County counsel outlines process, timing and legal limits after regional commissioners back elected charter commission

Barnstable County counsel Lauren Goldberg said a resolution the county—s regional commissioners adopted supporting an elected charter commission will be filed with county officials and, if filed with the secretary of the Commonwealth, placed on the next biennial state ballot.

The counsel—s explanation matters because the commissioners voted Aug. 27 to forward a resolution asking voters whether they want an elected charter commission for Barnstable County. "Once that has been filed with the secretary, it would be included on the biennial state election," Goldberg said, adding that nomination papers for charter commission candidates are issued by the secretary and that "they would need 20 certified signatures." She also told delegates the commission would have 18 months to make a recommendation to voters.

Goldberg said two separate bodies of law govern how elected officials and public bodies may participate in the ballot question: the campaign finance statute and the conflict of interest statute. "Elected officials are allowed to have an opinion," she said, but the campaign finance law "prohibits the nonrequested distribution of information" about a ballot question. She said public bodies may post information on their websites but must…