reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 29 § 63 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 29 - State Finance|Section 63 - Unlawful Exercise or Departments Abuse of Power; Commonwealth, Commissions, Officers, etc.; Court Restraint

Section 63. If a department, commission, board, officer, employee or agent of the commonwealth is about to expend money or incur obligations purporting to bind the commonwealth for any purpose or object or in any manner other than that for and in which such department, commission, board, officer, employee or agent has the legal and constitutional right and power to expend money or incur obligations, the supreme judicial or superior court may, upon the petition of not less than 24 taxable inhabitants of the commonwealth, not more than 6 of whom shall be from any 1 county, determine the same in equity, and may, before the final determination of the cause, restrain the unlawful exercise or abuse of such right and power.
MA Gen L ch 29 § 64d (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 29 - State Finance|Section 64d - Deferred Compensation Program, Annuity or Other Defined Contribution Plan; Required Participation

Section 64D. Any governmental body, as defined in section 64B, may require any person, who is receiving compensation from the governmental body for services performed and who is not a member of a retirement system as provided under chapter 32 or any other retirement system which meets the requirements of Section 3121(b)(7)(F) of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder, to participate in the deferred compensation program established with regard to the governmental body, or tax sheltered annuity or any other defined contribution plan. The treasurer, or if there is no treasurer, the chief financial officer by whatever name that person is called, on behalf of a governmental body which has accepted this section shall contract with any person, who is receiving compensation from the governmental body for services performed for the governmental body and who is not eligible for membership in the retirement system in said chapter 32 that pertains to the governmental body, to withhold from that person's compensation at least such amounts as are necessary to provide the minimum level of benefits required to qualify said deferred compensation program, tax sheltered annuity or other defined contribution plan as a retirement system for said person as defined under said Section 3121(b)(7)(F) of said Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder but no greater than permitted under other provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.  All contracts formed with part-time, seasonal or temporary employees under the first paragraph shall entitle the employee to a single-sum distribution of the employee's deferral plus reasonable interest.  A governmental body may accept this section by a majority vote of the selectmen for a town, the city council for a city, the county council for a county, the district members in a district, the members of the authority in an authority, and the governing body, by whatever name and in whatever form composed, in any other political subdivision, body politic and corporate, or public instrumentality created by the commonwealth.  Any governmental body already requiring, on the effective date of this section, participation in a public retirement system for persons who are receiving compensation from the governmental body for services performed and who are not members of a retirement system as provided under said chapter 32 shall be deemed to have accepted this section without the requirement of a majority vote of the selectmen for a town, the city council for a city, the county council for a county, the district members in a district, the members of the authority in an authority, and the governing body, by whatever name and in whatever form composed, in any other political subdivision, body politic and corporate, or public instrumentality created by the commonwealth.
MA Gen L ch 29 § 65 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 29 - State Finance|Section 65 - Delegation of Certain Powers and Duties by Secretaries of Executive Offices Established Under Chapters Six a and Seven; Review by Secretary of Administration and Finance

Section 65. The secretary having charge of any of the executive offices established by chapters 6A and 7 may by rule or regulation not inconsistent with the law delegate to 1 officer within the office of the secretary, in whole or in part, the authority to exercise in the secretary's name any power, or to discharge in the secretary's name any duty conferred upon such secretary by sections 27A, 27B, 29, and 29A; sections 24C, 25B, 36 and paragraph (5A) of section 46 of chapter 30; and section 15, section 15F, section 16A and section 16B of chapter 31.  The secretary of administration and finance shall from time to time make a random examination of approvals granted and actions taken by such secretary or the secretary's designee identified in the preceding paragraph, under the aforementioned sections, in order to determine the extent of compliance with such sections and the rules or regulations established thereunder. Following any such examination, the secretary of administration and finance may, after consultation with the secretary, by order transfer from such officer to the secretary of administration and finance, for such period of time as said secretary deems appropriate, the authority to give such approvals or to take such actions. Upon making such order, the secretary of administration and finance shall forthwith file a copy of said order with the budget director, the comptroller, and the house and senate committees on ways and means, specifying the scope of the authority so transferred and the duration of said transfer.
MA Gen L ch 29 § 66 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 29 - State Finance|Section 66 - Violation of State Finance Laws; Penalties

