in the custody of a government agency which maintains records identifying persons as falling within those categories; provided that the information may be disclosed to an employee organization under chapter 150E, a nonprofit organization for retired public employees under chapter 180, or a criminal justice agency as defined in section 167 of chapter 6. (p) the name, home address, personal email address and home telephone number of a family member of a commonwealth employee, contained in a record in the custody of a government agency which maintains records identifying persons as falling within the categories listed in subclause (o). (q) Adoption contact information and indices therefore of the adoption contact registry established by section 31 of chapter 46. (r) Information and records acquired under chapter 18C by the office of the child advocate. (s) trade secrets or confidential, competitively-sensitive or other proprietary information provided in the course of activities conducted by a governmental body as an energy supplier under a license granted by the department of public utilities pursuant to section 1F of chapter 164, in the course of activities conducted as a municipal aggregator under section 134 of said chapter 164 or in the course of activities conducted by a cooperative consisting of governmental entities organized pursuant to section 136 of said chapter 164, when such governmental body, municipal aggregator or cooperative determines that such disclosure will adversely affect its ability to conduct business in relation to other entities making, selling or distributing electric power and energy; provided, however, that this subclause shall not exempt a public entity from disclosure required of a private entity so licensed. (t) statements filed under section 20C of chapter 32. (u) trade secrets or other proprietary information of the University of Massachusetts, including trade secrets or proprietary information provided to the University by research sponsors or private concerns. (v) records disclosed to the health policy commission under subsections (b) and (e) of section 8A of chapter 6D. Any person denied access to public records may pursue the remedy provided for in section 10A of chapter sixty-six. Twenty-seventh, ''Salary'' shall mean annual salary. Twenty-eighth, ''Savings banks'' shall include institutions for savings. [There is no clause Twenty-ninth.] Thirtieth, ''Spendthrift'' shall mean a person who is liable to be put under guardianship on account of excessive drinking, gaming, idleness or debauchery. Thirty-first, ''State'', when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories; and the words ''United States'' shall include said district and territories. Thirty-second, ''State auditor'' and ''state secretary'' shall mean respectively the auditor of the commonwealth and the secretary of the commonwealth. ''State treasurer'' or ''treasurer of the commonwealth'' shall mean the treasurer and receiver general as used in the constitution of the commonwealth, and shall have the same meaning in all contracts, instruments, securities and other documents. Thirty-third, ''Swear'' shall include affirm in cases in which an affirmation may be substituted for an oath. When applied to public officers who are required by the constitution to take oaths therein prescribed, it shall refer to those oaths; and when applied to any other officer it shall mean sworn to the faithful performance of his official duties. Thirty-fourth, ''Town'', when applied to towns or officers or employees thereof, shall include city. Thirty-fifth, ''Valuation'', as applied to a town, shall mean the valuation of such town as determined by the last preceding apportionment made for the purposes of the state tax. Thirty-sixth, ''Water district'' shall include water supply district. Thirty-seventh, ''Will'' shall include codicils. Thirty-eighth, ''Written'' and ''in writing'' shall include printing, engraving, lithographing and any other mode of representing words and letters; but if the written signature of a person is required by law, it shall always be his own handwriting or, if he is unable to write, his mark. Thirty-ninth, ''Annual election'', as applied to municipal elections in cities holding such elections biennially, shall mean biennial election. Fortieth, ''Surety'' or ''Sureties'', when used with reference to a fidelity bond of an officer or employee of a county, city, town or district, shall mean a surety company authorized to transact business in the commonwealth. Forty-first, ''Population'', when used in connection with the number of inhabitants of a county, city, town or district, shall mean the population as determined by the last preceding national census. [There is no clause Forty-second.] Forty-third, ''Veteran'' shall mean (1) any person, (a) whose last discharge or release from his wartime service as defined herein, was under honorable conditions and who (b) served in the army, navy, marine corps, coast guard, or air force of the United States, or on full time national guard duty under Titles 10 or 32 of the United States Code or under sections 38, 40 and 41 of chapter 33 for not less than 90 days active service, at least 1 day of which was for wartime service; provided, however, than any person who so served in wartime and was awarded a service-connected disability or a Purple Heart, or who died in such service under conditions other than dishonorable, shall be deemed to be a veteran notwithstanding his failure to complete 90 days of active service; (2) a member of the American Merchant Marine who served in armed conflict between December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946, and who has received honorable discharges from the United States Coast Guard, Army, or Navy; (3) any person (a) whose last discharge from active service was under honorable conditions, and who (b) served in the army, navy, marine corps, coast guard, or air