reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 127 § 72 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 72 - Payment of Salaries and Bills for Tools, Machinery and Materials; Schedules

Section 72. Subject to appropriation, the bills for tools, implements, machinery and materials purchased for, and the salaries of persons employed in, the correctional institutions of the commonwealth, under sections fifty-one to fifty-eight, inclusive, sections sixty, sixty-one, and sixty-six to sixty-nine, inclusive, shall be paid monthly by the commonwealth, upon schedules prepared and sworn to by the superintendents and approved by the commissioner. Bills for tools, implements, machinery and materials purchased by, and the salaries of persons employed in, the jails and houses of correction under said sections shall be paid monthly by the county, upon schedules prepared and sworn to by the superintendent or keeper and approved by the commissioner. The schedule of bills for tools, implements and machinery and of bills for materials and salaries shall be kept separate from each other and from the schedules of bills incurred for the maintenance of the correctional institutions of the commonwealth, jails or houses of correction.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 73 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 73 - Suits on Contracts by and Against Principal Officers; Arbitration

Section 73. The superintendent or keeper of any institution named in section fifty-one may sue or be sued upon any contract of purchase or sale made by him under sections fifty-one to seventy, inclusive. No suit shall abate by reason of a vacancy in any such office, but the successor of any such officer may, and upon motion of the adverse party shall, prosecute or defend it. The superintendent or keeper may submit a controversy relative to such contract or an action thereon to the final determination of arbitrators or referees, who shall, if the claim or suit is made or brought by or against the superintendent of a correctional institution of the commonwealth, be approved by the governor, or, if made or brought by or against the superintendent or keeper of a jail, a house of correction, or any other penal or reformatory institution, be approved by the county commissioners.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 83 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 83 - Outdoor Labor of Inmates

Section 83. During all times when outdoor labor is practicable, inmates of penal institutions required to labor shall be employed, so far as is possible, in the reclamation of waste places and in cultivating lands for raising produce to be used in public institutions, and in the reforestation, maintenance or development of state forests. Prisoners so employed shall be at all times in the custody and under the direction of the prison officers.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 83a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 83a - Establishment of Camp for Male Prisoners for Reforestation; Approval; Hearing.

Section 83A. The commissioner is hereby authorized to establish, on land under the control of the department of environmental management or of the metropolitan district commission and upon sites approved by the commissioner of conservation and recreation, camps to which male prisoners, including male prisoners sentenced to life who have served twelve years, except those serving a sentence for life for first degree murder, may be removed for employment, as designated and approved by the commissioner of conservation and recreation, in reforestation, maintenance and development of state forests, who have shown by their conduct and disposition that they would be amenable to less rigorous discipline and would benefit from work in the open air; provided, however, that only one such camp may be established on land within the urban parks district. Before any site for any such camp shall be approved, a public hearing shall be held by the commissioner of conservation and recreation, in a city or town situated within a radius of ten miles of the proposed site.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 83b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 83b - Removal of Prisoners to Camp; Permit to Be at Liberty; Escape

Section 83B. The commissioner may remove to any camp so established any prisoner held in a correctional institution of the commonwealth except the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Framingham, and sentenced prisoners in jails and houses of correction, including male prisoners sentenced to life who have served twelve years, except a prisoner serving a life sentence for first degree murder, or a sentence imposed for violation of sections twenty-two, 22A, 22B, 22C, twenty-three, 23A, 23B and twenty-four of chapter two hundred and sixty-five and for attempt to commit a crime referred to in said sections, who, in his judgment, may properly be so removed and may at any time return such prisoners to the prison from whence removed. Prisoners so removed shall be entitled to a permit to be at liberty as provided under the provisions of sections one hundred and twenty-eight, one hundred and thirty-two and one hundred and thirty-three of chapter one hundred and twenty-seven.  If a prisoner escapes or attempts to escape from a prison camp all deductions from the sentence he is then serving shall be thereby forfeited. A prisoner who is entitled to have the term of his imprisonment reduced shall receive from the parole board a certificate of discharge and shall be released from the prison camp on the date which has been determined by such additional deduction from the maximum term of his sentence or sentences.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 83c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 83c - Escapes From Prison Camp

Section 83C. A prisoner who escapes or attempts to escape from any prison camp or from land adjacent thereto or from the custody of the officer thereof or while being conveyed to and from any such camp may be pursued and recaptured and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than ten years or by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than two and one half years.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 83d (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 83d - Director of Prison Camps; Offices and Positions; Appointments; Duties