Section 66. Any officer or employee who knowingly violates, authorizes or directs another officer or employee to violate this chapter, or any rule or regulation promulgated under this chapter, or any other law relating to the incurring of liability or expenditure of public funds, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than 1 year, or both.
MA Gen L ch 29 § 71 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 29 - State Finance|Section 71 - Treasurer's Obligation Regarding Local Aid Intercepts

Section 71. This chapter shall not be construed to affect the obligation of the state treasurer to withhold from the receipts, distributions, reimbursements or other assistance payable to any city, town or other local governmental unit under any reimbursement, grant, assistance or other local aid program any amount determined under section 10 of chapter 44 A or any amount certified to the state treasurer as owing to a public instrumentality of the commonwealth under paragraph (b) of section 10 of chapter 372 of the acts of 1984 or paragraph (d) of section 10 or section 11 of chapter 29C, or any similar provision relative to local aid intercepts.
MA Gen L ch 29a § 1 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 29a - Financing of the Judicial System|Section 1 - Costs of Judicial Branch to Be Paid by Commonwealth

Section 1. All costs of maintenance and operation of the judicial branch shall be paid by the commonwealth. The operation of a registry of deeds and office of an assistant recorder of the land court in connection therewith shall not constitute a court operation. As used in this chapter and notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, ''costs of maintenance and operation of the judicial branch'' shall include all costs and expenses related to the operation of the supreme judicial court, the appeals court, the trial court and its departments and divisions, district attorneys' offices, law libraries, registries of probate, clerks' offices and expenses incurred for assignment by the court of counsel as the court determines, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing shall also include all salaries of probation and court officers and other persons employed in such courts, offices and places, but in no event shall costs include any costs or expenses related to registries of deeds, sheriffs' offices, county jails or county houses of correction, except as otherwise provided by law.
MA Gen L ch 29a § 2 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 29a - Financing of the Judicial System|Section 2 - County Supplies and Equipment Declared Property of Commonwealth

Section 2. All books, papers, equipment, furnishings, uniforms, supplies, records and documents purchased by the counties and in the custody of or maintained primarily for the use of the judicial branch are hereby declared to be the property of the commonwealth, and shall be under the control of the judicial branch thereof.
MA Gen L ch 29a § 3 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 29a - Financing of the Judicial System|Section 3 - Fees, Fines, etc., Paid Into General Fund; Exceptions

Section 3. All fees, fines, forfeitures, penalties and any other receipts or income of any kind paid to or received by any of the courts, clerks, registers, recorders or other officers or employees of the judicial branch shall be paid into the general fund of the commonwealth except as otherwise specifically provided by law. The provisions of this section shall not include a registry of deeds and office of an assistant recorder of the land court in connection therewith.
MA Gen L ch 29a § 3a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 29a - Financing of the Judicial System|Section 3a - Electronic Access to Docket, Calendar and Other Court Information; Fee-Based System

Section 3A. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in section three or any other general or special law, the trial court and the appeals court are hereby authorized to establish a fee-based system and a schedule of fees for electronic access and retrieval of information by attorneys and other members of the public from their automated data bases relating to docket entries, calendaring and other information contained therein. The chief justice of the trial court and the chief justice of the appeals court, or persons duly authorized by them, shall determine which types of information shall be available by remote access and shall otherwise establish by administrative order conditions, methods and means by which such information is to be made available by electronic access. The trial court and the appeals court shall provide such remote access without charge to prosecutors and government agencies. The trial court and the appeals court shall file an annual report with the executive office of administration and finance and the house and senate committees on ways and means on the amount of revenue generated by said fee-based system and said schedule of fees. All revenue generated by said fee-based system and said schedule of fees shall be credited to the General Fund.
MA Gen L ch 29a § 5 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 29a - Financing of the Judicial System|Section 5 - Acquisition of Buildings Occupied by Judicial Branch

Section 5. If all or substantially all of any building owned by a county, city or town is occupied by the judicial branch, then the chief justice of the supreme judicial court, upon the recommendation of the court administrator of the trial court, if applicable, may recommend to the general court that such building be acquired by the commonwealth. Any such recommendation shall be accompanied by an estimate of the fair market value of the property, and an estimate of the cost of maintenance, repair and necessary operating expenses.
MA Gen L ch 29a § 6 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 29a - Financing of the Judicial System|Section 6 - Court Facilities Council