force of the United States for not less than 180 days active service; provided, however, that any person who so served and was awarded a service-connected disability or who died in such service under conditions other than dishonorable, shall be deemed to be a veteran notwithstanding his failure to complete 180 days of active service. ''Wartime service'' shall mean service performed by a ''Spanish War veteran'', a ''World War I veteran'', a ''World War II veteran'', a ''Korean veteran'', a ''Vietnam veteran'', a ''Lebanese peace keeping force veteran'', a ''Grenada rescue mission veteran'', a ''Panamanian intervention force veteran'', a ''Persian Gulf veteran'', or a member of the ''WAAC'' as defined in this clause during any of the periods of time described herein or for which such medals described below are awarded. ''Spanish War veteran'' shall mean any veteran who performed such wartime service between February fifteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight and July fourth, nineteen hundred and two. ''World War I veteran'' shall mean any veteran who (a) performed such wartime service between April sixth, nineteen hundred and seventeen and November eleventh, nineteen hundred and eighteen, or (b) has been awarded the World War I Victory Medal, or (c) performed such service between March twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and seventeen and August fifth, nineteen hundred and seventeen, as a Massachusetts National Guardsman. ''World War II veteran'' shall mean any veteran who performed such wartime service between September 16, 1940 and July 25, 1947, and was awarded a World War II Victory Medal, except that for the purposes of chapter 31 it shall mean all active service between the dates of September 16, 1940 and June 25, 1950. ''Korean veteran'' shall mean any veteran who performed such wartime service between June twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and fifty and January thirty-first, nineteen hundred and fifty-five, both dates inclusive, and any person who has received the Korea Defense Service Medal as established in the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2003. ''Korean emergency'' shall mean the period between June twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and fifty and January thirty-first, nineteen hundred and fifty-five, both dates inclusive. ''Vietnam veteran'' shall mean (1) any person who performed such wartime service during the period commencing August fifth, nineteen hundred and sixty-four and ending on May seventh, nineteen hundred and seventy-five, both dates inclusive, or (2) any person who served at least one hundred and eighty days of active service in the armed forces of the United States during the period between February first, nineteen hundred and fifty-five and August fourth, nineteen hundred and sixty-four; provided, however, that for the purposes of the application of the provisions of chapter thirty-one, it shall also include all active service between the dates May seventh, nineteen hundred and seventy-five and June fourth, nineteen hundred and seventy-six; and provided, further, that any such person who served in said armed forces during said period and was awarded a service-connected disability or a Purple Heart, or who died in said service under conditions other than dishonorable, shall be deemed to be a veteran notwithstanding his failure to complete one hundred and eighty days of active service. ''Lebanese peace keeping force veteran'' shall mean any person who performed such wartime service and received a campaign medal for such service during the period commencing August twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and eighty-two and ending when the President of the United States shall have withdrawn armed forces from the country of Lebanon. ''Grenada rescue mission veteran'' shall mean any person who performed such wartime service and received a campaign medal for such service during the period commencing October twenty-fifth, nineteen hundred and eighty-three to December fifteenth, nineteen hundred and eighty-three, inclusive. ''Panamanian intervention force veteran'' shall mean any person who performed such wartime service and received a campaign medal for such service during the period commencing December twentieth, nineteen hundred and eighty-nine and ending January thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety. ''Persian Gulf veteran'' shall mean any person who performed such wartime service during the period commencing August second, nineteen hundred and ninety and ending on a date to be determined by presidential proclamation or executive order and concurrent resolution of the Congress of the United States. ''WAAC'' shall mean any woman who was discharged and so served in any corps or unit of the United States established for the purpose of enabling women to serve with, or as auxiliary to, the armed forces of the United States and such woman shall be deemed to be a veteran. None of the following shall be deemed to be a ''veteran'': (a) Any person who at the time of entering into the armed forces of the United States had declared his intention to become a subject or citizen of the United States and withdrew his intention under the provisions of the act of Congress approved July ninth, nineteen hundred and eighteen. (b) Any person who was discharged from the said armed forces on his own application or solicitation by reason of his being an enemy alien. (c) Any person who has been proved guilty of wilful desertion. (d) Any person whose only service in the armed forces of the United States consists of his service as a member of the coast guard auxiliary or as a temporary member of the coast guard reserve, or both. (e) Any person whose last discharge or release from the armed forces is dishonorable. ''Armed forces'' shall include army, navy, marine corps, air force and coast guard. ''Active service in the armed