reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 41 § 127 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 127 - Eligibility to Apply for Tenure; Offices Excepted; Restrictions; Duration of Tenure; Removal for Cause

Section 127. Any person who has held an appointive office in a city, town or district for at least five consecutive years shall be eligible to apply for tenure in such office pursuant to the provisions of sections one hundred and twenty-six to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, with the exception of the following offices:—city or town manager, executive secretary to the selectmen, city or assistant city solicitor, town or assistant town counsel, and legislative counsel. Any person having tenure in a city or town office who is elected to or accepts an appointment to any of the foregoing offices, whether or not to fill a vacancy, shall thereupon lose such tenure. Any person having tenure in an appointive city or town office may not apply for tenure in any other city or town office, nor may any person apply for tenure in more than one city or town office at any one time, except that a person may apply for tenure as city clerk and city treasurer or town clerk and town treasurer, or, if such person has tenure in either of such offices, he may apply for tenure in the other office; provided that both such offices are appointive offices. If any person is unable to so apply for tenure by reason of holding one of the offices specified above or loses his tenure by reason of being elected or appointed to any such office, he may, following the termination of his service in such office, then apply for tenure in an appointive city or town office. Any person granted tenure of office under these provisions shall, notwithstanding any contrary provision of general or special laws, hold office during good behavior until he has attained age sixty-five unless incapacitated by physical or mental disability from performing the duties thereof, but may be removed for cause after a hearing as provided by sections forty-one to forty-five, inclusive, of chapter thirty-one.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 128 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 128 - City Offices; Application Statement; Filing; Approval Procedure; Denial, Re-Application Time Limit

Section 128. Any person applying for tenure in an appointive city office shall file an application statement with the city clerk and shall deliver copies thereof in hand or send same by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to every city officer, or every member of any city board, commission or other body that is required to recommend, make, approve or confirm the applicant's office. Upon receipt of the application statement, the city clerk shall post a copy thereof in his office. The applicant shall forthwith and at his own expense cause a copy of his said statement to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city once a week for three consecutive weeks. Not less than thirty days after said posting and not less than seven days following the applicant's compliance with the publication requirement, the city council shall vote to approve or deny said application. If the city council approves said application, it shall then be presented to the mayor for his approval or denial. If the mayor approves the said application, at least one hundred and twenty days prior to the next municipal election, the city clerk shall cause to be printed on the ballot for such municipal election a question in substantially the following form:   Shall (name of applicant), incumbent of the position or positions of (title of office), be granted tenure pursuant to sections one hundred and twenty-six to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, of chapter forty-one of the General Laws?  If a majority of the votes cast in response to the question is in favor of granting tenure, the applicant shall thereupon have tenure in such office. If less than a majority of such votes cast is in favor of granting tenure, the applicant's request for tenure is denied. If the application statement is denied either by the vote of the city council, by the mayor or by vote of the electorate at a municipal election, the applicant shall be ineligible to apply for tenure in his said office for a period of two years following such denial.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 129 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 129 - Town Offices; Application Statement; Filing; Approval Procedure; Denial, Re-Application Time Limit

Section 129. Any person applying for tenure in an appointive town office shall file an application statement with the town clerk and shall deliver copies thereof in hand or send same by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested to each selectman. Following receipt of such notice, the selectmen shall vote to approve or deny said application. If the board of selectmen vote to approve said application, the town clerk, at least one hundred and twenty days prior to the next town election, shall post a copy of the said application statement and the selectmen's written approval on the town bulletin board or such other place used for the posting of public notices within the town hall premises. The selectmen shall then cause to be included in the town warrant for said election a question in substantially the following form:   Shall (name of applicant), incumbent of the position or positions of (title of office), be granted tenure pursuant to sections one hundred and twenty-six to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, of chapter forty-one of the General Laws?  If a majority of the votes cast in response to the question is in favor of granting tenure, the applicant shall thereupon have tenure in such office. If less than a majority of such votes cast is in favor of granting tenure, the applicant's request for tenure is denied. If the application statement is denied either by a vote of the board of selectmen or by vote of the electorate at the town election, the applicant shall be ineligible to apply for tenure in his said office for a period of two years following such denial.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 130 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 130 - Applicability of Town Tenure Provisions to Districts

Section 130. The provisions of section one hundred and twenty-seven and sections one hundred and twenty-nine to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, as they apply to towns, town offices and town officers shall be applicable to districts and for this purpose the word ''selectmen'' shall be construed to mean ''commissioner'' or ''member of the prudential committee'', and other references to specific town offices or officers shall be construed as meaning the equivalent office or officer, if any, in a district. For the purpose of determining whether a person is eligible to apply for tenure in a town office or in a district office and for the purpose of determining whether a person has lost his tenure in such an office, offices in a district shall be deemed to be offices in the town in which they are located.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 132 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 132 - Tenure Limitations

