reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 115 § 8 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVII - Public Welfare|Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits|Section 8 - Payment and Reimbursement of Burial Expenses; Certificate

Section 8. If a deceased person's estate has insufficient resources to pay for the cost of the funeral and burial of a deceased person covered by this chapter, the burial agent under section 7 shall expend not more than $4,000 for the funeral and burial; provided, however, that the cost of the funeral and burial shall be not more than $5,000. Any resources of such person shall be deducted from the maximum cost of the funeral and burial allowance hereunder and the difference, subject to the limitation set forth in this paragraph, shall be paid by the burial agent. No city or town shall be reimbursed under this section for any amount so expended for a single burial if the total expense of such burial, exclusive of the purchase price of the grave, the cost of the grave opening and the cost of a cement vault liner if one is required by the cemetery regulations, by whomsoever incurred, exceeded $500 for a child under the age of seven or $900 for any other person. The burial shall not be made in a cemetery or burial ground used exclusively for the burial of persons under the provisions of chapter 117 or in any part of a cemetery or burial ground so used. Relatives of the deceased who are unable to bear the expense of burial may be allowed to conduct the funeral. The full amount so expended, the name of the deceased and, if the deceased was a veteran, the regiment, company, station, organization or vessel in which such veteran served, the date of death, place of interment and, if the deceased was a spouse or widow or widower, the name of such veteran's spouse and date of marriage and, if the deceased was a dependent child, the name of the veteran and such other details as the commissioner may require, shall be certified on oath to said commissioner in such manner as said commissioner may approve, by the burial agent and the treasurer of the city or town expending the amount, within three months after the burial. The commissioner shall endorse upon the certificate the allowance of such amounts as have been paid and reported according to the foregoing provisions and shall transmit the certificate to the comptroller. Seventy-five per cent of the amounts so paid and allowed for burial expenses of veterans or dependents by the cities and towns wherein they reside shall be paid by the commonwealth to the several cities and towns on or before November 10 in the year after the expenditures have been made. Notwithstanding the requirements as to residence as set forth in section 5, the commissioner may authorize the burial agent of a city or town to arrange for the proper interment of the body of an indigent veteran who dies within the commonwealth. The definitions contained in section 1 of chapter 114 shall be applicable to this section and section 9.
MA Gen L ch 115 § 9 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVII - Public Welfare|Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits|Section 9 - Care of Graves of Veterans

Section 9. The mayor of every city and the selectmen of every town shall appoint a resident of such city or town who shall be a veteran as defined in clause Forty-third of section seven of chapter four, as a veterans' graves officer, for a term to be determined by the appointing authority; provided, however, that said term shall not exceed five years. It shall be the duty of such veterans' graves officer to cause every veteran's grave within such city or town to be suitably kept and cared for. Such care shall include the clearing of weeds and other unseemly growth from said graves; the repairing, replacement and general up-keep of fences around said graves; the raising and repairing of sunken grave stones and markers and other similar services that may be necessary to restore and maintain such graves and their surroundings in an orderly condition. If the cost of such care and maintenance is not paid by private persons, or by the trustees of the cemeteries where any such grave is situated, it shall be paid by the city or town; and cities and towns may appropriate money therefor. Money so appropriated may be expended directly by the city or town or paid over to the trustees or manager of any cemetery where any such grave is situated; but the sum so paid over in any year shall not exceed for each grave the sum charged for the annual care and maintenance of like lots in the same cemetery, or, if no such charge is made in that cemetery, it shall not exceed the sum charged in other cemeteries in the same city or town for like services. In cities and towns where there are cemeteries containing the remains of deceased veterans, such cities and towns shall cause to be placed on such veterans' graves a flag of the United States on every Memorial day. Upon the approval of the commissioner, compensation for 75 per cent of the cost of such flags, but none of the expenses attending the placement of such flags shall be paid by the commonwealth to the several cities and towns on or before November 10 in the year after such expenditures. In cities and towns where there are cemeteries with mausoleums containing the remains of deceased veterans, each such city or town shall cause to be placed on each mausoleum a suitable plaque with the names of all deceased veterans contained therein, and a flag of the United States shall be suitably placed at each mausoleum on every Memorial day.
MA Gen L ch 115 § 10 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVII - Public Welfare|Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits|Section 10 - Municipal Departments of Veterans' Services; Creation; Directors; Districts; Treasurer of District

