reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 43 § 120 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 120 - Legislative Powers; Election and Term of City Council

Section 120. The legislative powers of the city shall be vested in a city council. One of its members shall be elected by the council annually as its president. In cities having five wards, the council shall be composed of seven members, one from each ward and two at large; in cities having six wards, the city council shall be composed of nine member, one from each ward and three at large; in cities having seven wards, the city council shall be composed of eleven members, one from each ward and four at large; in cities having eight wards, the city council shall be composed of eleven members, one from each ward and three at large; in cities having nine wards, the city council shall be composed of thirteen members, one from each ward and four at large; in cities having ten wards, the city council shall be composed of fifteen members, one from each ward and five at large; in cities having eleven wards, the city council shall be composed of fifteen members, one from each ward and four at large; in cities having twelve wards, the city council shall be composed of fifteen members, one from each ward and three at large. Each ward councillor shall be a registered voter in the ward from which he seeks election, and shall be elected by and from the qualified voters of that ward. The councillors-at-large shall be elected by and from the qualified voters of the city.  All members of the city council whether elected at large or by wards shall be elected to serve for two years from the first Monday in January following their elections and until their successors are qualified.
MA Gen L ch 43 § 121 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 121 - Vacancies

Section 121. If a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor by death, removal or resignation at any time during the first year of the term ending December thirty-first, the city clerk shall forthwith order an election to fill such vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term.  If a vacancy occurs during the second year of the term beginning January first, a meeting of the city council shall be called by the city clerk and the city council shall elect by majority vote one of its members as mayor for the remainder of the unexpired term. If the city council fails so to elect at said meeting or within thirty days thereafter, the president of the city council shall become acting mayor, shall exercise all the rights and powers of mayor and shall be sworn to the faithful discharge of his duties.  If a vacancy occurs at any time in the office of a councillor elected by and from the qualified voters of the city, such vacancy shall be filled forthwith by a majority vote of all the remaining members of the city council for the remainder of the unexpired term.  If a vacancy occurs, before the last six months of the term, in the office of a councillor elected by and from the voters of a ward, the city council shall forthwith order an election to fill such vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term.
MA Gen L ch 43 § 122 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 122 - Appointments

Section 122. Upon the adoption of Plan F, all heads of departments and members of municipal boards, except the school committee, officials appointed by the governor, and assessors if elected by vote of the people, as their terms of office expire, shall be appointed by the mayor without confirmation by the city council.
MA Gen L ch 43 § 123 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 123 - Certificate of Appointment

Section 123. In making his appointments the mayor shall sign and file with the city clerk a certificate in the following form:  CERTIFICATE OF APPOINTMENT  I appoint (name of appointee) to the position of (name of office), and I certify that in my opinion he is a person specially fitted by education, training or experience to perform the duties of said office, and that I make the appointment solely in the interest of the city.  Mayor.
MA Gen L ch 43 § 124 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 124 - Removal of Heads of Departments

Section 124. The mayor may remove the head of a department or member of a board by filing a written statement with the city clerk setting forth in detail the specific reasons therefor, a copy of which shall be delivered or mailed to the person thus removed, who may make a written reply, which, if he desires, may be filed with the city clerk; but such reply shall not affect the action taken unless the mayor so determines. This section shall not apply to the school committee, or to officials appointed by the governor, or to assessors if elected by the people.
MA Gen L ch 43 § 125 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 125 - Ordinances and Resolutions; Approval by Mayor

Section 125. Every order, ordinance, resolution and vote relative to the affairs of the city, adopted or passed by the city council, shall be presented to the mayor for his approval. If he approves it he shall sign it; if he disapproves it he shall return it, with his written objections, to the city council, which shall enter the objections at large on its records, and again consider it. If the city council, notwithstanding such disapproval of the mayor, shall again pass such order, ordinance, resolution or vote by a two thirds vote of all its members, it shall then be in force, but such vote shall not be taken for seven days after its return to the city council. Every such order, ordinance, resolution and vote shall be in force if not returned by the mayor within ten days after it has been presented to him. This section shall not apply to budgets submitted under section thirty-two of chapter forty-four, or to appropriations by a city council under section thirty-three of said chapter.
MA Gen L ch 43 § 126 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 126 - Regular Municipal Election; Date; Nomination Papers

Section 126. The regular election under Plan F shall take place on the Tuesday next following the first Monday of November in every odd-numbered year. The mayor, all members of the city council, the school committee, and any board of trustees or other officers whose election by the voters of the city is required by reason of the fact that the city has accepted any gift, devise or bequest shall be elected at each such election. In the case of offices to be filled by all the voters of the city nomination papers shall be signed by a number of voters as follows:—for mayor, three hundred voters; for school committee, councillor-at-large and any other office, two hundred voters. In the case of ward councillor, nomination papers shall be signed by at least one hundred voters of the ward. In order that their names may be certified on said nomination papers signers shall not be enrolled in any other party than that whose nomination the candidate seeks.
MA Gen L ch 43 § 127 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 127 - General Election Laws; Applicability

