a) 
Individual Petitions, Action Discretionary: The council and the school committee shall receive all petitions, signed by one or more voters, which are addressed to either of them and may, in their discretion, take such action in regard to each such petition as may be deemed necessary and advisable.
b) 
Group Petitions Action Required: The council or the school committee shall hold a public hearing on every petition which is addressed to it, which is signed by one hundred (100) voters, or more, and which seeks the passage of a measure. The hearing shall be held by the council or the school committee, or, in either case, by a committee or subcommittee thereof, and after the hearing shall be held, the council or school committee shall respond to the petitioners not later than thirty (30) days after the hearing is completed. Hearings on two or more petitions filed under this section may be held on the same date and at the same time and place. The secretary of the council or the secretary of the school committee shall mail notice of the hearing to the ten persons whose names appear first on the petition at least seven (7) days before the hearing. Notice by publication in a local newspaper not less than seven (7) nor more than fourteen (14) days prior to the date set for the public hearing shall be at public expense. Notice shall also be posted on the municipal bulletin board.
a) 
Commencement: Initiative procedures shall be started by the filing of a proposed initiative petition with the secretary of the council or the executive assistant of the school committee, as the case may be. The petition shall be addressed to the council or to the school committee, shall contain a request for the passage of a particular measure which shall be set forth in full in the petition, and shall be signed by at least five hundred (500) voters, to include at least twenty five (25) voters from each district. The signatures must be certified from each district by the city clerk. The petition shall be accompanied by an affidavit signed by ten (10) voters and containing their residential address stating they will constitute the petitioners committee and be responsible for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form.
b) 
Referral to City Solicitor: The secretary of the council or the clerk of the school committee, as the case may be, shall immediately following receipt of each proposed petition deliver a copy of the petition to the city solicitor. The city solicitor shall, within fifteen (15) days after receipt of a copy of the petition, in writing, advise the council or the school committee, as may be appropriate, whether the measure as proposed may lawfully be proposed by the initiative process and whether, in its present form it may be lawfully adopted by the council or the school committee. If the opinion of the city solicitor is that the measure is not in proper form, the reply shall state the reasons for this opinion in full. A copy of the opinion of the city solicitor shall also be mailed to the petitioners committee.
c) 
Submission to City Clerk: If the opinion of the city solicitor is that the petition is in a proper form, the city clerk shall provide blank forms for the use of subsequent signers, and shall print at the top of each blank a fair, concise summary of the proposed measure, as determined by the city solicitor, together with the names and addresses of the petitioners committee who signed the originating petition. Within ninety (90) days after the date the blank forms are issued by the city clerk, the petitions shall be returned and filed with the city clerk signed by at least ten per cent (10%) of the total number of registered voters as of the date of the most recent municipal election. Signatures to an initiative petition need not all be on one (1) paper but all papers pertaining to any one (1) measure shall be fastened together and shall be filed as a single instrument, containing on the petition the street and number of the residence of each signer accompanied by the endorsement of the name and residence address of the person designated as filing the petition. With each signature on the petition there shall also appear the street and number of the residence of each signer. Within ten (10) days after the filing of the petition the board of registrars of voters shall ascertain by what number of registered voters the petition has been signed, and what percentage that number is of the total number of registered voters as of the date of the most recent municipal election. The city clerk shall attach to the petition a certificate showing the results of the board's examination and shall return the petition to the secretary of the council, or the clerk of the school committee, depending on how the petition is addressed. A copy of the board of registrars of voters certificate shall also be mailed to the petitioners committee.
d) 
Action on Petitions: Within sixty (60) days after the date a petition has been returned to the secretary of the council, or the executive assistant of the school committee, and after publication under Article II, section 9(d) the council or the school committee shall act with respect to each initiative petition by passing it without change, by passing a measure which is stated to be in lieu of the initiative measure, or by rejecting it. The passage of a measure which is in lieu of an initiative measure shall be considered to be a rejection of the initiative measure. If the council or the school committee fails to act with respect to any initiative measure that is presented to it within sixty (60) days after the date it is returned to it by the secretary of the council, the measure shall be considered to have been accepted on the sixtieth day. If an initiative measure is rejected, the secretary of the council, or the clerk of the school committee, shall promptly give notice of that fact to the petitioners committee, by certified mail.
