reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 31 § 54 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IV - Civil Service, Retirements and Pensions|Chapter 31 - Civil Service|Section 54 - Petitions; Number of Signatures; Filing

Section 54. If five per cent or five thousand of the registered voters in a city file with the city clerk a petition requesting that the question of accepting the applicability of the civil service law and rules to either or both of the offices specified in clause (2) of section fifty-one or to any city office as provided in clause (b) of section fifty-three be placed on the official ballot, the clerk shall, if he finds such petition to be in order, place such question on the official ballot for the next regular city election occurring more than sixty days after the filing of such petition.  If five per cent or one thousand of the registered voters in a town authorized under section fifty-two to accept the applicability of the civil service law and rules to the official service or to the labor service, or to both services, or to any one or more of the positions or forces specified in clauses (a) through (h) of said section file with the town clerk a petition requesting that the question of accepting such applicability to either or both of such services, or to any one or more of such positions or forces, be placed on the official ballot, the clerk shall, if he finds such petition to be in order, place such question on the official ballot for the next regular town election occurring more than thirty days after the filing of such petition.  If five per cent of the registered voters in any town file with the town clerk a petition requesting that the question of accepting the applicability of the civil service law and rules to a town office as provided in clause (b) of section fifty-three be placed on the official ballot, the clerk shall, if he finds such petition to be in order, place such question on the official ballot for the next regular town election occurring more than thirty days after the filing of such petition.
MA Gen L ch 31 § 57 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IV - Civil Service, Retirements and Pensions|Chapter 31 - Civil Service|Section 57 - Permanent Positions in City Labor Service; Removal of Intermittent Junior Building Custodians; Certification of Inspector of Wires

Section 57. Every year-round temporary position in the labor service of a city where such service is subject to the civil service law and rules shall be deemed to be a permanent position if compensation for service in such temporary position has been paid for a continuous period of two years. Certification to fill such a position shall first be made of persons with experience in such position in the departmental unit. A person employed as a temporary employee in a labor service position for a period of at least two years who receives an appointment as a permanent employee to such position in the same departmental unit shall be deemed to be a tenured employee within the meaning of section thirty-four without serving a probationary period. This paragraph shall take effect upon its acceptance by vote of the city council.  A permanent intermittent junior building custodian in the school department of a city or town who, after the certification of his name on three separate occasions, refuses to accept appointment as a permanent full-time junior building custodian in such school department shall not be eligible for further certification and shall cease to be a permanent intermittent junior building custodian. The appointing authority shall send to the administrator and to such permanent intermittent junior building custodian a notice of termination of the service of such permanent intermittent junior building custodian. Such notice shall set forth the occasion of each refusal and the date of termination of service of such permanent intermittent junior building custodian. This paragraph shall take effect in a city upon its acceptance by vote of its city council, subject to the provisions of its charter, in a town upon its acceptance by vote of the inhabitants of the town at an annual town meeting, or, if such custodians are appointed in a city or town by the school committee thereof, upon its acceptance by such committee.  No person shall be certified by the administrator for appointment to the position of inspector of wires in a city or town unless he has been issued a certificate A or certificate B license pursuant to section three of chapter one hundred and forty-one.
MA Gen L ch 31 § 58a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IV - Civil Service, Retirements and Pensions|Chapter 31 - Civil Service|Section 58a - Municipal Police Officers and Firefighters; Maximum Age Restrictions

Section 58A. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, in any city, town or district that accepts this section, no person shall be eligible to have his name certified for original appointment to the position of firefighter or police officer if such person has reached his thirty-second birthday on the date of the entrance examination. Any veteran shall be allowed to exceed the maximum age provision of this section by the number of years served on active military duty, but in no case shall said candidate for appointment be credited more than four years of active military duty.
MA Gen L ch 31 § 60 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IV - Civil Service, Retirements and Pensions|Chapter 31 - Civil Service|Section 60 - Intermittent or Reserve Police or Fire Forces; Appointments to Regular Force

