AUGUSTA – A legislative panel Wednesday reviewed a bill that’s been placed on the fast track to allow municipal boards to freely operate even if they have open seats.

The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee is reviewing the bill sponsored by state Rep. Deborah Simpson, D-Auburn, that’s meant to overturn a Law Court ruling widely interpreted as saying that no municipal board that has a set number of seats by statute can act if there is a vacancy. In other words, if a board is missing a member, it doesn’t exist.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court handed down the ruling last month in the case of Stevenson vs. Town of Kennebunk. The opinion has generated shockwaves across the state. In Turner, for instance, three selectmen have resigned, effective June 12. All three had expected to resign later in the year, but did so now – with plenty of advance notice – so that the town wouldn’t be left in a bind because of the ruling.

Several legislators and the Maine Municipal Association rushed to overturn the court decision and Simpson subsequently submitted her bill.

The bill, if passed, would apply retroactive to April 25, said Jeffrey Austin, a lobbyist for the MMA. Many boards with vacancies have continued to act since the ruling – some were only notified in the past couple weeks – and Austin said he wants to clarify the validity of those board actions.

The bill does not prohibit quorum rules, which are set by municipalities to determine how many members must be present in order to vote or take action.

Several attorneys testified on behalf of the bill.

“This decision has broader implications as well and throws all local government affairs into chaos, because it is not clear whether it applies to elected and appointed bodies …” said Auburn attorney Bryan Dench. “Its logic would clearly extend to any body, elected or appointed, that has a fixed membership.”

In the Stevenson case, the plaintiffs challenged a decision made by a Kennebunk assessment board denying a tax abatement. It was a three-member board with one vacancy; the remaining two tied, defeating the motion.

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