reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 156 § 3 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 3 - Corporations Not Within Application of Chapter; Adoption of Chapter

Section 3. Corporations which would otherwise be within the application of this chapter, as defined in section two, but which were created before March eleventh, eighteen hundred and thirty-one, by any special act not subject to amendment, alteration or repeal by the general court, may, at a legal meeting of the stockholders duly called therefor, by vote of two thirds of each class of stock outstanding and entitled to vote, adopt the provisions of this chapter and all provisions of chapter one hundred and fifty-five applicable to corporations subject to this chapter. A copy of such vote, signed and sworn to by the president, treasurer and a majority of the directors, shall be submitted to and examined by the secretary. If the secretary finds that it conforms to the requirements of law, he shall endorse his approval thereon, and, upon payment of the fee provided in section fifty-five, it shall be filed in the office of the state secretary; and thereupon such corporation with its members and officers shall be entitled to all the rights, privileges and immunities and be subject to all the liabilities set forth in this chapter and in the provisions of chapter one hundred and fifty-five applicable to corporations subject to this chapter, and no stockholder in such corporation shall be liable for debts of the corporation contracted after the filing of the copy of such vote except for the causes and in the manner provided in this chapter.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 4 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 4 - Powers

Section 4. In addition to the powers and privileges given by section six of chapter one hundred and fifty-five, every corporation shall have the following powers and privileges:  (a) To have perpetual succession in its corporate name, unless a period for its duration is limited by any general or special law.  (b) Except as provided in section two, to have a capital stock to such an amount as may be fixed, as provided in this chapter, in its agreement of association or articles of organization or of amendment.  (c) To hold, purchase, convey, mortgage or lease within or without this commonwealth such real or personal property as the purposes of the corporation may require.  (d) To make contracts, incur liabilities and borrow money on its credit and for its use.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 5 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 5 - Holding Stock in Other Corporations; Prohibitions

Section 5. No corporation, unless authorized by a special act still in force, shall purchase, acquire, take or hold, directly or indirectly, more than ten per cent of the total capital stock of any domestic corporation authorized to carry on within the commonwealth the business of a railroad, street railway, electric railroad, elevated railway, trolleymotor, or gas company; provided, that the foregoing provisions shall not prohibit a corporation having its principal place of business in the commonwealth from purchasing, acquiring, taking or holding more than ten per cent of the capital stock of a domestic corporation carrying on within the commonwealth the business of a gas company.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 6 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 6 - Agreement of Association; Contents

Section 6. Three or more persons may associate themselves by written agreement of association with the intention of forming a corporation under general laws for any lawful purpose not excluded by section two. The agreement of association shall state:  (a) That the subscribers thereto associate themselves with the intention of forming a corporation.  (b) The corporate name assumed.  (c) The location of the principal office of the corporation in the commonwealth, and elsewhere in the case of corporations organized to do business wholly outside the commonwealth.  (d) The purposes for which the corporation is formed and the nature of the business to be transacted.  (e) If only shares with par value are to be issued, the total amount of the capital stock of the corporation, which shall not be less than one thousand dollars, to be authorized, and the number of shares into which the capital stock is to be divided, and the par value of the shares, which shall not be less than one dollar, or, in lieu thereof, if any shares without par value are to be issued, the number of shares without par value to be authorized, which shall not be less than ten, and the number of shares having par value to be authorized, if any, and the par value thereof, which shall not be less than one dollar.  (f) The restrictions, if any, imposed upon the transfer of shares.  (g) If there are to be two or more classes of stock, a description of the different classes and a statement of the terms on which they are to be created and of the method of voting thereon.  (h) Any other lawful provisions for the conduct and regulation of the business of the corporation, for its voluntary dissolution, or for limiting, defining or regulating the powers of the corporation, or of its directors or stockholders, or of any class of stockholders.  (i) The subscriber or subscribers by whom the first meeting of the incorporators shall be called.  (j) The names and residences of the incorporators and the amount of stock subscribed for by each.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 7 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 7 - Corporations Dealing With Real Estate; Duration

