Public Comment

In order to promote an open, public, and transparent Board process, Massport encourages members of the public to comment on matters related to the Authority or its operations during the public session of its monthly Board meetings.

Massport’s Board will allocate time during each meeting for public comment. Priority will be given, on a first-come basis, to those individuals who wish to speak on a subject noticed as an agenda topic for the meeting. (The Board’s agenda is typically posted on Massport’s website several days before the meeting.) Individuals wishing to speak on subjects not noted as agenda items will be allowed to speak if time permits.

Speakers at a Board meeting must observe the following rules and requirements.

1. Pre-Registration and Order of Speakers
An individual may not address the Board without permission of the Chair. Permission will ordinarily be granted, in the order that names are received, to those individuals who register in advance of the meeting with Massport’s Assistant Secretary-Treasurer. To register to provide public comment, please complete this form per the instructions provided. The form is also available at the front desk at Massport’s main offices located at One Harborside Drive, East Boston, MA 02128.

When registering, speakers must identify themselves, their affiliation (if any; for example, employer, labor union), the subject of their comments, and any special needs, including the need for an interpreter or accommodations for the disabled. If time permits, and at the discretion of the Chair, individuals who have not pre-registered may also be permitted to address the Board.

2. Time to Speak
Each individual recognized by the Chair will be allowed three minutes to speak. At the discretion of the Chair, and if time allows, a speaker may be granted additional time to finish a presentation.

3. Presentation of Written Materials
Individuals who wish to present written materials for the Board to review should present the Assistant Secretary-Treasurer with ten copies of any such materials prior to the start of the meeting.

4. Conduct of Presentation
Each speaker, once recognized by the Chair, will begin by stating their name and affiliation, if any. Remarks shall end when the speaker’s allotted time has expired. The Chair may request an individual to end their remarks if the speaker’s comments are repetitive, slanderous, or otherwise inappropriate for a public meeting of Massport’s Board. If, after clear instruction from the Chair to end their remarks, a person continues to speak, is disruptive, or otherwise prevents the Board from conducting its business in an orderly manner, the Chair may order the person to leave the meeting, and if the person does not leave, the Chair may authorize a constable or other officer to remove the person.

5. Recording a Public Meeting
The public has the right to make an audio or video recording of an open session of a public meeting. Anyone wishing to record a meeting of Massport’s Board must notify the Assistant Secretary-Treasurer in advance so that the Chair can inform the other attendees of the recording. All recording devices must be unobtrusive and cannot interfere with the meeting or with any attendee’s ability to observe and participate in the meeting. Any person secretly recording a meeting or whose recording devices interfere with the meeting will be asked to stop recording and may be asked to leave. Massport’s Assistant Secretary-Treasurer, Ann Buckley, can be reached at 617-568-1032 or at abuckley@massport.com.