Section 127. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all elections held under Plan F shall be subject to all general laws relating to elections and corrupt practices, so far as applicable and not inconsistent with this chapter.
MA Gen L ch 43 § 128 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 128 - City Defined

Section 128. In sections one hundred and twenty-nine to one hundred and thirty-four, inclusive, the word ''city'' shall mean any city of one hundred and fifty thousand or more inhabitants, as enumerated by the most recent federal decennial census except any city which has adopted the Plan E method of city government.
MA Gen L ch 43 § 129 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 129 - Referendum; Questions Submitted; Petition

Section 129. At the regular municipal election to be held in the year nineteen hundred and seventy-seven in every city there shall be placed upon the ballot the two following questions:—  ''A BINDING REFERENDUM CHANGING THE STRUCTURE OF THE CITY COUNCIL TO PROVIDE FOR DISTRICT REPRESENTATION.   Shall the city council be composed of nine members elected from equally populous districts and, in addition, one member elected at large for every one hundred and twenty thousand residents of the city in excess of one hundred and fifty thousand, for a term of two years notwithstanding the present form of government relative to terms of office?''  ''A BINDING REFERENDUM CHANGING THE STRUCTURE OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE TO PROVIDE FOR DISTRICT REPRESENTATION.   Shall the school committee be composed of nine members elected from equally populous districts and, in addition, one member elected at large for every one hundred and twenty thousand residents of the city in excess of one hundred and fifty thousand, for a term of two years notwithstanding the present form of government relative to terms of office?''  In subsequent years, either or both of the above questions shall be placed upon the ballot of a regular municipal election in any city by a petition addressed to the city council of such city, signed by qualified voters of the city in a number equal at least to five per cent of the number of registered voters in said city at the state election next preceding the filing of said petition. Such petition shall be filed with the city clerk, who shall transmit the same forthwith to the registrars of voters or city body functioning as such, who shall within sixty days certify the signatures thereon in accordance with the provisions of law and return the same to the city clerk. The petition shall be filed with the city clerk at least one hundred and forty days before the date of the election at which the question or questions proposed by the petition is to be submitted to the voters.  Any petition submitted under this section may be in the form of separate sheets addressed to the city council, each sheet containing at the top thereof the question or questions proposed for submission to the voters. When attached together and offered for filing, the several papers shall be deemed to constitute one petition, and there shall be endorsed thereon the name and address of the person presenting the same for filing. The provisions of sections nine and ten shall apply to any petition filed hereunder, and to the placing upon the ballot of any question or questions proposed therein.
MA Gen L ch 43 § 130 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 130 - Election Results; Superseding of City Charter Provisions; Election of Organization Members; Commencement of Term

Section 130. If a majority of the total number of votes cast at a regular city election for and against the adoption of a plan of city council organization or school committee organization proposed under section one hundred and twenty-nine shall be in favor of adoption of either or both such organizations, each such plan shall supersede the provisions of the city charter theretofore existing and of the general and special laws relating to such city and inconsistent with such plan or plans, but not, however, until the city council members or school committee members provided for in such plan, as the case may be, shall have been duly elected and their terms of office shall have begun. The said city council members or school committee members provided for under the plan so adopted shall be elected in accordance with the provisions of this chapter relating to such plan, and their terms of office shall begin at ten o'clock in the forenoon of the first Monday of January following their election. In those cities in which the mayor serves as an ex officio member of the school committee and which subsequently adopt a new plan of school committee organization under the provisions of these sections, the mayor shall continue to serve as an ex officio member of said school committee.
MA Gen L ch 43 § 131 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 131 - Division of City Into Districts; Time; Ordinance; District Description; Redistricting

Section 131. Within ninety days following receipt of an official notice which the city clerk shall send, within thirty days of the city election, to the city council notifying the said council that a new plan of city council organization or school committee organization, or both, has been approved by the voters, said council shall adopt an ordinance after public hearing providing for the division of the city into nine districts, or such other number of districts as may be specified in the question approved by the voters for the election of city council members or school committee members, as the case may be, by and from the voters of such districts at the next municipal election. In cities which adopt both a new plan of city council and a new plan of school committee organization the respective district lines shall be the same for both bodies. Each such district shall be compact and shall contain, as nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants, shall be composed of contiguous existing precincts, and shall be drawn with a view toward preserving the integrity of existing neighborhoods. Said districts shall continue in force until the next division of the city into wards required by section one of chapter fifty-four, at which time the city council shall divide the city into a number of wards equal to the number of said districts; and thereafter, upon the effective date of such wards for city primary, preliminary and general elections under said chapter fifty-four, such wards rather than districts shall be the units used for the election of those city council or school committee members who are not elected at large throughout the city. The city council shall adopt an ordinance providing for signature requirements for nomination papers for candidates for city council or school committee but in no event shall these requirements exceed two per cent of the vote cast in the preceding mayoral election in the respective district.
MA Gen L ch 43 § 132 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 132 - Failure of Timely Districting