forces'', as used in this clause shall not include active duty for training in the army national guard or air national guard or active duty for training as a reservist in the armed forces of the United States. Forty-fourth, ''Registered mail'', when used with reference to the sending of notice or of any article having no intrinsic value shall include certified mail. Forty-fifth, ''Pledge'', ''Mortgage'', ''Conditional Sale'', ''Lien'', ''Assignment'' and like terms, when used in referring to a security interest in personal property shall include a corresponding type of security interest under chapter one hundred and six of the General Laws, the Uniform Commercial Code. Forty-sixth, ''Forester'', ''state forester'' and ''state fire warden'' shall mean the commissioner of environmental management or his designee. Forty-seventh, ''Fire fighter'', ''fireman'' or ''permanent member of a fire department'', shall include the chief or other uniformed officer performing similar duties, however entitled, and all other fire officers of a fire department, including, without limitation, any permanent crash crewman, crash boatman, fire controlman or assistant fire controlman employed at the General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport, members of the 104th fighter wing fire department, members of the Devens fire department established pursuant to chapter 498 of the acts of 1993 or members of the Massachusetts military reservation fire department. Forty-eighth, ''Minor'' shall mean any person under eighteen years of age. Forty-ninth, ''Full age'' shall mean eighteen years of age or older. Fiftieth, ''Adult'' shall mean any person who has attained the age of eighteen. Fifty-first, ''Age of majority'' shall mean eighteen years of age. Fifty-second, ''Superior court'' shall mean the superior court department of the trial court, or a session thereof for holding court. Fifty-third, ''Land court'' shall mean the land court department of the trial court, or a session thereof for holding court. Fifty-fourth, ''Probate court'', ''court of insolvency'' or ''probate and insolvency court'' shall mean a division of the probate and family court department of the trial court, or a session thereof for holding court. Fifty-fifth, ''Housing court'' shall mean a division of the housing court department of the trial court, or a session thereof for holding court. Fifty-sixth, ''District court'' or ''municipal court'' shall mean a division of the district court department of the trial court, or a session thereof for holding court, except that when the context means something to the contrary, said words shall include the Boston municipal court department. Fifty-seventh, ''Municipal court of the city of Boston'' shall mean the Boston municipal court department of the trial court, or a session thereof for holding court. Fifty-eighth, ''Juvenile court'' shall mean a division of the juvenile court department of the trial court, or a session thereof for holding court. Fifty-ninth, ''Gender identity'' shall mean a person's gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that gender-related identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the person's physiology or assigned sex at birth. Gender-related identity may be shown by providing evidence including, but not limited to, medical history, care or treatment of the gender-related identity, consistent and uniform assertion of the gender-related identity or any other evidence that the gender-related identity is sincerely held as part of a person's core identity; provided, however, that gender-related identity shall not be asserted for any improper purpose. Sixtieth, ''Age of criminal majority'' shall mean the age of 18. Sixty-first, ''Offense-based tracking number'' shall mean a unique number assigned by a criminal justice agency, as defined in section 167 of chapter 6, for an arrest or charge; provided, however, that any such designation shall conform to the policies of the department of state police and the department of criminal justice information services. Sixty-second, ''Race'', as applied to a prohibition on discrimination based on race, shall include traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture, hair type, hair length and protective hairstyles. Sixty-third, ''Protective hairstyle'', shall include, but not be limited to, braids, locks, twists, Bantu knots, hair coverings and other formations. Section 10. (a) A records access officer appointed pursuant to section 6A, or a designee, shall at reasonable times and without unreasonable delay permit inspection or furnish a copy of any public record as defined in clause twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4, or any segregable portion of a public record, not later than 10 business days following the receipt of the request, provided that: (i) the request reasonably describes the public record sought; (ii) the public record is within the possession, custody or control of the agency or municipality that the records access officer serves; and (iii) the records access officer receives payment of a reasonable fee as set forth in subsection (d). A request for public records may be delivered to the records access officer by hand or via first class mail at the record officer's business address, or via electronic mail to the address posted by the agency or municipality that the records access officer serves. (b) If the agency or municipality does not intend to permit inspection or furnish a copy of a requested record, or the magnitude or difficulty of the request, or of multiple requests from the same requestor, unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the agency or municipality such that the agency or municipality is unable to do so within the timeframe established in subsection (a), the agency or municipality shall inform the requestor in writing not later than 10 business days after the initial receipt of the request for public