SB2

SB2 offers voters a community the opportunity to address town issues in a form that's slightly different from the traditional town meeting.

But not everyone can attend a town meeting, often held on a Saturday, nor can they always stay for an entire session, which, in some cases can run for several hours.

SB2, which originated in 1996, allows a community to opt for residents to vote on town and school district warrants at the polls instead of in town and school district meetings.

But critics of the current law point out that voters at the deliberative session can change the warrants however they see fit.

In many cases, all but the first two words of the warrant article are deleted, or the article is reworded to change its intent. This has led to confusion at the polls and prevents important town issues from receiving proper consideration.

The 2011 Legislature is considering new legislation -- SB 16 -- that seeks to rectify the issue.

At the heart of the bill is the following prohibition:

"No warrant article shall be amended to eliminate the subject matter of the article. An amendment that changes the dollar amount of an appropriation in a warrant article shall not be deemed to violate this subparagraph."

The Senate agreed to the bill on Jan. 19 and sent it to the House for consideration.

Note: This issue was updated on Jan. 25, 2011.