Mass Governor’s Legal Office’s Letter to Municipalities: Withdraw Conflicting City/Town Policies Suspending Essential Construction Services
On March 25, 2020, the Massachusetts Governor’s Legal Office issued a letter to Municipal Chief Executive Officers in the Commonwealth that “provides guidance regarding the effect of the Governor’s March 23, 2020 Order ‘Assuring Continued Operation of Essential Services in the Commonwealth, Closing Certain Workplaces, and Prohibiting Gatherings of More than 10 People’ insofar as the Order intersects with municipal efforts to address the COVID-19 crisis.”
The Governor’s order deemed construction services as essential services, but some Cities/Towns have issued temporary suspensions of construction projects in their locale. The letter emphasizes the importance that “public officials avoid conflicting directives and duplication of efforts.” The Chief Legal Counsel stated:
Then, the letter confirms that the Governor’s March 23, 2020 Order included such a superseding provision “to ensure unitary management of this crisis.” The letter concludes, after reciting that constructions services were included as “essential services” in the list of essential services of the March 23 Order,
Accordingly,