records. The written response shall be made via first class or electronic mail and shall: (i) confirm receipt of the request; (ii) identify any public records or categories of public records sought that are not within the possession, custody, or control of the agency or municipality that the records access officer serves; (iii) identify the agency or municipality that may be in possession, custody or control of the public record sought, if known; (iv) identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based, provided that nothing in the written response shall limit an agency's or municipality's ability to redact or withhold information in accordance with state or federal law; (v) identify any public records, categories of records, or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to produce, and provide a detailed statement describing why the magnitude or difficulty of the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the agency or municipality and therefore requires additional time to produce the public records sought; (vi) identify a reasonable timeframe in which the agency or municipality shall produce the public records sought; provided, that for an agency, the timeframe shall not exceed 15 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records and for a municipality the timeframe shall not exceed 25 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records; and provided further, that the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein; (vii) suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the agency or municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably; (viii) include an itemized, good faith estimate of any fees that may be charged to produce the records; and (ix) include a statement informing the requestor of the right of appeal to the supervisor of records under subsection (a) of section 10A and the right to seek judicial review of an unfavorable decision by commencing a civil action in the superior court under subsection (c) of section 10A. (c) If the magnitude or difficulty of a request, or the receipt of multiple requests from the same requestor, unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the agency or municipality such that an agency or municipality is unable to complete the request within the time provided in clause (vi) of subsection (b), a records access officer may, as soon as practical and within 20 business days after initial receipt of the request, or within 10 business days after receipt of a determination by the supervisor of public records that the requested record constitutes a public record, petition the supervisor of records for an extension of the time for the agency or municipality to furnish copies of the requested record, or any portion of the requested record, that the agency or municipality has within its possession, custody or control and intends to furnish. The records access officer shall, upon submitting the petition to the supervisor of records, furnish a copy of the petition to the requestor. Upon a showing of good cause, the supervisor of records may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether the agency or municipality has established good cause, the supervisor of records shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. If the supervisor of records determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the supervisor of records may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. The supervisor of records shall issue a written decision regarding a petition submitted by a records access officer under this subsection within 5 business days following receipt of the petition. The supervisor of records shall provide the decision to the agency or municipality and the requestor and shall inform the requestor of the right to seek judicial review of an unfavorable decision by commencing a civil action in the superior court. (d) A records access officer may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. The reasonable fee shall not exceed the actual cost of reproducing the record. Unless expressly provided for otherwise, the fee shall be determined in accordance with the following: (i) the actual cost of any storage device or material provided to a person in response to a request for public records under subsection (a) may be included as part of the fee, but the fee assessed for standard black and white paper copies or printouts of records shall not exceed 5 cents per page, for both single and double-sided black and white copies or printouts; (ii) if an agency is required to devote more than 4 hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested, the records access officer may also include as part of the fee an hourly rate equal to or less than the hourly rate attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce a record requested, but the fee (A) shall not be more than $25 per hour; (B) shall not be assessed for the first 4 hours of work performed; and (C) shall not be assessed for time spent segregating or redacting records unless such segregation or redaction is required by law or approved by the supervisor of records under clause (iv); (iii) if a municipality is required to devote more than 2 hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce a record requested, the records access officer may include as part of the fee an hourly rate equal to or less than the hourly rate attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record requested but the fee (A) shall not be more than $25 per hour unless such rate is approved by the supervisor of records under clause (iv); (B) shall not be assessed for the first 2 hours of work performed where the responding municipality has a population of over 20,000 people; and (C) shall not be assessed for time spent segregating or redacting records unless such segregation or redaction is required by law or approved by the supervisor of records under clause (iv); (iv) the