Section 10. The mayors of cities and the selectmen of towns, other than cities and towns which become part of a district as authorized by the second paragraph of this section, shall cause to be established and maintained in their respective cities and towns a department for the purpose of furnishing such information, advice and assistance to veterans and their dependents as may be necessary to enable them to procure the benefits to which they are or may be entitled relative to employment, vocational or other educational opportunities, hospitalization, medical care, pensions, and other veterans' benefits. Each department so established and maintained shall be known as the department of veterans' services, and the officer in charge thereof shall be known as the director of veterans' services. Such director and any assistant or deputy director appointed under this section or section eleven shall be a veteran and shall be appointed in a city by the mayor, with the approval of the city council, and in a town by the selectmen.  Two or more adjoining towns, or two or more adjoining municipalities only one of which is a city, may, in a city by vote of the city council thereof, and in a town by vote of the selectmen thereof, form a district for the purposes set forth in the first paragraph of this section, including the appointment and compensation of a director of veterans' services, for the enforcement therein of such purposes and of such other provisions of law as it may be his duty to enforce. Any constituent city or town by vote may withdraw from the district at the end of any fiscal year of such city or town if such withdrawal is voted in the manner aforesaid not less than sixty days prior to the end of such fiscal year and notice of such vote is filed with the other municipalities comprising the district.  The director of veterans' services of each district established under authority of the preceding paragraph shall, under the direction of the district board referred to in section eleven, perform the duties of his office in each of the municipalities comprising his district.  The treasurer of one of the municipalities comprising such district, designated by the district board thereof, shall be treasurer of the district and shall give to the district a bond, with a surety company authorized to transact business in the commonwealth as surety, for the faithful performance of his duties as treasurer of the district in such sum and upon such conditions as said district board may require. The district treasurer shall disburse the money received under the provisions of section eleven upon warrants approved by the district board.
MA Gen L ch 115 § 11 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVII - Public Welfare|Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits|Section 11 - Municipal Departments of Veterans' Services; District Boards; Powers; Apportionment of Expenses; Payment of Costs and Expenses by District Members

Section 11. In every district established under authority of section ten there shall be a board composed of the mayor or his designee of such city, if any, as may be included in the district and the chairman of the board of selectmen or its designee of each of the towns, if any, included in said district and the town manager or his designee in a municipality with a town council form of government, if any, included in said district. Said board shall appoint, fix the compensation of, and may remove the director of veterans services of said district. Said board may appoint, fix the salary of, and remove, a deputy or assistant to such director, if in the opinion of said board such an officer is necessary.  Said board may determine the expenses of said director and deputy or assistant and of the department under the charge of said director, and may apportion said expenses among the several municipalities comprising such district on the basis of the taxable valuation of said municipalities as last established by the general court as a basis of apportionment for state and county taxes, or on the basis of the population of each municipality in such district based on the most recent federal census, or by any other means determined by a unanimous vote of said board to be fair and equitable to each community. Said board shall promptly thereafter notify the treasurers of said municipalities of such apportionment. Every city or town treasurer so notified shall, annually in December, certify the amount of such apportionment to the board of assessors of his municipality, who shall include such amount in the tax levy of the following year.  Upon order of the district board the city or town treasurer of each of the constituent members of the district shall from time to time pay to the district treasurer a sum or sums not exceeding, in the aggregate, the amount certified by the board as its respective share of the costs and expenses of the district. In case a city or town becomes a member of a district at a time when it is too late to permit an assessment as provided by sections ten to fourteen, inclusive, such city or town may appropriate and pay to the district treasurer an amount representing its proportionate share of the expense of the district for the period ending December thirty-first in the year in which such city or town becomes a member of the district.
MA Gen L ch 115 § 12 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVII - Public Welfare|Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits|Section 12 - Municipal Departments of Veterans' Services; Advisory Boards; Duties; Rules and Regulations