e) 
Supplementary Petitions: Within ninety (90) days after the date an initiative petition has been rejected by the council, a supplemental initiative petition may be filed with the secretary of the council or the executive assistant of the school committee, but only by persons constituting the original petitioners committee. The supplemental initiative petition shall be signed by a number of additional registered voters which is equal to three per cent (3%) of the total number of registered voters as of the date of the most recent municipal election, and the signatures on the initial petition filed under subsection (c), above, and the signatures on the supplemental petition filed under this subsection, taken together, shall contain the signatures of at least thirteen per cent (13%) of the total number of registered voters as of the date of the most recent municipal election, and in each of the districts into which the municipality is divided for the purpose of elections. If the number of signatures to the supplemental petition is found to be sufficient, in total, and by district, by the city clerk, the council shall call a special election to be held on a date fixed by it not less than thirty five (35) nor more than ninety (90) days after the date the council votes to call for the special election and shall submit the proposed measure, without alteration, to the voters for determination, but if a municipal election is to be held within one hundred twenty (120) days after the date of the certificate, the council may omit the calling of the special election and cause the question to appear on the election ballot at the next regular municipal election for determination by the voters.
f) 
Publication: The full text of any initiative measure which is to be submitted to the voters shall be published in a local newspaper not less than seven (7) nor more than fourteen (14) days preceding the date of the election at which the question is to be voted upon. Additional copies of the full text shall be available for distribution to the public in the office of the city clerk, and in such other locations as may be determined by the city clerk, including, but not limited to, posting on the municipal bulletin board.
g) 
Form of Question: The ballots used when voting on a measure proposed by the voters under this section shall contain a question in substantially the following form:
Shall the following measure, which was proposed by an initiative petition, take effect? (Here, insert a fair, concise summary prepared by the city solicitor.)
YES _____
NO _____
h) 
Time of Taking Effect: If a majority of the votes cast on the question is in the affirmative, the measure shall be deemed to be effective immediately, unless a later date is specified in the measure.
a) 
Petition, Effect on Final Vote: If, within thirty (30) days after the date on which the council or the school committee has voted finally to approve of any measure, a petition signed by a number of registered voters equal to ten percent (10%) of the total number of registered voters as of the date of the most recent regular municipal election and addressed to the council or to the school committee, as the case may be, protesting against the measure or any part of it is filed with the clerk of the school committee or secretary of the council, the implementation of the measure and effective date of the measure shall be temporarily suspended. The school committee or the council shall immediately reconsider its vote on the measure or part of it, and, if the measure is not rescinded, the council shall provide for the submission of the question for a determination by the voters, either at a special election which it may call at its convenience, or within such time as may be requested by the school committee, or at the next regular municipal election, but pending such submission and determination the effect of the measure shall continue to be suspended.
b) 
Certain Initiative Provisions to Apply: The petition described in this section 3 shall be termed a referendum petition and, insofar as applicable, shall apply to such referendum petitions, except that the words "measure or part thereof protested against" shall be deemed to replace the word "measure" in said sections wherever it may occur and the word "referendum" shall be deemed to replace the word "initiative" wherever it may occur in those sections. The measure, or part thereof protested against, shall be null and void unless a majority of those voting on the question shall vote in favor of the measure or part thereof protested against at the election.
None of the following shall be subject to the initiative or the referendum procedures:
a) 
proceedings relating to the internal organization or operation of the council or the school committee;
b) 
an emergency measure adopted in conformity with the charter;
c) 
the municipal budget or the school committee budget as a whole;
d) 
revenue loan orders;
e) 
any appropriation for the payment of the municipality's debt or debt service;
f) 
an appropriation of funds to implement a collective bargaining agreement;
g) 
proceedings relating to the election, appointment, removal, discharge, employment, promotion, transfer, demotion, or other personnel action;
h) 
any proceedings repealing or rescinding a measure or part thereof which is protested by referendum procedures;
i) 
any proceedings providing for the submission or referral to the voters at an election; and
j) 
memorial resolutions and other votes constituting ordinary, routine matters not suitable as the subject of a referendum petition.
The council may of its own motion, and shall at the request of the school committee if a measure originates with that body and pertains to affairs under its jurisdiction, submit to the voters at any regular municipal election for adoption or rejection any measure in the same manner and with the same force and effect as is hereby provided for submission by petitions of voters.
If two or more measures passed at the same election contain conflicting provisions, only the 1 receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes shall take effect.
a) 
Application: Any person holding an elected municipal office may be recalled from that office by the voters under the procedures made available in this section.
b) 
Recall Affidavit
i. 