supervisor of records may approve a petition from an agency or municipality to charge for time spent segregating or redacting, or a petition from a municipality to charge in excess of $25 per hour, if the supervisor of records determines that (A) the request is for a commercial purpose; or (B) the fee represents an actual and good faith representation by the agency or municipality to comply with the request, the fee is necessary such that the request could not have been prudently completed without the redaction, segregation or fee in excess of $25 per hour and the amount of the fee is reasonable and the fee is not designed to limit, deter or prevent access to requested public records; provided, however, that: 1. in making a determination regarding any such petition, the supervisor of records shall consider the public interest served by limiting the cost of public access to the records, the financial ability of the requestor to pay the additional or increased fees and any other relevant extenuating circumstances; 2. an agency or municipality, upon submitting a petition under this clause, shall furnish a copy of the petition to the requestor; 3. the supervisor of records shall issue a written determination with findings regarding any such petition within 5 business days following receipt of the petition by the supervisor of public records; and 4. the supervisor of records shall provide the determination to the agency or municipality and the requestor and shall inform the requestor of the right to seek judicial review of an unfavorable decision by commencing a civil action in the superior court; (v) the records access officer may waive or reduce the amount of any fee charged under this subsection upon a showing that disclosure of a requested record is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requestor, or upon a showing that the requestor lacks the financial ability to pay the full amount of the reasonable fee; (vi) the records access officer may deny public records requests from a requester who has failed to compensate the agency or municipality for previously produced public records; (vii) the records access officer shall provide a written notification to the requester detailing the reasons behind the denial, including an itemized list of any balances attributed to previously produced records; (viii) a records access officer may not require the requester to specify the purpose for a request, except to determine whether the records are requested for a commercial purpose or whether to grant a request for a fee waiver; and (ix) as used in this section ''commercial purpose'' shall mean the sale or resale of any portion of the public record or the use of information from the public record to advance the requester's strategic business interests in a manner that the requester can reasonably expect to make a profit, and shall not include gathering or reporting news or gathering information to promote citizen oversight or further the understanding of the operation or activities of government or for academic, scientific, journalistic or public research or education (e) A records access officer shall not charge a fee for a public record unless the records access officer responded to the requestor within 10 business days under subsection (b). (f) As used in this section, ''employee time'' means time required by employees or necessary vendors, including outside legal counsel, technology and payroll consultants or others as needed by the municipality. none Section 2. There shall be in the executive office of education a department of early education and care, in this chapter called the department, which shall be the state agency responsible for compliance with early education and care services under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104–193), or any successor federal statute. The department shall be the state education agency for the purposes of early education and care services under federal law. The department shall seek, apply for and encourage the use of any federal funds for early education and care services, and shall facilitate the coordination of federal, state, and local policies concerning early education and care. The department shall be under the supervision and management of the commissioner of early education and care, in this chapter called the commissioner. The department shall:— (a) be the lead agency of the commonwealth for administering and providing early education and care programs and services to children; (b) provide early education and care programs and mental health consultation and other support services for children in the commonwealth through grants, contracting for those programs and services, and providing vouchers to participants, and promote the coordination of all such programs and services; (c) license or approve child care centers, school-aged child care programs, family child care homes and large family child care homes, family foster care which is not supervised and approved by a placement agency, placement agencies, group care facilities, or temporary shelter facilities; (d) develop and maintain a current consolidated waiting list for all subsidized early education and care programs, and services in the commonwealth; (e) establish and develop a schedule for revising: (1) a rate structure for voucher and contracted payments to providers of subsidized early education and care programs and services on behalf of low-income and other at-risk children; and (2) a sliding fee scale for participants in those programs. A public hearing under chapter 30A and the approval of the board shall be required before the establishment or revision of the rate structure and sliding fee scale; (f) manage and implement the Massachusetts universal pre-kindergarten program, established in section 13, that may be phased in over a period of time as determined by the board, and ensure the universal accessibility to the program by