Section 12. In each city, and in each town not included in a district established under section ten, and in each such district, there may be in the department of veterans' services an unpaid advisory board to be appointed, in cities by the mayor, in towns by the board of selectmen, and in districts by the district board. Said advisory board shall render such assistance to the director of veterans' services of the municipality or district relative to the provisions of this chapter, except as to sections one to nine, inclusive, as said director may request. The commissioner is hereby authorized and directed to formulate and publish rules and regulations establishing in a general manner the types of persons, with respect to their occupations, professions and special skills, who may be appointed to such unpaid advisory boards. Every such advisory board shall consist of not less than five nor more than fifteen residents of the city, town or district, as the case may be.
MA Gen L ch 115 § 13 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVII - Public Welfare|Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits|Section 13 - Duties of Departments of Veterans' Services

Section 13. Said departments shall acquire and have on hand copies of current booklets and other printed matter pertaining to the statutory rights of veterans provided under state and federal laws. They may call at any time upon any department, board, division or commission of the commonwealth for such assistance as may be necessary in carrying out their functions. They shall also work in close coordination with existing federal agencies established for the aid of such veterans, and they shall enlist the support of hospitals within their respective communities or districts for carrying out the purposes of sections ten to fourteen, inclusive.
MA Gen L ch 115 § 14 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVII - Public Welfare|Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits|Section 14 - Municipal Departments of Veterans' Services; Control and Direction of Commissioner; Separate and Independent Location

Section 14. Departments established and maintained under sections ten to fourteen, inclusive, shall be under the general direction of the commissioner, and they shall be physically located independently of, and separate and apart from, any other public or private agency, board, bureau, social agency or society, except a department or agency disbursing aid or relief or veterans' benefits under this chapter.
MA Gen L ch 115 § 15 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVII - Public Welfare|Chapter 115 - Veterans' Benefits|Section 15 - Municipal Departments of Veterans' Services; Audit of Accounts of Districts

Section 15. The director of accounts in the department of corporations and taxation shall cause an audit to be made annually of the accounts of all districts organized under the authority of section ten and for such purpose he, and his duly accredited agents, shall have access to all necessary papers, books and records. The expenses incurred for said audits shall be paid primarily by the commonwealth. Said director shall apportion the cost of each audit among the several municipalities comprising the district on the basis of the taxable valuation of said municipalities as last established by the general court for state and county taxes, and submit the amounts of each apportionment to the state treasurer, who shall issue his warrant requiring the assessors of the cities and towns which comprise the district to assess a tax to the amount so apportioned, and such amount shall be collected and paid to the state treasurer as provided by section twenty of chapter fifty-nine.
MA Gen L ch 115a § 1 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVII - Public Welfare|Chapter 115a - Soldiers' Homes|Section 1 - Benefits of Soldiers' Homes; Persons Entitled

Section 1. Any person who (a) is a veteran as defined in clause Forty-third of section seven of chapter four, or (b) meets all the requirements of said clause Forty-third, except that instead of performing wartime service as so defined, has performed not less than ninety days' active service in any of the campaigns or expeditions enumerated in section two, shall be entitled to out-patient treatment at, admission to, and hospitalization in, the Soldiers' Home in Massachusetts and the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke, subject to the provisions of section three.
MA Gen L ch 115a § 2 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVII - Public Welfare|Chapter 115a - Soldiers' Homes|Section 2 - Service Defined

Section 2. Service referred to in section one shall mean service during any of the following periods, both dates inclusive: — (a) Mexican Border Service, between June nineteenth, nineteen hundred and sixteen and February third, nineteen hundred and seventeen, provided, that such service was in the Massachusetts National Guard; (b) Cuban Pacification Campaign, between October sixth, nineteen hundred and six and April first, nineteen hundred and nine; (c) Nicaraguan Campaign, between August twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and twelve and October thirtieth, nineteen hundred and twenty-nine; (d) Vera Cruz Expedition, between April twenty-first, nineteen hundred and fourteen and November twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred and fourteen; (e) Dominican Campaigns, between May fourth, nineteen hundred and sixteen and September seventeenth, nineteen hundred and twenty-four; (f) Haitian Campaign, between July ninth, nineteen hundred and fourteen and October thirtieth, nineteen hundred and twenty-nine; (g) China Expeditionary Service, between October thirtieth, nineteen hundred and twenty-nine and June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and thirty; (h) Army of Occupation in Germany, also known as the A.E.F., between November twelfth, nineteen hundred and eighteen and July eleventh, nineteen hundred and twenty-three; provided, in any case, that proof of service in the campaign, army of occupation or expedition mentioned is made.
MA Gen L ch 115a § 3 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVII - Public Welfare|Chapter 115a - Soldiers' Homes|Section 3 - Persons Not Entitled to Benefits

