Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. The first paragraph of section 5 of chapter 403 of the acts of 1971 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 8 and 9, the words "not less than five hundred voters".

SECTION 2. Said section 5 of said chapter 403 is hereby further amended by striking out the second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

The precincts shall be established so as to consist of compact and contiguous territory and bounded, so far as possible, by the center line of known streets and ways or by other well defined limits. Their boundaries shall be reviewed and, if need be, revised by the board of selectmen, based on the most recent federal census, in the second January following the taking of said census, conformable to the requirements of sections 1 to 10, inclusive, of chapter 54 of the General Laws. In any year when so directed by a vote of the town meeting, their boundaries shall be reviewed and if need be, revised by the board of selectmen in conformity to said sections 1 to 10.

SECTION 3. The third paragraph of said section 5 of said chapter 403 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 2 and 3, the words "the twentieth of the succeeding year" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- thirty-first of that year.

SECTION 4. The first paragraph of section 6 of said chapter 403 is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 8 and 9, the words "two hundred and fifty-two" and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 240.

SECTION 5. Said section 6 of said chapter 403 is hereby further amended by inserting after the first paragraph the following paragraph:-

In any year in which a revision of the precincts in the town may not be done because of the restrictions imposed by chapter 54 of the General Laws, the board of selectmen may reapportion the seats of the town meeting members elected from precincts in proportion to the number of inhabitants residing therein in order to reflect significant population changes as estimated by the town clerk using the annual street listings and the annual school census.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect upon its passage.