using the sliding fee scale developed for early education and care programs; (g) after a public hearing, adopt criteria including income eligibility requirements, for determining eligibility for an early education and care program or service, including the universal pre-kindergarten program under this chapter and develop a schedule for revising such criteria. Income eligibility requirements shall include a maximum allowable income for working families; (h) monitor and evaluate on an ongoing basis all early education and care programs and services, including program outcomes in meeting the developmental and educational needs of all children; (i) analyze and evaluate all budget requests for early education and care programs and services, including requests from secretaries, departments, agencies, or other offices within the commonwealth and make recommendations to the secretary of education, general court, appropriate secretaries, departments, agencies, or other offices regarding coordination and approval of those budget requests; (j) lease, purchase, hold and dispose of personal and real property it considers necessary to carry out this chapter; (k) seek to increase the availability of early education and care programs and services and encourage all providers of those programs and services to work together to create an array of options allowing families to select programs that fit with their schedules; (l) provide information and referral to persons seeking early education and care programs and services; (m) work in conjunction with the department of transitional assistance to obtain federal reimbursement under the federal Social Security Act for all participants in publicly-funded early education and care programs and services who are eligible; (n) promote the development of early education and care services for children by seeking and accepting federal grants as well as assisting other agencies of the commonwealth and local agencies to take full advantage of all federal funds available for those services; (o) provide technical assistance and consultation to providers and potential providers of early education and care services; (p) facilitate the development of the early education and care workforce, and, when appropriate, provide for training programs and professional development for persons offering early education and care programs and services; (q) establish and regularly update: (1) a comprehensive database of early childhood educators and providers, hereinafter referred to as the educator database, for the purpose of enhancing the workforce development system; and (2) a comprehensive database of children both waiting for and receiving early education and care services, in this chapter called the student database, that is compatible with relevant databases at the department of elementary and secondary education and the executive office of health and human services; and (r) collect and disseminate information to assist parents in nurturing their children's development and education. This information shall be made widely available in written form and accessible through the department's website, in English and other commonly spoken languages in the commonwealth. (s) plan for and address the unique needs of families with infants and toddlers, including providing parent education, early literacy services and meaningful opportunities for families not enrolled in early education and care to support their children's development. (t) subject to appropriation, provide consultation services and workforce development to meet the behavioral health needs of children in early education and care programs, giving preference to those services designed to prevent expulsions and suspensions. (u) subject to appropriation and notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, assure quality early education and care provided to children through family child care providers by working cooperatively with family child care providers to build upon the existing system and continuously improve the delivery of high quality early education and care services for eligible low income families through providers who have the requisite skills and training. Section 2. The department shall provide and administer a comprehensive child welfare program for children and families, including the following services:— (1) casework or counseling, including services to families, foster families or individuals; (2) protective services for children; (3) legal services for families, children or individuals who are clients of the department; (4) adoption services; (5) information and referral services; (6) foster family care for children and specialized foster family care for children with special needs; (7) residential care for children with special needs who are not suited for foster family care or specialized foster family care; (8) informal education and group activities; (9) training in parenthood and home management for parents, foster parents and prospective parents; (10) family services intended to prevent the need for foster care and services to children in foster care; (11) temporary residential programs providing counseling and supportive assistance for families in transition and their children who, because of domestic violence, homelessness, or other situations, require temporary shelter and assistance; (12) camping services; (13) information and referral services; (14) services for families and individuals in emergency and transitional housing; (15) comprehensive youth development services; (16) access to and coordination of medical, dental and mental health services for children in foster care whose families are receiving services from other state agencies; and (17) child care placements for children whose families have an open case with the department. Section 11. The board, after holding a public hearing, shall adopt, and develop a schedule for revising, program quality standards