Section 3. No person shall be entitled to the treatment, admission or hospitalization referred to in sections one and two, unless at the time of his application for such treatment, admission or hospitalization he has actually resided within the commonwealth continuously for five years next preceding the date of such application. The burden of proof of such residence shall be the responsibility of the veteran.
MA Gen L ch 115a § 4 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVII - Public Welfare|Chapter 115a - Soldiers' Homes|Section 4 - Persons Serving in Polish Armed Forces During World War I

Section 4. Any person who was recruited in the United States and who served in the military service of Poland while said country was allied with the United States in World War I, between October seventh, nineteen hundred and seventeen, and January thirty-first, nineteen hundred and nineteen, both dates inclusive, shall be entitled to out-patient treatment at, admission to, and hospitalization in the Soldiers' Home in Massachusetts and the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke; provided, that he produces information in conformity with the rules and regulations of said Homes, that he has been honorably discharged from said service, and is a citizen of the commonwealth and resides in a city or town therein, or if not such a citizen is a citizen of the United States and resides therein; but no such person shall be treated as an out-patient at, admitted to, or hospitalized in, said Homes if the treatment, admission or hospitalization of any person qualified under the provisions of section one would thereby be postponed or denied.
MA Gen L ch 115a § 5 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVII - Public Welfare|Chapter 115a - Soldiers' Homes|Section 5 - Trustees of Soldiers' Homes; Rules and Regulations

Section 5. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the trustees of the Soldiers' Home in Massachusetts and the trustees of the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke from adopting, issuing and promulgating reasonable rules and regulations governing out-patient treatment at, admission to, and hospitalization in, including an increase in any charges, subject to the approval of the secretary of health and human services in said Homes; providing for such treatment, admission and hospitalization for any person qualified under section one except for residence if such person had at some time prior to his application for such treatment, admission or hospitalization, resided in the commonwealth continuously for five years; providing for emergency treatment for any person in need of such treatment by reason of accident or sudden illness, until such person can be transferred to some other institution or place; providing for proper disciplinary action, including discharge from said Homes, of any person whose conduct therein or while a member thereof is deemed to be inimical to the welfare of other members; providing for the exclusion from the respective Homes, either temporarily or permanently, of any person who has received a disciplinary discharge from either Home or from any Veterans' Administration facility; nor providing for the exclusion from out-patient treatment at, admission to, or hospitalization in, said Homes, of any person whose disability or illness may be diagnosed as neuropsychiatric, neurosurgical or tubercular, or other ailment or condition for the treatment and care of which proper facilities are not available at said Homes.
MA Gen L ch 115a § 6 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title XVII - Public Welfare|Chapter 115a - Soldiers' Homes|Section 6 - Patients Funds; Disposition

Section 6. So much of any funds known as ''Patients Funds'' as represents monies belonging to, or deposited for the benefit of, patients or members who have been discharged or voluntarily departed from, or died at, either of said Homes, which shall have remained unclaimed for more than three years, shall be paid by the commandant or superintendent thereof to the state treasurer to be held subject to be paid to the person establishing a lawful right thereto, with interest at the rate of three per cent per annum from the time when it was so paid to the state treasurer to the time when it is paid by him to such person; provided, that so much of any monies so paid to the state treasurer as may be necessary to reimburse said Home for any sum due for the support of the person by whom, or for whose benefit such money was originally deposited, shall be credited to said Home for that purpose. After six years from the date when any such monies were paid to the state treasurer the same or any balance thereof then remaining in his hands shall be transferred to the trustees of said Home for deposit in its legacy fund or legacy account. Any person, may, however, establish his claim after the expiration of the six years above mentioned and any claim so established shall be paid from the legacy fund or legacy account of said Home. Any person claiming a right to money deposited with the state treasurer or with the trustees under this section may establish the same by a petition to the probate court. A justice of said court, after examining the merits of the claim, may direct the treasurer or the trustees to pay such money to the claimant.