Office Elected by Voters at Large: Four hundred (400) or more voters may file with the board of registrars of voters an affidavit containing the name of the officer sought to be recalled and a statement of the grounds for recall. The signatures on this affidavit shall contain the names of at least twenty five (25) voters in each of the districts into which Framingham is divided for the purpose of elections.
ii. 
Officer Elected by District: One hundred fifty (150) or more voters from the district where an officer elected by said district is sought to be recalled may file with the board of registrars of voters an affidavit containing the name of the officer whose recall is sought and a statement of the grounds for recall. The signatures on this affidavit shall contain the names only of voters in the district from which the officer was elected.
c) 
Recall Petition: At Large, or by District: If the affidavit is found to be valid, the city clerk shall deliver to the first ten (10) persons named on the affidavit, petition blanks demanding said recall, printed forms of which shall be kept available. The blanks may be completed by printing or by typewriting; they shall be addressed to the council; they shall contain the names and residential addresses of the ten (10) persons to whom they are issued and they shall contain the grounds for recall as stated in the affidavit; and they shall be dated and signed by the city clerk. The recall petitions shall be returned to the office of the board of registrars of voters within thirty (30) days after the date they are issued, signed by not less than fifteen percent (15%) of the total number of registered voters in the district for an official elected by the district, or of the municipality for an official elected at large, as of the date of the most recent regular municipal election. For the recall petition of an official elected at large, the signatures on these petitions shall contain the names and residential addresses of at least one percent (1%) of the registered voters in each of the districts into which Framingham is divided for the purpose of elections. The sheets constituting a petition need not all be filed at the same time. For the purposes of this section, a petition shall be considered filed whenever the persons responsible for its filing notify the board of registrars of voters in writing, that the filing is complete. Before receiving such notice, the board of registrars of voters may, but shall not be required to, certify signatures on the sheets already filed. The board of registrars of voters shall within ten (10) days following the date the petition forms are filed certify the number of signatures on them which are the names of voters and the percentage that number represents of the total number of registered voters in each district as of the date of the most recent regular municipal election.
d) 
Recall Election: If the petitions are certified by the board of registrars of voters as containing a sufficient number of signatures, the board shall immediately submit the petitions, with their certificate, to the council. Upon receipt of the certified petition forms, the council shall immediately give written notice to the officer whose recall is sought of the validity of the petitions. If the officer whose recall is sought does not resign the office within five (5) days after delivery of the notice, by its having been delivered to the last known place of residence of the officer, the council, after consultation with the city clerk, shall order a special election to be held on a date no less than thirty five (35) nor more than ninety (90) days after the date of its notice to the officer whose recall is sought.
e) 
Ballot Question: Ballots used at the recall election shall state the proposition in substantially the following form:
Shall (insert name of officer) be recalled from the office of (insert name of office held)?
YES _____
NO _____
f) 
Officeholder: If the officer whose recall is sought has not resigned the office, the officer shall continue to hold and perform the duties of the office until the recall election. If a majority of the votes cast on the question as stated above is in the affirmative, the officer shall be deemed recalled, and the office shall be vacant upon the certification of the election results. If a majority of the votes cast on the question is in the negative, the person whose recall was sought shall continue in the office until the expiration of the term for which elected.
g) 
Restriction on Recall Petition: No recall petition shall be filed against any officer until at least six (6) months following the commencement of a term of office, nor, in the case of an officer subjected to a recall election and not recalled thereby, during the remainder of the current term of office. A recall election shall not be held if less than six (6) months of the term of office of the person whose recall is sought remains at the time of the certification of the petition forms.
h) 
Filling of Vacancy:
i. 
If the office of mayor is declared vacant as the result of a recall election, the council shall immediately call a special election to be held on a date fixed by it not less than ninety (90) nor more than one hundred twenty (120) days after the date of the recall election. The person elected at that special election shall serve for the balance of the unexpired term remaining at the time of such election.
ii. 
Vacancies in any other elected office shall be filled under Article II, section 11 or Article IV, section 4, as applicable. No person recalled from an office under the terms of this section shall be eligible to be a candidate to fill any vacancy created by that recall.
No person who has been recalled from an office or who has resigned from office while recall proceedings were pending against such person shall be appointed to any municipal office within two years after such recall or such resignation.