Section 60. In any city or town having an intermittent or reserve police or fire force to which the civil service law and rules are applicable, original appointments to the lowest title in the regular police or fire force shall be made from among the permanent members of such intermittent or reserve police or fire force, as the case may be, whose names are certified by the administrator to the appointing authority. Names of such members shall be listed on the certification in the order of their civil service appointments to such intermittent or reserve police or fire force, or, if such order is not ascertainable, in the order provided by the appointing authority at the time of their appointments to such intermittent or reserve police or fire force; provided, however, that in a city or town having both an intermittent police force and a reserve police force, or an intermittent fire force and a reserve fire force, permanent members of such intermittent police force or such intermittent fire force shall, for the purposes of certification and appointment to the regular police force or the regular fire force pursuant to this section, be deemed to be members of the reserve police force or the reserve fire force of such city or town.  No person who has passed his fiftieth birthday shall be appointed pursuant to this section to the regular police or fire force. A member of an intermittent or reserve police or fire force who, after being duly certified on three occasions, refuses employment on a permanent basis in the regular police or fire force shall not be eligible for further certification for appointment thereto and, notwithstanding the provisions of sections forty-one, forty-three and forty-four or any other law, shall cease to be a member of such intermittent or reserve police or fire force, provided that the refusal of any such member to accept appointment to the regular force made while he was serving in the armed forces of the United States shall not be included among the refusals referred to in this paragraph. The appointing authority shall send to the administrator a notice of termination of service of any such member which occurs pursuant to this paragraph. Such notice shall set forth the occasion of each refusal and the date of termination of service of such member. The administrator shall deny any request of a member of an intermittent or reserve police or fire force that he not be certified in any instance for appointment to the regular force.  The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to prevent the appointment to the regular fire force of a city or town of a call fire fighter under the provisions of any general or special law.
MA Gen L ch 31 § 60a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IV - Civil Service, Retirements and Pensions|Chapter 31 - Civil Service|Section 60a - Intermittent or Reserve Police or Fire Force Members; Effect of Refusals to Accept Employment on Permanent Basis in Regular Police or Fire Force

Section 60A. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 60 to the contrary, this section shall apply to a city or town that has an intermittent or reserve police or fire force and that accepts this section by majority vote of the selectmen of a town or of the city council of a city, subject to its charter.  (b) A member of an intermittent or reserve police or fire force who, after being duly certified on three occasions, refuses employment on a permanent basis in the regular police or fire force shall not be eligible for further certification for appointment to that force and, notwithstanding sections 41, 43 and 44 or any other law, shall cease to be a member of such intermittent or reserve police or fire force. But no such member shall cease to be such a member as a result of having so refused such employment on three such occasions if he shall have submitted to the appointing authority, in writing, on a form or in such manner to be prescribed by the administrator, not later than such third refusal, an irrevocable request by such member not to be so terminated from the intermittent or reserve police or fire force. No such member who is so exempted from such termination shall be counted for the purpose of determining the size of such intermittent or reserve force. The refusal of any such member to accept appointment to the regular force made while he was serving in the armed forces of the United States shall not be included among the refusals referred to in this paragraph.  (c) The appointing authority shall send to the administrator a notice of termination of service of any such member that occurs pursuant to this paragraph. Such notice shall set forth the occasion of each refusal and the date of termination of service of such member. The appointing authority shall send to the administrator a copy of an irrevocable request by any member not to be terminated from the intermittent or reserve police or fire force indicating the date on which such request was received. The administrator shall deny any request of a member of an intermittent or reserve police or fire force that he not be certified in any instance for appointment to the regular force.  (d) This section shall not prevent the appointment to the regular fire force of a city or town of a call firefighter under any general or special law.
MA Gen L ch 31 § 61 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IV - Civil Service, Retirements and Pensions|Chapter 31 - Civil Service|Section 61 - Municipal Police Officers or Fire Fighters; Probationary Periods; Evaluation

Section 61. Following his original appointment as a permanent full-time police officer or fire fighter in a city, or in a town where the civil service law and rules are applicable to such position, a person shall actually perform the duties of such position on a full-time basis for a probationary period of twelve months before he shall be considered a full-time tenured employee in such position, except as otherwise provided by civil service rule. The administrator, with the approval of the commission, may establish procedures to ensure the evaluation by appointing authorities, prior to the end of such probationary period, of the performance of persons appointed as regular police officers or fire fighters.
MA Gen L ch 31 § 61b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IV - Civil Service, Retirements and Pensions|Chapter 31 - Civil Service|Section 61b - Wellness Program for Police Officers and Firefighters