and requirements that any early education and care program or provider shall meet. The department shall develop separate but related standards for children in the following developmental stages: infant and toddler, pre-school, early elementary and older school-age; and for additional developmental stages that the department may determine relevant based on research and best practices. These standards and requirements shall incorporate essential elements of high-quality early education and care that promote healthy, cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional and physical outcomes, and school readiness based on curriculum frameworks. Standards and requirements shall build upon the licensure regulations promulgated under section 8. (a) The standards for all developmental stages and any succeeding developmental stages adopted by the department shall be incorporated into a single document and linked by a common philosophy and consistent goals and guiding principles. This document shall also include the policy developed jointly with the department and board of elementary and secondary education required under section 13 to ensure smooth transitions between infant and toddler programs, preschool and kindergarten. The standards shall be regularly updated to reflect applicable research and best practices. The board shall submit standards and requirements, or revisions of them, to the joint committee on education and the house and senate committees on ways and means at least 60 days before adoption. The joint committee on education shall review and comment on the rules and regulations during that time period. (b) The board shall include, in its adoption and revision of program quality standards, a specific focus on the unique requirements and needs of preschool-aged children including, but not limited to, rigorous guidelines for preschool learning experiences. Every early education and care program or provider shall be required to meet these standards in order to participate in the Massachusetts universal pre-kindergarten program, established in section 13. (c) The department, with approval of the board, shall develop a consistent set of learning standards for all preschool programs in the commonwealth, to be included in the program quality standards. The standards shall be consistent with the curriculum frameworks developed by the department of elementary and secondary education, shall be research-based and shall be updated regularly to reflect best practices in the field of early education and care. The standards shall guarantee, at a minimum, that every program participating in the Massachusetts universal pre-kindergarten program shall include consultation and intervention services for children at risk for expulsion. (d) With the approval of the board, the department shall develop and establish a schedule for revising a comprehensive set of developmental benchmarks which may be incorporated into the quality standards, and which may be used by all early education and care programs in measuring children's developmental progress utilizing the healthy, cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional and physical outcomes for developing the quality standards. In developing the benchmarks, the department shall collaborate with pediatricians, child psychologists, and researchers within the field of child development and developmental psychology, in order to ensure that the document reflects best practices in the field and the most recent evidence provided by science relative to early childhood development. Section 19. (a) When designing or acquiring an electronic record keeping system or database, records access officers shall, consistent with section 17 of chapter 110G, consult with their chief executive officer, chief administrative officer or the Massachusetts office of information technology pursuant to chapter 7D to ensure, to the extent feasible, that the system or database is capable of providing data in a commonly available electronic, machine readable format. Such database designs or acquisitions shall allow for, to the extent feasible, information storage and retrieval methods that permit the segregation and retrieval of public records and redacting of exempt information in order to provide maximum public access. No agency or municipality shall enter into a contract for the storage of electronic records containing public records if the contract prevents or unduly restricts the records access officer from providing the public records in accordance with this chapter. (b) Every agency shall provide on a searchable website electronic copies, accessible in a commonly available electronic format, of the following types of records, provided that any agency may withhold any record or portion thereof in accordance with state or federal law: (i) final opinions, decisions, orders, or votes from agency proceedings; (ii) annual reports; (iii) notices of regulations proposed under chapter 30A; (iv) notices of hearings; (v) winning bids for public contracts; (vi) awards of federal, state and municipal government grants; (vii) minutes of open meetings; (viii) agency budgets; and (ix) any public record information of significant interest that the agency deems appropriate to post. Section 77. The voter on receiving his ballot shall, without leaving the enclosed space, retire alone to one of the marking compartments and shall, except in the case of voting for presidential electors or groups of candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, and except as provided in section thirty-three E, prepare his ballot by marking a cross (X) in the square at the right of the name of each candidate for whom he intends to vote or by inserting the name and residence of such candidate in the space provided therefor; and, upon a question submitted to the vote of the people, by making a cross in the square at the right of the answer which he intends to give.