Section 132. The tenure provisions of sections one hundred and twenty-six to one hundred and thirty-one, inclusive, shall be limited as follows:  (a) Said provisions shall not apply to persons whose tenure in office is terminated by a law enacted subsequent to his commencement of tenure.  (b) Said provisions shall not prevent abolition of any municipal office or the transfer of any of the powers and duties of any office.  (c) Said provisions shall not prevent termination of tenure upon an appointive office becoming elective. Any person's length of service in an elective office which becomes appointive, however, may be credited to his eligibility period for tenure if he succeeds himself in such office.  (d) Said provisions shall not extend the time at which an officer is otherwise required to retire.  (e) Said provisions shall not waive residency requirements in determining tenure eligibility.
MA Gen L ch 41 § 133 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 41 - Officers and Employees of Cities, Towns and Districts|Section 133 - Appointment and Reappointment of Police Officers

Section 133. Pursuant to this chapter, and notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the appointment and reappointment of full-time police officers not subject to the provisions of chapter thirty-one shall be subject to the following provisions:  (a) The initial appointment shall be for a period of one year during which a person shall actually perform the duties of such position on a full-time basis. The initial appointment shall be a probationary period during which police officers shall be deemed employees at will whose removal or dismissal shall be without recourse at any time during such initial appointment.  (b) Appointment subsequent to the initial appointment shall be made annually or for a term of years as the appointing authority shall determine, or for an unspecified or indefinite term of appointment as long as the officer is not removed as described in this paragraph. The appointing authority may remove any such officer for cause, or for some other standard contained in an applicable collective bargaining agreement or employment contract, and after a hearing, at any time during such appointment. For police officers covered by collective bargaining agreements or employment contracts which contain standards for the discharge, termination or removal of employees, the non-reappointment of a police officer serving under an appointment subsequent to an initial appointment shall be considered to be a discharge, termination or removal and the standards shall be enforceable with respect to such non-reappointment by the procedures set forth in the collective bargaining agreement or employment contract.
MA Gen L ch 42 § 1 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns|Section 1 - Seaward Boundary

Section 1. The seaward boundary of cities and towns bordering on the open sea shall coincide with the marine boundary of the commonwealth. The boundary lines in tide water between adjacent coastal municipalities, as located and defined by the board of harbor and land commissioners under chapter one hundred and ninety-six of the acts of eighteen hundred and eighty-one, except in so far as the boundary lines so located and defined purported to vary boundary lines in tide water between municipalities theretofore established by the general court, together with such boundary lines theretofore so established, as such boundary lines have been subsequently changed by the general court or defined by decrees of the land court, with such additions to or subtractions from the length thereof as have been made by natural changes in the shore line of the commonwealth, are hereby confirmed and established as the legal boundary lines in tide water between said adjacent municipalities; provided, that such boundary lines shall hereafter be changed from time to time to conform to any change in said shore line.
MA Gen L ch 42 § 2 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns|Section 2 - Locating and Marking of Town Boundary Markers; Recordation; Copy of Records to Contiguous Town

Section 2. The boundary markers of every town shall be located, the marks thereon renewed, and the year located marked upon the face thereof which bears the letter of the town locating its boundary, once every five years, by at least two of the selectmen of the town or by two substitutes designated by them in writing. The marking shall be made with a paint or other suitable marking material.  The proceedings shall be recorded with the town clerk and the board of selectmen of the town in writing signed under penalty of perjury setting forth which boundary marks were located, and those which were not located. A copy of such records shall also be sent, by registered letter, to the town clerk and the board of selectmen of any contiguous town.
MA Gen L ch 42 § 4 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns|Section 4 - Boundary Monuments; Erection

Section 4. The selectmen of contiguous towns shall, at the joint and equal expense of such towns, erect permanent stone monuments at every angle of their respective boundary lines and wherever a highway crosses such lines, unless such monument, two feet high from the ground, already exists or unless such lines are bounded by the sea or by a permanent stream. The monuments shall be well set in the ground, at least four feet high from its surface, and shall have the initial letters of the respective names of such towns legibly cut thereon.
MA Gen L ch 42 § 5 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns|Section 5 - Locating and Marking of Boundary Markers in Border Towns; Notice to Contiguous Towns in Other State; Removal of State Bounds Prohibited

Section 5. The selectmen of towns bordering on another state, if the lines between the state have been established, shall once in every five years locate the boundary markers in such lines, mark them in accordance with the provisions of section two and give notice thereof to the selectmen or other proper officer of contiguous towns in the other state. No bound erected by the commonwealth and an adjoining state shall be removed by such selectmen or other officers.
MA Gen L ch 42 § 6 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns|Section 6 - Penalty

Section 6. A selectman who refuses or neglects to perform any duty required of him by the two preceding sections shall forfeit twenty dollars.
MA Gen L ch 42 § 7 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns|Section 7 - Changes in Boundaries of Adjoining Towns