Section 83D. The commissioner shall appoint a director of prison camps and such other prison camp officers as he shall deem necessary. All offices and positions in the prison camps shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of chapter thirty-one, except that offices and positions which require the care, custody and control of prisoners shall be filled by promotion or transfer from among the employees of the department of correction in accordance with the provisions of said chapter.  The director of prison camps shall have the care, custody and control of all prisoners removed to any camp. Purchases and sales on account of any camp shall, if authorized by the state purchasing agent, be made by the director with the approval of the commissioner.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 83e (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 83e - Establishment of Camps for Prisoners Prior to Release on Parole; Transfer; Training for Release

Section 83E. The commissioner is hereby authorized to establish, on land under the control of the department of environmental management and upon sites approved by the commissioner of environmental management, or wherever authorized by the governor and council, camps to which male prisoners may be transferred prior to their release upon parole. The commissioner may transfer to any camp so established any prisoner whose parole has been approved by the parole board unless otherwise recommended by the parole board. Such camp shall provide such training and preparation for release as will best enable the prisoners to attain successful readjustment within the community.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 84 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 84 - Purchases or Lease of Land for Improvement by Prison Labor; Payment to County

Section 84. The county commissioners of any county may purchase or lease land, with funds specifically appropriated therefor by the general court, for the purpose of improving and cultivating the land by the labor of prisoners from a jail or house of correction; and the said commissioners may also make arrangements with the department of highways or with the officials of a town to employ said prisoners on any highway or unimproved land, or with the director of the division of forests and parks in the department of environmental management for the reforestation, maintenance or development of state forests, or with a private owner to improve waste or unused land, or land used for agricultural or domestic purposes, by means of such prison labor. When prisoners are so employed they shall be in the custody of the sheriff of the county. When land that is not the property of the county or is a public way or state forest is so improved, the owners thereof or those having the way or forest in charge shall pay the county such sums as may be agreed upon between the county commissioners, sheriff, and the other parties in interest for the labor of any prisoners employed thereon.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 86g (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 86g - Work Release Programs; Suffolk County

Section 86G. In Suffolk county the penal institutions commissioner of Boston shall have the same powers and duties with respect to the house of correction at Deer Island, and the sheriff of Suffolk county shall have the same powers and duties with respect to the Suffolk County Jail, as are vested in the sheriff of any county, except the sheriff of Suffolk county, under the provisions of section eighty-six F, and the exercise of such powers and duties, in each instance, shall be subject to the same terms and conditions as are provided in said section eighty-six F. The work release supervisor or supervisors in Suffolk county shall be placed in such grade of the classification and pay plan for said county as the city council of the city of Boston, subject to the provisions of the charter of said city, shall from time to time determine.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 86h (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 86h - Public Speaking Engagements; Inmates of State Correctional Facilities

Section 86H. The commissioner of correction may permit an inmate to leave a state correctional facility to address a public gathering, provided that the commissioner receives a request in writing from the sponsor of the public gathering desiring such an address, the inmate selected to present the address is recommended by the committee established under the provisions of section forty-nine A, the inmate leaves the correctional facility in the custody of an officer or employee of the department and remains in such custody until returned to the facility by said officer or employee, and the sponsor of the public gathering bears the cost of transportation for the inmate and the officer.  An inmate shall, at all times during his absence from a correctional facility under this section, be considered as in the custody of the officer having charge of the correctional facility, and the time away from the facility shall be considered as part of the term of the sentence.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 86i (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 86i - Public Speaking Engagements; Inmates of County Correctional Facilities

Section 86I. The administrator of a county correctional facility may permit an inmate to leave such facility in order to address a public gathering, provided that the administrator receives a request in writing from the sponsor of the public gathering desiring such an address, the inmate is selected after a careful screening process, the inmate leaves the facility in the custody of an officer or employee of the facility and remains in such custody until returned to the facility by said officer or employee, and the sponsor of the public gathering bears the cost of transportation for the inmate and officer.  An inmate shall, at all times during his absence from a correctional facility under this section, be considered as in the custody of the officer having charge of the correctional facility, and the time away from the facility shall be considered as part of the term of the sentence.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 87 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 87 - Correspondence of Inmates