Section 7. The agreement of association of any corporation formed for the purpose of acquiring, holding, managing, improving, leasing, buying and selling real estate, except a corporation formed for the purpose of owning forest land classified under chapter sixty-one, shall state the term of duration of the corporation, which shall not exceed fifty years.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 8 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 8 - First Meeting; Notice; Service; Waiver of Notice

Section 8. The first meeting of the incorporators shall be called by a notice signed by such subscriber to the agreement of association as may be designated therein or by a majority of the subscribers to such agreement; and such notice shall state the time, place and purposes of the meeting, which shall be held within the commonwealth. A copy of such notice shall, seven days at least before the day appointed for the meeting, be given to each incorporator or left at his residence or usual place of business, or deposited in the post office, postage prepaid, and addressed to him at his residence or usual place of business, and another copy thereof, and an affidavit of one of the signers that the notice has been duly served, shall be recorded with the records of the corporation. If all of the incorporators shall in writing, upon the agreement of association, waive such notice and fix the time and place of the meeting, no notice shall be required.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 9 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 9 - Organization; Selection of Temporary Clerk; Adoption of By-Laws; Election of Officers

Section 9. At the first meeting of a corporation organized under general law or created by special act, or at any adjournment thereof, the incorporators shall organize by the choice, by ballot, of a temporary clerk, who shall be sworn, by the adoption of by-laws and by the election by ballot of directors, of a treasurer, of a clerk and of such other officers as the by-laws required to be elected by the stockholders. The temporary clerk shall make and attest a record of the proceedings, until the clerk has been chosen and sworn, including a record of such choice and qualification.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 10 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 10 - Oath to Articles by Directors; Liability to Stockholders

Section 10. A majority of the directors elected at such first meeting shall forthwith make, sign and make oath to articles setting forth:  (a) A true copy of the agreement of association and the names of the subscribers thereto, or, if the corporation is created by special act, a copy of the act of incorporation.  (b) The date of the first meeting and of the successive adjournments thereof, if any.  (c) Subject to section fourteen, the amount of capital stock then to be issued, the amount thereof to be paid for in full in cash, the amount thereof to be paid for in cash by instalments and the instalment to be paid before the corporation commences business, and the amount thereof to be paid for in property. If such property consists in any part of real estate, its location, area and the amount of stock to be issued therefor shall be stated; if any part of such property is personal, it shall be described in such detail as the commissioner may require, and the amount of stock to be issued therefor stated. If any part of the capital stock is issued for services or expenses, the nature of such services or expenses and the amount of stock which is issued therefor shall be clearly stated.  (d) The name, residence and post office address of each of the officers of the corporation.  (e) A certification that the provisions of sections eight and nine relative to the calling and holding of the first meeting of the corporation, and the election of a temporary clerk, the adoption of by-laws, and the election of officers have been complied with.  (f) The final day of the corporation's fiscal year and the date provided in the by-laws for the annual meeting.  The information required by clauses (d) and (f) shall not be deemed a permanent part of the articles of organization, and may subsequently be amended by compliance with the provisions of sections twenty-four and twenty-nine, respectively.  The directors who sign such articles and the officers and directors who sign any amendment thereof shall be jointly and severally liable to any stockholder of the corporation for actual damages caused by any statement therein which is false and which they know, or on reasonable examination could have known, to be false.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 11 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 11 - Approval by Secretary of Corporation Documents; Filing of Articles

Section 11. The articles of organization and the agreement of association shall be submitted to the secretary who shall examine them and who may require such amendment thereof or such additional information as he deems necessary. If he finds that the provisions of law relative to the organization of the corporation have been complied with, he shall endorse his approval on the articles. Thereupon, the articles shall, upon payment of the fee provided by section fifty-three, be filed in the office of the state secretary.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 12 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 12 - Certificate of Incorporation

