Massachusetts General Laws Part I. Administration of the Government (Ch. 1-182) Ch. 54, § 58A

Whenever any provision of the General Laws, submitted for acceptance to the voters of a city or town, is to be placed on the ballot at any election, the city or town clerk shall place it on the ballot in the following form:--

(Set forth here a fair, concise summary and purpose of the law to be acted upon, as determined by the city solicitor or town counsel, as the case may be.) If a majority of the voters voting on said question vote in the affirmative, then said provisions shall take effect in said city or town, but not otherwise.

The provisions of this section relative to the form of submitting for acceptance to the voters of a city or town of any provision of the General Laws shall not apply to the submission for acceptance of any provision of the General Laws in which or in the act creating such provision there is set forth the form in which the question of the acceptance shall be submitted to the voters.

The final date for notifying, or filing a petition with, the city or town clerk or the state secretary to place such a question on the ballot shall be, if no final date is otherwise provided, thirty-five days before the city or town election or sixty days before the state election.

The provisions of this section, including the provision for a fair, concise summary determined by the city solicitor or town counsel, shall also apply whenever any special act is submitted for acceptance to the voters of a city or town, except to the extent that the special act expressly provides otherwise.