Section 7. Proposed changes in the boundary lines between adjoining towns shall be submitted to each of the towns affected by the change for their concurrence at town meetings. If approved, they shall be submitted to the department of highways of the commonwealth for review as to clarity and engineering accuracy. Said department may recommend wording to accurately describe the proposed change, but may not alter the intent. The description as approved by said department, shall then be submitted to the next regular session of the general court. If ratified and accepted by the general court, the person, corporation, town, county, or state department initiating the change, shall, at his or its own expense, engage the services of a registered land surveyor to locate and define such change and determine the position of each angle and corner in such new boundary line. A plan of the change and any computations pertaining to it shall be submitted to said department of highways for approval as to accuracy. The selectmen of the contiguous towns, shall, within six months after passage of the legislation, place such monuments at the new points determined, and place such marks on them, in addition to initials, as the department may prescribe and in the manner required by section four. Monuments marking angles and corners in town boundaries, the position of which has not been changed, shall be re-marked in the manner indicated by said department so as to establish a uniform system of designating angles and corners of town boundary lines.
MA Gen L ch 42 § 8 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns|Section 8 - Boundaries Formed by Stream or Highway; Filing of Plan

Section 8. If the boundary line between towns is formed wholly or partly by a stream or by a highway, a survey and plan of such stream or highway shall be made by said department, based on the triangulation common to the other town boundary lines, and the plan shall be filed in the office of said department.
MA Gen L ch 42 § 9 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns|Section 9 - Triangulation Points as Evidence of Town Lines

Section 9. The triangulation points established by said department shall be regarded as a part of the evidence of the location of town boundary lines, and a description of the position and marks of such points shall be communicated in writing by said department to the selectmen of the towns where such points are located, and shall be filed with the perambulation records of such towns.
MA Gen L ch 42 § 10 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns|Section 10 - Obliteration of Monuments; Restrictions

Section 10. No person, except as hereinafter provided, shall remove, obliterate or cover up any monument or mark designating a boundary line of a town. The county commissioners of the county where any such monument or mark is wholly or partly situated may grant to any person making written application permission to remove, cover up or obliterate the same, first making provision for preserving the exact location of the original boundary or mark by causing proper witness marks to be set up, or other means taken, which shall, with proper designation and measurement, indicate the position of the original mark or monument. The commissioners shall cause a full description and designation of such witness marks and monuments so made and set up to be recorded in the office of the town clerk of the contiguous towns, and a copy of such description to be forwarded to the state secretary. This section shall not apply to monuments and marks designating boundary lines of the commonwealth.
MA Gen L ch 42 § 11 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns|Section 11 - Penalty for Illegal Obliteration of Monuments

Section 11. Whoever violates any provision of the preceding section, or wilfully or maliciously disturbs or injures the monuments or marks aforesaid, shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months.
MA Gen L ch 42 § 12 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 42 - Boundaries of Cities and Towns|Section 12 - Location of Disputed Boundaries; Procedure

Section 12. If the true boundary between two or more adjacent counties, cities, towns or districts is doubtful or in dispute, the land court may determine the location thereof upon the petition of one or more of such counties, cities, towns and districts and after such notice to all other counties, cities, towns and districts interested as the court shall order, and the court may make such order as to the setting of durable bounds to perpetuate the lines the location of which is so determined, and as to the costs and expenses of the proceedings, as law and justice may require.
MA Gen L ch 43 § 1 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 1 - Definitions

Section 1. The following words as used in this chapter shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the following meanings:  ''Officer'', ''officers'' and ''administrative officers'', when used without further qualification or description, any person or persons in charge of any department or division of the city. The said words when used in contrast with a board or members of a board, or with division heads, shall mean any of the persons in sole charge of a department of the city.  ''Ordinance'', a vote or order of the city council entitled ''ordinance'' and designed for the permanent regulation of any matter within the jurisdiction of the city council as laid down in this chapter.  ''Plan A'', a city government and legislative body composed of the mayor and a city council, the councillors being elected at large.  ''Plan B'', a city government and legislative body composed of a mayor and city council, the councillors being elected partly at large and partly from districts or wards of the city.  ''Plan C'', a city government and legislative body composed of a mayor and commissioners as hereinafter specified.  ''Plan D'', a city government and legislative body, to be known as the city council, composed of seven or nine members, one of whom shall be mayor and shall be the official head of the city, and an administrative officer, called the city manager.  ''Plan E'', a city government and legislative body, to be known as the city council, composed of seven or nine members, one of whom shall be elected as mayor by and from such members and shall be the official head of the city, and an administrative officer, called the city manager; the members of the city council and the elective members of the school committee to be elected at large by proportional representation.  ''Plan F'', a city government and legislative body composed of a mayor and a city council, the councillors being elected partly at large and partly from wards of the city, with the mayor and city councillors to be nominated in party primaries.  ''An optional plan of a city council and a school committee organization in certain large cities'', a legislative body, to be known as the city council, composed of at least nine members or a school committee composed of at least nine members, or both, elected from equally populous districts and one member of the city council or of the school committee elected at large for every one hundred and twenty thousand residents of the city in excess of one hundred and fifty thousand residents, notwithstanding its plan of government or charter.  ''Elected at large'', elected by and from all the voters of the city.  ''Proportional representation'', any proportional representation method of election authorized by sections ninety-three to one hundred and sixteen, inclusive.  ''Regular municipal election'', the annual or biennial election of municipal officers for which provision is made in this chapter.