Section 12. Upon the approval and filing as above provided of the articles of organization of a corporation organized under general laws, the state secretary shall issue a certificate of incorporation in the following form:—  THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS  Be it known that whereas (the names of the subscribers to the agreement of association) have associated themselves with the intention of forming a corporation under the name of (the name of the corporation), and have complied with the provisions of the statutes of the commonwealth in such case made and provided, as appears from the articles of organization of said corporation, duly approved by the state secretary and recorded in this office: Now, therefore, I (the name of the state secretary), secretary of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, do hereby certify that said (names of the subscribers to the agreement of association), their associates and successors are legally organized and established as, and are hereby made an existing corporation as of (the date of filing of the articles of organization), under the name of (the name of the corporation), with the powers, rights and privileges, and subject to the limitations, duties and restrictions, which by law appertain thereto.  Witness my official signature hereunto subscribed, and the great seal of the commonwealth of Massachusetts hereunto affixed this day of in the year .  The state secretary shall sign the certificate of incorporation and cause the great seal of the commonwealth to be thereto affixed, and such certificate shall have the force and effect of a special charter. The existence of every corporation organized under general laws shall begin upon the filing of the articles of organization in the office of the state secretary. The state secretary shall make a record of the fact of said incorporation and shall create an index in alphabetical order. A certified statement of the fact of incorporation by the state secretary shall be conclusive evidence of such incorporation.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 13 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 13 - Scope of By-Laws

Section 13. Every corporation may determine by its by-laws the time and place of holding and the manner of conducting its meetings, and, in accordance with sections twenty-one and twenty-two, of electing its officers, the powers, duties and tenure of its officers, the number of its directors, the number of stockholders and of directors necessary to constitute a quorum, the manner of calling regular and special meetings of the directors, the expediency of providing for an executive committee, the number of members thereof, and the duties which may be delegated to it, the method of making demand for payment of subscriptions to its capital stock, the conditions under which a new certificate of stock may be issued in place of a certificate which is alleged to have been lost or destroyed, the method in general of transacting its business and the manner by which the by-laws may be altered, amended or repealed.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 14 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 14 - Creation and Issuance of Shares

Section 14. Every corporation in its agreement of association, or in the case of a corporation created by special law, in its articles of organization, or in an amendment to said agreement or articles which may be adopted as hereinafter provided, may create shares of stock with or without par value and may create two or more classes of stock with such preferences, voting powers, restrictions and qualifications thereof as shall be fixed in said agreement or articles or in such amendment. Subject to any provisions so fixed, every share without par value shall be equal to every other such share.  The provisions of law relating to the issue of shares of capital stock with par value shall apply to the issue of shares without par value, and a corporation may issue its authorized shares without par value for such cash, property, tangible or intangible, services or expenses as may be determined from time to time by the board of directors, subject to the provisions of the agreement of association, articles of organization or amendments thereof and, in the case of an increase of capital stock, subject to the vote of stockholders determining the terms and manner of the disposition of the increased stock pursuant to section forty-one, and when the cash or other consideration for which they are to be issued, as stated in the articles of organization, or certificate of issue, or articles of amendment, made pursuant to section ten, sixteen or forty-four, has been received, said shares shall be fully paid stock and not liable to any further call or assessment thereon, nor shall the subscriber or holder be liable for any further payments, except as provided in section thirty-five.  In any case in which the law requires that the par value of the shares of stock of a corporation be stated, it shall be stated, in respect of shares without par value, that such shares are without par value; and wherever the amount of stock, authorized or issued, is required to be stated, if any shares without par value are authorized, the number of shares authorized or issued of the several classes shall be stated, and it shall also be stated whether such shares are with or without par value and what the par value is of such shares as have par value.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 15 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 15 - Consideration for Capital Stock; Instalment Payments

Section 15. Capital stock may be issued for cash, at not less than par, if the shares have par value, and may be issued for property, tangible or intangible, or for services or expenses. Stock issued for cash may be paid for in full before it is issued or by instalments. If it is paid for by instalments, the stock certificate shall be legibly stamped with the words '' per cent paid up, balance payable (stating manner and time of payment) and shares subject to forfeiture if unpaid,'' the facts being truly stated; and, as each instalment is demanded and paid, the certificate shall be stamped accordingly.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 16 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 16 - Issuance of Unissued Balance of Authorized Capital Stock; Approval; Filing