Section 87. (a) Every inmate of a correctional institution or any other penal institution in the commonwealth shall be allowed to send mail to the President or Vice President of the United States, a member of the Congress of the United States, the Attorney General of the United States, the director or any agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, any judge, attorney, clerk, probation officer, or parole officer the United States or of the commonwealth, the governor of the commonwealth, a member of the general court of the commonwealth, the attorney general of the commonwealth, the colonel of the state police, the commissioner or any deputy commissioner of correction, and the superintendent of the institution in which the inmate is confined. A locked letter box shall be placed in each institution, into which the inmates may deposit sealed mail to the above-listed officials at their official addresses. The commissioner may provide that such mail be marked to indicate to the addressee that it has not been inspected or opened, and may also require as a condition of delivery that the mail bear the inmate's name and return address. The mail shall be delivered or conveyed to the federal postal authorities for delivery.  (b) Every inmate of a correctional institution or any other penal institution in the commonwealth shall be allowed, consistent with such regulations as are necessary to protect legitimate governmental interests, to send mail to persons not listed in subsection (a).  (c) The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purpose of this section.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 88 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 88 - Religious Services

Section 88. An inmate of any prison or other place of confinement shall not be denied the free exercise of his religious belief and the liberty of worshipping God according to the dictates of his conscience in the place where he is confined; and he shall not be required to attend any service or religious instruction other than that of his own religious belief, if religious services and instructions of his own belief are regularly held at the institution; and he may, in illness, upon request to the superintendent, keeper, receive the visits of any clergyman whom he may wish. The officers having the management and direction of such institutions shall make necessary regulations to carry out the intent of this section. This section shall not be so construed as to impair the discipline of any such institution so far as may be needful for the good government and the safe custody of its inmates, nor prevent the assembling of all the inmates, who do not attend a regularly held religious service of their own belief, in the chapel thereof for such general religious instruction, including the reading of the Bible, as the officer having charge of the institution considers expedient.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 89 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 89 - Maintenance of Sabbath Schools and Schools for Instruction

Section 89. The superintendent of any correctional institution of the commonwealth, with the consent of the commissioner, may cause a sabbath school to be maintained in the institution for the instruction of the inmates in their religious duties, and may permit such persons as he considers suitable to attend it as instructors, under such regulation as the commissioner may establish. The superintendent may also, except on Sunday, and subject to the approval of the commissioner, maintain schools of instruction for the prisoners.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 90 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 90 - Appropriations for Religious Instruction and Services

Section 90. The department or officers having charge of any prison or other place of confinement shall include as a separate item in their annual requests for appropriations such sums of money as they deem proper to carry out the two preceding sections and section forty of chapter one hundred and nineteen, relating to the religious instruction and free exercise of their religious beliefs by inmates of all the correctional institutions of the commonwealth. The amounts appropriated and spent for said purposes shall appear as a separate item in the reports of said department or officers.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 92 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 92 - Instruction in Jails and Houses of Correction

Section 92. The county commissioners may include, among the items requested to be appropriated for their respective counties, an amount to cover the expenses of furnishing instruction for one hour each evening except Sunday, in reading and writing to prisoners in jails and houses of correction who may be benefited thereby and who wish to receive it. In the county of Suffolk, the mayor of Boston may include such an item in his annual budget submitted to the city council.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 92a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 92a - General Education Development Tests; Age Requirement; No Fee

Section 92A. The department of education shall permit an inmate of a correctional institution of the commonwealth who is eighteen years of age or over to take the general education development tests, and said department shall not charge an application or testing fee to any inmate desiring to take said tests.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 93 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 93 - Appropriations for Moral and Religious Instruction in Jails and Houses of Correction

Section 93. The keeper or superintendent of a jail or house of correction shall in his statement of his requirements submitted to the county commissioners under section twenty-eight of chapter thirty-five include a sum to cover the expenses of providing a copy of the version which he wishes of the Bible or of the New Testament for each prisoner in his charge who is able and wishes to read, which may be used by him at proper seasons during his confinement, and such keeper or superintendent may also include therein a sum to cover the expenses of providing books and papers for such prisoners. The county commissioners may include such amounts, and an amount to cover the expense of providing moral and religious instruction for prisoners in jails and houses of correction within their county, among the items requested to be appropriated for their respective counties.
MA Gen L ch 127 § 94 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVIII - Prisons, Imprisonment, Paroles and Pardons|Chapter 127 - Officers and Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions. Paroles and Pardons|Section 94 - Light for Reading

Section 94. In the assignment of cells to prisoners in a house of correction, due regard shall be had to the accommodation of those who are able and wish to read; and from October first to April first, all prisoners confined to labor during the day shall be provided with sufficient light to enable them to read for at least one hour each evening.