Section 6. There is hereby established a court facilities council. The membership of the council shall consist of the following persons: the court administrator for the trial court or his designee, who shall serve as chairman of the council; the administrative justices of the superior, district, juvenile court, Boston municipal court and probate departments of the trial court or their designees; appointed by the court administrator, or the designee of such appointed justice; two sitting justices of the trial court, appointed by the court administrator; a justice of the supreme judicial court or the appeals court, appointed by the chief justice of the supreme judicial court, or the designee of such appointed justice; the librarian of the social law library, or his designee; five representative county commissioners of counties which retain ownership of court facilities occupied by the judicial branch of the commonwealth and a designee of Local 254 Service Employees International Union, Massachusetts State Labor Council, AFL–CIO, appointed by the governor. All appointed members of said council shall serve three-year terms; provided, however, that of the first such county commissioners appointed to said council, two shall be appointed to serve one-year terms, two shall be appointed to serve two-year terms, and one shall be appointed to serve a three-year term; provided, further, that if any such appointed member shall cease to qualify for membership, the appointing authority shall appoint a successor to serve the remainder of the term of such disqualified member.  The council shall meet periodically and shall advise the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance and the court administrator of the trial court regarding the exercise of their powers and duties with respect to court facilities. The council shall study and periodically review the possibility of consolidating or sharing facilities across jurisdictional lines in order to avoid duplication and increase efficiency. The council shall monitor compliance by the counties, cities and towns with accounting and expenditure requirements and lease conditions established pursuant to section four, and shall report any noncompliance so significant as to jeopardize the safe or effective use by the judicial branch of a rented court facility to the house and senate committees on ways and means and to the joint committee on the judiciary, with a recommendation that the commonwealth assume control of such court facility; provided, however, that the court administrator shall adopt criteria, with the advice of the council but without compliance with chapter thirty, specifying the type or degree of noncompliance necessary to justify such a recommendation.
MA Gen L ch 29c § 2 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 29c - Massachusetts Clean Water Trust|Section 2 - Massachusetts Clean Water Trust; Board of Trustees; Members; Officers

Section 2. (a) An unpaid board of trustees consisting of the state treasurer, ex officio, the secretary of the executive office for administration and finance, ex officio, and the commissioner of the department of environmental protection, ex officio, is hereby constituted as a public instrumentality of the commonwealth to be known as the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust to administer the Water Pollution Abatement Revolving Fund established pursuant to section two L of chapter twenty-nine. The trust is hereby designated as the instrumentality of the commonwealth to establish and administer within the fund the state revolving fund pursuant to Title VI of the Clean Water Act. The exercise by the trust, and by the board of trustees thereof, of the powers conferred by this chapter shall be deemed to be the performance of an essential public function.  (b) The state treasurer shall serve as chairman of the board of trustees of the trust. The board shall annually elect one of its members as vice-chairman. Each member of the board may appoint a designee pursuant to section six A of chapter thirty. Two members of the board of trustees shall constitute a quorum and the affirmative vote of two trustees shall be necessary and shall suffice for any action taken by the board. Any action of the board may take effect immediately and need not be published or posted unless otherwise provided by law. No vacancy in the membership of the board shall impair the right of a quorum to exercise the powers of the board. Meetings of the board of trustees shall be subject to section eleven A1/2 of chapter thirty A; provided, however, that the provisions of said section eleven A1/2 shall not apply to any meeting of trustees in the exercise of their duties as officers of the commonwealth so long as no matters relating to the official business of the trust are discussed and decided at such meeting. The trust shall be subject to all other provisions of said chapter thirty A; provided, however, that the provisions of said chapter thirty A shall not apply to rules, regulations, procedures and guidelines adopted by the board pursuant to section seven, and records pertaining to the administration of the trust shall be subject to the provisions of section forty-two of chapter thirty and section ten of chapter sixty-six. The fund and all other monies of the trust shall be deemed to be public funds for purposes of chapter twelve A. The operations of the trust shall also be subject to the provisions of chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A and chapter two hundred and sixty-eight B to the same extent as the office of the state treasurer.
MA Gen L ch 29c § 5 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 29c - Massachusetts Clean Water Trust|Section 5 - Disbursement of Monies by Board of Trustees; Purposes