Section 61B. Any city, town, district or other governmental unit which accepts the provisions of this section shall establish a wellness program for police officers and firefighters, if any, employed in such city, town, district or other governmental unit. Such wellness program shall be in accordance with the minimum requirements established by the department of public health pursuant to section two hundred and three of chapter one hundred and eleven. The commonwealth and any agencies or authorities thereof shall establish such programs for any police officers or firefighters employed by said commonwealth, agencies or authorities and shall be deemed to have accepted this section for the purposes of section sixty-one A. Any city, town, district, or other governmental unit, but not including the commonwealth, its agencies or authorities, which accepts the provisions of this section and provides wellness programs pursuant thereto shall be reimbursed for the lesser of (i) one-half the costs thereof or (ii) an amount equal to one hundred dollars per employee, by the commonwealth, upon certification by the secretary of public safety. Said secretary shall certify the amount of such reimbursement to be paid to such city, town, district, or other governmental unit from information filed on or before September first of each year with said secretary by the appointing authority.
MA Gen L ch 31 § 62 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IV - Civil Service, Retirements and Pensions|Chapter 31 - Civil Service|Section 62 - Punishment Duty; Police Officers or Fire Fighters

Section 62. Punishment duty shall not be imposed without just cause upon any police officer or fire fighter subject to this chapter. A police officer or fire fighter upon whom punishment duty is imposed shall, within twenty-four hours of the imposition of such punishment duty, be given a copy of this section and of sections forty-one through forty-five, together with a written notice stating the specific reason for the imposition of such punishment duty and the duration thereof and informing him that he may, within forty-eight hours of receipt of such notice, request in writing a hearing by the appointing authority. If he so requests he shall be given such a hearing within five days of receipt of such request by the appointing authority. A copy of the notice of imposition of punishment duty shall be forwarded forthwith to the administrator. Whenever such hearing is given, the appointing authority shall give such police officer or fire fighter a written notice of his finding within two days after the hearing. If, after such hearing, the appointing authority finds no just cause exists for the imposition of punishment duty, such punishment duty shall be deemed not to have been imposed; if, after such hearing, the appointing authority finds that just cause does exist for the imposition of punishment duty, such police officer or fire fighter may appeal to the commission as provided in section forty-three, and he or the appointing authority shall be entitled to judicial review of the action taken by the commission as provided in section forty-four. The provisions of section forty-three shall apply to all hearings under this section. Notice of any action taken by the appointing authority under this paragraph shall be forwarded forthwith to the administrator. Any hearing pursuant to this section shall be public if either party concerned so requests in writing. At any such hearing, the person upon whom punishment duty was imposed shall be allowed, either personally or by counsel, to answer the charges against him. In the computation of any period of time limited by this section, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays shall be excluded.  Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, punishment duty shall not be imposed upon any police officer or firefighter who is employed by the commonwealth subject to the provisions of this chapter, unless such police officer or firefighter assents thereto.
MA Gen L ch 31 § 62a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IV - Civil Service, Retirements and Pensions|Chapter 31 - Civil Service|Section 62a - Punishment Duty; Police Officers or Firefighters Employed by Cities or Towns

Section 62A. Notwithstanding the provisions of section sixty-two punishment duty shall not be imposed upon any police officer or firefighter, who is employed by a city or town subject to the provisions of this chapter, unless such police officer or firefighter assents thereto. This section shall take effect in a city or town upon its acceptance and shall become ineffective in any city or town which rescinds its acceptance in the same manner as it was accepted.
MA Gen L ch 31 § 63 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IV - Civil Service, Retirements and Pensions|Chapter 31 - Civil Service|Section 63 - Paraplegic Persons; Municipal Police or Fire Departments; Appointments