Section 132. If, within the time prescribed by section one hundred and thirty-one, the city council shall fail to make a division of the city into districts as required by that section, the mayor of such city in any city having a mayor elected by the people, or the city clerk in any city having a council-manager form of government, shall propose a plan of districts in the required number to the local election district review commission, which shall approve the same with or without amendments as it deems appropriate and necessary to meet constitutional requirements, after a public hearing.
MA Gen L ch 43 § 133 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 133 - Date of Municipal Elections; Municipal Year

Section 133. After the adoption by any city of a plan of city council or school committee organization authorized by sections one hundred and twenty-nine to one hundred and thirty-two, inclusive, the dates of municipal elections, and the municipal year, of such city shall be governed by section fifteen.
MA Gen L ch 43 § 134 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43 - City Charters|Section 134 - Residence of District Members

Section 134. Every city councillor and school committee member who is elected to represent an individual district or ward shall have been an inhabitant of a place within the district or ward for which he is chosen for at least one year immediately preceding his election; and he shall cease to represent such district or ward when he shall cease to be an inhabitant thereof.
MA Gen L ch 43a § 1 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43a - Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government|Section 1 - Adoption Authorized; Conditions

Section 1. Any town in which there has been constituted and established a form of representative town meeting government under a special statute, enacted in conformity with the provisions of the constitution of the commonwealth, may in substitution therefor adopt the standard form of representative town meeting government provided by sections three to twelve, inclusive.
MA Gen L ch 43a § 2 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43a - Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government|Section 2 - Adoption Procedure; Submission to Electorate

Section 2. Five per cent of the registered voters of any such town may, not less than ninety days before its annual town meeting, file with the selectmen a petition that there be submitted to the voters of the town the matter of the acceptance of such standard form of representative town meeting government. The selectmen shall thereupon direct the town clerk to cause to be printed on the official ballot used for the election of town officers at such meeting substantially the following question:  Shall the town adopt the standard form of representative town meeting government provided by chapter forty-three A of the General Laws?  If a majority of the votes cast thereon are in the affirmative such standard form shall thereupon become effective in such town, and the acceptance by the town of the special statute under which it was theretofore governed shall be deemed to be revoked by such vote; provided, that the town meeting members elected at such election or in office under the provisions of such special statute shall, except as otherwise provided therein, remain in office until the next annual town election.
MA Gen L ch 43a § 3 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VII - Cities, Towns and Districts|Chapter 43a - Standard Form of Representative Town Meeting Government|Section 3 - Organization

Section 3. Upon the adoption as aforesaid of such standard form of representative town meeting government by a town, its selectmen shall forthwith divide the territory thereof into voting precincts, each of which shall be plainly designated and shall contain not less than four hundred registered voters. The precincts shall be so established as to consist of compact and contiguous territory to be bounded, as far as possible, by the center line of known streets and ways or by other well-defined limits. Their boundaries shall be reviewed, and, if need be, wholly or partly revised, by the selectmen in December, once in five years, or in December of any year when so directed by a vote of a representative town meeting held not later than November twentieth of that year. The foregoing provisions of this section shall not authorize any action contrary to the provisions of section nine A of chapter fifty-four.  The selectmen shall, within ten days after any establishment or revision of the precincts, file a report of their doings with the town clerk, the registrars of voters and the assessors, with a map or maps or description of the precincts and the names and residences of the registered voters therein. The selectmen shall also cause to be posted in the town hall a map or maps or description of the precincts as established or revised from time to time, with the names and residences of the registered voters therein; and they shall also cause to be posted in at least one public place in each precinct a map or description of that precinct, with the names and residences of the registered voters therein. The division of the town into voting precincts and any revision of such precincts shall take effect upon the date of the filing of the report thereof by the selectmen with the town clerk. Whenever the precincts are established or revised, the town clerk shall forthwith give written notice thereof to the state secretary, stating the number and designation of the precincts. Meetings of the registered voters of the several precincts for elections, for primaries, and for voting upon any question to be submitted to all the registered voters of the town, shall be held on the same day and at the same hour and at such place or places within the town as the selectmen shall in the warrant for such meeting direct. The provisions of chapters fifty to fifty-six, inclusive, relating to precinct voting at elections, so far as the same are not inconsistent with this chapter, shall apply to all elections and primaries in the town upon the establishment of voting precincts as hereinbefore provided.