Section 16. The whole or any part of any unissued balance of the authorized capital stock may be issued, subsequent to the issue of stock certified by the articles of organization, by vote of the directors, under authority of the by-laws or of a general or special vote of the incorporators at the first meeting or of the stockholders at a subsequent meeting, if, within thirty days after such vote of the directors, a certificate signed and sworn to by the president, treasurer and a majority of the directors is submitted to the secretary, setting forth—(a) the total amount of capital stock authorized; (b) the amount of stock already issued for cash payable by instalments and the amount paid thereon; also the amount of full paid stock already issued for cash, property, services or expenses; (c) the amount of additional stock to be issued for cash, property, services or expenses, respectively; (d) a description of said property, and a statement of the nature of said services or expenses, in the manner required by section ten. The secretary shall examine such certificate in the same manner as the original articles of organization. If he finds that it conforms to the requirements of law, he shall endorse his approval thereon, and it shall thereupon be filed in the office of the state secretary, upon payment of the fee provided in section fifty-five. No issue of stock subsequent to that certified by the articles of organization shall be lawful until said certificate is filed with the secretary as aforesaid. No stock shall be at any time issued unless the cash, so far as due, or the property, services or expenses for which it was authorized to be issued, has been actually received or incurred by, or conveyed or rendered to, the corporation, or is in its possession as surplus; nor shall any note or evidence of indebtedness, secured or unsecured, of any person to whom stock is issued, be deemed to be payment therefor; and the president, treasurer and directors shall be jointly and severally liable to any stockholder of the corporation for actual damages caused to him by such issue.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 17 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 17 - Validation of Issue Not Submitted for Approval

Section 17. An issue of stock subsequent to that certified by the articles of organization which is invalid solely for the reason that the certificate is not submitted to the secretary within thirty days as required by the preceding section may be rendered lawful and valid as of the date of its issue if the certificate is afterward submitted to him, and is examined and approved by him and filed in the office of the state secretary, upon payment of such fee, to be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section three B of chapter seven.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 18 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 18 - Payment of Subscriptions

Section 18. In the case of capital stock authorized to be issued for cash, whether or not to be paid in full before issue, the directors may require payment in such proportions and at such times and places as they deem proper, by making demand therefor according to the by-laws, or, in default of such by-law, by notice mailed to each subscriber or stockholder at least seven days before his subscription or any portion thereof, or any instalment due upon stock already issued, is payable.
MA Gen L ch 156 § 19 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XXII - Corporations|Chapter 156 - Business Corporations|Section 19 - Subscriptions in Default; Sale of Rights to Subscribe

Section 19. If, under the articles of organization, capital stock issued for cash is to be paid for in full before it is issued, and the subscriber refuses or neglects to pay the amount demanded for thirty days after the time limited for payment in the demand made under the preceding section, his rights of subscription may be sold by public auction by the treasurer of the corporation who, out of the proceeds of such sale, shall pay to the corporation the amount then due from such subscriber with interest and incidental charges, first giving notice by mail to such subscriber, not less than ten days prior to such sale, of the time and place appointed therefor and of the amount due and payable by him. Upon the sale of such rights as aforesaid, the directors shall give to the purchaser a certificate thereof. If the rights of such subscriber do not sell for an amount sufficient to pay the amount due from him with interest and charges of sale, he shall be liable to the corporation in an action at law for the deficiency; if they sell for more, he shall be entitled to the surplus. At the expiration of thirty days after the time limited for payment as aforesaid, the directors may waive their right to offer such rights for sale, and may elect to proceed at law against such delinquent subscriber to recover all amounts due and payable by him with interest. If said rights are not sold at said auction, or if a judgment rendered in an action against a subscriber remains unsatisfied for thirty days, all amounts previously paid by him shall be forfeited to the corporation.