Section 63. An appointing authority may employ a paraplegic in a civil service position within the police or fire department of any city or town, without submitting a requisition, if, in its opinion, the duties of the position may be performed by such paraplegic. Prior to such employment, the appointing authority shall secure and maintain on file a certificate from the attending physician of such person that such person is a paraplegic.  The appointing authority shall also maintain a record of the following:  (1) the title and duties to be assigned to the paraplegic who is to be employed, and the title of his immediate supervisor; and  (2) a certificate from a physician that the paraplegic can satisfactorily perform the duties of the position, is qualified to do the work without hazard to himself or to others and is socially competent to maintain himself in a work environment.  The appointing authority may require any paraplegic proposed for appointment pursuant to this section to undergo such tests as, in its opinion, will measure the fitness of such paraplegic to perform the duties of the position.  Upon the commencement of such employment, such paraplegic shall be deemed to be appointed to the position pursuant to the civil service law and rules and shall continue in such position subject to the provisions of such law and rules.  For purposes of this section, a paraplegic shall mean a person (1) with paraplegia, or (2) with other handicapping conditions which preclude the use of the lower limbs, or (3) without lower limbs.
MA Gen L ch 31 § 64 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IV - Civil Service, Retirements and Pensions|Chapter 31 - Civil Service|Section 64 - Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police; Qualifications

Section 64. No person shall be ineligible for appointment and no person shall be denied employment as a police officer in the Massachusetts bay transportation authority police force because of failure to attain a minimum height unless the administrator, in response to the written request of the appointing authority that no person under a specified height be certified for appointment to such position in said force, has established a minimum height requirement for the position. Such request shall include the findings of a validation study demonstrating the necessity for a minimum height for said position in said force, and such other evidence as the administrator may require.  A person shall be ineligible to become an applicant for an examination for original appointment to the position of police officer in the Massachusetts bay transportation authority police force if he will not have reached his twenty-first birthday on or before the final date for the filing of applications for such examination, as stated in the examination notice.  As a prerequisite to appointment to the position of police officer in the Massachusetts bay transportation authority police force or for appointment as a correction officer, a person shall have graduated from high school, or received a high school graduation equivalency certificate from the department of education, or served for three years or more in the armed forces of the United States, having last left such armed forces under honorable conditions. Subsequent to January first, nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, no person who smokes any tobacco product shall be eligible for appointment as a uniformed member of the Massachusetts bay transportation authority police force, or of the public works building police, and no person so appointed after said date shall continue in such office or position if such person thereafter smokes any tobacco product; the personnel administrator shall promulgate regulations for the implementation of the provisions of this sentence.
MA Gen L ch 31 § 65 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IV - Civil Service, Retirements and Pensions|Chapter 31 - Civil Service|Section 65 - Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police; Appointments and Promotions; Probationary Periods; Evaluation

Section 65. Original and promotional appointments in the Massachusetts bay transportation authority police force shall be made only after competitive examination.  An examination for a promotional appointment for any title in any such force shall be open only to permanent employees in the next lower title in such force, except that if the number of such employees, or the number of applicants for the examination, or the number of applicants presenting themselves for examination is less than four, the examination shall be opened to permanent employees in the next lower titles in succession in such force until either four such employees have applied and presented themselves for examination or until the examination is open to all permanent employees in lower titles in such force; provided, that no such examination shall be open to any person who has not been employed as a permanent employee for at least one year in such force in the lower title or titles to which the examination is open, and provided, further, that no such examination for the first title above the lowest title in such force shall be open to any person who has not been employed as a permanent employee in such force for at least three years in such lowest title.  All promotional appointments to fill positions in such forces shall be made on a full-time basis. No such promotional appointments shall be made on a permanent intermittent basis.  An eligible list established as a result of any examination shall not be used for an original or promotional appointment to any position in any force pursuant to this section unless the announcement of such examination identified such position as one to be filled from such list.  Notwithstanding the provisions of any law or rule to the contrary, a member of any such force who has served as such for twenty-five years and who passes an examination for promotional appointment in such force shall have preference in promotion equal to that provided to veterans under the civil service rules.  Following his original appointment as a permanent full-time police officer in the Massachusetts bay transportation authority police force, a person shall actually perform the duties of such position on a full-time basis for a probationary period of twelve months before he shall be considered a full-time tenured employee in such position. The administrator, with the approval of the commission, may establish procedures to ensure the evaluation by appointing authorities, prior to the end of such probationary period, of the performance of persons appointed as police officers in such force.