Section 5. Subject to limitations in other law respecting the use of particular monies in the fund and the provisions of any trust agreement for bonds of the trust, the board may apply and disburse monies and revenues of the fund or any segregated account therein:  (i) to make, and enter into binding commitments to make, loans and other forms of financial assistance authorized by Title VI of the Clean Water Act approved by the department under section 27A of chapter 21 to local governmental units for the purpose of financing or refinancing costs of water pollution abatement projects and to provide for all or any part of the debt service costs on loans and other forms of financial assistance made by the trust during the implementation of such projects and for such period thereafter as the board shall determine.  (ii) to provide reserves for or otherwise secure bonds of the trust and to provide insurance and letters or lines of credit or other credit enhancement which it deems reasonable and appropriate for bonds;  (iii) to transfer to the Water Pollution Abatement and Drinking Water Projects Administration Fund amounts derived from proceeds of each federal capitalization grant award received by the trust to the extent determined by the board and subject to the approval of the executive office for administration and finance.  (iv) to provide payment from any available source for reasonable and necessary professional and financial services incident to the conduct of the programs of the trust, including costs of issuance of its bonds.
MA Gen L ch 29c § 7 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 29c - Massachusetts Clean Water Trust|Section 7 - Clean Water Act; Powers and Duties of Board

Section 7. The board is authorized and directed to take all necessary or incidental actions to secure for the commonwealth the benefits of Title VI of the Clean Water Act, including exercise of the powers:  (i) to cooperate with appropriate federal agencies in all matters related to the administration of the state revolving loan fund as contemplated by Title VI of the Clean Water Act;  (ii) to prepare in cooperation with the department and submit to the appropriate federal agencies applications for capitalization grants under Title VI of the Clean Water Act and to enter into capitalization grant agreements, operating agreements and other agreements with the United States and the department relating to the purposes of the fund;  (iii) to cooperate with the department in preparing and submitting to the appropriate federal agencies intended use plans identifying the use of capitalization grant awards and other monies in the fund;  (iv) to prepare in cooperation with the department and submit to the appropriate federal agencies, the governor, the department and the clerks of the senate and the house, annual and other reports and audits, in form and content satisfying legal requirements under Title VI of the Clean Water Act, of activities of the board pertaining to the fund;  (v) to establish and collect such fees, charges and interest rates as the board shall determine to be reasonable and to hold, apply and disburse such monies within or without the fund to the implementation of the purposes of this chapter;  (vi) to establish, jointly with the state treasurer, fiscal controls and accounting procedures for the fund and the trust; and  (vii) to adopt after consultation with the department regulations, procedures and guidelines for administration of its loan programs and for maintenance of suitable accounting procedures by local government units for loan proceeds and projects. Such regulations, procedures and guidelines shall be consistent with requirements of Title VI of the Clean Water Act and all applicable rules, regulations, procedures and guidelines of the department, and may determine, without limitation, the form and content of loan applications, loan agreements and local government obligations.
MA Gen L ch 29c § 14 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title III - Laws Relating to State Officers|Chapter 29c - Massachusetts Clean Water Trust|Section 14 - Limited Obligations Payable From Local System Revenues

Section 14. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, when authorized by a two-thirds vote as defined in section one of chapter forty-four or by such other vote as is authorized by the applicable bond act, local governmental obligations may be issued as limited obligations payable solely from local system revenues pledged to their payment in accordance with section fifteen. Unless otherwise provided in the applicable loan agreement, local governmental obligations issued in accordance with this section shall not be general obligations of the local governmental unit or a pledge of its full faith and credit and, notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the amount of principal and premium, if any, of and interest on such obligations shall not be included in the computation of any limit on the indebtedness of the local governmental unit or on the total taxes assessable by the local governmental unit in any year or on any assessment, levy or other charge made by the local governmental unit on any other political subdivision or instrumentality of the commonwealth. Any local governmental obligation issued in accordance with this section shall recite on its face that it is a limited obligation payable solely from local system revenues pledged to its payment.